Chapter 16: Remembering the past.
Mr Elizur walked into his office, where Becky was already working. She got up to welcome him. "Good morning, sir." He just walked past her and took a seat. "Good morning, Becky. How are you today?" She sat down. "Fine, sir." As Mr. Elizur opened his computer, the phone started ringing. Beatrice stood up to answer it.
"Hello, this is the office of Mr. Elizur. How can I help you?" The voice on the line was calm and steady. "Hello there, I wish to speak to your boss, Elizur." Beatrice was taken aback. Who could it be that called him by his first name? Over the years, he had gained many titles. "Well, sir, you can't just speak to my boss unless you are in the shadows for today. As you know, Mr. Elizur is a busy man." There was a pause, prompting Becky to speak again. "Hello, can you hear me?"
Then the person responded, "Tell him it's the president of H-Shares, Mr. Reuben." Becky's face turned pale. She walked to Mr. Elizur's desk, where he was smiling as he reviewed recent changes in the stock market. It seemed their firm was on the right path with none of their competitors catching up. In a low voice, Becky called out to him, "Sir, it's Mr. Reuben." His expression changed as he took the telephone from her.
"Hello, Devil. How have you been?" On the other end, Mr. Reuben smiled. "You are the master devil, Elizur." "What do you want, Reuben? I'm busy," Mr. Elizur replied. Mr. Reuben chuckled, "Is that how you respond to your old boss? You've really got some nerve. All I want is to see you." Mr. Elizur smiled. "Sure, let's meet at the beach by nightfall."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Reuben laughed. "Speaking of the devil, he sure loves business to be done at night. See you then." Mr. Elizur hung up the phone, and Becky took the receiver back. Mr. Elizur leaned back in his chair, resting his back, and his mind wandered back thirty-five years.
At that time, he was a teenager walking in the streets of another country. Dressed in worn-out clothes and shoes, he had a sad and pitiful expression. Suddenly, a little girl rushed into the street to retrieve her balloon, which had floated away. Just then, a car sped by—a shining black Benz. Mr. Elizur's eyes caught the scene, and he rushed toward the girl. Although he moved quickly, the car hit him just before he could reach her, but the girl remained unharmed.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital room, and standing next to him was Mr. Reuben, accompanied by two men in suits at the door—his guards. Mr. Reuben, exuding wealth, wore a thick, shining suit, and the analog wristwatch on his hand was made of pure diamond, catching the light.
"How do you feel? Is it hot?" the man next to him asked. Mr. Elizur bowed his head and replied, "I'm okay, sir." The man smiled and offered his hand for a shake. Mr. Elizur smiled back and shook his hand with both of his. "My name is Reuben. I'm glad to meet you." He handed Mr. Elizur a business card. "I was just about to leave. I'm glad you're awake now."
"I'll be fine, sir; this isn't my first time being hit by a car," Mr. Elizur replied. Reuben smiled and said, "A man shouldn't gamble with his life. You were in a coma for a while." Suddenly, Mr. Elizur stood up. Reuben looked at him, surprised. "Where are you going?"
"I'm in a hurry." He changed into his original clothes. "You have to go through the discharge procedures," Reuben cautioned. However, before he could finish, Mr. Elizur had already left the room. Amused, Mr. Reuben thought to himself, "What a guy." He turned to one of the guards. "Take care of the rest. I've spent too much time here."
His eyes traveled to his wristwatch, but it was gone. "What?" HeHe remembered that the watch was made of pure diamond and worth a fortune. Suddenly, it dawned on him—when the young man shook his hand, he had used both hands. Could it be him? He recalled that he had the wristwatch with him when he arrived at the hospital. He quickly instructed his guards to go after Mr. Elizur. However, by time they left the hospital, Elizur had vanished.
Meanwhile, Mr. Elizur rushed to the nearest watch store to sell the diamond watch he had taken. He verified its quality by biting into the watch—it was indeed a genuine diamond. He knew he was going to make a lot of money from it, and he smiled as he walked into a jewelry store.
Mr. Elizur smiled in his office as he reminisced about his past, which was thirty-four years ago. Things had changed; he was no longer a pickpocket or a skillful thief. He was now a billionaire, the president of one of the most well-known companies in the world, a person others envied and aspired to be. He was now the kind of man who could buy anything he wanted at any time, from anyone.