Ava returned the smile and replied that she had come to work. Then her eyes caught sight of a group of people and her expression changed.
Jack, Ava's father's right hand man, greeting a group of people. If Jack was present, her father would also be here, she thought to herself.
"Nina, if you are free after the party, we can have a coffee together," The old lady said, breaking Ava's train of thoughts. Ava nodded and the old lady left to attend to other guests.
Thankfully Ava saw a facemask close to the counter, wearing it. She scanned the crowd for Jack's silhouette until she spotted my father and Mr. Tom happily chatting, but could not spot Jack.
Ava, eager to hear their conversation, got closer to them.
She heard Mr. Tom laughed then shaked Mr Adams hands, "I'll sign the contract after the wedding. You have just three months to find her, otherwise, the deal is off, for old time's sake. We can't mix business and personal issues." Mr Adams nodded, his eyes lit up.
After some minutes passed, Ava saw Jack walking towards her father with a young man in a buzz cut, wearing a dark green suit. Ava quickly changed her position to avoid being seen.
"Sir, This is the young man I told you about, he is very good at his work, many companies will risk anything to get him working with them." Jack praised him while Ethan and Mr Adams exchanged greetings. Jack also introduced Ethan as one of the top personal investigators that works at the Ket organization.
Ava could not understand what exactly they were saying , throughout the conversation she kept her eyes on Ethan's silhouette until he was ready to go.
The park was crowded with people leaving the party, it slowed down her movement, from a distance she could not see his face clearly.
While trailing behind him, her phone rang, breaking her focus. "Hello?" Ava answered, ready for whatever was coming. "Where are you? The boss needs you to come quickly."
Before she could respond, the caller hung up. Her gaze snapped back to where Ethan was standing, but he was now walking towards the mansion instead of getting into his car.
Ava quickly followed him inside. Without hesitation, the old lady's voice rang out, " Nathan, why are you late?"
Nathan hugged her, smiling and explained that something urgent had come up at the company that needed immediate attention.
Ava, unaware of their conversation, quickly approached Granny, smiling in hopes of getting closer to Nathan. Nathan ignored the lady behind him and walked to his room.
The old lady turned to Ava and said, "Nina, come have a seat," gesturing towards the chair. Ava shifted her gaze from the stairs, where he had just disappeared . After she settled down, the maid poured coffee for her.
"You look familiar, who is your mother?" The old lady asked, sipping her coffee.
Ava hasn't spoken about her mother to anyone since childhood. Honestly she felt uncomfortable talking about her mother to anyone, not even her best friend.
"My mother is dead." That was the only word that could escape Ava's mouth.
The old lady's face dropped , apologizing, "Ohhh, l am sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of the past." She smiled warmly and added, " You can always come here if you feel lonely."
Ava nodded. "Thank you, ma'am" touched by her kindness.
"Please call me Granny Walton," The old lady quickly said.
"Okay, ma'am." Ava corrected herself, "l mean, okay, Granny Walton." The old lady smiled.
When they finished chatting, she collected her paycheck then she quickly glanced at the place Nathan disappeared too before heading out.
The next day, she got a new apartment then did a change of name and did a fake certificate, unable to risk getting caught. She then went to change her hairstyle and dye her hair black.
At noon, she officially started her new job at the cafe, looking completely different. After her night shift ended, she met with the manager to gather information about the party's host, but all she got was the name.
Ava returned home and began her research on the Walton family. Unfortunately she couldn't get enough information about the family on the internet. Just as she expected, the family was known by everyone because of their son, Nathan Walton. They seemed to be people who stayed low-key and avoided social media.
" NATHAN THE HANDSOME BACHELOR BUILT HIS EMPIRE AT THE AGE OF 23 AND ACHIEVED BILLIONS WITHIN A YEAR."
"NATHAN WALTON HAS HELPED HOMELESS PEOPLE BY PROVIDING SHELTER AND FOOD OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS."
That's the only thing Ava could find, no scandal relating to the family.
Why would a billionaire be working for her father as a private investigator? She questioned.
As days passed, Ava went on with her daily activities till the weekend. Despite all her efforts, she couldn't find any useful information about Nathan, only the name of his company.
She entered a cab straight to Paragon Group's headquarters. Arriving, she paid the driver and watched it speed off. The building was bustling people walking in and out.
Paragon Group was known for being the largest company in the country, only the 1% can work there. She approached the front desk, where a lady stood. "Good day, miss," Ava greeted her with a smile. "I'd like to meet with the president, please."
The lady looked up at Ava, with a doubtful expression. "Okay, did you book an appointment with him? If so, what's your name?"
Ava explained that she didn't have an appointment with him, but it was urgent. Pleading with the lady to let her see the president.
The lady looked at Ava, clearly unimpressed with her acting. "Ladies like you come here everyday, they have something important to tell our president too," The lady replied rudely. "If you don't leave, I'll have no option but to call security on you."
Ava was not ready to cause a scene so she asked her, "How can I book an appointment with the president?"
The lady ignored her, taking her as one of the ladies desperate to be in the president's bed.