The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 100

"I thought of something." I said this out of the clear blue as an idea popped into my head.

Alexander sat up and propped himself onto one elbow, eyebrows raised.

We'd spent a good hour or so in bed, and it had accomplished the desired effect. Obliterating the tension that had been threatening to suffocate us earlier, replacing it with pleasure. And a little pain.

We were lying there afterward comfortably entwined, spent and warm, with the breeze through the open windows skimming our sweaty bodies, when my idea arrived.

"You asked earlier if you could help me with anything pregnancy related. I thought of something that would make my life a lot easier."

"Of course," he said. "What do you need?"

"I need some sort of home office setup. It's no longer comfortable at all to sit in bed and work on my laptop. And I wouldn't have to stay at the office so late in the evenings if I could bring some of my work home to do after dinner." "Of course. I should have thought of that." Alexander nodded, his eyebrows in a serious line. "We'll get you a proper workspace. I'll take care of it."

When I made my request for a home office, I hardly expected such attention on the subject. But Alexander seemed sort of embarrassed about not having given me somewhere to work before I had to ask for it as a favor, and went out of his way to provide one that was customized to my liking.

He took me shopping. We looked at about two hundred desks, and I selected one of the simplest I could find. It had no drawers - I didn't need storage - and a thick glass top that had a hint of an opalescent shimmer when the light hit it.

Other loot included a desk chair, a new computer, a printer, a few desktop organizing accessories, and a small lamp with a caned glass shade that was my favorite find of the day. Alexander ordered everything for same-day delivery, and somehow it all beat us back to the palace. We walked up to our bedroom door just as the last of the delivery people was walking out, pushing an empty handcart and asking Alexander to sign something on a clipboard. Apparently, my fiancé had also coordinated for our entire bedroom to be rearranged while we were out on our shopping adventure.

Our room was large, but I had been wondering exactly where I might be able to slip in my new desk. I guess Alexander had a plan for that already though, and he'd set it in motion early enough to have it done by the time we returned.

The bulky table that had once taken up one corner of the room was gone, along with the three small chairs that had surrounded it. (There were four until recently, when one broke a leg and we hadn't felt any urgency to replace it.) Now, this space was mine: my desk was already in place with my lovely glass lamp angled on one side, plugged in and turned on. My computer was in the middle, also powered up and ready for me to start customizing the settings.

Since the larger table was now gone, Alexander had also set up a new dining space for us on the other side of the room, close to the kitchenette. A small, round, glass-topped café table filled what was previously only unused space. Two tufted white armchairs sat on either side of it. In the center of the table was a glass vase holding a single white rose.

"You're ridiculous" was the only thing I could say to Alexander as I gazed around and took everything in.

He smiled smugly, pleased with his work.

"I thought about setting up another room nearby as your office, to give you some private space. But I think this is safer, so you can work whenever you want. If we had another adjoining room" - he waved at the door to his office.

"No, I agree," I interrupted. "This is perfect, really. I appreciate it."

I spent the rest of the evening setting up my desk and my new computer. Fortunately Alexander not only understood how fun this was for me, but also seemed to enjoy watching and kept me company all the while.

"I'd like to make it a regular thing," I told Alexander as he finished making our breakfast the next morning. "Visiting my grandfather once every weekend. I hate to admit this, but sometimes I... forget to make the time and the weeks just slip by."

"That's a great idea." He kept his eyes on the stove, flipping golden pancakes in a flat pan. "Though you shouldn't be so hard on yourself for having forgotten at times. You're very busy. No one can be perfect all the time."

"Really?" I asked sassily. "Perhaps you don't know me at all." In my head, this had been a sarcastic, self-deprecating joke. Maybe not a particularly funny one.

But to my surprise, it made Alexander turn to look at me with a thin-lipped expression that might've been strong distaste or mild concern.

He kept his thoughts to himself though. Returned his eyes to the stove and then changed the subject eagerly once he had everything plated and served and we were ready to eat.

We began our new routine that afternoon, paying Grandfather a visit at his scheduled lunch time. Alexander turned his phone off ostentatiously during the drive there and made a point of telling me that Kayden would be checking in on Iris throughout the day to ensure she was taken care of and occupied. I gave this report a single nod of confirmation. It didn't seem like a response was necessary. Grandfather was in what I'd describe as a neutral-leaning-negative state when we arrived at the nursing home.

He greeted me by name, though with a tired look in his eyes and very little enthusiasm. Alexander he seemed to find unfamiliar.

It heartened me to see a positive change wash over the old man over the course of our visit. It took several minutes, but after studying my face in silence for a while, he seemed to awaken. He began trilling with excitement over the sight of his "beloved granddaughter" and "the Big Man" when suddenly it dawned on him who we were.

Coherent conversation was minimal today, and I did the brunt of the work on it. I could see that it made Alexander uncomfortable, interacting with Grandfather when he was in a less than lucid state. He had not yet had the privilege of this experience; Alexander's other visits here so far had happened to line up with Grandfather's good days.

When, after less than twenty minutes or so, the old man appeared quite abruptly exhausted, we began our exit.

"I love you, Grandfather. We'll be back to see you next weekend." He held my hand tightly as I gave him a little kiss goodbye, only nodding in answer.

As Alexander bowed his head at him, though, in a polite gesture of farewell, my grandfather spoke up. "You are very lucky, indeed, my boy." He was looking my Alpha deeply in the eye.

Alexander broke into a relieved smile. "I am," he said, darting his eyes to me.

"Very lucky. A whole lifetime ahead of you, and you get to spend it with our Fiona."

The honey-gold eyes locked tightly on mine, then, and Alexander's face went soft with love when he said, "I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

I was startled.

But I held my smile in place, not letting my cheerfulness falter in front of Grandfather.

I did let my eyes linger a few seconds longer, I suppose looking for more information in Alexander's gaze, but I only succeeded in making him suddenly appear rather uncomfortable before I finally tore my eyes away.

Surely this comment was a mere white lie. Uttered for my grandfather's benefit. Building on the original lie I'd established months ago when I first introduced Alexander as my husband. He was just giving our long con on the old man some substance and detail, following my lead.

But if that were the case, he was a very good actor. Because the look on his face had me convinced in the moment that he truly meant what he was saying.

It really sounded like maybe he did want to spend the rest of his life with me.

This unsettled me more than anything else.

If Alexander was changing his mind about our arrangement, if he really was falling for me - this was hardly an appropriate time and place to tell me so.