Financial Emperor: After I Rose From the Dead
Chapter 44: You Are Late

Chapter 44: You Are Late

Rino yawned and rubbed his eyes as the morning sunlight filtered faintly through the tiny spaces of the blinds of the curtain that shielded his bedroom. His night was absolutely short since he spent it drafting, editing and overthinking at the same.

But at least, something had come out of it.

After dragging himself out of bed, he headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After which he got dressed, and headed out.

He had an appointment today with Amaka, and additionally, Kasper. All processing for the bid proposal will be completed so that Kasper can submit it in preparation for the main event, which will be the next day.

"Today is Friday," Rino noted. "Which meant they had scheduled the event to be held on a Saturday, a day where most workers had more free moments."

He nodded his head and he maintained his composure while driving. His destination wasn’t Amaka’s office anyway.

A responsibility had already been placed on his head the moment after getting involved in the accident with the 16-year-old girl, so, his first destination was the hospital.

He needed to make the girl feel not deserted. At least, she should see that he was still around, but must be attending to some business deals. A fragment of minute presence mattered.

Well, before directly heading to the hospital, Rino pulled up in front of an eatery, not particularly exclusive but of standard. He ordered a plate of jollof rice and turkey with plantains. This dish was packaged for him accordingly as he also added a pack of fresh juice and paid quickly before speeding off again.

After a short time of traveling the roads, he arrived at the hospital, climbed the rolling stairs and walked in without asking for directions. Meanwhile, the nurses who had recognized him from his last visit deemed it right to direct him to his destination as one of them followed him towards Arianna’s room.

Once Rino stepped inside, he found Arianna already sitting up in her bed, her hair wrapped in a loose bun, and draped neatly over her lap was a hospital blanket. Her frame looked frail but her expression held light, much better than the last time he had come to see her.

Rino smiled as he stepped in. Once he approached closer to the bed, he lifted the plastic bag in which the food was packaged and dropped it on the nearby table.

"I thought I should bring you something to eat," he said and gradually unraveled the contents of the package in the bag.

"Thank you, Rino," Arianna said with an expression warm with gratitude. "But, I didn’t think you should have bothered since they were still going to serve me something to eat."

Rino chuckles lightly. "I’ve never trusted my appetite to hospital food. And so, didn’t want to trust yours too."

It was true that Arianna had made the statement that he shouldn’t have bothered, but Rino was also well aware of the complexity of human behavior. Even though he was not obliged to, he knew visiting her at the hospital with empty hands was going to create an impression in her about him.

This logic can be applied in daily activities where a friend decides to pay another friend a visit. In most cases where the visitor is offered something as a welcome present, the majority of the response happened to be that he or she, as the case may be, was satisfied and had no use of the present—sometimes food, other times drinks, or may vary.

But the response is far from the truth. In a situation where the owner of the visited place decides to rely on the visitor’s decision, the impression the visitor will hold against the owner would turn negative.

This was something Rino was well experienced with. Human wants are insatiable, and as well, the complexities of their behavior might be analyzed, yet beyond understanding.

Serving her the food after unpacking it, he sat with her watching in silence as she ate. They shared a quiet moment. Rino didn’t talk much. In fact, whatever he said was to make Arianna see it sound like he cared. He wasn’t entirely sure if he actually cared, but he knew this was just him performing a necessary act to check off the box of decency and courtesy.

After a while of spending time with Arianna as she neared completion of the food, he excused himself and walked over to the administration wing of the hospital. There he met the doctor who had been administering medication to Arianna from the start.

He wanted to get updates on Arianna’s stay in the hospital.

Rino sat patiently on the seat over the desk, waiting for the doctor to be through wobbling with the folders he had on his desk. When it seemed like the doctor was done, he turned to Rino and began to speak.

"You came for Arianna, right? You are the guy from the previous time," the doctor wanted to be sure.

"You are right."

"She’s recovering well," the doctor said, adjusting his glasses, his head bent on a file which he glanced at. "If her vitals stay consistent, she will be discharged in the next four days. Three days as the case may be."

Rino nodded speculatively. "Good. I should be ready for that."

The doctor looked up at him on hearing the choice of his word determinant.

Rino smiled at him. He knew what he meant. Welcoming Arianna into Carter’s Mansion might not necessarily be a problem, as there are many rooms that she can decide in which to occupy, but there can be redundancies.

He wasn’t in full trust with his stepmother yet, plus the fact that the mansion housed girls with different points of view and speculations. He wasn’t ready to welcome any sort of rumor, whatsoever.

Well, he will leave the plan of that for another day, or add it to his prospective plans before the elapse of the four days.

Thanking the doctor once again for his service, Rino stumped out of the office, making his way to the counter.

"I’ve come to finalize the payment," he said, sliding the receipt that he received when he made the first deposit over to the nurse in charge and waited as she tapped a few keys on her system.

She wasn’t even done before she received a notification of an immediate transaction.

"That’s correct sir," she said. "The balance is $750,000."

Rino nodded, knowing he had already tolerated the pain of his expenses, but he didn’t let it bother him. He didn’t even know why it bothered him when he had enough.

As the final receipt printed out, his phone buzzed with a message.

~ Amaka: Shouldn’t you be here already? We agreed to meet by 9:30, right?

Rino raised his head to meet the time. It was 9:45 A.M.

"Shit."

Another day of being late again.

He grabbed the receipt, nodded to the nurse and rushed out of the hospital.

Planning not to arrive too late, it didn’t take him long to arrive at the front of "Marble Crest Holding". That was the name written as the business office on the card Amaka had given him.

Amaka was indeed a big lady.

The Crest Holding has a towering structure and is located in the heart of the elite district of the city. The glass facade shimmered in the sun, reflecting the pride and power the name represented. Sleek lines, flawless design, and marble accents at every turn screamed wealth.

This was Amaka’s territory.

As Rino stepped out of his car and approached the revolving glass doors, a neatly dressed female receptionist greeted him and, after confirming his name, led him through a lavish corridor to the executive floor.

The double doors to the CEO’s office opened with a soft hum, revealing a space that looked less like a corporate room and more like a designer’s dream. Floor-to-ceiling windows flooded the room with natural light, while neutral tones gave it an earthy, expensive feel. Abstract art lined the walls, and at the far end, Amaka sat behind a wide desk that looked like it had been carved from obsidian.

Seated already, dressed sharply in a navy blue blazer and cross-legged like he owned half the world, was Kasper.

Once Rino stepped in, the first person to react was Kasper.

He glanced up and said with a dry voice. "You are late."