DG was ushered into the spacious twenty-third floor of the modernistic high-rise building, expecting to see Bojing Zeng’s friendly face. Instead, the beautiful Mei turned from the window as he approached the mahogany desk, alerted to his presence by an electric chime. He had been here only three months prior, but this was the wrong office. He remembered that this time the elevator had stopped at floor number twenty-three instead of twenty-five.

“Hi, Mei,” he said as he bowed, a mannerism they both still practiced since they had met some ten or eleven years before when she had been just a little girl. She had grown into a stunning young woman, her grace and poise a stark contrast to the spirited child he once knew. Mei had topped the list of China’s eligible brides in a recent magazine poll. Of course, her family’s financial muscle had played only a small part in her clinching the title and recognition, but her intelligence and charm had undoubtedly secured her place.

“Hi, Professor,” she replied simply, offering her hand adorned with exotic-looking bangles speckled with precious stones.

“I’m sorry, I’m supposed to meet your father, but I was led into this office. Must be a mistake or something.”

“Not a mistake,” she said apologetically. “Father had to go away on a business trip to Shanghai. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Until tomorrow,” he muttered under his breath, the words dripping with frustration. “This can’t wait.”

“Don’t look so sad, Doctor. You disappoint me,” Mei said, smiling gently. “Am I that bad?”

“No, Mei, it’s not you,” he replied, placating her with a tap on the shoulder. “It’s just that I’m under a lot of pressure. The shipment is late again, and I talked to him last night, and he said he would be here.”

“Are they giving you problems, your partners? Just hire me, and I will kick their… as… backsides,” she declared, striking a playful kung fu pose that made DG suppress a reluctant smile.

“This is no joke, Mei!” he admonished her. “My reputation is on the line here.”

“You can say that again, Professor,” Duyi interjected, standing at akimbo in the oval doorway to his office. An alumna of Cambridge University, he spoke with a slight British accent that had thrown DG off balance the first time he had met him. “Come through, please, Doctor. You,” he pointed accusingly at his younger sister, “didn’t I tell you to send him right through the moment he arrives?” He glared at her.

“Sorry, big brother,” Mei giggled playfully, not at all deflated by the rebuke. DG hid a smile behind a cupped hand while he winked knowingly at Mei.

“I don’t like that tone,” Duyi replied, his voice now a mix of irritation and authority. He fired a salvo of Chinese that DG discerned to be threats rather than insults.

“Whatever,” Mei said, rolling her eyes.

Duyi was taller than the average Chinese person, his presence commanding respect. An adrenaline junkie and avid biker, his personality was a stark contrast to his sister’s elegance. Their father had given up on trying to get him to settle down into a lifestyle befitting an executive and future CEO of the colossal Zeng Enterprise. His office was more spacious than Mei’s and was surprisingly furnished in a British style, a welcome departure from his father’s traditional Chinese decor or his sister’s modernistic and flashy taste. He had been tasked with mentoring Mei whenever she was on semester breaks, but it seemed to DG as a project doomed to fail. So far, he had not done a good job of it.

“Sorry about that,” Duyi’s businessman-like demeanor had returned after the brief sibling altercation. “Father is not really in Shanghai. This shipment of yours has put us in a spot of bother, so he has gone to his longtime friend in Guangzhou.”

“But what is really happening? This is the second time this has happened in a space of three months,” DG pressed, his frustration mounting.

“I know, I know. Time is of the essence,” Duyi said as he handed him some documents. “Here, there is your plane ticket and some vouchers. Spoil yourself…”

“Do I look like… I’m not in the mood for all of that?” DG began to suspect that something sinister was underway. “I need to be back in South Africa as soon as I can.”

“All in good time, Doctor, all in good time,” Duyi replied, leading him to the door. “First, you need to talk to my father. He will explain everything.”

They walked past Mei, who was lying on the couch talking to someone via video call. Duyi glared at her, but she merely waved him off.

“See you soon, Professor,” Mei shouted as the elevator closed its doors on them. “And say hi to Taku if I don’t see you before you go.”

“I will, and have a good one!” he shouted back, though he doubted that she heard him.

“They grow up too soon, don’t they?” DG mused as the lift made its slow descent from the lofty executives’ lair. It was a blessing that it was a reserved elevator; otherwise, the descent would have taken ages if the lift had to make stops along the way.

“Don’t we all,” Duyi had a faraway look in his eyes. The pressure of the corporate rat race was taking its toll on him, DG thought.

“Is something wrong?” DG had asked.

“Well, everything… I mean, I worry about Mei. She is too carefree, and Father spoils her too much. It’s crazy.”

“Give her time,”

“All she wants to do is paint and travel the world like we are in the nineteenth century.” Duyi replied curtly.

The elevator doors opened, ushering the unfiltered cold afternoon air. The company limousine, complete with a uniformed chauffeur, was waiting for them.

“He will take you to the airport. When you reach Guangzhou, a cab will be waiting to take you to the hotel. My father will phone you tonight. I would have come with you, but I have pressing matters to attend to,” Duyi explained as he ushered DG into the limo before hurrying off to his motorcycle. As the limo pulled out of the basement, the bike overtook it before shooting down the highway in the opposite direction to the one the driver took. Talk about carefree!