Hollywood Zenith

[ A month Later]

It was the middle of the fall season, and dried leaves littered most parts of the city as people walked passed them.

It was a tough month for several reasons. Oscar finally left and began his training to inherit the Hanson consortium. He was training under both his father and grandfather.

Iblis left the country with her mother and moved to Germany, which had superior facilities and better rehabilitation facilities. She transferred to support her mother.

On the other hand, Adele and Samuel never spoke during this time. Perhaps, Samuel got through to her as she began focusing on her craft. Samuel received a few reports for some time but later decided against them. She was fine, and it was for the best.

He never found out what happened between Iblis and Adele, but he didn't go out of his way to inquire about it. At the very least, Adele was candid with Hannah, who was a good sign as she was sad about Iblis's departure.

Samuel finished his illustration for the book, and it successfully went into production. It will be released in a few weeks as all the other preparation was done.

Thomas also gave Samuel a report regarding the recent Sales; it was slowing down, but with the release of the picture book, that can be managed. They were also preparing for the new series, and the marketing team was in full swing to reveal a sneak peek regarding the LOTR series.

....

....

....

Today was the day when Samuel would be selecting people for his upcoming investment. He was headed for the investment firm Achilles Investment to meet the potential talent which would help run the company.

Samuel wanted to buy the firm, but Robert insisted on giving it to him as a gift. He marked it as his engagement gift, which made Samuel reluctantly accept. He earned some money, but more was needed to be a big player in the market.

With trillions of daily volume, Samuel's few hundred million were a drop in the ocean. He needed to grow his wealth to even compare to real giants of the financial sector. But he was prepared as he absorbed every bit of knowledge related to the financial sector.

He arrived at a modest four-story building on the outskirts of Westminster. The building itself was inconspicuous, without any special features, but due to its location, it was worth a lot of money.

The best about it was that it was wholly owned by the firm, which would weed out outsiders with not-so-good intentions.

A beautiful woman in her early twenties accompanied Samuel as she walked one step behind him; She was tall and had a fair complexion with excellent features. Anyone would call her a model, and she would easily pass that bar if she decided to be one, but that was not why she was here.

Marilyn, who was selected to be Oscar's replacement, was nervous as this was her first day on the job.

She had recently joined the company and previously worked at the head office. Robert selected her from a pool of thousands of employees because of her impeccable work ethic. She had a few years of experience working under various financial giants. Paul had also recommended her, which only happens sometimes.

Robert also noticed that she had two siblings around Samuel's age, which made him sure about his choice. The employee's character was a significant factor for him so that his son could get along with him.

Meanwhile, inside the firm, everyone was nervous when they heard about the news. It was a relatively new firm, and with a change of ownership to the youngest heir of the Rothschild Consortium, pressure on them was understandable.

Samuel saw several employees peeking through the seats; they were probably wondering about him. Of course, they would be biased seeing a child here, but it could help weed out the people unwilling to compromise.

" It looks like they have only setup office here recently." Samuel asked Marilyn.

" Y-yes, according to documents, they have yet to open the funds to the public." She was still nervous.

She heard about Samuel's history and found him abnormal, others mentioned it to her before, but she didn't take it to heart. But the way he behaved was a shock for her. She had seen with her own eyes how rich second-generation behaved normally and was wary that she would offend him unexpectedly.

" You don't have to be so stiff. Just talk normally, Am I that scary?"

" N-no, I am sorry." She said timidly. She was not easily swayed but for some reason facing Samuel intimidated her.

" Well, try to get used to it." He shrugged it off as he noticed a few people approaching.

" Welcome, young master. It is a pleasure finally meet you. I am Quinn Booker, currently overseeing the firm." The man leading the group bowed, but Samuel felt it was all for show.

Others also introduced themselves.

Zachary Holt, Head of Corporate affairs.

Shaun Wells, From Risk management,

Manan Pillai, Head of the Investment department

They were surprised to find a child of all things becoming their boss. Some disliked that they had to babysit a rich brat.

