Clothed in one of Alex’s dress shirts, she threw the covers off of her and sat up on the edge of the bed. With her fingers she raked her hair back and almost wanted to fall back herself. She was just that tired. The accident with Oz and Jordan still weighed heavily on her mind, and nothing had been resolved. Alex’s people were still looking for leads, and the governor of Florida was still attempting to rope Alex into his daughter’s death, even as Oz declared that he dropped her off at a convenience store and did not see her again. It wasn’t true, but if he told the truth they would not believe him. Like Alex, he was once actively involved in his Greek mob family. They would hold it against him. And the fact that Alex kept them on lockdown at The Drakos wasn’t helping either. But at least it was a big place.
But falling back into bed wasn’t an option. She had meetings to attend with her maids and the CFO wanted to meet with her too. Which probably meant more layoffs. She had work to do.
She looked at her cell phone on the nightstand. Did she sleep through his phone call, or did he bother to call at all?
She reluctantly grabbed the phone. And, as she suspected, he hadn’t bothered to call. Which only made it worse. She had thought that if she silently consented to his increased work schedule that such understanding would force him to not overdo it. She thought wrong.
She pressed the icon of his smiling face on her cell phone and waited for him to answer. And then she laid back anyway.
“Back here, Glick!”
“You’re decent, right?”
Alex Drakos sat on the side of an unmade bed in his hotel suite putting on his socks.
“Alex?”
“I’m decent,” Alex snapped. “Why wouldn’t I be decent? What is it?”
“I have somebody with me I want you to meet,” Dillon Glickman, his chief negotiator, said to him before entering the bedroom. “You need to be fully clothed.”
“I’m dressed,” Alex said, and then Dillon and a small, smiling, Japanese woman entered Alex’s bedroom. They were in London, England, and the major negotiations Alex had hoped to wrap up last night had collapsed like a scaffold when the Brits busted out with so many new demands that Alex and his team walked away from the table. Now he had to steer that ship back right before he could hop his plane and get back to Florida in time for his son’s birthday party, and to clean up Oz’s mess. It seemed almost impossible!
“Alex, this is Soochi,” Dillon said. “Soochi, meet our boss, Mr. Drakos.”
The woman bowed and then extended her hand. “How are you, sir?” she asked. “We met once before.”
“Did we?” Alex shook her hand.
“Yes, sir. In Osaka.”
“Soochi’s an up-and-comer in your office in Japan,” Dillon explained. “She’s one of our best. And she’s going to be our closer,” he said, “since I understand you need to leave again.”
Alex had grabbed his shoe horn off of the nightstand and was putting on one of his dress shoes. But he was staring at Dillon.
“If we go with you,” Dillon quickly said to his boss, to rectify his bold statement, “the Brits, out of fear, will ultimately capitulate and agree with whatever you say. But as soon as you get on your plane and leave town and me and my team sit down for final writeup, they will want to change it all over again. That’s why this shit keeps dragging out.”
“Why won’t the same be true with her?” Alex asked.
“Because she won’t be leaving at all. She’s not going anywhere. She’ll use that charm offensive of hers majorly, after we build her up as our greatest closer ever. We’ll give her that much power. Even more than I have at the table. Whatever we have to do. Once she closes on the deal, she’s keeping all parties in that same room until the contracts are fully executed. It could take days, or even weeks, but she’s going to do it. All you’ll have to do is return to sign after they have signed and it’s a done deal, since they won’t accept electronic.”
Then Dillon exhaled. “Unless,” he added, “you can stay as long as it takes. That would be the ideal outcome. If you can stay for the long haul, we’re certain to get all we want. We’re certain to get the best deal we can possibly get, and there will be no reneging.”
Alex exhaled. He was running his business at half-speed and word was beginning to get around. Now companies were figuring that if they waited it out, he’d cave. He was a newlywed; he had just adopted a son; he, they figured, wouldn’t put in the time required and cave.
And then, as if on cue, his cell phone rang. He looked at the Caller ID. It was his bride.
“I’ve got to take this,” he said to his guests as he grabbed the phone and answered it quickly. “Hey,” he said into the phone.
But back in Apple Valley, Kari wasn’t trying to be understanding anymore. “Where are you, Alex?” she asked him.
“Still in England. Why? What’s wrong?”
“Today is Jordan’s birthday.”
“You know I know that.”
“The party’s tonight. It’s all arranged.”
“I know that too.”
“Then why aren’t you here, Alex?” Kari sat back up onto the side of their bed.
Alex exhaled. “Negotiations are at a critical point.”
“They were at a critical point when you rushed back to London. They’re always at critical points. But Jordan only gets one sixteenth party. And you have got to be here for that.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Alex said.
“Does that mean you’ll be here?” Kari asked.
“It means I’ll see what I can do.”
“No, Alex,” Kari said. “No. That’s not good enough. You will not disappoint Jordan this way. You will not do that to our son. I know you have a business to run, but you have a son too. And I’m not going to let you or anybody else keep disappointing him!”
