by Holly Rayner
“Doesn’t that guy ever give up,” Kally asked herself, though she knew the answer was a resounding no. She’d been ignoring Don’s calls for several hours now, but he showed no sign of taking the hint. Knowing there was little point in delaying it any longer, she pressed the answer button, and regretted it immediately.
“Now listen here, Kally,” Don began without preamble. His tone was full of barely controlled anger. “If ya ask me, I think I’ve been plenty patient. I’ve had nothin' but empty promises from ya in over a month. We had an agreement, and when ya have an agreement with me, ya keep your end up, or ya pay the cost. Now I’m getting real tired of playing, so I suggest ya do what ya promised, and do it now. Just a little information; that’s all I'm asking for,” he finished, trying to sound reasonable, and failing.
“You listen to me,” Kally answered him hotly. “Don’t you dare call my home and threaten me. If you call here again, I’ll be the one calling the police. I’m sure I can interest them in your phone records. I’ve had enough of you, and I’m not digging up dirt on anyone. One more thing, while I have your attention: stop having people follow me. I will not be intimidated by a couple of thugs on the subway.”
“Why would I have people following you?” Don replied, sounding genuinely confused. “Think about it, Kally. I don't need to know where you're going and what you're doing, I just need answers to a few questions. Why would I waste my cash hiring a goon to follow you around? I don’t know who does have people following you, but it certainly isn’t me. Maybe you better talk to your friend, Stratos. Ask him a few ques…”
Kally hung up, suddenly angry that it was nearly impossible to slam a smartphone without breaking it. She was almost certain that Don was lying, but she made a note to mention it to Alexandros when she saw him. She couldn’t dismiss the possibility that he was the one who was having her followed; he was the only other person she knew with both the resources and a possible motive for keeping an eye on her.
A sudden wave of nausea shot through Kally's body, and she had to master the desire to throw up. These little side effects were getting old fast, and she was sure her workload wasn’t helping. In the back of her mind, like that snake from The Jungle Book, was a soothing voice trying to convince her to go to sleep. She had to fight to ignore it, for the sake of her baby.
Pregnant! she suddenly remembered. There was a baby growing inside her; there had been for over a month now. She didn’t think she could afford to let Don keep stressing her out. She already had to tell a billionaire he was going to be a father.
“That’s pressure enough for anyone,” she murmured, trying to return to her work. Tomorrow was going to be a huge day, and she didn’t want to have to worry about anything else.
ELEVEN
On the subway the next morning, Kally saw a woman who, according to the conversation she overheard, was eight months pregnant. The woman seemed to glow, but she moved carefully, gingerly almost. Kally had, of course, seen pregnant women on the subway before, but now she was curious. She was on the cusp of striking up a conversation when the woman saw her stop and eased herself off the train. The last thing Kally heard her say was some comment about being “as big as a house”, and she wondered what it would feel like in a few months when she was that size.
She arrived at the offices of Stratos Holdings Inc. to find everyone in a whirl of activity. Clearly, they were preparing for something big – the charity launch – and Kally remembered Beth telling her she had heard about it on television.
Beth! Kally suddenly thought, horrified. She hadn’t yet told her best friend that she was pregnant. Kally had been there for Beth's delivery, but Beth wasn't even aware that Kally had a child on the way. She realized with a twinge of her stomach that she hadn’t told Beth a lot of things, and Kally tried not to think of how she was going to feel when she found out. Telling Alexandros about the baby was enough to be thinking about, and she told herself to focus herself on that for the time being.
She moved through each layer of security with the ease of habit, before arriving at Alexandros’ office. But the handsome Greek was not sitting behind his desk, as Kally had expected. There was a string bean of a woman in his place, with a long, hawkish nose, and close-set, beady, eyes. Her skin was papery, and her face austere. The woman peered at Kally through a stylish pair of bifocals, and her thin lips broke into a small smile.
Erma Kendall, Alexandros’ personal secretary, had gotten used to seeing Kally appear in the offices. She liked the young writer who had been tenacious enough to move across the country in order to keep practicing her art. They had very little in common, but they had developed a sort of rapport over the weeks, and the woman greeted Kally’s arrival with honest joy.
“It’s good to see you again,” the gangling woman said, waving Kally over. “But if you’re here to see Mr. Stratos, I'm afraid you’re out of luck. According to what I've been told he is in Greece at the moment, though where exactly is anyone’s guess. 'Incommunicado' is the term I’ve been given. Where nobody knows, and nobody sees, as the old saying goes.”
“The thing is, I have an important message for him, Erma, and believe me, it needs to come from me. So if he left you any sort of contact information…”
“If he did,” Erma replied apologetically, “I wouldn’t be at liberty to reveal it. You could give me the…”
“No, Erma. I have to be the one to tell him. Do you have any idea when he will be returning to the States?”
