Alessandro (Members From Money Book 21)

by Katie Dowe

  “I know about her, Frank. I know that you and your secretary have more than a working relationship,” Emily's mother yelled.

  “There is nothing going on between me and Jenna, Kelsey. You are being paranoid,” Frank yelled back angrily.

  Alex was in his room down the hall but even with his pillow over his head he could still hear them. He sighed and shook his head.

  “Really, Frank? So when I came to your office last week and she came out of your bathroom as she buttoned her blouse…that had nothing to do with the fact that you had screwed her?” Kelsey asked.

  “Maybe she had to take off her clothes to actually use the toilet, Kelsey. Did you ever think about that?” Frank asked.

  “She had a skirt on, Frank. She could have just as easily pulled it up before sitting on the damn toilet,” she said angrily.

  “Come on, Kelsey. You are overreacting.” Alex heard his stepmother laugh.

  “Really? Then was I overreacting when I walked in on you giving her a long kiss goodnight last night?” she asked.

  “What…wai…” Frank stammered.

  “I was at the Mayfair last night. Drinks with my sister and I saw you, Frank.”

  That was it. Alex couldn’t bear listening any longer. He put his headphones on and cranked some music. He didn’t care what was going on anymore. He had been waiting for a divorce to happen for months on end and now that he was sure it was finally happening. The next morning, Alex woke up to find his bags packed and they were out of there. All he remembered about Emily was that she was looking at him sadly from her bedroom window. And that was it. That was how they separated.

  Alex didn’t know how long he had been sitting out there before the doctor finally came out walking towards him. He stood up and looked at the doctor.

  “How is she? Is she okay?” Alex asked. A cold sweat had broken out on his forehead but he didn’t even realize it. The doctor nodded.

  “She is fine. A little anemic and fatigued. No concussions or anything else that may cause us to split hairs,” he said.

  “So can I take her home now?” Alex asked.

  “Actually, I would rather keep her overnight for observation though. From what I gathered, she has not been sleeping very well.”

  “So, what happens now?” he asked as he looked at the doctor.

  “She is sedated. Just to make sure she actually gets some sleep tonight. You can go in and see her if you want,” the doctor said. “But I would suggest that she takes the next few days easy. I will recommend a four day bed rest before she considers going back to work.”

  Alex nodded and followed him to one of the rooms. He could feel his heart beating hard. This would be the first time he would be seeing Emily of his own volition. He stopped when he heard his phone ring just before they walked into the room the doctor had led him to. He looked at his phone and sighed when he saw it was Mason calling. He wanted to hit ignore but knowing Mason, he would only keep on blowing up his phone.

  “Mason, I can’t talk right now,” he said when he picked up the phone.

  “It’s okay, this won’t take long, Alex. The guys called back,” Mason started. “They can see you in Miami tomorrow morning at nine. If you leave at six you can be in Miami…” Alex never gave him a chance to finish his sentence. He rubbed the side of his temple and sighed.

  “I’m not going to go, Mason.”

  “What the hell do you mean you are not going to go?” Mason sounded panicked.

  “I mean that I am not going to go to Miami, tomorrow or in the near future,” Alex said authoritatively.

  “But you can’t…the…”

  “Mason! Listen to me!” Alex was trying to speak as loud as he could without making too much noise. He was talking in a hoarse whisper. “You are my business manager and this is most definitely not the first time you would be stepping in as my proxy but trust me when I tell you that I cannot make that meeting.” He heard Mason sigh loudly.

  “Alex…” Mason started as Alex stood at the doorway looking at a sleeping Emily.

  “Mason, I am taking a leave of absence starting now. I cannot explain myself right now but I have to go.” He never gave Mason a chance to give him a comeback. He had already hung up and put the phone in his inside jacket pocket. He slowly made his way into the room and walked up to Emily. He was still looking at her when he heard a commotion down the hall. He looked at the door just as Chase and Cadence walked in.

  “Who the hell are you?” Cadence asked as he looked at him.

  “Alex Brewer, right?” Chase asked as he looked at Alex raising an eyebrow.

  “You know him?” Cadence asked.

  “How…why are you here?” Chase asked.

  “Emily is my sister…stepsister. I saw her pass out at the party and rode in the ambulance with her,” Alex explained. “Why are you here?”

  “Emily works for me. This is Cadence, her assistant,” Chase said.

  “Small world,” Alex said as he turned his attention back to Emily.

  “So, brother. Huh?” Cadence asked in a whisper. “Where has she kept you hidden all this time?”

  “We have been a little…estranged,” Alex said. He looked at Chase again and raised an eyebrow. “Has she been under any kind of pressure? The doctor said she is extremely fatigued.”

  “She has been under pressure with the Lithium IPO…” Chase started.

  “Wait, she was the one you were talking about? She organized the whole Lithium IPO?” Alex asked and Chase nodded. A smile played on Alex’s lips.

  “That’s my girl,” he thought as he looked at her. He took a seat next to the bed and took Emily’s hand.

