C.E.O x C.E.O

Ch. 22 - Action Movie Moment

It didn't take much - or long for that matter - for Tamara to decipher that the reason why Dmitri took this job offer so suddenly and had quickly jumped into action, was because of James Artino. She's aware of what this ceremony is for. She knows who was initially hosting too.

It's not her place to question where Dmitri has gone to now (though she has a hunch) but since Dmitri is escaping his responsibilities, she might as well do the same. Her first instinct is to find Katherine. She should be here somewhere. James rarely goes anywhere without his trusty secretary. She first asked around, but the staff kept telling her that Katherine wasn't seen since yesterday.

She begins roaming the hotel halls when it turns out nobody knows her room number either, and on the third floor, she finally spots her.

Walking by herself down her hall, head down. She looks up upon hearing footsteps that aren't hers.

Katherine gasps at the sight of her friend, then immediately do they run up to each other and wrap their arms around one another in a tight embrace.

"Tamara! What are you doing here?" She asks, her smile saying she's happy to see her.

"Oh, Reen Real Estate is now taking over the preparations of the ceremony," She replies.

"Huh? Really?" Katherine's brows furrow. "James never told me anything."

"He didn't?" Tamara raises her own brows as well. "I thought you said he tells you everything."

Katherine shrugs but her shifting eyes says it's more of a big deal than she initially lets off. "He's been... very secretive lately."

"So is my boss," Tamara nods, and she knows their secretiveness has something to do with each other, but she decides not to ponder it for now. "Nevermind that, I have something important to tell you."

Then, Katherine clasps her hand. "Me too, I think it's just as important." She leans in for a whisper. "It's about the culprit."

Tamara's eyes grow wide. "What?"

"Come," Holding her hand, Katherine leads her away, down the hallway in the direction she came from. Tamara is caught off guard. What could possibly have been discovered about the culprit while she was away? The only correlation she sees is Middlemist, and... the name of the true culprit. Did something happen in regards to that?

Katherine leads her into a room, turning so abruptly she nearly lost her balance. Katherine doesn't waste any time unlocking the door and leading Tamara inside, Katherine's hastiness beginning to conjure up more question marks than periods.

"Katherine," Tamara grabs her shoulder. "What's going on?"

Katherine's brows remain furrowed since earlier, now accompanied with fallen eyes. "Look behind you."

Tamara turns around, and her whole body tenses up.

She knows the man, Mr. Tyrell Cozbi. She's seen him on TV a few times before, ran into him at meetings and parties and the such, and knows him as the head of the other party this ceremony is for. But in those times, he was a happy-go-lucky man with a neverending smile on his face, who opts to bring cheer to whoever he meets.

Then why is he now kneeled on the floor, head down, shoulders slump, a massive frown on his face and sunken eyes that seemed like he hadn't stopped crying since yesterday?

"I... I can't bring myself to talk to him," Katherine starts, a hand on her chest. "I know something is wrong, something's not right, but I just..."

She turns away then. Tamara becomes determined to know the truth quick. "Cozbi," She begins, attempting to keep her voice steady, kneeling in front of the already-kneeling Mr. Cozbi, who glances up at her at the sound of his name. "Remember me?"