Chapter 5 - Meeting Mr. Wilson

Stepping into the large air conditioned Front office of his Corporate HQ was like walking out of the August heat and into an April afternoon. Even the air was perfumed like spring flowers.

The visitors area was almost deserted. Elegant and classy assorted chairs some upright with padded seats and carved backs, prints of country landscapes, a few wooden tables with magazines neatly arranged on them. Walls were all the same black stone with embossed carvings and patterns. It was a luxurious fort in itself.

Two men in business suit, sat hunched on either side of one large cherry table. As Raul walked in, they  broke off their hushed conversation and turned to look at him. He gave a slight nod acknowledging their presence and quickened his steps towards the front desk, on the far right corner of the room.

Shanti was efficient from her shiny shoes to her pearl necklace. Her suit was crisp and her shirt ironed to perfection. She coiffured her hair and spoke with an aristocratic accent with a slight undertone of French which she brought with her from Toronto. Her face was set almost as firmly as a smiling mannequin and when she spoke it was with the clipped tones of one who enjoyed her authority in that space.

Raul reached near the oval desk. Shanti looked up from her computer.
"Raul? - You are here to see Mr.Wilson"? - Asked Shanti.
Your Identification, please,sir".
Raul handed over his Corporate Identification Card and said "I had a message on my desk from him".
Shanti studied the ID Card, checked the information on the back of the card, then swiped it on the reader connected to her computer.
After a few moments' pause, Shanti handed the ID-card back to him and said "I understand, Mr. Wilson is in his office. You can go and wait for your turn. I have cleared you to the third elevator on the left and use your access card."

"Thank you", Raul replied with a smile.
"You have a good day" saying that Shanti sank back into her chair.

Raul spun towards his left, walked briskly crossing the front office. He took a turn to his right towards a small corridor which housed a bank of elevators. The corridor was a small security point in itself with guards guarding it; Raul was sure there could be another security bunker behind these walls, with guards,  armed to their teeth. Raul felt the stare of the guards behind himm as he walked towards the elevator.

He kept the access card on the reader, after a moments pause ,the panel displayed green. A second later he heard a faint mechanical click and the doors to the  elevator slid open. He walked inside the elevator. A faint instrumental music started playing as soon as the doors slid shut behind him. He placed his card on the elevator control panel. Having validated him, it ascended into the sanctum sanctorum.

A loud chime declared that they have reached the 5th floor. The elevator doors opened into a well lit lounge. It was majestic all the way. It was spacious, plush, top of the line couches and furniture, spotlessly clean. Perfect for relaxing, perfect for business, perfect for the King.

Behind a small wooden counter sat a woman. Raul walked towards her.
She had regal bearing. High, delicate cheek bones, small nose and silky blonde tresses. Her lips were carefully tinted red and her skin was flawless. Her brown eyes seemed to gleam across the room fixated on him, she had a beam of joy dashing inside of her.

"Good Morning, Mr. Wilson knows you are here, he will see you in a moment, Mr.Raul." - she greeted him with a delicate smile.

To the right of the counter was a few Victorian era couches, a large Mahogany coffee table stood in the middle. Raul kept the document folder on the table, sat on the couch and crossed his legs.

A few moments passed and the telephone at the counter gave a steady ring. He heard the woman behind the counter talking on the phone in hushed voice.
"Mr. Raul, The CEO would meet you now" she said that pointing to the glass doors to a corridor further right of him.
Raul stood up and nodded to the woman at the counter . He hurried towards the doors. The glass doors slid open with a muted hiss as he reached near it. He walked in, the doors closing and locking behind him.

He quickened his steps through the corridor which had a high ceiling, shaped like an arc of a cathedral. It had a single railing of light in the middle, running the entire length of the ceiling. By the use of some elaborate prism arrangements, the light was made to fall over the walls like a water fall in cool blue hue at equal distance from each other.
At the end of the corridor, he turned left and a half opened double door welcomed him.

Raul reached near the door, knocked on it and stepped inside.
Sheena, the office manager looked at him from behind a computer. She was casual, but smartly dressed in jeans, a hipster jacket and a neck scarf. Her face was made up, but not over done and her long black hair was pulled back to reveal her complete face.
Raul pointed towards the CEO's door and gave her a questioning nod.
"Sir, you can walk inside. He is available"

Raul nodded his head and scampered towards the dutch door to his right - the Sanctum Sanctorum of this business empire.
..
..

He knocked on the door frame "Sir..."
"Ah..yes come in Raul." replied a voice in a mellowed down growl from inside the room.

Seated behind a huge mahogany desk was Mr. Wilson. The CEO of Atlanta Inc.

The map of wrinkles on his face told of the most incredible journey he lived. His eye lines told of laughter, of warm smiles and affection. His forehead told of worries past and worries present. But mostly they were so deeply engrained they told of a man who had traveled through eight decades to that moment, he was so much more than the sum of his parts.

Behind his desk was a large bookcase  which was ornate, as if carved by a person with a profound love of literature. The engravings were of leaves, of autumn berries and birds on the wing - so sublime as to invite the fingers to take it in just as much as the eyes. Those books adorned the quiet room, quiet in that sense of easy solitude and in the sense of gentle seaside hues, soft blues, greys and browns.
To the corner of the book case was a full sized Knight's metal suit complete with a sword and a shield.

Mr. Wilson extended his hand open palmed and invited him to sit.
Raul moved 3 chairs to the inside of the front row and sat almost opposite to Mr. Wilson. He kept his Document folder on the chair to his right.
The CEO was watching him keenly through his half rimmed glass like a hawk.