“He’ll be here next week to launch of his new charity, the Stefania Stratos International Foundation. I have him scheduled to give a speech, and then he’s headed right back to parts unknown. You’d think someone was chasing him,” Erma said jokingly, but Kally didn’t even pretend to smile. She thanked the secretary, and started to think as she made her way out of the building.
The window in which Kally could deliver the news had suddenly shrunk dramatically. Prior to the launch, Alexandros would be far too busy with the logistics of the event, security details, and all the other hassles of founding a new organization. Afterward, he would no doubt jump on a plane bound for an undisclosed location. She would have to tell him at the ceremony, but the question was, how? Security around him was bound to be close to impenetrable, especially in the wake of the scare at his mansion.
Kally puzzled over all her options, disregarding those that were likeliest to get her shot or arrested. In the end, she could only think of one viable solution: her best chance of getting anywhere near him would be to pretend to be there as a journalist. Kally ignored the fact that if it wasn’t for Alexandros, she wouldn’t need to pretend. That was the past; she had forgiven him for it, and on top of that, even though he didn't know it yet, he was the father of her child.
Kally knew she was going to need legitimate press credentials to get anywhere near him. She couldn’t call on anyone from the Republic, because it no longer existed, but Kally still had one card left to play.
She got out her phone and made a call to her college mentor, Dr. Grace Hall, the woman who had introduced her to life at the Republic. Kally had always admired her more than anyone else, as someone who had always seemed capable of solving any problem. Kally hoped she hadn’t finally come across a challenge that was beyond her former mentor's powers to meet.
Dr. Hall had also come to New York after the fall of the Republic, but she had been luckier than Kally in her search for work in journalism. The older woman now managed a very old, local newspaper in the city called the Informant. It was small, but venerable enough to carry the kind of clout Kally was going to need. She did her best not to sound too eager or nervous when the call connected on the second ring.
Grace sounded overjoyed to hear Kally’s voice. The two exchanged pleasantries, and delved into their favorite stories of working on the university newsletter, and reporting for the Republic. After nearly twenty minutes of catching up, talking about her current job as a memoir writer, and everything that had happened between her and Alexandros, K
ally finally turned the conversation to her request: a set of press credentials.
“Boy, when you ask for a favor…” Grace said, and Kally could almost see the older woman shaking her head. “But, you’re in luck. One of my reporters is sick, and I could use a replacement for him. I can’t pay you, but you’d have legitimate credentials. You know, if I didn’t know you better, I’d swear you were making this up. A billionaire has you writing about his life, and now you’re going to have his child? You’ll forgive me, but it sounds like a soap opera.”
“I know, I know,” Kally admitted.
“Well, congratulations, Kally. Have you thought about names yet? Grace perhaps?” she laughed.
“One problem at a time,” Kally replied wearily. “First I have to tell the father.”
“No. First, you have to get to the father, through a cordon of guards, while disguised as a journalist. I wish I could say my life was that exciting.”
That’s what you think, Kally thought to herself. She didn’t think even her mentor could cope with terrorist scares and Don Lewis Jr. on a regular basis.
TWELVE
The week that followed might have been the longest in Kally’s life, constantly wondering what Alexandros’ reaction would be, whether Don was out of her life for good, and whether her elaborate plan to meet Alexandros was going to work. She spent each day trying to distract herself with the immense amount of memoir-related worked that still remained. Sometimes it worked, and she lost herself in ruthless sibling rivalries, sweeping business decisions, and fishing trips to the River Kalikos. At other times, she would pace throughout her apartment, trying to tamp down the anxiety that was fast becoming a physical pain.
What if Alexandros didn’t want another child? His own daughter had only died a year ago, and his pain was still obviously very raw. There was a chance that Alexandros might not be able to bear becoming a parent again. On top of that, she couldn’t honestly call what they had a relationship. They had been together once, and ever since, they’d been pretending it had never happened.
She knew how she felt about Alexandros, but who was to say he still felt that way about her? He was incommunicado, somewhere in Greece. God only knew what he was doing there, and whether he was doing it alone. A baby might be the last thing he wanted, and even if he did want to be a father, how was it going to work? These thoughts haunted Kally day after day, and kept her shifting uncomfortably through each night.
At last, the day of the launch came, and Kally found herself in the press pen, in front of a large white building in Harlem, standing only feet away from most of the elite of New York City. Scores of onlookers had gathered to witness the event. A huge platform had been erected in front of the building, and Alexandros was standing on it, off to the side, about to give his opening speech. He was flanked by security, and Kally knew that trying to get his attention right then would be futile.
