"Good morning Mr Mathew, hope I didn't keep you waiting," Damion said, shaking Mr Paul Mathew's hands. He also shook hands with three other men and one woman.
"This is our lead, Arya Hunter," he continued, as Arya shook hands with them.
They were sitting in the lounge area, which Damion used as a meeting area and everyone was advised not to enter that area, while the meeting was in session.
"We're thankful to you for coming at such short notice..."
"It's our pleasure Mr Wingfield," Mr Mathew said, getting comfortable on the sofa.
"As you all know, Miss Hunter was the lead doctor in a group of five zoologist who discovered the three headed rattle snake, and I'm happy to inform you that we are carrying out tests to see what genetic mutation that snake went through..." Damion explained.
"Wait... hold on Mr Wingfield," the young woman spoke up. "When you say, 'tests', doesn't it mean harming the poor creature?"
"That is a great question Miss Anders. I'm proud to say that Arya stayed with her team for almost six months in the heart of the desert, to study the live snakes. The only thing we use for testing is the shedded skin and the venom they left behind on animals they bit. Their whole life is documented on video in our office."
Miss Anders seemed satisfied with that answer. She was from the department of prevention of animal cruelty, and she always looked stern and she meant business.
"And what about the dire wolf project? Any update?" Mr Anthony, a middle aged man asked.
"One of my employees, Miss Wells, is on the field right now, working as we speak."
"Did she find anything yet?"Mr Mathew asked.
"She has yet to submit her report, but I'm sure she won't disappoint us," Damion said with a smile.
"What are your future plans?"
"Since we have a suspicion that the Sabre toothed cat can still be alive and thriving, we hope to get enough funds to travel to the heart of the Cambodian forests," Arya explained.
"Can you explain how you got your 'suspicion' about these cats being alive?" Another man asked. Arya didn't know his name.
"Yes, so we were sent photos of large paw prints, which the local hunters and trackers could identify as a feline paw, but no cat alive has that big paws. Then we sent these photos to Trevor, a palaeontologist, and he confirmed that these were paw prints of the Sabre toothed cat... and not only that, he also confirmed that the prints look fresh, and not from 11,000 years ago," Arya explained, handing them all photos as evidence, and Trevor's written statement.
The guests shook their heads and whispered among themselves, nodding, reading, showing each other the statement...
Arya felt this would be a success. It had to be, she would lead her team to southeast Asia. It would be the first time she herself would go to Asia.
"Mr Wingfield, we think this is great, but also very dangerous. What steps will you take to protect your employees from harm? Since we all know that the Sabre toothed cats are carnivores!" Mr Mathew asked, as his team nodded in agreement.
"We would arrange them to live with villagers and follow their instructions, and we would ask permission from the Cambodian government and police to allow them to carry dart guns, so incase they are attacked they can protect themselves, without killing these cats," Damion said proudly, as the others nodded, clearly liking the idea.
"Well than Mr Wingfield, we can start this project as soon as you finish the dire wolf project," Mr Mathew said, getting up and shaking Damion's hand.
"Now what?" Arya asked, as Damion sat in his office, clearly disturbed. He had expected Paul to invest in this project without waiting for the last projects result, but things don't always go as planned.
"We have to send someone out there to investigate!" Damion said thoughtfully.
"Why don't we report Rebecca missing," Arya suggested.
"No, no, no ,no. We cannot do that!" The older man said, getting up from his chair. "You remember how Paul asked about employees safety! If he finds out about Rebecca's disappearance, we would be doomed. He'll pull out every dollar he invested."
Sitting back down, Damion looked at Arya, who was sitting across from him. With a thoughtful tone, he said, "Arya, I think you should go complete Rebecca's project."
"What? I mean, why me?" Arya asked, shocked.
"Because you're the only one who can do this, without letting it slip that Rebecca's missing. If Paul asks, I'll tell him she needed help compiling everything, so I sent you to her!" Damion looked Arya straight in the eye.
"I... I...I.. "
"I'm not asking you for an answer now, take your time, relax and tell me by tomorrow. If you want, you can take today off... go relax, think about this... if we fail to give them updates, our cat project is out the window," Damion said.
Arya knew he was right. But that's not the worst part; the worst part is, how is she going to explain to her family that she has to go there?
Kimberly never wants to hear about Moonsglow village, so how is Arya supposed to tell her she's going to the village that took everything from her? Yes, her parents died in Moonsglow. Aunt Kimberly lost her only sister and brother in law in Moonsglow.
She would never allow her to go. On the other hand, her best friend was missing. The biggest project of her life was at stake because of an unfinished project in Moonsglow.
What should she do now?
All this thoughts were running in her mind as she knocked on the door of uncle Pete's house.
"Arya, you're back! How was your meeting?" Kimberly asked, as Arya walked in. She sat on the counter and drank the glass of water that Kimberly gave her.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" She asked her daughter, as she sat on the stool beside her.
"There's something I need to discuss with you, aunt Kim!" Arya said slowly. "It's about the dire wolf project, and..."
Kimberly waited patiently for Arya to finish.
"Damion wants me to go finish Rebecca's unfinished project."
"Well, that good. Where's this remote village?" Kimberly asked, trying to sound lively.
Arya hesitated. "Moonsglow."