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Hanging up, he slides his phone closed and he’s tense. I hate seeing him like this, “Alex, maybe you should go see your father. What if something really is wrong? I would have loved to be able to see Anita before she died. In the end, I don’t want you to have regrets.”
Sighing, the lines are back and he’s running a hand over his face. “Grace, please, my father pulling his tricks is just something he does. Maybe after we come back we’ll go together, and you can meet my family. It’s not the best way for it to happen, but at least it will be a way to get it over with in one go. We get the marriage certificate tomorrow, and we can be married by this weekend. Next week we’ll work, clear our calendars and take the next week off.”
His phone is ringing again and he checks the display, I know it’s Marley, he doesn’t have to say a word. Shaking his head, he sends it voicemail.
Seeing the conflict clearly on his face, I know I can’t stand to see it there. “I can’t, I can’t do it. Not with your phone ringing and you tense. We’ll go get the marriage license today, you go see your father over the weekend, and I’ll clear our calendars and we can go next week. That’s my requirement, I love you, but I can’t do it with this hanging over us.”
Alex is shaking his head as his phone rings again. With a sigh, he answers. “I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, tell Dad he wins. Send the jet and I’ll be on it.”
His father has a jet? I look down at my ring and remember him talking about buying out Edward and Tim. The million dollar condo he bought sight unseen. How rich is he?
“Let’s get out of here, I’m not going to be worth anything today. I don’t care if it’s only Thursday. There are benefits to you marrying your soon-to-be boss.”
“Alex, I have a meeting.” His eyes darken. I give up. “Okay, let me call and cancel. I’m taking my laptop home though.”
He gives in on the laptop. I never open it though, day and night is spent in bed. I’m able to get him to talk about his father more than he has in the past. Previously, he’d only talked about his brothers and sisters. His mother, he had few memories of, since she had died when he was four. Maybe it’s only wishful thinking but it feels like he’s less tense the next morning. When he leaves, his kiss is soft and gentle as he tells me that he loves me.
After he’s gone, I wait awhile and give in. Running into the living room, I find my work laptop and do something I’ve never once thought of doing before, I do a search on him. Holy shit, he has his own page on the internet. Pictures of him with his ex-wife come up and for five seconds my stomach flips, until the light catches my ring. An evil gremlin in me points out her ring is much smaller, and by the way, she’s his ex-wife and she’s psycho and she doesn’t matter anymore.
As I read, all the puzzle pieces I had ignored fall into place, he’s been from the one percent since his great-great-grandfather. Oil and steel, then shipping, had been in the bloodline until his grandfather had made fatal errors. Then oil dropped, then the shipping, to save the company from the losses the oil had brought. His father had a shell of a company and that’s what he worked with, shells of companies, buying and selling. Junk bonds had helped keep him afloat until he stabilized.
Alex had disappointed his father by not following him into the company. In a fit of rage, his father sold everything until only cash was left. Alex’s father only paid for his children’s education, nothing else. It was often reported he would leave nothing to his children. For Alex, that wasn’t an issue as he had inherited a billion dollar fortune at twenty one from his mother. Then the old man hunkered down in Palm Beach, Florida, in a house that looked like a castle on the water.
Wow, just wow. As I read about his father, I’m able to fill in the gaps of what Alex had talked about last night. A man who wanted to be king had inherited a crumbling kingdom and turned it around. Then when his own son had refused the throne, out of petty hurt, he set his kingdom on fire. Not realizing he was burning the fragile bonds with his other children when he did it, seeing only his own hurt. No wonder he had to be on his deathbed before his children would come see him. Hell, was it right for me to send Alex back to him, did he deserve it? I don’t want Alex hurt by this man’s evidently vicious tongue.
Great, only now when Alex is gone and it’s too late am I second guessing myself.
The phone rings, it’s the insurance company, they got my number from the lawyer’s office. I answer their questions, scan and send the death certificate over. I’m told I’ll be receiving the check in the mail in seven to ten days. Hanging up, it still doesn?
?t seem real, a two hundred thousand dollar check on its way to me. While for a lot of people it was nothing, to me it’s a huge amount of money, and something I didn’t think I’d see in my bank account. Then there’s over a million from the sale of the house. I don’t think I’m really going to believe it all until it’s actually in the bank. I do have a healthy saving. When I got promoted I didn’t change my lifestyle. The only thing I did any differently was maybe eat out more often, there had been dreams of a house cleaner twice a week but I shrugged it off. Now I could afford a cleaner every day of the week. Alex had a cleaner come in twice a week. She also picked up and dropped off his dry cleaning and she’d started taking mine as well. I did my own laundry and Alex’s of the comfortable clothing we lounged in after work and on the weekends.
Not wanting to, but knowing I couldn’t put if off anymore, I call the insurance company through the company from which she had retired. The call went quickly but they want a paper copy of the death certificate. Once that was received, they would be happy to pay out electronically. Giving them my banking information for my savings account, I’m told to expect it within two weeks of the time they received the death certificate. I know I’m going to need Alex’s help to invest almost all of it, having it sitting in the bank wasn’t the best thing for it. All calls made, I sit back and wonder what the heck to do now. Alex hasn’t been gone a half-hour and I already feel lost without him.
Work is the answer, it’s always the answer.
Chapter Ten
Work flies by, I get a text from Alex letting me know he’s landed safely then nothing for the rest of the day. By the time I’ve finished for the day, I’ve cleared Alex’s work for the next week. He only had one report, and a meeting scheduled to go over the results. I highlight the important points then put them into a power point. My own calendar isn’t as easy to clear. I know I’ll need to take my laptop home.
I grab something on the way home and settle onto the couch. I’m worried. I want to call Alex. Except I’m worried it will seem clingy. After an hour, I don’t care how it will seem and call him.
“I’m sorry to bother you. I was just starting to get worried.”
“No, it’s okay. Damn, I’m glad you called. I miss you already. This place is a fucking three ring circus.”
He’s stressed, but his relief is clear. “What’s going on?”
“He is as bad as Marley told me he was, only he wouldn’t go to the hospital. All my brothers and sisters are here, along with two ex-stepmothers, and everybody is arguing and not a damned thing is getting done. I got him into the hospital. The doctors don’t like what they see, but for now can’t agree. A cardiac specialist is coming in tomorrow. We’ll know more then.”
“Oh, Alex, I’m sorry. At least you got him into the hospital and you’re there now.”
“Hey, don’t say you’re sorry. It’s only because of you that I’m here. Thank you for that by the way.”
“You’re welcome. I love you and miss you already.”
“Miss you to. I have to go. The doctor is waiting for me. I’ll call you soon.”
Hanging up, I curl onto the couch and all I can do is worry. He sounded so stressed when he first answered. I’m relieved for him that he’d gotten to his father while he was still here for him to see.
