Zora walked the many steps leading to the glass door entrance of Black Gold Industries. She was angry. As she pushed the door open and walked to the receptionist, she thinned her lips and made a face that looked as though she was ready to hold a gun and blast a bullet into the pale, ghost-white receptionist.

"Good day, Miss..." She looked at the tag on her shirt. "Rosalind." They said together.

"Yes, I have an appointment with Mr. Abbadon, the C.E.O. of this industry. I've had it for days now, several days, but they all got canceled at the nick of time. May I see him now?"

"Just hold on and let me confirm." She took the landline up and dialed. "Yes, it's...your name again?"

"Zora. Zora Beaumont from Avalon's Daily."

Rosalind repeated the name to the receiver. "She's here to do the interview with Mr. Abbadon for the billionaire's journals."

"Alright, Miss Beaumont, would you like to sit and wait?"

"For how long then?"

"I really can't say. Mr. Darcel is a very busy man with upcoming and incoming meetings and chores that cannot be postponed or attended to later, flying around. I'm sure you can try to understand this, Miss Beaumont. "

"Yes, I will try to for only 15 minutes. Thereafter, I will release a full page dedicated to the insensitive, rich piece of scum sitting his arrogant self on quite a comfortable seat, somewhere in this building, rejecting the entire city of Avalon, because he's too hot for them and for a simple 10 minutes interview!!" She scolded the last part so boldly that the securities at the entrance began moving towards her.

"Wow, thank you, Miss." Rosalind said, unhinged. She was used to this. And Beaumont went to sit quietly.

As she sat down, she realized the anger that had been building up in her temporarily subsided. She looked around the glass Storey. The officers, the business of the place, the esthetics and design. It was top-notch. The cameras.

The cameras. Her eyes stopped at this particular one that just seemed to be looking at her. The tiny red light beeping on it like pupils peering at her. What if there was a pair of eyes behind this eye? The thought of it sickened her, and she smirked with obvious irritation at the camera, shaking her head before she looked away. In less than 10 seconds later, Rosalind picked up the receptionist's cell, nodded to the receiver like an obedient little servant, and looked towards Zara.

"Miss Beaumont, he will see you now."

As soon as Rosalind gave the signal with a nod to a certain corner of the room, two men in neat black suits emerged and walked beside her on each side towards the elevator. “They will escort you, ma’am.”

"Ugh," she thought, rolling her eyes.

The office was a masterclass in understated luxury, with every detail meticulously curated to exude power and sophistication. The walls, painted a deep, rich black, seemed to absorb the light, creating an intimate and exclusive ambiance. The floor, made of polished dark wood, gleamed like a still pond, reflecting the subtle sheen of the leather-bound furniture.

Behind the imposing desk, a stunning vista of the city skyline unfolded—a breathtaking panorama that seemed to stretch on forever. The desk itself, a majestic slab of polished ebony, dominated the room, its surface adorned with a few carefully chosen objets d'art.

Every aspect of this office, from the precision of the floors to the desk to the exquisite artwork on the walls, indeed inspired awe and demanded gratification. And yet, despite the overwhelming sense of opulence, the room felt strangely intimate, as if it had been carefully tailored to meet the needs of its occupant, a man who clearly valued precision, elegance, and power. A man with too much pride. She thought.

Towards the opposite end from where she was standing, a sleek, silver computer sat poised on the ebony desk and a man behind it

From his sitting position, his body structure looked perfect; even his eyes and fingers were fixed on his laptop for the first 20 seconds after Sheen walked in. When he was done typing or so, he looked up, first at the security officers beside her, signaling to leave, and as they did, he turned himself to her and shut the laptop.

“May I?” Zora asked politely as she walked towards the desk, gesturing to the seats.

Adham had a low chuckle before standing up. “No,” he said curtly, before extending a hand to shake her. Which she took. “Hello, Zora.”

He didn’t smile. But his voice was indeed bold and daring, and the way he called her name? Refreshing. The room was darkly lit, but she could see every bit of him as though the room was full of light. And she refused to tear her eyes away from the beautiful sight she beheld. He was handsome. So handsome that he was beyond handsome. She could not help but just admire his structure, his height, the thickness of his body, and the way he softly took his hand out of the handshake, which she refused to let go of.

“You know me,” Zora said.

He chuckled a bit. “I know your name.”

Zora heaved inside. Was that sarcasm?

He gestured towards the two coffee-brown leather armchairs at the center of the room. “You may sit; I will be right with you.”

