Capítulo 70: Can You Help Me with That?

The sun had risen, and Richard was worn-out from his last night's adventure. He was constantly trying to hold down his gagging before he would puke his breakfast out in the toilet in his office. The police were still looking for his mother, as well as SCC who had indeed received the request.

However, Richard wasn't actually looking forward to hearing from SCC.

When he started working, he could feel his vision swirling. Instead of reviewing documents, he ended up sitting on his chair and inevitably sleeping soundly. His mind was also left creative, with the vivid flashes of his drunken memory.

Knock, knock.

His secretary knocked on his door and called out to him. "Sir? Sir Richard?" The secretary then walked in to find his boss sleeping, drool spilling from his slightly open mouth. He looked so pathetic that the secretary wanted to take a photo. If only that wouldn't make him lose his job…

The secretary cleared his throat loudly, snapping Richard out of his slumber. "Sir, someone named Noah Rocco came to see you today."

"Noah?" Richard felt the coldness on his chin so he wiped it clean with the back of his hand. He then sat up properly and behaved like he wasn't caught sleeping without poise. "Let him in."

"Yes, sir." The secretary left, finally releasing his ridiculing laughter. "I didn't know he's capable of looking like a piece of shit, too…"

…

Noah and Luca decided to use Richard as a cover for their visit. Without any definite business with Jones, the two wouldn't be able to corner him in his own office. So, they would have to make use of Richard. Besides, they could mask it as their aid in locating his missing mother.

When they got the green light, they were walked by another secretary to the VP's office.

From the clear elevator, Noah and Luca saw the busy city outside and the amazing atrium view of the first five floors. Noah was slightly bitter by this as the closed elevator was used against him. The view was hindered when they got on the seventeenth floor where the VP officers were located.

Then, they were walked inside the office, the secretary opening the door for them and leaving them to Richard's company. He received them in the lounge in the middle of the office.

"I didn't think I'd see you again sooner." Richard tried to speak normal, but his face was quite flushed. He tried pouring some wine for himself, but his hand on the bottle was shaking. It was next to impossible for him not to spill anything.

"Mr. Connor, we came here for… are you okay, Mr. Connor?" Luca frowned at the man's behavior.

"I'm okay. No need to worry." Richard cleared his throat first and gave up on doing it. He would rather get thirsty than embarrass himself. "You came here for my mother?"

Luca wanted to proceed with their script, but he felt bad making false hopes. He had already seen how distraught Richard was at the sudden disappearance of his mother. "We… we came for something else. Do you know anything about someone called… the Druid?"

A pause came to Richard as he felt the urge to send them away all of a sudden. He then sighed. "…I don't know anyone called Druid. If you're looking for a witch, you might as well look for…"

He suddenly slammed his hand at the table. "Mother—!"

As his hand came down, the impact toppled the bottle and he had to immediately grab it. His hand missed, but the bottle didn't hit the table horizontally. To his surprise, Noah was already next to him and held the bottle that he missed.

"Be careful, this is Cheval Blanc." Noah chuckled as he walked back to his seat that was at least two meters away from Richard. He made off with the aged wine and had the audacity to take a glass from the center of the table and pour a glass for himself. "It's been a while since I last had a 1947."

"Noah…" Luca frowned.

"Mn, keep it." Richard only waved his hand. He was going to vomit out that 1947 Cheval Blanc if he hogged it to himself anyway. He then cleared his throat. "What I mean to say is… maybe if you find my mother and Father's friends from Chroma's coven, you might dig up some information about this Druid witch you're after."

Noah savored the wine like he owned it. "That's what I think of. Do you know anyone here who could be involved in Chroma's coven?"

A grunt came as an answered, but Richard quickly held onto his mouth. He then continued, "My father is specific in not hiring anyone who could compromise his business, witches included. He had a way to know who's a witch and who's not. Perhaps, you can find clues in his office.

"It's just that… the Deputy is occupying the spot right now. You might have to wait for him to clock out. I can let you stay until then."

"Wouldn't it be too suspicious of you? What if we get seen? Someone lives in this company, right?" Noah hummed before sipping steadily on his wine.

"He seemed to be a strong person of interest as well." Luca reached for a glass and for the bottle as well. He was hesitant at first, but seeing how Noah enjoyed the Cheval Blanc, he couldn't help but have a glass for himself as well.

Richard only hummed in agreement, his eyes were glaring on his Cheval Blanc. He shouldn't have opened it today.

The VP spoke after Noah and Luca had their sips of his precious aged wine, "Jonas is… spending a lot of time in his office because of his work. From everything that was happening, the company is getting more and more bad publicity. External Affairs is working very hard."

"External Affairs… does that mean he had access to employee records as well?"

"Not really, Human Resources is in charge of those." Richard shook his head.

"He could pull out some records with the permission of the HR office." Richard frowned at Noah. That was a no-brainer that External Affairs shouldn't touch employee records. Then again, as a member of SCC, Noah couldn't be stupid and had no reason to be stupid. "What are you trying to imply?"

"I was just wondering who else had the power to ask for employee records. I was hoping to ask them if we can't ask you."

Richard snorted. "Bullsh—That's outrageous. I can ask for them as well if I need it. You should be more direct in what you want rather than making me—!" Richard suddenly lowered his head and covered his mouth. He then got to his feet and gestured for them to wait for a moment.

Luca watched him to the toilet and close the door. He then looked at the wine they were drinking.

Richard returned and was dabbing a tissue to dry his lips and chin. "I'm sorry about that. Where was I? Right, is there any particular employee you need to see?"

"Yeah, Patrick Moore." Noah stared straight at the man's eyes.

"Is he a suspect in anything?" The name didn't ring a bell in Richard's head. Should he know a Patrick Moore?

"No, he was possessed by a gluttony demon days ago and had almost killed his own family." Noah casually spilled some facts to make Richard shudder. "He works here in Connor Holdings. Can you help me with that?"

Richard got to his feet and went to the phone to call his secretary and told him to gather records for Patrick Moore. He then walked back to the lounge area, but he didn't sit down anymore. "What does a gluttony demon has to do with your business here? And with Jonas?"

Luca cleared his throat. "The Druid we're looking for is a witch of Beelzebub. We are hoping that finding him will end their activities involving a few of your employees."

"What do you mean involving a few of my—?"

"Some employees of Connor Holdings were being fed to demons. Your Uncle seemed to be involved in it, considering that he was caught meeting with someone from Druid's coven." Noah hummed. Even he was amazed that the events were interconnected. More when he factored in the efforts of Bomberman's gang.

Richard froze at this information. He wanted to be mad and insulted, but he was more encumbered by fear. What if the people who took his mother were not from his father's old coven? Would that mean that she could have been killed and fed to demons as well?

His lips pursed. "I can call Jonas here if you like. You have to stop them."

Luca was about to speak, but Richard's personal phone rang. Richard walked back to his desk and saw an unsaved phone number he could recognize. He then turned to the two and then back at the phone.

"You should probably answer that." Noah could feel the spike in Richard's heart rate. "We don't mind."

"I will be back shortly." Richard sighed and pressed the 'Answer' button before he could leave the room. It's just that…

Screaming came from the other end, and it was evident that people were going hysterical. Richard's eyes widened as he continued to listen, his entire body freezing at its motion. Bang! Bang! Shots were fired, but nothing really changed.

"Help me!" Carlos's voice came through, but he began screaming after. With a loud crash, the call disconnected.

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