Undercover Royals

7: Night in neon armour

 He whorls me away from Mr. Garrison like a pro. Before I can thank him, he disappears and so has my former dance partner. Getting bored of this party, I take the elevator down, thankful for the lack of stairs. That would've been the one thing I would not have missed... those torturous fifty fights.

Just a minute, I almost jump out of the elevator when I realize who's at the back. Mr Garrison and lip gloss guy are huddled in the back corner of the elevator, amidst the crowds of people jam packed. Well, jam packed is not a suitable expression, they're just pressed onto me in their desire to lean away from the arguing pair.

"He's offering you five and a quarter million." Whispers lip gloss guy.

"I won't sell anything. He will never ever benefit from anything to do with me. He knows this; yet he persists." Scoffs Mr. Garrison, "Such is the mark of a stupid man."

"You know Michelangelo. I would hardly call him a stupid man."

"Mentally addled." Corrects Mr. Garrison.

"The past is in the past. We are sensible businessmen who don't mix private and personal lives." Continues lip gloss.

"Whoever said that I was a sensible businessman?" demands Mr Garrison.

Fortunately... or not, for the elevator inhabitants, they decide to leave. They both shove past everyone, and on his way out, neon shirt lip gloss guy grabs my hand and leads me out of the elevator. Mr Garrison is already striding towards the doorman. The man wisely opens the door without any sort of greeting and Mr Garrison marches out into the bustling streets.

"Twice in one night." I say, gazing up at him, "And I don't even know your name."

"Adam Hessle." He says, grinning at me.

"And Adam," I say, smirking at him, "You don't happen to know anything about the whereabouts of my lip gloss do you?"

"Of course not!" he says, feigning offence, "I certainly have no use for it. Besides, it's polluted with your spit!"

"I wouldn't exactly call that pollution." I say. I wonder if he'll spill on the details of Mr Garrison's dealings with his boss, "What were the two of you arguing about?" I query sweetly.

Giving me a knowing look, he glances around, "My boss wishes to purchase a marina in his possession, but he refuses to sell. We estimate that it will fall into bankruptcy soon, and we plan to repurpose it."

Marina. That must be the marina that the dolphin went missing from. He said he knew exactly who stole it... "Who is your employer?"

"Dr Michelangelo Lennox." He says, "We own the largest company in the world."

"I could've sworn that was Mr Garrison's title." I say, slightly snippily. I'm not defending him; I'm defending the honour of my place of work.

Adam's eyes lock onto the door and he stands taller. There's only one thing that can mean. I glance at the door and sure enough, in walks a man with a prim suit and stern look. Typical successful business man look, they never out-grow it. He glares at me then says to Adam, "The boss wants you to return to the company, there's a situation."

Looking as though he doesn't have a care in the world, Adam winks at me and says, "I certainly look forward to seeing you again." Then proceeds to stroll out the door like a ball of neon wonder. Why couldn't everyone be as happy as him? Or is he high? He certainly didn't look high.

Well, seeing as I'm all the way down here, I might as well go for a walk. I head in the direction Mr. Garrison went. If I'm lucky, I'll eavesdrop on some more juicy info about his business rivals. Otherwise, I'll just head down to the ice cream shop and order a toffee, fudge, caramel supreme. Never have ingested anything more delectable in my life.