Eleanor looked at her wristwatch; there were still a few minutes left before her meeting. Deciding to use the time wisely, she turned to Emmanuel, curious about his role at the school and his decision to work as a guard despite his high standing.
"Why are you working as a guard here instead of managing your clan business?" she asked.
Emmanuel smiled warmly. "I was in the police service for a long time. When I turned 50 in human records, I decided to retire early and join this school. You might not know, but this school was actually established by our family. Our younger generation studies here and learns how to blend with humans from an early age."
"Some of our fighters work as guards to protect the children from any potential harm. As for me, I joined to stay close to my granddaughter. She's very attached to me and refused to attend school without me. So, I decided to retire from the police force and take the role of guard captain here. Everybody knows the story by now."
Eleanor smiled. "You must really love your granddaughter."
"She's my treasure," Emmanuel replied proudly. "She'll be six next month."
"That's wonderful," Eleanor said before pausing. "By the way, is it possible to enroll my daughter directly, outside the usual admission window? Sorry to ask so suddenly."
Emmanuel chuckled. "It's okay. Since the admission window is closed, the only way to enroll her now is through a donation. But this school doesn't accept money as donations. You need to contribute something significant to the school's development. Of course, my father could make a call to the headmistress if you want, and everything would be taken care of."
Eleanor thought for a moment, then said, "Your surveillance system is outdated. Before I arrived here, I hacked into it to observe the school. If you're interested, I can provide one of the world's best surveillance systems for free. You can search my company, Heimdall Technologies, to know more."
"Heimdall is your company?" Emmanuel looked stunned. "No wonder I've been hearing about it for the past two days. You know, a lot of wealthy families have children studying here, and they gossip about all kinds of things. The news about Heimdall taking over the regional business sector is the latest hot topic. Most importantly, nobody knows who the boss of Heimdall is."
He paused for a moment, then said, "We can talk more later. Your meeting time is near."
Turning on his radio, Emmanuel spoke, "Mili, come to the main gate. I have a guest who needs to be escorted to the headmistress's office."
He then turned to Eleanor. "It's a good deal. Go and meet the headmistress. I'll call my father before your meeting and try to arrange your daughter's admission."
He handed her his phone. "Please scan this to add me on WhatsApp. We can talk more later."
Moments later, a young female guard arrived and saluted Emmanuel.
"Mili," Emmanuel said, "she's my friend. Please escort her to the headmistress's office."
"Okay," Mili replied. "Please follow me."
Eleanor followed Mili inside the building. When they arrived at a plain-looking room, Mili stopped and said, "This is the headmistress's office. Please wait here; someone will call you in soon."
"Do I need to knock?" Eleanor asked.
"No need," Mili replied. "An assistant already saw you on the surveillance feed." With that, she left.
After a few moments, a young woman opened the door. "Did you come to meet our headmistress?" she asked.
"Yes," Eleanor replied. "My name is Eleanor, and I have an appointment."
"Oh! You're five minutes early. Please come in," the assistant said, gesturing for Eleanor to follow her.
Eleanor was directed to a waiting area. She sat in a chair there. After some time, another assistant appeared from an inner room.
"Miss Eleanor Raynor, please come in. Madam is waiting for you."
Inside the office, Eleanor found a scholarly-looking elderly woman seated behind a desk, glasses perched low on her nose.
"I am Stella Rimington, Headmistress of this school. Please have a seat," she said.
"Thank you," Eleanor replied as she sat down.
"You asked for a meeting regarding your daughter's admission, correct?" Stella asked.
"Yes," Eleanor confirmed.
"Was there a problem with her current school?"
"No, we recently moved here from the US. My daughter was homeschooled before this."
"I see," Stella said thoughtfully. "In that case, we'll need to assess her before deciding which class she should join. Also, I believe you know our admission window is currently closed. However, just before you arrived, the chairman of the board informed me that you're offering to provide us with a new surveillance system. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Eleanor confirmed. "Our system is one of the most advanced available. It includes an AI that can detect security breaches or protocol violations in real-time. For example, if one of your students suddenly faints on campus, the AI will immediately alert you and provide live video footage of the student. It's highly customizable to meet your school's specific needs."
Stella's eyes widened. "That sounds incredible. Please donate the system, and I'll ensure your daughter's admission is processed without issue."
"Thank you," Eleanor said. "I'll arrange for my team from Heimdall Technologies to meet you soon. One request, though… we're developing this system for security agencies, and while it's currently in use at our offices, it's not available on the market yet. I'd appreciate it if you didn't publicize this donation."
Stella nodded. "That's understandable. Please bring your daughter tomorrow at 10 for her assessment. We'll place her with some incoming transfer students next week to avoid suspicion or unwanted attention."
Eleanor smiled gratefully. After discussing the school's rules and facilities, she bid farewell and left the office.
Later, at her own office, Lily greeted her with updates.
"We've acquired 11.9% of HFCL's total shares," Lily reported. "We're sending someone to finalize the deal.
Eleanor said, "It's okay. Decide for yourself as long as you can. Since our team is capable of handling such matters, I suggest leaving the matter to them."
Teresa also informed Eleanor that twelve directors from the previously acquired companies had agreed to join Heimdall Technologies. Teresa proposed giving them positions that held shares rather than directly transferring ownership.
Eleanor agreed. "That sounds smart. Just make sure they sign confidentiality agreements first," she reminded.
After reviewing all the documents at hand, Eleanor finally headed home, feeling satisfied with her progress.
Since she had driven here on her own, she decided to visit Piccadilly before returning home. She needed to buy some clothes, a bag, and some supplies for Freya's school.
Due to the shortage of parking space, she left her car behind and walked to the Louis Vuitton store to buy a backpack and some stationery items for Freya.