“Henderson.”
Chapter Twenty-two
“Henderson,” Alex repeated, his voice growing with anger.
I was speechless. A flood of emotion swept over me, but I couldn’t discern one from another. It was only a few moments ago that I was laying in Alex’s arms, breathing in the scent of his skin and relishing the faint echoes of the sex we’d just had.
“I’ve been ousted from the board,” Alex said flatly. He looked down at the shattered cell phone in disgust.
“But...they can’t do that. You’re the CEO,” I exclaimed.
“Yes, they can. If the board votes a two-thirds majority to oust the CEO, whatever his last name is, he’s out. Henderson just called to tell me the ‘bad news, my dear old friend,’” Alex said, making his voice sound eerily like Henderson’s. I immediately felt a wave of revulsion towards the thought of Henderson and I hoped that Alex would never imitate the man’s voice again.
Professional mistress. The words rang out in my head. Then I thought of the voice over the intercom calling me a mistress. It was no coincidence.
“Alex, Henderson was behind my kidnapping,” I said.
“How do you know?” asked Alex. He was dressing himself quickly now. I stood up from the couch and began to dress myself as well.
“When I was in that prison cell, there was a voice that would come over the loudspeaker. It was the same voice that you had talked to on the phone. But it had called me a mistress, just like Henderson had when he confronted me after the board meeting. Whether it was actually Henderson talking over the loudspeaker that time or not, the intention of the word was clear. He wanted me to know that he was behind it.”
Alex paused for a long while. His voice looked like a storm of thoughts were going on in his mind. He was calculating. When he looked up at me, there was electricity in his eyes.
“Are you one hundred percent positive? I will only ask you once, just to extinguish any last shred of doubt about all of this.”
“Yes, I’m positive. The voice called me a mistress. I believe it in my bones that it was Henderson.”
“I should have treated your warnings about him much more seriously. It seems that I’ve grossly misjudged his intentions and just what that man is capable of,” Alex said.
“Even I didn’t suspect that he wanted to cause me physical harm or put me in a prison cell. I just had a bad feeling about him, but what are we going to do now?”
“A simple word that you heard him speak isn’t enough proof for the board or for the police, although we’re past the point of being able to go to the police. What we need is cold, hard proof that Henderson’s behind all of this. We’re leaving immediately. I’m not going to allow my father’s company to be taken over by that scoundrel of a man.”
“Alex, it’s not your father’s company anymore. It’s your company.”
He nodded his head slowly and looked at me. “I have to take it back. We need to be quick. Henderson is already a few steps ahead of us.”
Alex moved like a tornado through the cabin, snatching up articles of clothing and cleaning up. I helped him clean and for a moment it seemed ridiculous that we were doing dishes when Alex had been betrayed and backstabbed by his oldest family friend. Then I realized that nobody else was coming to the cabin. We were the only two people who knew of its existence. Except now three people knew about the cabin. Henderson had known that we were going to come here.
We finished washing the dishes and Alex extinguished the fire. As he walked away from the fireplace, he stopped and looked at the photograph of his mother as a young woman. He picked up the frame and held it in his hand. The moment was over as quickly as it had happened. He put the frame down and motioned towards the door.
“Henderson obviously knows about this place, so that means we’re definitely not safe here. I believe you that he was the kidnapper. I intend to find out exactly why. It’s obviously connected with the takeover, but if we can figure out why, then we’ll know exactly what’s happened.”
We ran out of the cabin and Alex started up the helicopter. I felt dizzy and exhilarated at the same time. Henderson had been the man behind my kidnapping, and now we were going to take him down, or at least try.
I thought briefly about the timing of Henderson’s phone call and I was thankful that he had called after Alex had told me his true feelings for me. I’d somehow hate the bastard more if he had ruined that moment than for kidnapping me.
Alex sat in the pilot’s seat and strapped on his helmet. I followed suit and buckled myself in. Alex reached over and flipped on the walkie-talkie built into the side of my helmet. I lowered a microphone and when we spoke, the audio was crystal-clear.
“We’re going to go to my apartment. Along the way I’m going to contact a security team to secure the building. We have to be careful now,” Alex said.
“Speaking of careful,” I said. “How many glasses of wine did you have tonight, Mr. Strauss? Are you okay to drive?”
Alex leaned over to me and gave me a wink. “If we get pulled over, I’ll tell them you were driving.”
We rose from the cabin and I looked down on it fondly. Alexander Strauss had confessed his love for me in that small, wooden little building. I looked back and Alex and then down at the cabin again, hoping that we would return in better times and enjoy a lot of alone time together. I could lie on the couch in front of the fire for years and never grow tired of it.
