64
"George, did you find out who the woman who wanted to meet me at the reception was?" Benny asked as soon as he was on the company lobby floor.
George was somewhat surprised to hear Benny's sudden question. The two of them walked hand in hand down the hallway from Benny's private office.
"Why did you suddenly ask and want to know about that, Mr. Benny?" asked George with a curious look in his eyes.
Benny had a thoughtful expression for a few moments. Actually, he also didn't know the reason why he felt so curious about it. Ever since the phone conversation with Robert, Benny had been feeling very disturbed and thinking over and over again about what Robert meant.
While in the middle of thinking about what Robert meant, Benny suddenly thought of the woman who wanted to come to see him. Benny felt that Robert's words in their phone conversation had something to do with the woman who came and wanted to see him.
"I haven't looked into it, Mr. Benny. I thought you didn't want to receive her because a moment ago you said you didn't want to meet people who didn't have any business with you," George replied with a guilty expression on his face.
Benny realized that George was feeling guilty towards him. Finally Benny just let out a slow and long sigh. He also did not mind if George had not found out about the woman who wanted to meet him.
"I really feel curious about who that woman is. I wanted to ignore it, but I got a call from Robert. You still remember Robert, right?" asked Benny who looked at George with a serious face.
George frowned for a moment, trying to remember what he had missed. Then George nodded his head because he had indeed gotten the story about Robert from Benny.
"I kind of got an implied threat from Robert. He said that I would face something that might be bigger than Bella's arrival. When he said that, I felt it was no coincidence that he called just after the woman you told me about came," Benny explained.
George thought for a moment to digest Benny's explanation.
"She also said something about me not being able to protect Asleena. Her words indirectly seemed to reveal that she was more capable of looking after Asleena." Benny continued his explanation. "From what he said, I knew that Robert had devised another plan to separate me from Asleena. His threats sounded quite serious."
"Why would he do such a thing?" asked George. "Since he called Mr. Benny, he has your number. Where did he get it?"
Benny snapped his fingers as he nodded in agreement. The look on his face was serious.
"I was thinking the same thing, George. There are a lot of things that I felt when I was talking on the phone with Robert. First, he said that I probably couldn't take good care of Asleena if something happened to her.
Secondly, he said that I would face something more than Bella's case yesterday. Then third, she suddenly told me about my ex-girlfriend, Bella. She read the case that happened to Bella and questioned how I could take care of Bella if I had unfinished business with another woman," Benny explained to George.
Throughout Benny's story, George just listened very seriously. George thought about everything Benny said at that moment.
"Meaning... because of those three things, Mr. Benny thinks the woman who came to see you is the woman who is related to Robert's words about facing something bigger?" guessed George after he was able to digest all of Benny's words.
Benny nodded his head, confirming what George had said.
"That's right. At first I didn't want to think too much about the woman who wanted to come see me. But somehow I felt more and more disturbed. It was as if her arrival was a manifestation of something I had to deal with. Robert said it was bigger because I also had to face Robert and that woman," Benny replied with a guessing expression.
George felt that what Benny was about to experience was very serious. The look on his face slowly began to imply worry at the thought of how the situation would turn out. George tried to look for positive possibilities, but all he could think of were bad ones.
"I feel that the situation you are about to face is likely to be a bad one, Mr. Benny," George expressed his thoughts.
Benny nodded again. "That's right. I feel that way too. I'm actually not too concerned about my condition. But what I'm worried about is Asleena. If it's true that the woman who wants to see me is something bigger that I have to deal with, it's possible that Asleena will be affected."
"I know how hard you tried to protect Miss Asleena yesterday," George replied with a troubled expression. He recalled Benny's hard work to help Asleena expose the Hudge Group's corporate traitor and also reveal Bella's invasion of privacy.
"So what do you want to do now, Mr. Benny?" George asked, continuing his conversation. He looked seriously at Benny.
Benny had no immediate answer at that time. Benny thought of various ways and solutions for a few moments in the middle of his silence. He really didn't know how to deal with what was about to happen.
"We'll check the CCTV first," Benny said. "Even though you've already checked, I actually installed an extra camera that no one knows about."