The platform was surrounded by a ring of television cameras. Alexandros Stratos was far from a household name in the States, but the launch had been promoted vigorously by his company, and the media reasoned that anything a billionaire does is newsworthy. One of the cameramen signaled that it was time for the broadcast to begin, and a tall Latino man in a gray suit stepped in front of the podium. The cameras trained on him. He tapped his microphone several times for silence, and the sea of people surrounding him began to quiet down.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “My name is Gregory Martinez, and I want to welcome each of you on this momentous occasion. Today we are celebrating the launch of the Stefania Stratos International Foundation. The Foundation is supported by Stratos Holdings Incorporated, and it is dedicated to eradicating many of the world’s most challenging economic problems. It is now my privilege to introduce the CEO of Stratos Holdings, Mr. Alexandros Stratos.”
There was deafening applause as the cameras panned to the platform, beaming Alexandros' image into millions of households around the world. Most of those who had gathered knew exactly who Alexandros was, and were perplexed at what the infamous tycoon was doing launching a charity. When the applause began to die down, Alexandros cleared his throat and began to speak. Kally would later call his words “a bit unorthodox, but heartbreakingly true.”
“Many of you have been led to believe that I am a rich man,” he began in a clear, confident voice. “Because I have mansions and cars, and I can play Monopoly with real properties. But the reality is, you have all been misled. I am poorer than many of you. Because you have your sons and your daughters to tuck in at night. My daughter is gone, and nothing I can build or buy will ever bring her back to me. Nothing I have suffered though, not even nearly drowning in a freezing sea, hurts my soul as much as that.
“I am here today to make a confession. My business practices have had that effect on thousands of lives around the world. I have taken sons from their mothers, I have taken daughters from their fathers. But I have come before you now to say that it ends today.”
Alexandros paused for a moment, as a ripple of applause greeted this statement. Several cameras zoomed in to capture the morose expression on his face.
“Several years ago, I made an investment in diamond mines. Mines ruled by men who would cut off a child’s hands to maintain order. This charity will fund an awareness campaign, and build the legal and political will to arrest those men and reform the entire industry. It will fund microloan programs to help former miners build individual business, and it will fund schools to make a quality education more widely available. The Stefania Stratos International Foundation will not simply fight these problems, it will end these problems. I have made a great deal of money destroying lives, but I assure you that I will now spend twice as much restoring them.”
There was an eruption of cheers, applause and hooting, which only increased when Alexandros cut the ribbon and officially opened the doors of the Foundation. It sounded as though most of the audience had found Alexandros’ confession a refreshing change from what they were used to hearing from people with billions of dollars.
He stepped off of the platform, and a wave of reporters descended on him like a swarm of bees. They were shouting out questions like machine gun fire, but Alexandros was eluding them with practiced ease.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Kally making a beeline for him, frantically waving her press credentials. She wove through the press pack with relative ease, until she was mere feet from Alexandros. She didn’t get very much further as she was immediately seized by two huge security guards.
“Let her through,” Alexandros ordered his security team. “What are you doing here?” he asked, addressing Kally, who was struggling to catch her breath. He instinctively swept her into a warm hug, which she returned as soon as she was able.
“I’ve got something to tell you,” she huffed. “It’s incredibly important.”
No one heard what Alexandros said after that. A loud, spine-shearing, crack rang through the air. People screamed and began to scatter in all directions. A glassy look came into Alexandros’ eyes as he clutched his side and crumpled to the floor. The reporters moved a safe distance away, and none of the television stations turned their cameras off.
“Secure the shooter!” one of the guards shouted, taking off at the top of his speed. “Clear the way!” he shouted at the random civilians who got in his path. The few groups of people that remained were shoved aside as police officers and EMTs tore toward the scene.
“Oh no. Please, no,” Kally begged, falling to her knees. “Please don’t die,” she wept, clutching his hand. “For the love of God, please stay with me!”
“We’re going to need you to step aside, ma’am,” said one of the medics firmly.
“Where are you taking him?” Kally pleaded.
“Faith Memorial Hospital,” the medic conceded.
A male police officer took Kally gently by the arm and began to lead her away from Alexandros. She struggled against him, nearly kicking him in the groin, but she finally relent
ed as she saw Alexandros being taken away from the scene. The medics loaded him onto a stretcher, which carried him to an ambulance. As she walked, Kally noticed Alexandros’ security team surounding a man who was carrying a high-powered rifle. He had a lean face and sunken eyes, and was sweating with the effort of trying to escape his captors.
Kally eventually got away from the police, found a cab in the chaos, and got to the hospital as quickly as she could.
She plowed through the automatic doors, nearly colliding with the glass, and ran to the information desk. Her hair was a wild and tangled mess, while sweat ran profusely down the sides of her face.
The woman behind the desk eyed her with some concern, but she dutifully arranged her features into a small smile. “Can I help you, miss?”
“I need to see Alexandros Stratos right away!”
“The billionaire?”
“Yes, the billionaire. He’s been shot and I…”
“Miss, are you a family member or a police officer?”