Alex could feel the hurt in her voice. Forget that it was a billion dollar contract they were negotiating. Forget that if the Brits walked away from the table for good, then he would have to deal with the Chinese, and their terms would be completely favorable to them, not him. There were no two ways about it. He had to finish this deal.
“We’ll do something special with him when I get back in town,” he said. “But I can’t tell you when that will be at this point. I may be able to get there tonight, I may not be able to get there tonight. I just don’t know.”
Kari couldn’t believe it. She raked her hand through her hair and shook her head. Because she was realizing a fundamental truth. Had it been her surprise birthday party, Alex would be there no matter what. He’d find a way to be there for her. But because it wasn’t her, but was Jordan, he felt he had more leeway. When she knew he had it backwards. Jordan came first! No man she had ever been with had ever put her child first. Now she was married to Alex, he was now officially Jordan’s father, and he was still giving their son the leftovers.
Her anger flared. She pressed the END CALL button and threw her phone back onto the nightstand. And she exhaled. Trina Gabrini had warned her what marrying a rich man like Alex would be like. “Expect neglect,” was the way Trina put it. And Kari understood that. She did expect neglect when it came to Alex not always being able to be there for her. But she never expected it when it came to her son, a son who never in his whole life asked for much. She wasn’t going to accept that.
But she had those meetings to attend. She had work to do too.
“Alexa: gospel,” she said.
The surround sound stereo came on. Tamala Mann began singing the Kirk Franklin-penned Take Me to the King, and Kari got herself up, slipped on her slippers, and all but dragged herself into the shower.
But back in London, Alex had a surge of anger of his own when he realized she had hung up in his face. Who do she think she’s dealing with, he angrily said to himself.
But his anger quickly faded to disappointment too. He was failing his brand new family, and failing them miserably. But those high-stakes negotiations were epic. No way was he leaving their fat
e in the hands of some girl who looked like she was a few years out of high school, he didn’t care how much confidence Dillon had in her.
But Dillon was right about one thing: once the deal was struck, he was going to have to remain in that room until all contingencies were worked out and signed, and the deal completely and irrevocably done.
Which could take days.
He ended the call too. “I’m staying,” he said to Dillon.
Dillon was surprised. He knew what Kari and Jordan meant to Alex, and he knew about that big surprise party Kari had been planning for their son for weeks. But this was the deal of a lifetime. He knew that too. “Good,” he said. “Then Soochi will be there to make them feel, you know, more relaxed.”
Alex knew what that meant. She’d be willing to fuck’em one by one, between negotiations, if it came to that. It was disgusting, but it came with the territory.
“We’ll wait in the limo for you, boss,” Dillon added with a smile, and then he and an outwardly disappointed Soochi began leaving. She looked back at Alex, as if she wanted to see if she could try her skills on him and sleep her way even further to the top. But Alex didn’t give her a second glance. Kari was on his mind. Soochi and Dillon left his suite.
Alex put on his other shoe, and then exhaled. He wanted to call Kari back right away, and try to reason with her, but he was still too upset that she wasn’t reasoning with him. What did she think he was running? A Ma and Pop store? And did she forget about all the losses he’d suffered already? He had to do what he had to do for their sakes too. They were the ones, along with his brother Oz, who were going to inherit all of that shit.
But he knew that was just his guilt talking. He was trying to rationalize the fact that he was falling right back into his old, selfish ways where his business always came first. But if the merger didn’t involve one of the largest conglomerates in the world, he would walk away in a heartbeat. One night wouldn’t make that much of a difference. But being away for even just one night, in the hyper-sensitive negotiations he was dealing with, would make all the difference in the world. He couldn’t leave right now.
He got up, put on his suit coat, put his wallet and his keys in his pockets. And then he picked up his phone and thought, once again, about calling Kari back. But then the phone began ringing, and when he answered it and realized it was his corporate office in New York calling about yet another crisis he had to resolve, the moment was gone.
He sat back on the bed, and handled his business.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The car pulled up alongside the curb and the window was pressed down. “Excuse me, ma’am?” It was Dajalla Clarke, with a sweet smile, calling out to a middle-aged lady on the sidewalk.
The woman, who was window shopping in front of a boutique on the busy main thoroughfare, turned toward him. When she saw that he was addressing her, she held her pocketbook closer against her frame. But she didn’t ignore him. “Yes?”
“I’m looking for The Drakos, ma’am. Is it near here?”
She relaxed again. “This must be your first time going.”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“Nobody never asks where to find that monstrosity. They go straight to it.”
“Yes, ma’am. Is it near here?” he asked her again.
She began moving toward his car. “You’re in the right town, if that’s what you mean. Why are you going? To stay at the hotel, or to gamble at that casino?”
“Both, I think,” Dajalla said, his Caribbean accent heavy.
“Nobody vacations here anymore,” said the woman. “They only come to Apple Valley now to go to that casino. There’s been nothing but trouble ever since it opened. You aren’t a troublemaker, are you?”
He smiled his best charming smile. “No, ma’am, I am not.”
“You don’t look like it. Which is more than I can say for most of the people who come to our town nowadays. You’re a gambler, are you?”
“No, I’m not here to gamble specifically. I’m going to see my family. They live there.”