The cabin disappeared from view as we flew through the air towards Alex’s apartment. I wondered briefly about air zone regulations and about flying a helicopter through the city. Alex must have special licensure or some kind of permit, but I doubt it was the kind of license you get at the DMV or town hall. Being a billionaire probably made getting the permission to fly through a city a lot easier.
We flew above the city and I marveled at its beauty below us. It was night time now, and the lights from offices and apartment building flickered below us like light reflecting off of a diamond. Despite the warm night, the air was cool at this altitude and it beat against my skin, chilling it. I wrapped myself in my coat and when I saw Alex’s apartment building growing larger upon our approach. I was thankful.
On the roof of his building, I could see ants grow into the size of men. There was a group of them waiting for us, and I felt fear bite at my chest. I looked over to Alex and he nodded to me.
“They’re our people,” he reassured me.
When we landed, the men ran up next to us and escorted us into the building. We took the stairs with two men leading and two men following. When we reached Alex’s level, another man was stationed outside of his door. All the men were armed with pistols and wore earpieces.
“Sir, the garage is secured. The elevator is secured. We have several men in street clothes discreetly patrolling the neighborhood and reporting on all activity outside. This area is locked down,” one of the men said to Alex. Alex nodded and opened up the door to his apartment building for me. None of the men came inside with us.
It felt odd to be back in Alex’s apartment. It felt like years had passed since I had left here on that fateful morning to pack the things from my apartment. Alex walked up beside me and pulled a cell phone from his pants pocket, turning it on.
“I have to make a phone call. It’ll take one minute.”
I kissed him forcefully on the lips and ran my hands along the upper part of his back. Alex walked over to the window and started dialing on his phone.
I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I drank it in one gulp and poured myself another. It hurt to think, but my mind was racing along at a million miles per hour. So much had changed in such a short time. Life had turned from new and exciting into dark and scary territory.
Henderson. The name brought up vile images of being locked in the prison cell without any hope of escape. He had orchestrated my kidnapping. It was on his orders that I was stripped naked. I could imagine him watching the clothes torn from my body and g
etting some kind of sadistic pleasure from it. The thought made my skin crawl and I badly wanted to take a shower, as if I could clean off the thought of Henderson getting some kind of perverse satisfaction from my body.
Henderson had used me to get at Alex. Alex, the man I loved. Alex was made to suffer through Henderson’s machinations and evil plotting. And worse, Alex had felt guilty that he didn’t do enough to prevent what had happened, as if it were somehow his fault. I couldn’t even begin to claim the I-told-you-so position against him. Had I ever told Alex that Henderson was plotting to kidnap me and take over his company during the crisis?
Alex hung up the phone and turned to me. “That was the last person that we can trust. I’ve explained the situation, albeit briefly. We’ll get a few hours of sleep and then first thing in the morning, we start on taking back Strauss Engines.”
We climbed the stairs to Alex’s room. We stripped our clothes off and lay in each other’s arms, naked and exhausted. Sleep came quickly and I felt complete as darkness fell over the room.
***
We didn’t sleep for long. I woke to the sound of an alarm and I could feel Alex’s erection firmly nestled in between my legs. I pressed back against him and moved up and down slightly. I reached down in between my legs and felt the head. I caressed it slowly, moving my fingers around, teasing it. It twitched as I teased it, and I heard Alex begin to breathe heavily against the back of my neck.
Alex’s arm hung heavily over me. I wrapped my hand around his cock and began to stroke up and down while my forearm pressed against my folds. I reached down with my other hand and spread my lips, moistening myself. Then I slowly pushed against his cock until it was inside of me.
His hands began working on my breasts slowly. I pushed back against him and felt his cock push deep inside me. He kissed my ear and began to move his hips slowly back and forth. His hands slid all over me.
We moved with each other. I reached between my legs and gently pulled on his balls, gripping them in my hand and squeezing them. Alex began to move his hips faster and soon he was sending waves of ecstasy through me. I twisted back and began to press my lips tightly against his as he fucked me harder and harder.
Alex’s whole body began to rock and then he stopped, moaning loudly. His cock began to jump inside of me and I could feel his warm seed fill me. With every shot of Alex filling me, I could feel myself approaching climax. His fingers stroked my exposed and vulnerable neck gently. I felt light-headed, but my orgasm ruptured inside of me and I lost all control of my muscles.
Alex had finished coming inside of me, but he kept moving in and out, chasing the last echoes of my orgasm. I stretched my hands back and slowly slid him out of me. He hugged me tightly and kissed the side and top of my head. I wrapped my arms around him and we breathed together for a minute.
The alarm went off again. Alex pushed away from me just enough so that we could see each other’s faces.
“I need you to do something for me,” Alex said.
“I’m here for you, Alex. I’ll do anything you need me to.”
