Conrad stared at the purple envelope that Ricky handed him not sure what to make of it. "This was in this morning's mail and there is no video of who put it in there?"
Even Ricky's new look that got a number of comments from the staff that saw her, couldn't take his eye off the envelope.
"Correct Sir. I normally don't bother you with personal mail, but this looks like your mother's handwriting and there is no postage."
It was. It even slightly smelled like his mother's perfume. After staring at the one word Conrad for a few minutes he finally opened it. It was his mother's stationary.
Dear Conrad,
If you are reading this, then I am no longer able to communicate with you. Either I am no longer alive or too sick to speak. I have given this letter to a girl I want you to meet. I would not have forced you to marry anyone even if I was alive, so I could hardly do it now. However, I do believe that you should give her a chance. If you have already married, then at least send someone else to let her know. The day you find this in your mail is the day she will be waiting for you at seven in the evening in the lobby of the only hotel our corporation owns in your hometown to this date. She will be wearing green clothing and dark sunglasses. If for some reason you cannot make it tonight, she will be there the next two nights. After that she will pursue other avenues. Trust me Conrad, you have my good instincts and I think she is the one for you. No matter what you decide please treat her well. Love you always, Mom
Conrad sat still rereading the letter. His mind was a whirl. This was the first time in his life that he felt like hating his mother. When he finally looked up he remembered that Ricky had handed him the letter. He wasn't going to make her get up again. As it was he could see how strained she was with getting so much done for the upcoming meeting and leaving lunchtime. He stood by her desk for a minute until she looked up.
"Oh, sorry. Is everything okay, Sir?"
Conrad didn't respond he just put the letter on her desk. He watched her read it once and nervously read it again. "Go sir, I am fine. And it's okay if you marry her."
"No Ricky. It is true that I have to do this for my Mom. I am going to meet her and tell her that she has to take her place in line. I will tell her that I have a serious relationship going on and I am not ready to date her. I will free her from waiting for me and hope that she can be a good friend. It just means that we will have to postpone our date one night."
"Thank you, sir. Do you mind if I take the afternoon off today anyway? This way I can take less time tomorrow."
"No problem. But please stay for lunch."
"Why, sir?"
"So I get to have very vivid memories implanted in my head before I meet this girl."
"How about a quick lunch, sir, because I already have an appointment scheduled for something to wear?"
"Ok. Please decide what you want to eat and get the same for me. Better yet. Let's have lunch early so that you can leave when you planned."
"That is very thoughtful of you, sir."
"You know, I really wonder if I will ever have a full blown conversation with you without hearing Sir."
"Sorry if I missed it, sir."
"I give up," Conrad said throwing his arms up in frustration, but smiling at her to let her know he wasn't angry.
She just smiled back. She was finally showing personal warmth again!
Conrad showered and changed in the office. He already had hacked into the video cameras at the hotel, so he knew he would have no problem while he waited in his car at 6:30. He wanted to see who she was before he walked in. For all he knew this was a total fake. He was mainly watching the entrance, but realized that she might have a room, so he kept his eye intermittently on the camera leading into the lobby from the hotel rooms.
It was the people in the lobby that alerted him that he was watching the wrong places. He saw a few men jump from their seats or just stand at attention looking at what he knew to be a reserved entrance.
"She must be using the Penthouse Suite," he thought, as he switched to the camera that focused there.
"Oh my gosh," he gasped.
She was gliding across the floor effortlessly in a green dress that would never work for a fashion show. It was too modest but stylish, yet looked so good on her. He two inch green heels matched perfectly. Her long blond hair had gentle curls cascading over her left shoulder. He face was hard to see, but he zoomed in to a flashing smile and well defined facial features.
He felt the jealousy course through him as the men began to converge. He was about to run in when he watched her stop and simply wave everyone away. Not a word was said, nor did she use her eyes which were covered by a pair of stylish sunglasses. It wasn't even a condescending gesture. There was only one way to describe her and her manner that she carried herself.
Regal! A Queen!
It was one minute to seven. He exited the car with a heavy heart.
By the time he entered the lobby she was already seated not far from the exclusive entrance. He had to cross almost the entire lobby to get to her. By now the men understood why they were waved away and they kept their distance. He wasn't sure if he should sit near her or offer to take her to dinner, but she saved him from that. He was still ten feet away when she stood up and nodded to him.