  “She did say that she wanted to take a personal day tomorrow,” Cadence said.

  “Well, that is not going to cut it,” Alex said.

  “What do you mean?” Chase asked.

  “She has a four day mandatory bed rest coming her way after she gets discharged tomorrow,” Alex said without looking at him.

  “That’s okay. She can take the week actually,” Chase said.

  “I’ll clear her schedule,” Cadence said. She looked at Chase who nodded. “Let me know as soon as she gets up. That’s my number,” she added as she handed Alex her card. Alex nodded and forced a smile as she started for the door.

  “You are leaving now?” Chase asked.

  “Emily had a number of clients she had to see this week. The earlier I get started, the better,” she said.

  “But it’s two in the morning. How are you going to get anything done at this hour?” Chase asked.

  “Who said assistants can’t have their own minions?” Cadence said. “It was nice to meet you, Alex,” she said before she walked out.

  “She is…special,” Alex smiled

  “Oh yeah. She is part of Emily’s A-team,” Chase said.

  Alex nodded and drew little circles on the back of Emily’s hand with his thumb.

  “Tell me about her,” Alex said after a long silence.

  “What?” Chase asked in surprise.

  “Emily. Tell me about her.”

  “But you said she is your sister.”

  Alex nodded as he looked at Emily’s flawless skin and wavy auburn hair.

  “She is. But the last time I saw her, she was barely eighteen. It’s been ten years since I saw her and I don’t…” his words trailed off. He took a long deep breath. “Just tell me about her,” he said in a soft voice.

  Chapter 2

  Emily never knew just how bad her fatigue was until she was hospitalized. Her doctor explained she exhibited symptoms that had been recorded in soldiers…after the Second World War. When she finally woke up from her sedation, she saw Alex looking down at her and somehow, she thought there was a possibility that she was still under the influence. She had a million and one questions but the fact that there were always doctors around her room kept her from asking what she needed to know. By the time she got discharged, she had not yet gotten her answers. Alex drove her home and offered t
o stay so that he could take care of her.

  “You don’t have to,” Emily had said but Alex shook his head.

  “I insist, Emily.” His voice was gentle but commanding at the same time.

  “I can have Cadence come over or April. She doesn’t live far from here.” They were now walking into her house.

  “April Walters?” he asked with a smile on his face. April was Emily’s closest cousin growing up. He hadn't thought of her in a while. And what he didn’t know was that the two were still in touch even though they lived miles apart.

  “Yes, April Walters,” she said. “She lives over in Baltimore and …” Alex looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

  “Baltimore? You want to get her to drive six hours and what are you going to be doing until she gets here?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll maybe get some takeout.”

  “There is no way I am leaving you here all alone,” he said. He looked at her as she opened her mouth to speak but he pressed a finger to her lips. “Emily, my word is final.”

  Emily looked at him surprised.

  “Your word is final? This is my house,” she thought as she looked at him. She wanted to ask all the questions she had floating in her mind. She wanted to know why he had not called for all those years. Why he hadn’t bothered to write back even after she spent the whole first year after her mother and stepfather divorced writing to him, trying to reach out to him. She wanted to tell him how badly her life sucked after he left but when she opened her mouth, she found that she could not talk. She was dumbfounded.

  “You look like you have something to say, Emily.”

  “Yes I do. I have a lot to say,” she thought as she looked at him. “I want to tell you to take your silly, stupid kindness and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

  “Emily? Are you okay?” he asked as he looked at her. She suddenly couldn’t control herself. Tears were flowing freely on her cheeks. Years of bottling up what she felt were finally bubbling up to the surface. She could no longer wear that strong face she had mastered for so long. She turned around and ran to her room sobbing uncontrollably.

  Alex was confused. “Emily!” he was outside her door.

  She could tell from how clear his voice was when he called out her name.

  “Emily, are you okay?” he asked as he opened the door. She was lying face down on the bed sobbing hysterically. He walked into the room and walked up to the bed. “Emily?” he asked as he looked at her. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stretched out his hand to touch her. He made a fist when he was about to touch her and then pulled back. “Emily, please just talk to me.”

  It seemed like forever before she finally stopped crying but she was still not looking at him. She turned her head to the side when she felt him touch her shoulder. She looked at him and his heart almost melted when he saw how swollen her eyes were. He pulled her to his arms and held her tightly as she shivered. She was angry. She was devastated. She was confused.

  “Emily, what is going on?” he asked in a low voice. He looked at her and pressed his lips into her thick hair. He felt a pain in his heart when she sniffed back a sob. He looked down at her and began running his hand up and down her back. “Emily,” he said again. She suddenly pushed him off and buried her face in her hands. She was breathing hard and fast.

  “Get out, Alex.” She was speaking in a low voice but she was loud enough for him to hear her. He gave her a confused look. “You heard me. I don’t want you here,” she said again.

  Alex looked at her and sighed.

  “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  “If I did, then there wouldn’t be a point of me asking you now, would there?” he said as he looked at her.

  “Why the hell do you think you can play so innocent and get off so easily?” she asked.

