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"And if you take on this campaign and deliver on it, you’ll consolidate your position as Kingmaker within the UK media circuit, a position which I know you’re aiming for."
"So it definitely has to do with politics," I state.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that, Councilor," he laughs.
"So that’s a yes."
"I never said that."
"Right." If there’s one thing Lord Alan is good at, it's evading an issue. He can’t be drawn into an argument at all. Not unless he intends to put forth his point of view which, at the moment, he is not in a mood to do. It’s from him, I learned how to steer a conversation so it benefits me.
"So you’ll do it?"
I blow out a breath. "You know I’d never turn you down."
"I know. And perhaps it’s wrong of me to ask this of you, but I think, in the end, you’ll thank me."
"Is there nothing else you can tell me about it?"
"Graham!" I hear a woman’s voice call out his name over the phone.
"I’ll call you when the details have been hammered out, my dear. Give my regards to your brother." He signs off.
I lower my phone to the table. My brother who’s been overseas the last three months playing cricket matches and shows no sign of coming home,thatbrother? The last time I’d heard from Cade, was a rushed call before he’d left the locker room to get on the pitch. I doubt I’ll hear from him again before the new year, if that.
Of course, I could go spend Christmas with my parents. But they still run the corner shop in a little corner of Leicester, so they’ll likely be working through the holidays. Not even on Christmas, will they take time off. I’ve often told them they could afford to employ people to cover for them, but they won’t even consider it. It’s an unbroken tradition of forty years that the shop has stayed open. The only times they shut it was the day my father had a heart attack—not that he slowed down after that. And he insisted my mother open the shop the next day, which she had, reluctantly, leaving him in the hospital. And the other time was when the Queen passed away. They are staunch royalists, my parents. They admired the Queen for her work ethic, tenacity, and dedication, values they tried to instill in the three of us. And which my brother and I rebelled against, in our own ways.
My father’s parents immigrated to the UK from the Indian subcontinent. My mother is English, but having married my dad, she seemed to have converted completely to his style of thinking and living, which equals embracing the need to equate your worth with your work. Despite my best efforts to rebel, some of their mindset must have sunk in because obviously, I inherited my workaholic tendencies from them.
Why else would I be at my desk in my office, at four p.m. on Christmas Eve? I definitely do need to get out of here.
I reach for my bag, when my phone rings again. Amelie’s name lights up the screen.
"Hey you!" I say by way of greeting.
"Are you still in the office?" Amelie’s wide-eyed gaze stares back at me from the rectangle of my phone.
"I was just leaving."
"Oh, are you coming over to our place for our Christmas Eve party?"
I wince. "Umm, I wasn’t planning to, if I am being honest."
"Aww, Z!" Amelie pouts. "Everyone is here, including Karma and Summer." Karma’s son had been kept in the neo-natal unit for nearly a month before being discharged. Since she brought him home, the boy has thrived and seems to grow bigger every time I see him.
As for Summer’s kid, he looks exactly like a mix between her and Sinclair, and is the sweetest little boy I’ve ever seen.
"Victoria and Saint will be here with their new baby too," she adds.
She’s referring to Saint, who’s one of the Seven, and his wife Victoria, who had her baby at home. I love hanging out with them, but right now, I just need some time alone.
"I’m thinking of leaving London for a bit over Christmas."
"Really?" She tilts her head.
"Yeah." I rub the back of my neck. "I’m exhausted, and I think I could do with some down time."
"You’ve been working so hard lately," she says as she scans my features. "I understand why you want to get away, though I do wish you could come here. It would be nice to have you over. Why, even Hunter Whittington has promised to come by."
