The Traps of Black Swan

At Highland Club, around nine in the evening.

Dax had gone to the club for the informal meeting. He nodded at the fresh graduate, a young man when he bid him. Dax wasn't sure how Aarvi dug him out. After going through his resume and work, Dax's secretary had directly contacted him instead of assigning it to a manager.

The young man had a new technology and had submitted to the few companies who work in the technology field. He wanted an investment and support, but the companies wanted to buy his project and the copyright. Hence Dax called him out to speak to him before starting the professional process of the new venture.

Even though it would be a minimal investment and a considerable risk, Dax felt the project was worth their time and money. The young man had ambitions and goals to reach. Skylar's work was always supporting the talents. Hence Dax's mood was lighter as the meeting didn't drag down, and the man didn't have any different requirements even though they approached him when he was losing hope.

Once the young man left, Dax grabbed his third drink of the evening and sipped. Shawn was tired after a long day, so he didn't accompany him. He didn't want to disturb Aarvi, so he made himself comfortable on the barstool.

Even though he wasn't a co-owner of the Highland, he received the same treatment as Shawn and Aarvi. The bartender and the manager, Lauren, took extra care of his needs.

The number of drinks increased with the number of girls Dax was turning down when they asked him for a dance. Some had even offered to buy him a drink, and some wanted him to buy a drink for them.

He gulped the cocktail and left the glass on the counter as he cued the bartender to repeat. He should be dancing with someone after he got to know about Tia. But he found himself rejecting every other girl without even taking a glance at them.

He wasn't sure how he felt for Tia, but his parents had liked her a lot. They got close to her in such a short time that they might forget to ask him how he was doing, but they never fail to mention her name.

Dax firmly believed he was feeling down because he felt sad for his parents, and he could teach that little witch a lesson.

He had taken a sip of his next drink when he felt a cold gaze on him. Dax was used to the eyes on him, but this felt weird. He looked up at the upper floor, but he didn't see anybody looking at him.

The next second the intense gaze felt murderous. Dax almost thought he imagined things when he failed to catch those eyes. Instead, his body relaxed while he sipped his drink as he thought about the upper-level arrangement and who could be watching him.

As soon as he guessed which table person it could be, her eyes narrowed straight at that place when he turned his gaze upstairs. He caught the steely grey eyes trying to burn him alive.

For a flicker of seconds, he doubted them as red or blue due to the light arrangements, but he was sure that steely grey eyes had the murderous intent. Since their eyes met, the man didn't look away from him. Dax's eyes on him, in turn, made him look colder than a glacier.

Dax had no desire to have a staring game with a man. So he looked away from the man to his drink. If it were a different club, he would have thought somebody was trying to kill me by keeping an eye on him. Nonetheless, it would be a death wish to do that in HIghland. Shawn was very particular about safety at the main branch as he and his friends frequently visit.

Now thinking of the man, who was looking at him as though he had stolen his wife, Dax had no... Dax, who wanted to ignore it, felt something amiss. Even though he has offended many, none had a grudge to kill him, excluding Leon. The latter men wouldn't be a fool to let him know about their presence.

He hadn't stolen anybody's wife, but it could be somebody's girlfriend and that somebody might be jealous. His lips arced enticingly. He didn't know if that man was tracking him, but he had ways to make them regret it.

If he was being trailed, he can't make a call. So he cued the bartender to get closer to him. He spoke as though he was asking something about the drinks. "Don't give any reaction. Inform Lauren to keep an eye on the man in black sitting at the third table upstairs. His eyes are grey."  Lauren, manager of the club.

The bartender gave him a professional, apologetic smile. He was trained in handling such situations, so he didn't bother checking out the man. "Sure, CEO Grant. I will inform her right away." He bowed as though apologizing. He took steps back before looking for Lauren.

Lauren was attending to customers when the bartender reached her. She nodded at the bartender when he whispered to her. She also kept her eyes in check. She arranged for the customers before rushing up to Dax. She pretended to apologize, whereas her words didn't match what they were speaking.

"CEO Grant, I have arranged for security. Please allow me to arrange a chauffeur for you since you have taken drinks. By the way, is he keeping an eye on you or troubling someone else?"

Dax plainly responded, looking at her action when she swapped the bartender for him, "Inform Shawn that somebody is jealous of me."

Lauren: "..."

She couldn't believe Dax was reacting so much for a man's jealousy. Anyway, her work was to relay the information, so she acknowledged it and dialed Shawn while taking care of the customers.

Dax had a few more drinks, stretched his back before he went to his place to have a good nights' sleep without knowing his attentiveness made things easier for Aarvi.

----

At Skyarc penthouses,

Shawn was tired after his day. He laid on the lounge checking some files of the Highland club branches when he answered a call. "Lauren? Everything alright?" He knew Lauren never calls for simple things.

"Shawn Sir, a man is keeping an eye on CEO Grant. He told me to tell you that somebody is jealous of him."

Shawn: "..."

The curse words were reaching the tip of his tongue before he thought rationally. 'Jealous.' Dax meant the stranger doesn't mean any harm but his hatred against them. But, at the same time, it could be something useless too.

Taking Dax's identity and Tia's mystery, Shawn didn't want to take it lightly. "Lauren, send a guard to drive Dax home... And a security vehicle. Don't tell him. He will turn down otherwise."

Lauren: "..."

Without knowing the real problem, she was truly wonderstruck without understanding why they were so guarded up for a jealous man. Nonetheless, thinking of it as a rich and men's world, she just followed their orders and made sure nothing happened in the club.

Shawn didn't bother using Dax or Aarvi's, people.. Instead, he used his men, and soon enough, he dashed into Aarvi and Aaron's penthouse to speak to her on the new developments.