Chapter 7 - THE BEGGAR AT THE GLASS TOWER
The lobby of Vanguard Global Headquarters was a cathedral of marble, steel, and glass.
Security guards in pristine black uniforms stood near smart-card turnstiles. Executives in five-thousand-dollar suits hurried across the polished floor holding tablet computers.
Through the revolving glass doors stepped Alma.
She looked like a stray dog that had wandered into an opera house.
Her dress was torn at the hem. Her shoes were scuffed and muddy. Her eyes were sunken, dark, and red from endless weeping.
She walked straight toward the main reception desk.
“Excuse me,” Alma gasped, her voice desperate. “I need to see Jonathan. I need to see Mr. Vance right now.”
The young receptionist glanced up, her expression immediately souring into disgust. “Do you have an appointment, ma'am?”
“No! No appointment! Tell him it’s Alma! Tell him his wife is here!”
Several security guards stepped forward, their hands resting on their belts.
“Ma'am,” the head guard said sternly. “Mr. Vance is the CEO of a global enterprise. He doesn't take unscheduled visitors, especially those causing a disturbance in the lobby.”
“Please!” Alma shrieked, falling onto her knees right there in the center of the marble floor, her tears spilling onto the pristine white stone. “Tell him I’m begging him! Tell him my life is over! Tell him I just need five minutes!”
The crowd of corporate executives stopped, watching the pathetic scene with quiet whispers and amused phone cameras.
The head guard grabbed Alma by her arm, dragging her toward the glass doors. “That’s enough. Out you go, before we call the city police.”
“Jonathan!” Alma screamed at the top of her lungs, looking up toward the sixty-story atrium. “JONATHAN! PLEASE! SAVE ME!”
“Let her up.”
A calm, deep voice echoed through the reception intercom speaker.
The guard froze, his hand stopping mid-air.
The receptionist’s face turned pale. She pressed her ear to her headset, nodding quickly. “Yes, Mr. Vance. Understood.”
May you like
The receptionist looked at Alma with shocked, bewildered eyes.
“Mr. Vance will see you in the penthouse suite,” she whispered.