The woman was surprised. “At The Drakos?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Unless something changed overnight and I haven’t heard about it yet, nobody lives at The Drakos but Alex Drakos and his family.”
A bitter look appeared in the young man’s eyes. “They were mine before they were his.”
This interested the busybody woman tremendously. “Oh, were they now? You mean Kari Grant was yours?”
“And Jordan is my biological son, yes ma’am. I’m going to get them.”
“Oh my.” The woman was smiling now. “Does Mr. Drakos know that you’re coming to get his family? I mean, your family?”
“He will when I get there,” the man said. “Could you direct me there, please ma’am?”
The woman didn’t hesitate. “With pleasure,” she said, and gave him very precise directions.
As soon as he drove away, she ran to tell the news.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“What’s the problem now?” Oz asked Jordan. “You asked me to fix you breakfast on your birthday. I fixed you breakfast on your birthday.”
“I asked you to cook me a birthday breakfast,” Jordan said to his uncle. “There’s a difference.”
They were in the kitchen of the penthouse apartment inside The Drakos. Jordan was still shaken by the events of four days ago, near that bar in the woods, but he was holding up better than Oz had expected. Like his mother, Oz believed, Jordan would someday have a spine of steel too. He just hated that it was his reckless actions that caused Jordan such pain and anguish. That almost caused his beloved nephew his life.
“I don’t see the difference,” he said to Jordan. He stood at the back of the center island while Jordan sat on one of the stools. “I made you cereal. What else did you think I was going to do?”
Jordan smiled. “I don’t know, like, let me think. Oh, yeah, like cook me some bacon or eggs or something?”
“Bacon? Eggs? Me?” Oz asked. “You expected me to cook you bacon and eggs? I wouldn’t know where to begin, are you serious?”
Jordan laughed out loud. He loved needling his uncle.
“Why haven’t you left to meet with your tutor yet?” another voice suddenly chimed in. It was Kari. She had come downstairs, fully dressed with brief case in hand and ready to go to work, and was entering the kitchen. “You’re going to be late, Jordan.”
“I already told his smart ass that,” Oz said.
Kari hired a tutor to work with Jordan and prepare him for senior high school. Mainly, to prepare him for the college prep courses that would allow him to get college credit while still in high school. Those courses were the focus. He was to meet with his tutor in one of the offices downstairs.
“I wanted to say good morning to you before I went down,” Jordan said to his mother.
Kari gave him a doubtful look because she knew what he wanted. He wanted her to say happy birthday to him and give him some magnificent gift. But unbeknownst to Jordan, all of that would happen tonight, with or without Alex. She was just so disappointed, and knew Jordan would be, too, that it would be without him. “Good morning.” Then she grabbed his head and kissed him on the forehead.
Although he was turning sixteen and Oz had been working out with him, he still looked far younger than his age. He looked like he was about eleven to Kari.
But when she kissed him, he squirmed. “Ma, quit!” he said, and wiped her kiss off with his jacket sleeve. To Jordan, she still treated him as if he was eleven.
“Where’s that brother of mine?” Oz asked as Kari sat her briefcase on the countertop and began pouring some of the coffee Oz had made.
“He’s still in London,” Kari said, a bitter taste still in her mouth after that phone call.
“London?” Oz asked. “But I thought,” he started to say, but Kari gave him a hard look. He almost spilled the beans!
But Oz was more sophisticated than that. He knew how to correct his
error. “I thought he said he would be back in Florida today to go over that end of month inventory, and then he was heading back out to London to continue negotiations.”
“He couldn’t get away,” said Kari, and she and Oz both saw Jordan glance over at her.
And Oz was getting hot. He would kill his big brother if he missed Jordan’s sweet sixteen. “But he realize he still has a business to run, right?” he asked Kari.
“He realizes it,” Kari said. “But he says it can’t be helped.” Kari gave Oz an I don’t want to talk about it any further look. Oz obliged her. He could tell she was pissed with Alex too.
“Anyway, let’s get going kiddo,” he said to Jordan. “I don’t want to ever be accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
“Little too late for that, don’t you think, Unc?” Jordan asked smilingly.
Kari looked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Oz was shaking his head and winking at Jordan, and his look was serious. Are you trying to get me killed, his look seemed to say. Jordan laughed. “Nothing, Ma,” he said, getting up from the counter. “I was just joking!”
“Sure you were,” said Kari, who took a last sip of coffee, sat it down, grabbed back up her briefcase, and began following them out. “Alex told you to stay away from Jordan.”
“He also told me to follow him, and you, everywhere you guys went. Which is impossible to do both, by the way. But that’s my brother.”
They got onto the elevator together and made their way downstairs.
“Behave,” Kari said as they stepped off.
“Which one of us?” Jordan asked.
“Very funny,” said Oz.
“Both of you,” said Kari, and Jordan laughed as he and Oz made their way toward the back corridor.
But when Oz saw a man he knew was a union organizer, he quickly stopped in his tracks. “Better go meet with your tutor, J,” he said.
Alex Drakos: Branding Her Again Page 10