Hollywood Zenith



" Oh, Isn't this Istanbul and Antonio that I have been hearing about a lot these days?" Samuel chirped as he led them inside. Antonio didn't like his tone, but Istanbul stopped him from making any snide remarks. They were here on an important business.

Arthur was very stern about keeping the mansion private; thus, he refrained the security from letting any unknown people inside without permission. He knew about these two hanging around but did nothing; it was a type of punishment for what happened to Liliana at the Carltons.

" Let them in and inform the maids to make some tea," Samuel ordered one of the guards before entering the main gate.

" That's not necessary." Istanbul tried to decline his offer. He was a little scared after hearing about Samuel from his father.

It was the main reason they wanted to meet because their families were unsure how Samuel would react next. Everyone who truly knew about him always said that his personality was eccentric.

" It will be fine. We have a lot to talk about. Follow us." Samuel practically forced them, and in the end, they had to oblige to his wishes.

" What brought you guys here?" Samuel directed them to sit on the sofa in the living room. Darren sat down too, but he was not much interested in their talk because he didn't know anything yet; he fiddled with his phone, surfing social media.

" Mr. Samuel-"

" Call me Samuel, please."

" Samuel, I know you haven't been living here much, but we have been neighbors for months now. So, we thought we paid you a visit." Istanbul said with a smile.

" Yes, believe us. We are friendly people. We didn't want to let you feel unwelcome, right?" Antonio said, shrugging his shoulders.

Samuel only smiled; he could easily see through their facade. Stopping by welcome him? Who would be so generous? Next thing they would be telling him that the ghosts are real!

It was about what happened to Glenn Bailey and his father. These two were his connection to bail him out, but they turned him down and were testing the waters now.

" It's a bit silly, but the butler made me aware that you have been stopping by for a few hours daily for the past few days? I don't want to be rude or anything, but I don't believe people are that generous these days." Samuel got to the point without beating around the bush.

They did choose not to offend Samuel for the sake of a mere lackey like Glenn, but that didn't mean they were the 'good' guys.

  " It's true. I wanted to say sorry; I didn't know Glenn was that kind of person. We just wanted to say it face to face." Istanbul dropped his nice guy act and said seriously.

" Finally, I can speak normally. You could choose not to believe me, but that rat has been using my name to do god knows what; it's something I found out recently. I am sorry that it got to your girlfriend." Antonio shrugged and said indifferently.

" Hahaha, nice to see your true faces. After all, I heard about you guys, I would hate to see two pussies posing as tough guys. I like it." Samuel was also blunt.

But his remarks made the atmosphere a little strange; Darren also noticed it and put down his phone.

" Are we really going to have a fight here? Tell me beforehand so I can remove my jacket; I love this thing." He was also ready.

" Relax, I know you are here for an errand from your families, and believe me, I am not a psycho that goes after pointless things. Tell them not to worry." Samuel clapped his hands and said domineeringly.

" What's the catch?" Antonio asked.

" Yeah, there are no free dinners in the world." Istanbul supported his friend's idea.

" Good to see you are enthusiastic. Let's just say I will need your influential family's help in rebuilding my organization. Nothing too severe, but you answer the call when my people contact you." Samuel knew he would need some support if he wanted to make a foothold in the city without much bloodshed.

Antonio's family was at the top in the Underground scene, and Istanbul's perhaps not that much, but they had vast connections he could use. He needed to separate his legal business empire from this shadow-type operation.

Both took a few seconds and coordinated their answer with their eyes; they had strict directions from their fathers. Do whatever to clean the mess they had made.

"I don't think that was too specific?"

" He is right. How do we know you will not come for our asses after you are finished with us?" Antonio directly asked.

" I will not unless you do something too terrible for me to ignore; you have my word, and regarding the technicality of this agreement, I believe you will know it when my people hash out those details."

Antonio and Istanbul listened to his argument; he really didn't have to use them like this to prove a point. He needed them more, so they could lend a hand for now.

" Alright, deal, but I must talk to my father about it."I think you should take a look at

" Same here, but knowing my old man, he would agree."

They knew helping Samuel would pay off in the future. He held more power globally; their families could use him if anything went south.

" Good."

" Okay, since you finished your business. Why don't we all have a drink and talk? I not getting any buzz from this scented tea." Darren suggested.

The three men agreed; Samuel took them to the bar and opened a cupboard to take out wine bottles. He could really need some distractions to avoid thinking about the recent issue.

He opened a 96' Romanni Kanti and poured it into three wine glasses to serve the guests. Their eyes sparkled looking at it; it was not every day they got to enjoy such a rare drink. The smell alone was intoxicating!

" I would appreciate it if you guys don't talk about business and bore me to death," Darren said while receiving his glass.

" Me too; I never liked mixing business with pleasure!" Istanbul shrugged.

" Of course, of course, it will be a bother because I want to enjoy this treasure!" Antonio also expressed his attitude.

" hehe, the chat tonight will become very enjoyable; cheers." After hearing their expressions, Samuel sincerely smiled and raised his glass, making cheers.　

" Man, it's not even noon. I guess we will be drinking all day then?" Darren pointed out his mistake, which made them chuckle.

" I believe we have to!"

Three of them relished the rare wine and chatted freely. The topic covered many bases, but of course, as men, they had to talk about cars when one mentioned it. Istanbul was wildly enthusiastic about it.

" Sami, I heard you got a Spyker C12 inside this house? I have been dying to get my hands on one, but only two dozen are out there!" His eyes shone brightly while he mentioned Samuel's car. All three of them, he was an avid collector of cars, especially limited models!

" You really had to go there? Do you still lack cars? Whenever I go to your place, I feel like I am at a supercar convention!" Antonio laughed.

" So that is his place? I have been here enough to know where this place is. I have seen hundreds of cars through the gate!" Darren immediately knew where he lived.

" That much, huh?" Samuel was surprised, he was no collector, but he knew Darren's father was one. For him to be saying that must mean it's a massive collection.

" What can I say? I am a sucker when it comes to these beauties." Istanbul smiled proudly. Collecting was not an easy job; it took him a lot of manpower and money to collect them; they were like his lifeblood!

" Good for you; I would love to see them," Samuel commented.

" Yeah, and just to let you know, if you ever think about selling your Spyker, you must come to meet your brother first! I will give you a fair price, and you will be sure it will be in the hands of someone who respects its existence!" Istanbul acted a little greedy, probably because they were getting drunk. 

" Alright, you have my word that if I don't want it, I will think of you first and foremost!" Samuel made a verbal agreement that would likely never happen, but he was not as obsessed with it as him, so one never knows.

" That's my brother." Istanbul patted his back, getting more intimate. Others laughed, wondering if the same person had come through the door!

"Speaking of limited models, there will be a special auction at Christie's in two days. There will be a lot of rare supercars. I heard it from my sources, and they are very reliable. Are you guys interested?" At this time, Antonio, who had not said much, interjected.

" Supercars? That sounds fun!" Darren was immediately ready.

" Wait, hold on! You like SUVs, right? Why are you even excited about it?" Samuel asked.

" Can't a man change?"

" You can't. It's women and traveling for you, and that can never change!"

" Fuck you, man!"

" Come on, it will be fun!" Istanbul accepted immediately and was now hoping for Samuel and Darren to join.