Hollywood Zenith

" Samuel?" Adele was surprised to see that he was the one honking at her.

" What are you doing here? When did you get back?" She asked.

" Few hours ago. Come on get in, I will drop you off." Samuel got up and opened the car door for her. He was trying to be as normal as possible, but inside he was nervous.

Adele nodded and got in. With what happened today, she didn't want to be alone. It was also nice to see Samuel after a long time. Their schedules were congested to the point that it became impossible to check up on each other.

" But how did you know where to find me?" Adele asked.

" Don't you know? I planted a tracking device on you. I can't have you running around unprotected." Samuel said with a serious tone.

" What? Really?" Adele exclaimed.

" No silly! I went to your studio, and they said you went out with your boss to this restaurant. I also heard you have been working nonstop on your project." Samuel chuckled. She was still so gullible, but teasing a reaction out of her was fun.

" This is your idea of a joke? I might have smacked you right in the face if I didn't know you personally!" Adele pouted. They always had a wicked sense of humour, but Adele couldn't hate him. She would often go over the top with it sometimes.

" I feel like I deserve it after you left first thing in the morning that day." Samuel blurted out something that he regretted instantly. It was too soon to mention it!

" I know. It was a wild night..." She muttered, remembering with a smile. It almost made her forget about her current predicament.

" What's that? I don't want to make you mad. I just-"

" It's fine. It's fine, it was a one time thing anyway." Adele interjected him.

" Huh? Is that so?" Samuel was a little confused. It was disappointing, but he respected her wishes.

" No, I mean. It was a one-time thing, you have to follow proper order!" Adele shook her hands to say she was not pushing him away again. She didn't want him to misunderstand anything!

" Dating? That will be hard work with everything going around." Samuel sighed.

" Did something happened?"

" Well.." She was out of the loop but definitely knew about Liliana and Rosaline, as well as about the charity dinner incident. It was hard not to notice as it became national news practically with the identity of the people involved.

" I felt like you have left out quite a lot of details about what happened." She looked at him with suspicion.

" You are worried about that? Didn't you hear about my repeated clash with gangsters?" She was focused on all the wrong things!

" hahaha, look at your face. It looks like you are caught red handed! Don't worry no matter how much you try to change the subject I will find about it from Iblis later." Adele smirked. Worried about Samuel? That was a thing of the past; she had seen him train and fight with others. It was nothing short of super-ability.

" You know I really missed this. I know things got awkward between us but next time at least pick up the phone!" He wanted to clear things out for posterity.

" I am sorry about it. I wanted to but I have been so busy with work." She forced herself to smile. Samuel was not a fool; the first time he saw her, he noticed her baggy dark circles along with a concerned look on her face.

Now that the atmosphere between them was at least friendly, he asked directly.

" It's fine. I told you everything, isn't it time you tell me what is wrong?"

" I-i don't know what you are talking about." She fixed her hair while stuttering a little.

" Really? Even a child can tell that you are lying right now! Don't you trust me? You can tell me anything." He was not going to let it go that easily. He placed took her hand and caressed it a little.

He could mention the message that her mother sent him, but that would defeat the purpose. She couldn't discuss it with Penny, which was the sole reason Penny contacted him.

She started sobbing, her tough persona melted as she released her seat belt and reached toward him. It became dangerous, so Samuel quickly parked the car; she was already in his lap with her face nuzzled in her neck.

Samuel was surprised by her straightforwardness, but she needed some hugs to calm down. It took several minutes before she could tell him what had happened. It was more like she was whispering in his ear because she had no courage to face him.

She was blaming herself for not being careful. Remembering how the meeting went scared her; if Russell was not there or it had been a private meeting, things would have gone much differently. She was not wrong; Roderick was not much familiar with her. He would have done a little 'preparation' to cast a better 'trap' if he was.

The more Samuel heard about her predicament, the angrier he got. Such blatant harassment was something only a repeated perpetrator could do. Memorizing the name of the party, his mind was already set. Adele was still hugging him, but he started heading toward her home.