  Alex was now getting agitated.

  “Get off with what? What is it that you think I did, Emily? Will you tell me already?” She got up and he also stood up. She looked into his eyes and he saw another tear rolling down her cheek. He wanted to reach out and brush off her tear but she held his hand.

  “You have no right to do that. You cannot just disappear for ten years and then walk back into my life like nothing happened.” Her voice was quavering. “You ignored me for ten years and even when mom died, you were nowhere to be found and I wrote to you, Alex. I wrote to you.” She was now crying, slamming her tiny fists against Alex’s chest.

  “I never got them!” he yelled as he held her wrists.

  “You ignored me!” she was still trying to hit him.

  “I never got them, Emily!” he was talking to her but she was not listening. Her eyes were closed and she was crying louder.

  “You son of a bitch!” That was it. He pushed her down on the bed and got himself on top of her. That calmed her down, not immediately, but it did. She looked at him when she calmed down.

  “I never got your letters and mine were always sent back unopened,” he said as he looked at her.

  “I don’t believe you,” she said amid sobs.

  “I would never lie to you,” he said as he let her wrists go and got off her. He could tell by the way she was looking at him that she didn’t believe him. “Emily, you have to believe me, I never got them.” She looked into his eyes and shook her head.

  “No, Alex. I don’t have to,” she said before she pulled away and walked to the bathroom leaving Alex standing there with a heavy heart. He could not let her think that. He could not let her just continue to live her life as if the truth didn’t matter. She had the facts wrong and these wrong facts had hurt her for ten years. He couldn’t let her go on like that. He walked to the bathroom and leaned against the door.

  “I can’t leave you alone and I will most definitely not let you go on believing that I didn’t care about you.” He waited a few minutes before Emily opened the door. Her eyes were still swollen but not as much as before.

  “How am I supposed to know if you are telling me the truth.”

  “Pack a bag,” he said before he walked to the door.

  “Wait, what for?” she asked before he could go out.

  “We are going to my place. I have something you need to see.” She stayed back and for some time, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She wanted to do as he asked but she also wanted to stay home, alone. She didn’t know why but she found herself packing a bag and walking to the living room. Alex was in the kitchen looking at the contents of her fridge.

  “Do you ever eat?” he asked as he looked at the uncountable microwave dinners in there. She shrugged.

  “There is food in there, isn’t there?”

  “This is all that TV crap…you need to have some real nourishment.” Emily could not help but feel like he was scolding her. She looked at him and shrugged. “Just how did you expect to take care of yourself until April got here?” he asked.

  “There is food in my fridge,” Emily pointed out.

  “There is junk that passes for food in your fridge,” he corrected her as he shook his head. “Come on,” he said as he held her jacket for her to slip it on. He then put on his own coat before he headed for the door. “We’ll take my car.”

  “Of course we will,” Emily thought as she walked out of the door with Alex following close behind her.

  The drive to Alex’s place was silent which made it seem longer than it really was. Every so often, Emily would look at Alex from the corner of her eye. She was still angry with him. For all she knew, he could have been lying to her. But she also felt embarrassed at how she had exploded at him. It was not what she would have wanted…it was not how she wanted to do it. But she was going to get answers. Answers that she had waited ten years to get. When they got to Kensington Drive, Emily looked at him. She had caught a whiff of his millions when she saw the Armani suit he had on but Kensington Drive? It was virtually impossible to get property on this street. You had to literally sell an arm and a leg to afford a bedsit in this area. They drove
into one of the buildings and drove up to the fourth floor where the parking lot was before Alex stopped. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out before he walked around to her side and opened the door for her.

  “You live here?” she asked, still surprised. He nodded as they walked to the elevator.

  “At the risk of sounding rude, Emily, I wouldn’t bring you to a stranger’s house, would I?” Emily wanted to hit him.

  “Smart ass,” she thought as she rolled her eyes. They rode in silence until they got to his floor. When the elevator doors opened, he looked down at her as she stepped out and she expected to walk out into a hallway but instead, she was inside his apartment. “Wait. You live in the penthouse suite of this building?” she asked as she looked around.

  “Yeah. I wanted the room with the best view and when I bought the building, this was the most appealing one.” He was now walking towards the kitchen as if what he had said didn’t bear any weight.

  “You own this place?” she asked as she looked at him.

  “It was one of the first real estate investments I made. And one of the best too.” She sighed but it was not an exhausted sigh. It was an impressed sigh. “Want something to drink?” he asked as he got two bottles of water from the fridge. “Have this. I’ll make you some real food to eat.” He opened the fridge again and took out ground beef. He then took some tomatoes, onion and garlic.

  “Is this why you brought me out here? For dinner?” she asked.

  He looked up at her as he washed his hands and shook his head. “No.”

  “Then, why?” she asked taking a seat at the counter in front of him. He began chopping the tomatoes and onion with chef like precision. She was impressed. “Did you take a class in vegetable chopping or something?” He put some oil in a saucepan and put the onion in.