La Vida Loca

Chapter Two: The Golden Elevator

Mr. Jamie Navarro smiled at Carlo.

"My Boss is still alive and kicking, and it's all thanks to you. If you didn't help him, who knows what will happen to him.” he relayed.

“I am glad and relieved that I was able to help him." Carlo smilingly responded.

"My Boss wants to show his appreciation to you, so that's why he wants to invite you for a simple dinner. Please, accept his invitation dinner..." Mr. Navarro finally said his intentions.

“There's no need for him to prepare a dinner for me. A simple thank you is enough." Carlo politely rejects the invitation.

"I'm sorry to say this, but my Boss doesn't take "no" as an answer. My Boss is known to be very persistent, and he'll just let me come back until you say yes..." Mr. Navarro insisted.

"But-----!" Carlo wasn't able to finish his sentence when the man spoke again.

"To sincerely show how thankful my Boss is because you saved his life, he also donated a generous amount of money amounting to one million dollars at the Rainbow Orphanage. That's where you grew up, right?" he gave him more information.

Carlo's eyes widened in shock after he heard him. Why does his Boss knows about his background and how did he know about the orphanage?

“Wait, how did you know about Rainbow Orphanage?” he asked, while looking obviously shocked.

"If you want to know the answers to your questions, you should accept my Boss' dinner invitation." Mr. Navarro smilingly said, instead of answering his questions.

Carlo fell into a deep thought as he's trying to assess the situation. He's having second thoughts of being with a total stranger, as he doesn't have any idea what will happen to him. However, there are many CCTV cameras around the convenience store, and it will serve as an evidence on who he talked with if something bad happens to him...

He really wants to know the "so-called-Boss," and he wants him to get back the money that he donated at the orphanage. If he doesn't accept the dinner invitation, Mr. Navarro will just keep on coming back until he says yes. But once he accepts the dinner invitation, the man won't pester him anymore, and they can forget everything.

"Okay, I'll come with you." Carlo finally made his decision.

"Good choice. I will pick you up at 9pm, right after your shift ends." Mr. Navarro gave him further instructions.

"Wait, how do you know almost everything about me? Oh, nevermind. I don't want to hear the answer..." Carlo will just have to wait for the day he will meet the so-called Boss.

"It's settled then. Please be ready at exactly 9pm."

After a few moments, Carlo watched Jaime Nabarro exiting the convenience store, while looking bewildered. He wondered what kind of boss he has.

Well, he will find out about him once they have dinner together, face to face.

=======================

Later that night, Carlo is now endorsing the night shift to his fellow colleague, Lance. He's giving him some last-minute instructions, then afterwards, he finally said goodbye. As soon as he steps out from the convenience store, a sleek-looking black limousine suddenly stops in front of him. A chauffer who's wearing a black suit and tie suddenly appeared and walks towards him.

"Good evening, Mister Carlo Fortalejo. I am Theodore, and I'm going to be your personal chauffer this evening. As instructed by our Boss, I'll be driving you to the dinner venue." the chauffer politely informs him.

"Uh.. Nice to meet you, Sir. Where are we going?" Carlo inquired.

"We're going to a very private place, and I'm afraid I can't disclose the location for privacy and security reasons. But I can assure you that it's a very safe place.” the chauffer gave him an assurance.

"Uh, okay then. I'll trust you. Shall we go ahead now?" asked Carlo.

The chauffer politely opened the door for him. Once Carlo is inside the limo, he can help but to feel amaze when he saw numerous bottles of expensive drinks. And at the same time, he also saw a tray laden with big and fresh-looking fruits such as apple, oranges, pear and who knows what are the other fruits there. There were also some slices of cheese, crackers, and high-quality ham. He's not really a wine drinker, and he is unfamiliar with rich people's food so he decided to not touch or eat anything...

After a few minutes, the limousine stopped at a modern high-rise building located at an expensive-looking Metropolitan City. Carlo steps outside from the limousine, and stared at the building with his mouth open...

He was greeted by two tall and big-looking man who are wearing sunglasses and they are also wearing black suits...

"Welcome to Hera Palace, Mister Carlo Fortalejo."

"T-Thank you."

"Our Boss have been waiting for you. Please follow us. This way, please." the two bodyguards escorted him.

Carlo tries to hide his nervousness while he's trailing behind these two bodyguards. The three of them are walking inside the lobby. And once they reached the elevators, one of the guards started talking to him again.

"The elevators on the left side are for all the hotel guests. We have a special elevator for our Boss, and we're going to use that." informed the first bodyguard.

“But it's all the same---!" Carlo wasn't able to finish his sentence when the man spoke.

“We're just following our Big Boss' orders." responded the second bodyguard.

Carlo decided to shut his mouth and not say anything else. Anyway, he's pretty sure what they are doing. They stepped inside a gold-colored elevator. He was secretly impressed by the elevator's interior design.

“In case you're wondering, everything and every corner of this elevator is made from gold." one of the guards informed him, much to his amazement.

Carlo's jaw almost dropped halfway to the floor when he heard the trivia about the elevator. He can't believe that it's possible to own an elevator which is made from gold! He can't help himself but to feel amazed once they reached penthouse.

Everything about this place is beautiful, and he feels like he doesn't have the right to step into this wonderful place! Everything about this place screams of money!