Hollywood Zenith

" Wait a minute, you are telling me that Samuel is Abel? That Abel!" Rosaline grabbed his shoulders and asked.

" You didn't know? I thought there were no secrets in relationships."

" Are you telling the truth? I mean, how is that possible? I still remember the first book was published in 2001. He would have been a child!" She increased her grip.

" Umm... I don't know what to tell you, but it is true. Also, you are hurting me."

" I am sorry. It just seems too- I was not thinking." She apologized.

" It's okay. Anya was the same when she found out about it. It was one of her favorite books, but she was shocked for days when she found out that her brother was the author. Here I wanted to show you this." He handed her a few pages.

" Oh, the original drawing! He must have them because he is the author!" She flipped through them. She had seen most of them before, but entirely discarded pieces were present there. She always admired the artist who could bring the characters to life through their exquisite design.

" That and because he drew them too. There is also a collection of unpublished artwork by my brother there. I tried to hang them up to give the room a personal touch." Grey went on and on about it, but all Rosaline heard was that Samuel drew them.

She wanted to scream her lungs out, but it was getting too tiring to be surprised anymore. This ordeal was getting hard, so she gathered her thoughts.

She spent most of her morning exploring the maze and learning more about Samuel. In the end, she had more questions than answers. Actor? Writer? Fighter? Painter? Businessman? She didn't know who he was.

How could someone be so open and mysterious at the same time? She understood she only knew the tip of the iceberg about him. As someone who cared about him, it was a very frustrating thing. She vowed to close that gap during this visit.

...

...

...

" Whew, nice shot, mate. I see you have improved your swing."

" You are saying it like I was bad at golfing. Who are we up against?" Charles asked. He was enjoying a relaxing afternoon at the country club with his friend.

" Those people at a distance. I have never seen them before, but from the looks of it, they look quite young to be here." His friend replied.

" Well, there are at Queenwood, so they must be important. It's a good opportunity to teach some youngsters. Hehe"

" What the hell was that swing!"

" Don't look at them; look at the ball, Hole in one? Was it luck?" Charles was surprised. He had been coming here for many years and hardly seen an ace.

" It seems like we are up against some tough competition."

It was an understatement as Samuel crushed them single-handedly with several more such shots. He could have performed several aces but controlled that urge to make it more believable.

"That was nice, kid. Are you a professional?" Charles asked while extending his hand for a handshake.

" No, I just dabble. Nice to meet you." Samuel took off his hat and took his hand. It was at that moment they realized who they were playing against. It was Samuel Rothschild, THE Samuel Rothschild.

" I am surprised to see Mr. Rothschild at this place." Charles was not wrong. They had their own golf courses; even if they came to public places, an outcry would signal their 'decent.'

" I also didn't know Lord Charles likes to visit this place."

" You know me?"

" Of course! This way, I must treat you to the special tea I procure. Steve, take care of the things here." Steve nodded and left the scene. It was then Charles' friend's phone rang too.

" I would love to. Tim, are you coming?"

" I am sorry. It seems urgent I have to take this." His friend left with a distressed look on his face.

" It looks like it's just you and me." Charles didn't know it yet, but everything was orchestrated by Samuel and his team. He called them out of their vacation but promised to make it up to them with small raise. They were more than happy to do it.

By the time they reached the private space, tea was already waiting for them. The whole room was filled with unique fragrances, but Charles noticed that there were only two seats. How did he know that Tim would not come with them? He felt something was amiss here.

" I heard the fifth Earl of Delteor was a tea enthusiast. Is it true?" Samuel's question took his mind off things.

" Da Hong Pao from China, but there is something different about it," Charles said after taking in some fragrant air.

" Correct. It's a blend of two different regions: Fujian and Wuyishan. With proper ratio, they work great together." Samuel informed.

" Is that so?" They took their seat, and Charles took a mouthful of hot tea. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the aftertaste with a small smile. He was not a big fan of blending as he believed it was immoral to do so. It would often destroy the original flavor.

" It's quite nice." He was impressed.

" Thank you. Why don't we have some entertainment with it?" Samuel took out the laptop and lifted the lid. Charles didn't know what was happening but felt terrible about it.

" That's unusual. Do you often carry around such a thing?" Charles asked.

" Just during business meetings. I felt I would need one today, so I asked my people to bring it here." Samuel was vague about it until the end.

" Business? Rothschild family had some proposal for us?" Charles was confused.

" It's more like an order. I hope you comply, or bad things will happen to you and your family." Samuel said with a smile, but it was a full-blown threat!

" What the hell are you talking about? Have you gone mad?" Charles stood up, trying to call someone.

" Sit down. Mr. Earl, why don't you look at this first? And I must tell you, yelling is futile." Samuel turned the laptop toward him and began to play a specific video.

" What? How? Where did you get this?" The horror in his eyes was like he saw a ghost. He slumped in the chair while fixing his eyes on the laptop's screen.