" What about the Sales and Operation Department?" Samuel asked Quinn, to which he said they were still looking at potential candidates. He was surprised to see Samuel ask as if he knew how the firm worked but dismissed it upon seeing Samuel's assistant. He deduced that someone else must have told Samuel.

" Will you be visit the facilities? Everyone is excited to meet you." Quinn asked.

" Ok, I will take a quick look, but I need to meet someone in an hour," Samuel said. Quinn took Samuel and visited different departments while introducing personnel. Every employee needed to learn the details; they only knew about the change in ownership but never heard about what kind of person the new boss was.

After the tour, Quinn led Samuel's group toward the exit.

" Young master didn't have to worry too much. I will look after the firm if it gets too hard for you." Quin said, implying something.

" You don't have to worry about it. As of today, this firm will work with my directive. I have to plan in motion. Besides, It is not that hard to understand. So, I will be fine." Hearing this, Quinn flinched but composed himself again.

" As you wish. I will be waiting for your next visit."

They said farewell as Samuel went inside the car with Marilyn to go toward his next appointment.

" Sir, I have something to say." She asked.

" Yeah, go ahead. You don't need my permission."

" I don't like the Mr. Quinn. Something felt off about him."

" Don't worry about it."

" But, Sir! What if something happens?"

" I said it will be okay. He may be flattering person but if he good at his job I don't mind much."

It was not like Samuel didn't suspect anything, but He didn't want to show his cards just yet. If the other party had bad intentions, he would deal with him. He didn't have time to be suspicious of them.

" Sir, we are approaching the coffeehouse. Is it alright? This place is too open. We won't be able to cover everything." The guard on the front asked. He was worried about Samuel's safety.

" Don't worry. I asked them to book one of the private sections for the meeting. Besides, she was particular about the location." said Samuel, who was adamant about winning the other party.

" Don't you find it strange. Why would he be insistent on meeting here? He might be dangerous." Marilyn asked.

" I didn't know you were paranoid about everything. He didn't gave the specifics but I think it may be related to his family situation." Samuel said as he began to recall the other party's circumstances.

" Yeah, I also read her files. Is everything about her true?" Marilyn asked. Her previous worries lessened as she interacted with Samuel. She began to ask questions voluntarily.

" Must be. I trust the source. With right price she might agree to work with us."

Convoy arrived at the meeting place, and seeing expensive cars parked outside, the manager knew that his guests had arrived.

In the morning, he received a call from a number asking about the price to book the whole coffee house. He thought it was a prank, but within half an hour, several men came personally to make the same inquiry.

At first, he was confused about it, but later, he received a call from the owner to close the store for a few hours at noon. This had never happened before as it was a small establishment.

What's more surprising was that the regional manager from London directly made the call; he never thought in his life that he would talk to the real boss of the coffee chain.

He has been waiting for Samuel's group; seeing them arrive, he exited the store to greet them. Other store employees were also surprised by his enthusiastic demeanour, their boss was like a hard boil egg, extremely hard to crack, but today he was as cheerful as a baby. They knew the reason

but getting used to it was a different matter.

" Welcome, Sir? Welcome. I am happy to serve you!" the manager said. He was confused about why a child was present but ignored it. They were getting paid a fortune for a few work hours; that's what mattered.

" Hmm, Have anyone elese arrived yet?" Samuel asked.

" Not yet. I will lead you to upper floor. You can wait as I serve you the best coffee available here."

" Ok lead the way."

Samuel entered to find the place empty. They really booked the whole place.

" I only said to book one of the private rooms," Samuel muttered, but Marilyn heard it.

" It would be safer with anyone present."

" Maybe you are right. Come, I am sure she will be here soon." Samuel asked as he followed the manager. His guard swept the floor and positioned themselves at essential locations for protection.

They got comfortable inside the room while waiting for their guest.