The Alpha King Call Boy
Chapter 132

Alexander

"He's gone into hiding."

Conrad peeled an onion and chopped it in half. Then he took one half at a time and cut them quickly into thin, half-moon slivers.

"I don't think that's what he started out doing when he left," he continued. "But it's what he's doing now. Hunkered down, and I'm thinking, about to stay a while. Either he got the idea that we, or someone else, were onto him. Or he's planning to wait something out... something he knows is coming, and we don't."

He was speaking about Fiona's father. Conrad had gone after the scoundrel when he left town several days ago, expressing to me a single purpose in doing so: "We can't lose track of him."

He followed the man around for several days, driving through every major city on this side of the country, and finally decided to come back when the man abruptly ceased his movements, filling up his car with rations first and then apparently moving into an abandoned cabin in the mountains.

"How about the maid?" Conrad asked. The onions slid off the cutting board into a buttered pan, hissing and steaming as they hit the high heat to be flash-grilled. "She give you anything else yet?"

I gave Conrad more of the same answer I'd supplied him with the last time he asked this question. Iris was settling in still, getting some medical care and resting. I couldn't push her too fast. But I planned to give the memory exercise another try with her this coming week.

He heated a second pan on the stove while we talked, then produced a tray of thinly sliced steak strips from the fridge and started those searing. The apartment filled with mouth-watering aromas that smelled more delicious every second.

"Something else I want to run by you." I threw back the last sip of wine in my glass before I continued. "I've been thinking about going public with my ownership share of the company. I don't mean tomorrow. But I'd like to start working with you on a plan for that, and a timeline."

To my surprise, Conrad looked me in the eye and said, "Great! I think Scarlet's done, Alexander. Even if she manages to keep herself out of prison, at this point, her career's beyond repair. She's not a threat to Crescent anymore. She's got no leverage on you in the industry."

"And you feel good about me coming in and taking a more active role in the company?"

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, beginning a roundabout answer. "I'm an old man. And I'm tired as all hell."

I shook my head. "What do you mean, 'old man?' You haven't even broken sixty."

"Oh, hard living has aged me fast. I only admit this to you because, with what you're telling me now, it sounds like it may well be the right time for me to take a small step back from the company. I could not give it all up at once, no, no." He clicked his tongue. "Couldn't do that if I wanted to, even if I tried. But we can get the process started. What are you thinking? Within the next year? Two?"

"I have to admit, I'm a little taken aback to hear you saying all of this, uncle."

"I have been tired, nephew, for ten years." He retrieved a couple plates from a high cupboard and busied himself with toasting bread rolls on a front burner while the steak and onions simmered in the back.

"You sure as hell don't look tired."

"Ha! Flattery will get you nowhere, son."

"I have no stake in flattering you."

"Listen, Alexander. I was already hoping to start sharing some more top-floor leadership tasks with Fiona. She's the best employee I've ever had. We need to promote her. But if you want to take on a more active role in the company, too... that's even better." "What will you do with all your free time, though? Once you step back from the firm? You'll be bored out of your mind, Conrad."

He shrugged and started plating our sandwiches. The steak strips went into the rolls first and got covered with shredded cheese that started melting on contact. Then the grilled onions, still steaming, went on top of that.

"Find someone to spend some of that time with, maybe," Conrad said suggestively.

I nodded. "Not a bad idea."

He took our plates and headed to the dining room, a big corner area of his penthouse apartment that had full-glass external walls, just like the office.

The second we were seated, he jumped back up and went right back to the kitchen, apparently remembering a half-empty wine glass he'd left by the stove.

I took a huge bite of the cheesesteak sandwich. It was divine.

"You could take up a new career in the restaurant industry," I suggested. "From what I've heard about chefs, you might have the right disposition for that job, in addition to the knife skills."

He grinned, showing off a big mouthful of sharp white teeth.

Fiona

I was up from my seat the moment I heard Conrad's booming voice carrying down the hall.

It was already mid-afternoon, and the TGIF feels were real. I wanted to get back to Alexander and get started on my weekend. And I had no idea how long Conrad was going to want to meet with me, so getting started on our catch-up asap was my top priority.

I thanked myself for having the reports printed and sorted already, rather than obsessively working on them until the last minute. They were ready, stored in file folder; I grabbed it and hurried out into the hall.

Conrad was on the phone, yammering away into his Bluetooth headset. (This just looked, to an uninformed observer, like he was talking to himself.)

He caught my eye, snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "Superstar," he called out loudly. "Come join me in my office." The person on the other side of that phone call was probably cringing, maybe even temporarily deaf.

I was also cringing, but for a different reason.

I dearly wished the CEO had not called me that so loudly. I didn't like imagining what my coworkers could be thinking about that nickname.

He ended his call abruptly once we were seated across from each other at his desk.

"You look well" was the first thing Conrad said to me. He produced a toothpick from nowhere and placed it in his mouth, grinding his teeth on it compulsively. "It's good to see you, Fiona."

"Thanks. Great to see you, too, Boss."

He nodded at the folder in my hand.

"Some reports I wrote up for you. Notes from the all-staffs - I recorded the meetings and wrote up the minutes while listening to the audio again later. And a debrief on what's happened with the expansion project. The new contractors are listed there along with their contact info. And some copies of important client communications about our new expected site completion dates."

Conrad did not even open the folder. He just looked very carefully at me while I spoke.

"Fantastic," he said flatly, a smirk growing on his face that I didn't like, only because I didn't know why it had appeared.

"The checks you requested." He turned his attention to some paperwork that had already been sitting on his desk. He rifled through the pile and produced a page of checks.

I glimpsed my colleagues' names in the "To" fields: Gerald, Emmie, Tavis. The amount on the checks? Two thousand, five hundred each. That was decent, for a last minute bonus. I was satisfied.

Conrad finished signing his big, wild signature on the bottom of the three checks, then slid the paper across the desk. I took it and folded it into thirds, along the perforations. I'd tear them carefully apart once I was seated at my own desk, to be sure I did it perfectly.

I noticed that Conrad had a second page of checks underneath the first. They came three to a page. This second page only had information printed into the blanks on one of the three checks, and it had my name on it.

Conrad signed the check. This one, he ripped free from the rest of the page. He smiled broadly as he slid it over to me.

Twenty thousand dollars.

"Whoa." I could not help that I said this, but I did manage to keep my face neutral.

"That's not just for this past week," he said. "Though I've been told you did a killer job covering the meetings for me. Thanks."

"Not a problem." I took my check and folded it in half. Otherwise, I was about to keep staring at the dollar amount that was printed on it.

A quick flash of blue light on the side of his face told me that Conrad was receiving a call on his headset.

"Go home, Fiona," he said, looking at his watch. "You're off duty. I'll see you Monday."