Ten minutes later, Jake was shuffling through the stairs that led to his office, grappling with paperwork in his hand. It happened quickly. He'd barely had time to stop himself.
He crashed head-on into somebody and all the paperwork he'd been carrying fell to the ground. Jake was quick to recognize the perfume of the person he had collided with. Only one person used that perfume around here.
He looked up at once, embarrassed. "I__I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"
Elsa Winthrop was the queen around here. As if being related to the legendary Vanessa Winthrop was not enough, she was at the peak of her career as a reporter, beautiful and elegant, the perfect picture of what the modern-day woman represented.
He watched her straighten her dress, a well-woven Italian suit that looked like it had just been shipped from Dolce. She had a small frown on her face.
"You're late again, Jake. I would love to hear all about the terrible traffic on the road and how you literally had to perform some magic trick to arrive here at last but trust me, I don't have the time for that today."
Jake did not know how to respond to that.
"Pack this up and meet me in my office," Elsa Winthrop said quickly and walked away.
Jake nodded and waited for her to wander off before he bent lower and continued to pick up the pieces of paper that were scattered on the stairs.
Once in his office, he dumped the paperwork in a mess on his table and hurried off to Elsa's office. They still had a meeting to prepare for.
He knocked on her door twice and opened it. She was on a call when he entered. So, he took a seat and waited for her to finish with the call.
As he waited, watching her soft features and listening to her sonorous voice as she spoke into the phone, his mind wandered off to the first day he had met Elsa.
She'd come to pay a curtsy visit to the boss from another media house. As he later heard, she had succeeded in making corrections about stuffs around the media house and at the end of the curtsy, the boss had bought her over into The Century media house.
A few weeks later, she resigned from her former job and joined The Century media house. It was a welcome development at the time but now, Jake was no longer sure.
Like her sister, Vanessa, Elsa was the epitome of beauty. With an almond-shaped face and flawless tanned skin that glowed perfectly in the light of summer, Jake felt she belonged with Hollywood and not some damned media house.
After what seemed like an eternity, Elsa finally took the phone from her ears and dropped it on her table. She turned to face him, a forlorn look in her eyes.
"Tell me, Jake. Is there anything I should know about Vlad Kedderick? Any topics I shouldn't talk about or any sensitive information I should avoid during the interview?"
Jake thought for a moment. "I have not had the privilege of meeting him in person but from what I hear about him, I think you should be careful. He can be a handful."
"A handful?" Elsa repeated. She sounded doubtful. "Yet, he agreed to an interview with us. Doesn't that tell you something?"
Jake gave a small shrug. "What?"
"I think he's actually looking forward to this interview and for all I know, it could potentially bring us more good than him." Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "Think about it. We're interviewing one of the most famous faces in the city. That has got to count for something."
Jake looked uncertain. "Well, I don't know for sure, Elsa. I just want you to be careful. Vlad is not the kind of man to do stuff just because he wants to. I believe he agreed to this interview for a reason. We don't know what that reason is yet but I have the conviction in my guts that we're going to find out soon."
Elsa opened her mouth to say something but she never got through with it. There was a sharp knock on the door after which it creaked open slowly.
Peter Randolph poked his face inside and made an announcement.
"The guest for the interview at 11 am. Is here."
Elsa heaved a deep sigh and rose to her feet at once. She smiled slowly at Jake and said in a flat voice. "It's time."
"Good luck, Elsa," Jake said dryly.
*****
Vlad Kedderick was an erudite-looking man in his late fifties, although if one was being honest, he was much older than that but looked younger by the day, thanks to the vampire blood flowing through his veins.
With a wife that could easily pass for his daughter due to her equally young look and more money than he knew what to do with, Vlad was the kind of man that other man envied.
But looks were not the only thing that Vlad prided himself with. Every year, he took a trip to the Tinus corporation and upgraded his grey matter to the latest software available. That made him very smart, smarter than most men.
A few weeks back when he received a call from The Century media house asking for an interview with him, Vlad had been ready to say no.
But after careful consideration, he had finally begun to see the opportunity that was being handed down to him and he'd decided to use it to his advantage.
He was going to make a very important announcement today, an announcement that would shock many and pave the way for his ambitions in the future. There was no better place and time to make the announcement than at the interview today.
Vlad Kedderick had landed in his pod about ten minutes ago and had been ushered into the waiting room by the studio manager, an action he took a great offense in.
Five minutes into the wait and the famous reporter whom he was set to have an interview with arrived. Vlad's eyes lightened as they fell on her. She was even more beautiful in person.
"Good morning, Mr. Kedderick," Elsa greeted with a warm smile. "Thank you for honoring our invitation."
"The pleasure is mine," He said and returned the smile.
They did small talk in the waiting room together while they marked the time for it to reach five minutes to 11 am.