"YOU?! What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"
"Whoa! Just because we're on the same elevator does not mean I'm stalking you. I do not even know you're staying in this hotel." Alexei rebutted.
"This is unbelievable." I rolled my eyes in annoyance and ignored him. Fate works in a mysterious way. Who would have thought I would see him here? In the same hotel as I am.
Just as I was contemplating about this ironic situation, the man beside me suddenly laughed aloud. He looked at me and then smiled like a lunatic. Irritated, I stepped on his shoes and pressed the heel harder. It was only when he begged to let go, did I removed my foot.
"Mr. Rosenthal, could you do me a favour and get out of my sight?"
"Miss De Grantaine, what can I do with that? I'm also in a predicament here. Who would have thought that we would cross paths here in France, no?" Alexei smiled in amusement while Dana's face turned black in an instant.
At that exact moment, the elevator door opened, and Dana walked out without a care for the man. She hurriedly went to her room door, with Alexei still following her with the same walk pace. Totally losing her cool, she nagged at Alexei angrily.
"Why do you keep on following me? What the hell do you want?"
"What do you mean that I'm following you? My room is here too. See? Room 3108." Alexei showed his room key card with the number of the door beside her. She widened her eyes in surprise at this situation.
"What kind of shitty bullshit is this!?" Dana yelled furiously as she rolled her eyes to Alexei, quickly punched the keycard, and went inside. As a testament to how mad she was with the situation, she slammed the door right at Alexei's face, leaving the man too stunned at the moment.
Dana went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and drank it in one gulp. She was heaving as she calmed herself down about the situation. She analysed the pros and cons of having Alexei as a room neighbour and all the possible scenarios.
"Why am I so affected by this? So, what if he also stays here, that's not my problem, no?" Dana sat down, looked at the window and sighed. She let her thoughts run to release all negativity before drinking the remaining water. After composing herself, she gradually accepted the fact that her rival was in the same place as her. Settling in with herself, she busied herself with the proposals she brought home and disregarded what had just transpired.
Days passed by and Dana continued her daily routine of going to the company, visiting fields, and going back to her hotel. Her busy schedule made her forget what happened and focus on her life, not knowing, that she would have another encounter with Alexei Rosenthal.
"Madam?" a knock on the door interrupted Dana on her reading.
"Enter." Dana did not even look up to the person who just entered her office.
"Madam, there has been progress with what you've asked me. I've obtained the documents regarding the deal. Here are the agreement contract and the assigned personnel who supervised the written documents." Hanna handed out a folder to Dana in a grim manner.
"Yes? Is there something you want to tell me?" Dana put down the folder on her desk as she looked at Hanna seriously.
"I've noticed something about the clauses of the contract. There was a 10% share transfer of rights just after the second amendment of the contract was done. It was as if they knew the base amount, and the third party was aware of the content. Madam, do you think… that Master Jace was right? Someone deliberately leaked this info and blamed it on him?" Hanna gave her honest thoughts. Dana contemplated what she said and analysed the situation.
Just as Dana was about to reply to Hanna, an urgent knock on the door was heard and Marie, one of Dana's secretaries, entered with a flushed look on her face. She strides towards Dana with a grim face.
"Madam, I've found something in my investigation. Mr. Pierre has made dealings with an unknown party. these past few days, his pattern of leaving the company for a 30-minute break was suspicious, so I had someone follow him. they are mostly some under-the-table dealings. the places they've always conducted their transactions are in a back alley on St. Laurent Street, with armed men guarding. Here are the pictures my people got during one of their transactions. This picture here is Mr. Pierre handing some documents to the unknown person." Marie hurriedly opened the envelope she brought and laid the contents on the table. hundreds of pictures of a man talking to another were seen in the photos.
"About the man in question, do you have any findings about his identity?" Dana inquired as she looked at the pictures one by one.
"My team are still investigating. they are looking for more clues. Mr. Pierre is careful with his tracks." Marie reported solemnly.
"Yes, he is very cautious. If not, this would already have been expose." Dana sighed in frustration as she inspected the photos to look for clues. besides her, Hanna looked at the photo of the unknown party with a hint of curiosity.
"This man... he is familiar to me. I felt I've seen him before." Hearing that, Dana stood up and went towards Hanna.
"Are you sure? when? where? Is he an acquaintance of yours?"
"No. but I've seen him somewhere… wait, let me recall." Hanna pondered for a while before recalling.
"It's him. The managing director of Nexus Pharmaceutical." Hanna stated which shocked the two in the office.
"Are you sure of that information?" Dana probed while handing the photo to Hanna for confirmation.
"Yes, madam. The reason why he is so familiar is because when I looked up at the personnel overseeing the deal, this person was in the photo of the first contract assembly team. He was handshaking with our Vice President." Hanna explained.
Dana sat down in her chair frustratedly as she pieced all the information. The web of lies and deception at play is now clear to her. Who was who, who did what and all.
"Marie, can you gather evidence about what documents were handed to the director, and all footage proving these accusations?" Dana ordered Marie as soon as she had an idea.
"Yes, Madam. Right away." Marie left for a while and went back, bringing a laptop in her hand. She sat down on the sofa and started working.
"Hanna, can you bring me all related documents to this deal? Be discreet when you ask the Managing department for the documents. Knowing that we are investigating the case, they might withhold some information due to Jacques' influence. Ask your men to investigate where they've put the real documents and have them copy it all." Dana instructed Hanna while she contacted someone on her computer. After a while, Selena, entered the room with a bunch of documents.
"Madam, here are the documents you requested." Selena put down the folders in the table and she sorted them out based on their value. Dana nodded to her and looked at Marie.
"Marie, can your team gather evidence of Pierre's illegal doings and embezzlements throughout the years he's been an executive? Make sure to not leave any details. I need it immediately."
"Selena, give me Pierre's schedule for this week."
"Hanna, after you finish my other tasks, please send a report to my father about his situation. And tell him, I'm taking care of it. Please, make sure he doesn't do anything."
"Yes, madam."
Dana sighed in exhaustion as she carefully formulated her plan. She contacted someone on her computer and gave out a bunch of instructions. For a while, the people were busy doing their thing. Neither one of them talked throughout the duration.
"Madam, based on Mr. Pierre's schedule, there is a due transaction today with the managing director from Nexus. They are going to meet at Rue du Connétable at Chantilly. it is a popular street near the château with shops and cafes. I guess they are using the tourist spots as a cover for their dealings." Selena reported.
"Tell the board except Jacques that we are having an emergency meeting later. Also, contact Miller to send some backups to the location. I'm going myself. The three of you, facilitate the company and do all of the tasks I've left you. Send me details. I'll leave my GPS open for you to track me down. Got it?" Dana hurriedly put on her coat, and grabbed her keys and phone.
"Madam, it's too dangerous for you to go alone. Why don't you wait for the backup before going?" Marie persuaded Dana as they walked to the elevator.
"We have no time. The acquisition is tomorrow at noon. This is the last deal we have with Nexus. Don't worry about me. Just do as I say." Dana assured them before entering the lift alone.