It was good that the sports car was tinted, as it would have been bad if someone had seen them like this.

" We are here. Just rest for a few days, I will look into it." Samuel said as they separated.

" You don't have to do it. I will-"

" No! Someone dare to harass one of my girls! How can I not make them pay?" Samuel said with a resolute voice.

" Haha, for a second I thought you sounded cool. You just have to ruin it!" Adele smiled, hearing his absurd way of saying it.

" It's good that she is smiling." He thought. He dropped her off at her doorstep, where he met Penny, who was waiting anxiously. She saw the messy face of her daughter, which was like seeing her worst nightmare!

" Are you alright? Why are you like this?" She quickly came and inspected her from head to toe. Seeing nothing wrong, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, but it still didn't answer her state.

" I am fine mother. I will head up and clean up. Sami, I will call you later." After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she headed upstairs.

" Sami, what the hell is going on?" Penny asked anxiously.

" Some toad tried to eat swan meat but they forgot how big the world is." Samuel only gave a vague response.

" Huh? I don't understand."

" I will tell you about it later. Please look after her in the meantime." He left. Telling her would only worry her; it was best to resolve this mess before informing her. Besides, it was best that Adele talked with her voluntarily.

Samuel took out his phone and called Abigail.

" Please have Alastair and Marilyn in the meeting room. I will be there in thirty minutes."

" Is it important? they are already in the meeting room." She asked.

" It is very important. It's hunting season, I want to catch some big fish."

" I will have everything ready by the time you get here." She didn't ask further. From his tone, she could tell something big was about to happen. He also mentioned 'hunting' and 'fish', which was not a good sign for whoever his target was.

" Good. I am on the way."

" Roderick, huh? It's the family of an earl, I have to be a little careful but it's nothing I didn't do before." His devilish smile was in full bloom. The Demon was asleep for an entire week and was finally awoken by the stupidity of a fool.

...

...

...

" Sir, we have successfully acquired ANB Financial beating Pulaski Bank. First Integrity Bank, unfortunately, went to First International Bank." one of the people attending the meeting said.

" What about IndyMac in Pasadena." Alastair asked.

" I am responsible for it. I am certain I will make them sign the contract within a week." Marilyn said from the side. After years of working under Abigail and Alastair, she was promoted repeatedly because of her outstanding performance.

She was already a senior executive for the Alphabet group in her early thirties, but no one doubted her abilities. In turn, they respected her partly because of her flawless beauty and work ethic.

" Are you certain? You know we can't have any mistake. I heard OneWest in partnering up with FSB just for this contract." Alastair asked once again.

" I can do it!" She declared to which Alastair nodded with a satisfied smile.

" What else?"

" Sir, two other banks in California with over one billion in market cap are showing signs of weakening. I am not certain about the exact time but, Alliance and County will be down soon." An analyst said with confidence.

" Is that so? But we have to be ready for the big players, you know what our boss desires the most right?" Alastair asked.

" Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual Bank."

" Correct! We have to conserve some of our resources."

" But sir I heard that Morgan family is going after the Bear and Chase corporation is eyeing Washington Mutual. Will we able to-"

" Don't worry about it. Even if we are able to eat the whole cake, it's better to share it or jack up the price to make them bleed. Remember this is not the only thing we have to focus on."

" Yes sir!"

" Now for the other sector-"

*knock* *knock* Hearing the sudden knock, everyone looked toward the entrance. Abigail was standing with her arms folded; she had to come personally to the lower floor because he had his phone on silent.

" What?" Alastair said with an annoyed expression.

" Boss will be here in few minutes. Postpone your meeting, he told me it was urgent."

" You could have send someone to tell me that."

" Would you have listened? Bring Marilyn too." She left after saying those words.

" Hump, just because you were my senior doesn't justify being this haughty with me!" Alastair grumbled.

" I heard that!"

" How?"