I Don’t Trust That Woman

The fleet of cars gilded onto the main road, cutting through Rovencia's bustling morning traffic which was a sharp contrast to the thick silence inside the sleek black Rolls Royce in front of the motorcade.

When he sensed the atmosphere was right enough, Gideon cautiously tested the waters. "You think that woman has something to do with Elsa?"

Richard didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone and handed it over to Gideon who read the two anonymous messages that had been sent within the space of just two encounters with Shantel Hale. 

He had spent months trying to track down Elsa. And now, Shantel Hale—the one woman he would have least suspected—had appeared at the exact moment he was searching for Elsa?

Just when Gideon resigned himself to believing that he was all the answers he was going to get to his question, Richard's lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't trust that woman," he muttered.

Gideon smirked slightly. "That makes two of us," he lied blatantly. After all Shantel had never targeted him, not that he would have minded, anyways. But he needed to give his boss some moral support. He could tell that Shantel Hale had thrown him off balance by her daunting actions today. 

Who in the whole of Rovencia has the gut to pull that kind of stunt on his boss? It can only take someone as daring as The Seventh Daughter of Jezebel to do so. Poor Mr Domango.

He could roughly guess that the days ahead were going to be packed full with enough intrigues and dramas to spice up his regimental life and he couldn't wait for it to start. 

Unaware that he has become a charity case in his assistant's mind, Richard continued, "Find out what she's up to. If she has anything at all to do with Elsa, I want to know everything."

As usual, Gideon nodded in agreement. "I'll start digging right away."

He tapped quickly into his tablet, pulling up every file available on Shantel Hale.

Sure enough, there wasn't much or anything new to uncover. The woman was practically a walking enigma shrouded in her own secrets.

He reported his findings which he'd already envisaged to his boss who instantly became lost in thoughts.

Why is there nothing about her apart from the obvious. Surely the information about her shouldn't be that shallow, considering how robust her lifestyle is.

There must be something she's hiding away and whoever is helping her is damn good at his job, because even Jack, the second best hacker, could not dig up anything about her. 

She was almost like the mysterious personality—- Elsa that he's been trying to get for over a month now. Nobody knows anything about her too. 

If not for her name, nobody would be able to tell if she was a woman or man. But then again, one can't really say she was a woman. Elsa could be a psodonym... an alias had been floating around corporate circles for years. 

She was known to be a phantom strategist—one who only worked with the most powerful and only through intermediaries, never revealing her true self. No one had ever seen her and no one knew her real name.

And yet…

A dangerous thought settled in Richard's mind.

No way. It wasn't possible. Shantel Hale and Elsa cannot have anything in common. The very idea sent an uneasy chill down his spine.

No, it can't be. Shantel Hale was just up to her many tricks of playing with men just to draw his attention like her mother and sisters had done to several unsuspecting and gullible men in the past. 

Unfortunately, she chose the wrong candidate. He was not someone who can be swayed by such ridiculous acts… not even now when he needs to focus and get help for his company.

Gideon turned slightly while clearing his throat to attract his boss's attention. "Boss," he started carefully, "if you're looking for new information, I doubt there's anything that isn't already public knowledge." 

Then he went on to report about a piece of information he'd seen in his search just now. "But there's going to be an event tonight at Three star… I gathered that Shantel Hale will be there… The Hale Foundation is hosting their annual gala…"

"Isn't that the one hosted by that woman?"

"Yes, boss," Gideon answered casually, ensuring that the excitement was well masked from his voice.

Richard's sharp gaze flickered to him, "Forget about it. I'm not cut out for such lousy events. Let's focus on the main mission."

Gideon breathed a sigh of relief. It was better to focus on important things even though he'd have loved to see the legendary seventh daughter of Jezebel one more time. 

She was too intriguing to forget. Perhaps, he was just not lucky, maybe another opportunity will present itself in the nearest future, he consoled himself. 

But who would have thought that the next minute, his boss would go back on his word.

"Book a private room for me at Three Star."

"Boss???"

"Is something wrong with your hearing?"

"I mean… the booking… what's the duration of your…" Gideon quickly changed his words. 

Wasn't he the one that just expressed his disgust about the event? His boss was becoming quite unpredictable these days. 

"The entire night," Richard ordered and leaned back against the leather seat, fingers tapping against the armrest. "I have a meeting with Mr Courtney."

"Mr Courttney…? when…did…?" Gideon spluttered before realizing it. 

How come as his personal assistant, who was in charge of arranging all his meetings, he had no idea that the venue of the meeting with Mr Courtney had been changed to Three Star Hotels? Wasn't the meeting initially scheduled to be held at Domango Enterprise later this evening?

"Stop acting like a confused housewife and make the arrangements," Richard rebuked coldly as if the problem was with Gideon.

"Right away, boss." Gideon wiped a non existent sweat from his forehead and bent down over his laptop. 

He couldn't help but bemoan his fate as he realized he was now in the same category as a housewife… a confused one at that. 'God save my soul!' he prayed silently.