CHAPTER 10

It was a sharp noon and Mr. Austin took note of the fact he had two hours before his next meeting and submerged himself into work.

In his search for new faces, he's seen over seven thousand audition videos, in which he selected two ladies he felt could have some prospect in the acting field if brushed up a little.

The job took a major toll on him, and the fact he was yet to see an outstanding audition video sent him to despair. Mr. Austin tiredly scrolled down the mail, he decided to sort them from the latest received, and got ready to bin applications as he had been doing forever.

Usually, he went five seconds into every audition. Surely, five seconds was enough to get him to feel something. Matter of fact, he deliberated the thought of reducing his torture to a three seconds mark before judgement.

After the sixth video, Mr. Austin was gradually losing his mind. The confidence of people, sending in poorly done videos made him cringe. The sixth video wasn't even an audition video!

Apparently, someone thought it wise to send in a poorly edited porn video with the caption - ' let off some steam.' One second into the video and Mr. Austin nearly lost his balance in shock at the disgusting sounds coming off his system.

With a renewed speed, he shutdown his system, ending the unprofessional sounds that scarred him. Afterwards, he took out time to treat himself to a cool juice, drinking directly from the carton.

He returned to his table, ready once again to take on the torturous job. This time, he got prepared for sneak attacks, and muted the sound of his PC before opening the seventh audition video with no expectation.

A girl, with wavy hair and light skin stared right at him at the brink of tears, as she muttered some words. The young girl shook her head and muttered unheard words, Mr. Austin knew this scene too well!

It was the game-changing scene of the script and the most challenging!

Nobody attempted this particular scene from the three scenes put out for audition. Yet here was this lady sent from heaven to rid him of his misery.

Mr. Austin continued watching, and for the first time, defied his five seconds to rule. He saw the raw talent of the girl who carried out a perfect act, struggling between herself and 'someone'.

She slipped to the floor, having lost the tug and looked straight to the camera. He made out the words, ' I love you' and he felt the naked emotion in her eyes.

Mr. Austin felt stunned. Recovering from the epic performance, he turned on his sound and re-watched the clip; this time around, even more entranced as he heard the words fall out of her lips in the most natural way.

Combined with the best performance he had seen in years of his training minors, he couldn't believe she wasn't a trained actress. He felt like there had to be some background to her performance but something told him he'd discovered a gem in the rocks.

Watching the video for the third time, he could see that it was edited. With keen eyes , he caught on a few rookie mistakes in the continuation, which spoke volumes on how meticulously she worked on putting them together.

One thing was certain, his search was over. He checked the time and found he had one hour before his guest arrived. Suddenly, he felt ecstatic and positive that his client would be pleased with his findings.

He had other videos to go but knew compared to what he found, the difference was akin heaven and earth. Each contrasted in quality so much it glared. Nevertheless, he sat back in his office with a smile, awaiting the arrival of Mr. Daniel.

*******

Dells Island was a top-tier Island in New York City, which hosted some of the richest and most influential people in the world.

It was developed by one of the top construction companies in the world.

Its unique design and structure were exquisite, having different spots created for leisure, ranging from bars, pools, golf courses, gyms, spa treatments, cinema, and beach, and a community club.

The island was inhabited by billionaires of different fields, outstanding personalities and families, public figures, and public post officers. Dells Island formed a community of powerful clans, politicians, and even individuals.

In addition to the allure of the island, it was famed for its peculiar amount of mansions built on the island which was a perfect number of seven. The inhabitants were unknown to the General public and social classes.

In one of the mansions of the island was none other than Daniel Greenwood, the privacy of the island was one of the factors that compelled him to purchase a mansion on the island when a spot opened up.

He was convinced to get one for the family he knew he would raise with 'her' when they reconnected. As mind-boggling as it may have seemed to onlookers, he was convicted of the house the moment he got a look and feel of it.

Daniel stood in his room - very large and spacious with minimal styling. A king-sized bed stood in the middle and a walk-in closet by the right, everything readily situated in the right place.

The mansion's hostess prepared for housekeeping, while Daniel got ready for his appointment inside his room. His athletic strong build and physique stood out in his bare chested body.

With damp hair, he expertly maneuvered himself into a thoroughly ironed dress shirt, picked up his phone and fired a quick text notifying his driver to be ready in fifteen minutes. He made to drop the phone but a call came in - one he'd been expecting.

" Any news for me?" He cut to the point.

" Unfortunately, none. She left the state twenty years ago to an undisclosed location. We are back to square one." A voice narrated from the other end, nervous at his reaction to the news.

Daniel twitched, " Now you have the world in your hands. The next time you call, let it be with the right news. " He said and ended the call.

In no time, he was ready to leave, and determined to have his queen back in his life, even if it was the last thing he did.