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Chapter Seven
Zander was in a meeting with his brothers. They met frequently as they always had business to discuss. With their territory increasing and their business opportunities expanding, the St. Clair men executed a plan to optimize the most recent opportunities they were presented with. Although Zander was completely invested in his family’s growth and expanded connections, he found it difficult to focus at times. It had been several hours since he’d spoken with Zsanine. He couldn’t imagine that a business meeting would take that long, even if it had gone incredibly well. He’d texted an hour earlier, but there was no response. That wasn’t like Zsanine. Unresponsiveness wasn’t like Zsanine at all.
Nicholas knew his brothers well. He knew their propensities which were very important as the Don of the family. Something was off with Zander. Nicholas gave his youngest brother a chance to refocus, but Zander hadn’t been successful in doing so.
“What’s up, little brother?” Nicholas asked. Yes, they were in the middle of a business meeting, but they were family. Family came first, always.
“It’s nothing,” Zander replied. “I’m good.” But worry lines were etched on his handsome face, and his brothers saw them.
“You’re lying,” Rome countered, calling Zander out.
“What?” Zander quipped.
“You’re being dishonest, Z,” Rome clarified. “Something’s wrong. Just tell us, man. We got your back, whatever it is. What’s up?”
Zander knew Rome spoke for all his brothers. They did have his back. Still, he might be worrying for nothing. It didn’t feel like nothing, though. Zander could feel his brother’s staring at him. He moved uncomfortably in his seat.
“It’s Zsanine,” he finally said.
“What’s going on with Zsanine?” Ezekiel asked.
“I haven’t heard from her in a while, too long,” Zander confirmed.
“She’s got your nose wide open,” Rome teased.
Zander cut his eyes at his brother. “Possibly, but that’s not the point. She had a new appointment today to expand her business. The meeting should have only taken an hour, two at most, but it’s been quite a few hours, and I haven’t heard from her. She promised to call me once the meeting was over. That’s not like Zsanine.”
Rome felt bad seeing how genuinely concerned Zander was. He understood having that kind of connection with the woman you love, the unsettled feeling that something might not be right. Confirmation that Zsanine was okay was what Zander needed.
“Try calling her again, man. Maybe she had her phone turned off or on vibrate when she was in the meeting and forgot,” Rome offered.
“Yeah, maybe,” Zander said, speed dialing Zsanine’s number. “But that doesn’t explain her lack of contact.”
The entire room waited to see if she picked up the phone. They heard the phone ring, once, then twice. They saw the pained look on their brother’s face when the call went to voicemail. Zander shook his head, blowing out slowly.
“Babe, call me as soon as you get this message. You’ve got me worried.”
He didn’t care who heard the message he left. He didn’t care about their interpretation. His only concern was Zsanine.
None of the brothers liked to see Zander so worried.
“Why don’t we wrap this up so Z can see about his girl,” Colton suggested.
“Agreed,” Nicholas replied.
The brothers refocused as much of their attention on business as they could. For a moment, thinking about something else was a good distraction for Zander. Still, his underlying thought was about Zsanine. He hoped he was overreacting.
Another hour passed by the time the brothers wrapped things up. Nicholas noticed that Zander was even more unsettled.
“You still haven’t heard anything?”
“No.”
“What are you going to do? What can we do?”
“I don’t know,” Zander admitted. “Give her time, I guess.”
“If you need anything, anything Z, let me know.”