"Hello beautiful," he said. "It is so nice to meet you, but I have to be honest."
She remained silent and waited expectantly.
"I am currently at the beginning of a relationship with someone and as much as I trust my mother's judgment, I must be fair to the girl I am seeing. If things do not work out, I would love to see if you are still available. I am curious though who you are and how you met my mother. Can we say this will be the beginning of a friendship?"
She nodded and took his hand leading him through the entrance that she had come. They walked quietly into the elevator, which she supplied the key for, that would only go to the Penthouse.
"Who is covering the cost of the Penthouse usage?"
She put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. It was then that Conrad realized that she barely wore makeup on her perfect face and that even from the side view he could not see her eyes. The sunglasses really covered them well. "Did she have a medical condition?"
She led him in and seated him at the dining room table where a chicken salad waited for them across from each other.
"Please excuse me, but I really need to know who you are before we start eating."
She nodded and opened a notebook. Turning it to face him Conrad read, "You have twenty yes or no questions to figure out who I am. After that I will tell you anyway, but I want you to try."
"You wrote the papers that are on the cookbooks detailing which foods I like! It is the same handwriting."
She looked shocked but recovered and nodded while writing
1. I did write the cookbook front covers.
She looked at him as if waiting for the next question.
"That wasn't really a question," he growled, "but I take it like a big boy. Is there something wrong with your eyes and voice?"
2. I speak and have no issues with my eyes, except that they need to be quiet and covered for now.
"Have I known you in the past five years?"
3. We do know each other for some time.
"On a personal or business level?"
She turned to the back of the notebook and wrote Yes or no questions.
"Alright, one a business level?"
4. Yes
Conrad stared at her. She didn't look like anyone he knew yet he didn't feel like she was lying.
"Did you meet my parents in this town?"
5. I got to know your parents in this area, by accident.
"Did you grow up in this area?"
6. Yes, I grew up within this greater area.
"Do you have a college degree?"
7. I have a college degree.
"Do you work in this area?"
8. I work in this city.
"What do you do?"
She flashed her perfectly straight white teeth and shook her head. "Nice try," she wrote in the back again.
All of a sudden Conrad had a crazy hunch. The more he thought about it the more absurd he felt about it. "It can't be," he thought, "but I might as well rule it out."
"Do you mind standing up for a moment and letting me walk around you."
She stood and Conrad slowly circled her.
When they sat back down he said, "I just wanted to rule something out and I just did."
She just flashed that full smile of perfect teeth again.
"Do you know a lot about me?"
9. Yes, I know a lot about you.
"Do I know a lot about you?"
10. You know a moderate amount but not nearly as much as there is to know.
"Are your parents alive?"
11. Thank the one above, yes my parents are alive.
"Is green your favorite color?"
12. Light Green is my favorite.
"Do you work for someone?"
13. I do not own my own business.
"You seem to be grasping at straws now," she wrote in the back.
"I am. I'm confused. You know me and I should know you, but I haven't the foggiest idea. You know, I lost my memory of two years of my life."
"But you got that back," she wrote, "didn't you."
"So you know that I got it back, yet that has not been publicized. Still doesn't help me though."
Conrad sat still for the next five minutes with his eyes closed. Who knows that I got my memory back? She does not have the build to be Sue and any girls that he met working in the security teams he recently interacted with didn't open up to him to know them even moderately well. Besides she worked and lived in town. He searched his memory for friends of his parents and their kids, but couldn't come up with anything.
"Did you always have blond hair?"
14. Yes, my hair has always been blond.
Conrad decided to take a stab in the dark, but it did make sense. "Do you work for the Daji Corp. in some way?"
He could see that it rattled her.
15. I do work for the Daji Corp.
"Is this job in the upper levels of the business?"
16. I work in the upper levels of the company that I work for.
"You seem pretty young to be in the upper levels, yet it makes sense that my mother would have secured that for you. The question is which company and what position?"
She just smiled.
"I have four questions left and the only thing that I can think is what my instinct is telling me. Yet when I walked around you I rule out my instinct. I am going to risk one question based on my instinct. If I am correct, then I will not need any more questions. If I am incorrect I have three more questions to try to make something out of it."
She waited.
"If I were to remove your sunglasses, I would see the same color as your clothing with some added sparkle, correct?"