Chapter 4: The Interview

The limo pulled up in front of the restaurant and Alice looked out of the window somewhat confused. "I don’t know this place," she exclaimed.

"Well actually, I’ve been coming here for many years and I am very good friends with the owner," said Oliver as he moved up to look at the restaurant through the window beside her.

"I didn't know you visited New York that often," said Alice.

"Well, my business takes me all over the world, but wherever I go, I always find myself coming back to New York to breathe in the city. But hey, let's eat," said Oliver with a warm smile.

Alice reached for the door to open it when Oliver stopped her.

"Wait!"

Oliver jumped out of his side of the limo and rushed over to open the door for Alice.

"Well that was a little unexpected," said Alice. "Don’t you billionaire types let your drivers do this sort of thing?" Oliver giggled. "Yes we do, but I couldn’t give Trevor this honor."

Oliver put his hand out and helped Alice out of the limo and the two made their way inside. When they got into the restaurant, Alice realized that the place was actually much nicer than she expected, judging from how it looked from the outside and the area that it was in. the lighting was bright and the theme of the restaurant looked like a mixture of Greek and Italian, but weirdly enough, the look worked.

When they walked through the door, they were greeted by the hostess, asking them if they had made a reservation. Oliver shook his head and Alice, feeling a bit embarrassed by how full the restaurant was, didn’t think they were going to get a table.

"Let’s just go somewhere else," said Alice. "I’m sure you can’t just slip this hostess some money and magically get a table."

"Wait, is that a thing? Can I do that?" Asked Oliver.

"No you can’t," Alice laughed.

As the two stood in front by the check in, the owner Tom Reed, noticed Oliver and came over to the check in.

"Oliver, is that you?" Asked Tom.

"Yes Tom, it’s me," said Oliver as he embraced Tom.

"You still look exactly the same since I last saw you. I on the other hand have gotten old and I can't seem to get this kink out of my back," said Tom. "But who is this with you?"

Tom turned to face Alice but as soon he looked at her, his eyes filled with tears.

"Good evening," said Alice with a warm smile.

"Good evening," said Tom while trying to hide his emotions. "It’s very nice to meet you."

Tom signaled to the hostess that he would sort out their seating and led Oliver and Alice to a table with a reserved sign on it at the back of the restaurant.

"Here we are," said Tom. "I will go and get everything prepared."

"Thank you," said Oliver, And Tom walked to the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Asked Alice. "Why did he get so emotional when he saw me?"

"Maybe he thought you were someone else? Who knows," Oliver laughed.

Tom returned with a bottle of red wine and placed it on the table.

"Your meals are almost complete."

"But we haven’t even ordered," Alice called out, but Tom had already left for the kitchen again not hearing her at all.

Oliver poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Alice. "I hope you like it," said Oliver.

Alice took a sip of the wine, and surely enough, she did. The wine was great.

"So tell me more about yourself," said Oliver as he sipped his wine.

"Well there’s not much to say. I’ve lived in Queens my entire life. Busted my a*s off to get a college scholarship, and now, I'm trying to make a name for myself at my magazine."

"How about family?" Asked Oliver.

"My father walked out on me and my mother when I was still just a child. For a long time I blamed myself for being born, thinking that I was the reason he had left. Turns out, he was just an a*s hole that couldn’t care less. But hey, you aren’t here to interview me, I’m here to interview you."

"Yes, yes I apologize, I just wanted to get to know the person who was interviewing me as well. But okay, what would you like to know?"

"Well for starters, how did you make your money?"

"I made my money acquiring property around the world, but if I have to be perfectly honest, most of it is old money."

"So you inherited it?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Okay, and what about the fundraiser?"

"What about it?" Asked Oliver.

"Well, up until a few days ago, no one knew who you were, but somehow you just popped onto the scene with that outrageous donation. I understand the feeling of wanting to help those less fortunate than us, but what made you donate the money out of the blue? Was it just for media attention?"

Oliver leaned back into his chair, looking as if he was trying to gather his thoughts while rubbing the bottom of his chin.

"Would you believe me if I told you I made that big donation just to get your attention?" Asked Oliver.

Alice looked at him confused. "No, no I wouldn't," she replied.

Oliver laughed. "I’m only joking," he said. "I have made all this money over all these years and I have travelled the entire world countless times, and all that it taught me was, money isn’t everything. Money can’t buy happiness and it cannot bring back the dead, or break curses."

"What do you mean? Did you lose someone important to you?"

"Yes, many years ago. And ever since then, my life has never been the same."

The two continued to speak about Oliver’s past until they were interrupted by Tom who had brought their food.

"The steak for you as always, Mr Page and for the lady, the pasta. Please, enjoy."

Oliver thanked Tom and the two started their meal.

"How is the food?" Asked Oliver.

"I don’t know," said Alice. "It’s great, but there’s something else about it that I can’t figure out. Why does it taste so familiar?"

Oliver smiled on as he watched Alice enjoy her meal.

After the meal was done, the two continued their conversation while ordering another bottle of wine.

"Tell me about your travels, said Alice. "I have never left New York, so tell me, what’s out there that I won’t be able to find in a magazine."

"The world can be a big or small place depending on the lense you look at it with," Oliver started. "My travels have taken me to many places you wouldn’t be able to find in a book, or maybe you could find it in a book but the book has been lost to history."

"What type of places?" Asked Alice, sounding very interested. "Do you mean Atlantis?" She joked.

"No, no," Oliver laughed. "But these places do have rich histories that speak about ancient civilizations that weren’t exactly human. For example, the hieroglyphics within the pyramids in ancient Egypt and the Aztec temples in South America, both have imagery of beings with reptilian heads and the bodies of men and women. It is said that in ancient times, people would give offerings to these beings in the form of food and sometimes, even offer up the lives of their children. They feared that these beings would take everything from them, like vampires who suck the nutrients from the very earth under their feet, cursing them to a life of hardship and torment."

"So, what do you believe?" Asked Alice.

"I believe there are many things in this life that we have yet to figure out. I am not someone who rules out the possibility of the impossible."

Alice looked at Oliver, not being able to put her finger on it, but there was something about him that she found alluring and different. It wasn't her instincts as a journalist that made her want to know more, but her curiosity as a woman.