Miss Garner was an extremely busy woman. There was no way she could keep a close eye on the charity foundation. If the company could get her support while simultaneously using the foundation for tax avoidance, they would land an absolute jackpot!
Benjamin's thoughts were racing, hidden behind a mask. He attempted to gauge Miss Garner's intentions while answering her:
"Aquoria has recently started recognizing its social responsibility. We are committed to creating programs aiding those in need."
Noticing that the experienced woman didn't completely buy his words, Benjamin calmly added:
"Thanks to William, who brought these issues to our attention of course."
Finally, Miss Garner nodded. The trio sat down and began to discuss where and how Aquoria could offer its help. As the conversation went on, Benjamin kept a polite smile but inwardly he was solemn. It quickly became apparent that William and Marlene were getting along while he was like a third wheel.
However, Benjamin was a businessman. He didn't let this chance get destroyed by silly emotions. No, instead he held himself back, showing his support for William if necessary. Benjamin was ready to endure a lot for the chance to enter the social circle the likes of Miss Garner were associated with. Everything else came later.
As the discussion went on Benjamin remained passive and his thoughts began to wander. From what William and Marlene were planning, the charity foundation would naturally be far from the tax avoidance scheme Benjamin had in mind.
However, it didn't necessarily have to be like this. If Benjamin could convince his brother to give up control, perhaps even resume his travels, then he could change the structure in the way he and Mr. Norman envisioned. But how should he do that?
"I think this was a very pleasant and fruitful discussion. Thank you, William. And also you, Mister Bender. Unfortunately, another appointment is already waiting for me. I will arrange for someone to go through the details with you."
Suddenly Benjamin was brought back to reality as Miss Garner announced her departure. He quickly stood up, politely shaking the politician's hand. Afterwards William accompanied Marlene to the exit while Benjamin went back to his office.
Over the next week the mood in the company shifted again. Everyone was surprised to see that Benjamin supported William, but when they learned that Miss Garner would be part of the project, they understood what was going on.
However, Benjamin didn't give up on his own ideas. He still crafted plans with some like-minded people. He only needed a chance to implement them.
Just as expected Miss Garner didn't personally oversee the project, instead giving it to her subordinates. There were almost daily video call meetings between the two parties and Benjamin became increasingly reassured that he didn't need to fear Miss Garner's scrutiny.
Now William remained his only obstacle, just as before. Benjamin tried multiple times to convince William to resume his travels, but his brother remained stubborn.
Benjamin couldn't understand it. Before their father died it was almost a miracle to meet William at the company. But now he suddenly dind't want to leave.
And as the days passed Benjamin noticed another worrying trend thanks to William's presence. The company was becoming lax! Employees worked less overtime, arguing that they had to 'take care of their health'. And William actually agreed to this bullsh*t! If someone had trouble with their health, they should just swallow some pills and do their work! Did they think the enormous progress made in medicine was for nothing?
Two weeks after Miss Garner's visit, the charity foundation made serious progress. But Benjamin still hadn't managed to convince William. His mood soured day by day. He never faced such a situation in the company where he struggled so much just to realize his will.
Suddenly Benjamin received another message from the people in charge of the project. After reading it through he frowned heavily, barely stopping himself from slamming the table.
"Three million for a water filtration system?! Is William going crazy? Giving out our own water for charity is already stupid, but at least it has an advertising effect. But why would we ever build a water filtration system for those junkies in the exhaust district?! Madness!"
Benjamin's head reddened from the agitation. He knew he wouldn't be able to endure for much longer. However, he couldn't get into a fierce argument with William as the latter had the power to throw Benjamin out of the company leaving him with nothing!
"Oh dad… why did you get me into this situation?"
Benjamin lamented as he thought of a solution. Slowly a certain thought crept into his mind. He remembered the strange invitation he received a while ago. Appearing undetected it had to belong to some seriously influential organization. Perhaps… they would be willing to help him?
Once this thought formed, Benjamin was unable to get rid of it. It nestled in his mind, slowly growing until he couldn't concentrate on anything else anymore.
"Aqua! Give me all the information you can find on a place called Café of Dreams!"
"Yes, Sir."
The AI's cold voice echoed in the room. Benjamin felt as if he had noticed a hint of joy in Aqua's voice. A chill ran down his spine and he shook his head to get rid of this absurd thought.
Luckily, his attention was quickly diverted as Benjamin got engrossed in the information presented by Aqua. There was no official news. Café of Dreams didn't seem to be a business which had any official, public records. Instead, it was something talked about in the deepest, most obscure forums.
And even there it looked as if someone wanted to quietly suppress any mention of it. Accounts were deleted and posts were reported. Yet since about two weeks ago the number of posts has had a resurgence. This couldn't be a coincidence…
"There is a place where you can relax your soul. Where time stands still. Where the world doesn't reach. A place which can solve all your problems – if you can pay the price. Have you heard of the Café of Dreams?"
This was how the most prominent post began. Benjamin read it out loud as his eyes wandered over the screen. What followed were various stories of people who claimed to have been to the Café of Dreams.
Some stories were completely outrageous. People claimed they had met others coming from all over the universe. Benjamin could only scoff at that. Even with the advanced technology of their world they could only build some mineral bases on neighboring planets. It was pretty widely believed that travelling the universe was impossible as generating enough energy to do so would be a tremendous task.
As Benjamin read on, he finally came across some more believable stories. People reported how visiting the Café of Dreams changed their outlook on life. Afterwards their life was never the same.
This, Benjamin could believe. If the Café of Dreams belonged to some influential group as he thought, then joining such a group was of course a life-changing opportunity. It was exactly the kind of opportunity Benjamin was looking for.
Enthralled in the various stories Benjamin found it difficult to extract himself. The sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon when Aqua's voice finally brought him back to reality.
"Sir. It is eight o'clock."
"What?!"
Benjamin was shocked as he reeled back. The light blue light coming from the ceiling fell into his eyes. Hours had passed without him noticing. Benjamin closed his eyes and adjusted his emotions. He had just calmed down when he opened his eyes again and froze in place.
The card had reappeared! It lay quietly on his desk as if it had been there all the time.
"Hallo! Are you there?! Who are you?!"
Benjamin jumped up from his chair and looked around the room. He stared at every corner but there was no one there. His eyes grew solemn but after everything that happened this wasn't unexpected.
A moment later Benjamin sat down again and stared wordlessly at the inconspicuous card lying on his desk. He slowly reached out with his hand, feeling the card below his fingers. His mind was struggling but his hand was already drawing the card across the smooth surface of his desk.
And suddenly it fell into his pocket.
Benjamin exhaled sharply. It dawned on him that he had made a significant decision just now. Afterwards Benjamin cleaned up and returned home. That evening he dove into work. Confident that the Café of Dreams would provide him with the means to convince William, Benjamin could fully get to work on his vision for the charity foundation.
No, perhaps he could even go further. Perhaps the entire company needed some changes. Benjamin had a cold smile on his face as this thought emerged in his mind.
Benjamin worked deep into the night before falling into his bed. However, his sleep was terrible. Dark images flickered through his mind. Suddenly he woke up with a start. Looking around his room Benjamin got the misconception that the shadows were wriggling eerily.
Benjamin couldn't go back to sleep. He called his AI to turn on the light and poured himself a drink to calm his nerves. The rest of the night Benjamin twisted and turned but sleep didn't find him again.