George was somewhat surprised to hear Benny's confession. Both his brows furrowed in confusion.
"I didn't know there was an extra camera near the reception desk, Mr. Benny," George replied.
Without replying with any words, Benny just gave a meaningful smile. Benny had indeed installed a small camera near the reception desk of the company lobby. He deliberately did that because he knew that the CCTV could be avoided because it was so vulnerable.
***
Benny was surprised to find out that the person who came to the reception desk was Bella. The footage of the small camera Benny had set up pointing at the people in front of the reception desk had just been witnessed by Benny, George, and also the two male receptionists.
Benny was somewhat surprised to see Bella's face clearly displayed on the camera. Throughout her conversation with the receptionist, Bella repeatedly looked alertly around her. I don't know what she was planning at that moment.
Not only was he confused by Bella's arrival, Benny also did not expect her to have the courage to come again after the case that happened to her a few months ago.
Instantly Benny could only stare at the laptop screen that displayed a loop of video surveillance footage. Benny couldn't say anything because his brain was thinking of possible reasons why Bella suddenly came again.
"Mr. Benny..." George called softly, realizing Benny was in shock. "Are you okay?" he asked reassuringly.
Benny nodded his head, then let out a long breath as his shoulders slumped limply. His heart sank. He had been worried from the moment he saw Bella's face appear on the surveillance footage.
"Yeah, I was just really surprised. What did Bella want that she came back and wanted to see me?" Benny asked with a bemused expression on his face.
George grimaced slightly, both wary and sorry for Benny. His boss had faced many problems including internal company problems. Also, George knew how relieved Benny was that the Bukit Beach Housing development project could finally be realized.
"Bella might have wanted to say goodbye to you, Mr. Benny. But she feels reluctant and uncomfortable, that's why she wants to meet you in person," replied George trying to calm him down.
"Where's he going, George?" asked Benny, turning his worried eyes to George. The look on his face was that he was fed up of facing the same thing again.
George bit his lower lip. It was as if he was pressed into a situation of having to answer Benny's question or refrain from saying anything.
"He won't just leave until he gets what he wants. I know her character very well," Benny replied with a heavy sigh.
George also fell silent. The situation between them had become rather unpleasant. With a serious look on his face, George said to Benny, "Would you like to meet Bella, Mr. Benny? If you comply with her request to meet you, you must ensure that nothing further will happen after your meeting."
Benny didn't answer yet. He saw that the two receptionists had finished tidying up the memory cards of the surveillance camera footage. They were waiting to see what he would say.
"You two can get back to work. Thank you for your help," Benny said to the two receptionists.
The two receptionists nodded, then bowed their heads slightly. They signaled Benny goodbye before walking away.
Benny immediately looked at George very seriously.
"I don't want to see Bella just yet. The important thing now is that I know who the woman who insisted on seeing me is. So, I will come to the café where I will meet Robert," Benny said answering George's question.
George frowned. "Did Robert ask to see you, Mr. Benny?"
Benny nodded with a nervous sigh. He put both hands on his waist.
"Yes. She sent me the address of the cafe and said she wanted to talk to me alone," Benny replied.
"Do you need my company?" George asked. His expression implied concern for Benny.
Benny's gaze shifted back to George. Then he shook his head with a calm expression while tapping George's shoulder lightly twice.
"No need, George. I can come alone. If you secretly guard me, I'm afraid Robert will know and won't talk to me. I need to see what he's really up to." Benny replied calmly.
"But I'm worried that he might do something dangerous to you, Mr. Benny. You've had a lot of things happen to you when I wasn't with you," George countered. He sounded rather persuasive to Benny.
Once again Benny shook his head. "Thank you for your offer of help, George. I don't need your company. Maybe you can look after Asleena. I'm worried something might happen to her."
George was actually not willing to do Benny's request. But unfortunately George knew Benny's request could not be denied. In the end George did not want to deny what Benny wanted.
"All right if that's what you want, Mr. Benny. I will come to Asleena's place and take care of her." George finally agreed to Benny's request.
Benny gave George a warm smile. He patted George's shoulder once more as he nodded calmly.