Zora nodded. “Thank you. The people of this city want to know who you are, Mr. Abbadon. I’m just a means to this end." She reached the armchairs, choosing the one that directly faced the desk and the view of the skyline, draped by a thin reflection of the curtain. It seemed to be the only source of light in the room, and she fought within herself the urge to give a 360-degree look at this place one more time.

“That so?” he chuckled lightly. He took two upturned wine glasses from a tray, took some ice cubes from the freezer, and sorted them into the glasses before pouring some wine Zora didn’t recognize in the glasses, half filling them.

“Thanks, again,” Zora said, suddenly feeling shy and immediately banning such feelings deep within a prison inside of her. No. She was not that girl. She was not that typical.

“I’m a reporter and journalist with Avalon’s Daily Newspaper & Productions. You know why I’m here. You know why I’ve been ringing this company’s desk for the past four weeks.”

“Apologies,” he chuckled. “The past month was a very crucial one for me and mine. Business always comes first; I hope you do not take it personally.”

“Hmm,” Zora dodged, noticing the little smirk on his face as he sipped his wine, just after her.

“Shall we begin, then?” Zora locked eyes with him for a minute and noticed how not just breathtakingly beautiful, but how familiar he was. Like she had seen this face before. Had she though? In Avalon? Or where?

She set the glass on the glass stool in the center and took out her recorder, which he nodded to.

“Thank you for finally agreeing to this meeting, Mr. Abbadon.” Zora emphasized the ‘finally’, and the C.E.O. simply raised an eyebrow. No matter how much she tried to behave herself, he could still see through it all. Indeed, she was a troublemaker.

"Please, Darcel. I am called Darcel.”

“Alright, Mr. Darcel, forgive me. Your company has been at the forefront of the energy sector for decades in this city. We may practically say we are grateful to you. What drives your vision for Black Gold Industries?"

"Ah, it's quite simple, really. I believe that energy is the lifeblood of human progress. And I'm not just talking about oil and gas. I'm talking about the future of energy—sustainable, renewable, and limitless.” He replies confidently, leaning back in his chair, a hint of something like amusement playing on his expression.

“That's bold vision. But how do you plan to achieve this, since you think you haven’t already? Your company has been criticized for its environmental record.”

There was no hint of him being tense or disturbed. He adjusted himself and circled his right thumb with his right forefinger. It was attractive. Zora noticed, but she was now distracted by the hind thought that she had actually never met this man before, save for updates from the television, but he looked so familiar. Like their paths had crossed somehow.

“Hmm. We are not just drillers and extractors of oil and whatnot, we are builders, innovators. We invest heavily in renewable energy sources, from solar to wind, to hydro. Avalon city might not be as big as a country, but it has been blessed and endowed with enough to make us an independent nation. And we are developing some cutting-edge technologies to reduce our carbon footprint on the atmosphere of this place.” His fingers were still playing. And his auburn hair sitting still and pretty, yet glistening on his head.

“Impressive, Mr. Darcel.”

“Indeed. Criticism is the foundation of all learning. We thrive on it, to make us better.”

Zora nodded. “I see. What about the criticism your company presently faces, over land acquisition from the community members?"

“Plans have been drawn out to engage with local stakeholders to ensure fair compensation and benefits. Our presence is important, it creates jobs, elevates the economy, and keeps the population happy. These people will suffer nothing, I promise.” Darcel said.

He was so reassuring. Honest even, she could tell.

“Very well. I must say, coming from a business executive, a promise is not much for us—"

“—I’m different.”

“Indeed. You’ve kept your word over the years so far. I watch you on TV.”

He simply nodded.

“So, what's next for Black Gold Industries? I hear some big, global plans, dare I say, are in the works. ”

“Well,” Darcel adjusted again and smirked a little. “That’s not exactly for public ears right now, but there are plans set in place for something new.”

He was getting bored. She didn’t know why she felt that, but she could tell. She stared at him for a few seconds and he started back. His eyes never wavered. His eyes….

“Thank you, Mr. Darcel,” she said swiftly. And switched off the recorder. There was something about being here. In this office, with this man. The aura was invasive and intruding. Compelling even. Drawing. She was drawn to it as well and that realization is what made her snap. She stood up now.

“Your wine…” Darcel said, and as she proceeded to gulp down the rest of it. She remembered. She remembered where she had seen him.

“I saw you there…” She started.

“what?”

“You heard me. I saw you there. At the crime scene.”

Suddenly, an interest she had never recognized since she'd set eyes on him today popped into his face, and his eyes glinted with a lot of intensity. It was only for a moment though, as he seemed to have now regained control of his expression.

In his head, he had control and his brain was now processing damage control plans. He liked her, this beautiful woman, but oh, she looked like bad news.