“I need you to come with me. I know you’re tired; I’m tired as well. But there will be time to rest later. We need to go as quickly as we can.”
I nodded and let go of him. We got out of bed and Alex ran a shower for us. We showered quickly and without passion; it was a simple cleaning. Afterwards we dressed quickly and I ate a banana and a handful of almonds as Alex poured us coffee to go.
Alex led me out of his apartment, but before we reached the door, he stopped and turned to me. He wrapped me in his arms and lifted me off my feet. Our lips pressed against each other and we kissed with intense passion. Alex lowered me down to my feet and released me.
“By the way, I’ve never told you just how beautiful you are,” he said. And with that, he turned around and we ran out of his apartment.
We boarded the elevator, accompanied by one of the armed security guards that Alex had hired. When the elevator doors opened, another man walked us to the limousine, although it was only a few feet away. We sat down in the back and the man leaned in to talk to us.
“We’ll be following you every step of the way in two unmarked cars. We’ve replaced your normal driver with one of our own guys. He’s armed.” The man closed the door and smacked his hand twice on the roof. The limousine began to pull out of Alex’s private garage.
Alex stripped off his clothes quickly. I eyed him seductively and I inched closer to him. I ran my hand in between his thighs, and his hand gently stopped mine. I saw his cock was growing hard and I looked up at him pleadingly.
“Trust me, I wish there was time, but we have to be quick.” I looked down and saw that his cock was lying against leg, torturing me to grab it and fulfill my every want with it.
“There’s a dress in here for you as well, Samantha. I need you to get dressed,” Alex said. I tried to detect if there was any disappointment in it. “We’re going to the Strauss Engines building.”
I lost all focus on Alex and that beautiful thing that rested between his legs. We were going to Strauss Engines. That meant we were going to see Henderson. Possibly, to confront him. I felt a cold sweat wash over me.
I undressed slowly, as if in a daze. Alex kept his eyes focused straight ahead. I wanted badly to distract myself from the panic that was building up in my chest. I wanted to tear off his dress pants and grind on his cock until all of our problems solved themselves. I wanted him to fuck me every way he could and leave me spent. I wanted to be so sore and used up that I couldn’t walk. I wanted every last bit of energy spent on nothing but satisfying each other. I was afraid to go in the Strauss Engines building.
Instead, I dressed quietly. I did not jump on Alex and tear his clothes off, despite my desire to do just that. I respected his wish to refrain from sex, for now. Later, I wouldn’t be so reasonable.
We arrived at the Strauss Engines building. Alex opened up the limousine door and stepped out. He held his hand out for me and I took it cordially. I walked beside him as we entered the building. Every set of eyes scanned us. Security guards took extra notice of us, but they let no emotion show on their face as they walked over to escort us.
“Officers, will you please escort my assistant, Miss Dubois, and me up to William Henderson’s office?”
The guards looked at each other. One walked back towards the main reception desk that was massive and filled half of the initial room that you walked into when you entered the Strauss Engines building. A waterfall flowed against the back wall. The guard picked up a phone and spoke so quietly into it that we heard nothing of what he said. He then motioned towards the other guard and nodded his head just once.
“This way, sir,” the guard next to us said.
We followed him through the building. As we worked our way through people, it was as though we were a silencing force. Conversations froze when the people noticed us. More than one person nearly walked into a wall because they were too focused on us instead of where they were going.
Alex gave no indication that he noticed any of it. I tried to stop my cheeks from blushing, but I knew it was a losing battle.
The elevator music filled the tense silence between the three of us. I wondered how I would feel when I saw Henderson again. I briefly imagined walking into his office and picking up a chair and throwing it at him. I would use all of my energy and rage to hit him as hard as I possibly could, all the while screaming at him, “There will be consequences for striking the glass!”
The surreal fantasy dissipated as the elevator doors opened. Reality struck back at me and a cold sweat broke out over my skin. I could feel my hands shake and I braced myself against the wall of the elevator, keeping it hidden from both Alex and the security guard. I didn’t want to show any weakness, but I felt light-headed and my heart was pounding.
The receptionist eyed Alex with something bordering on contempt. She picked up a telephone receiver and spoke into it.
“Mr. Henderson, Alex Strauss and Saman
tha Dubois to see you.” There was a lengthy pause. “All right, I’ll send them in.” The receptionist looked up at us. “You can go in now,” she said flatly.
“Thank you,” Alex said politely. I nodded to her. My voice was somewhere far away, lost in a daze of memory from the previous days of imprisonment.
We walked into Henderson’s office. It was large, downright enormous by any standard, but it still paled in comparison to Alex’s office. Yet somehow the large space was filled with stuff. And it really was stuff. There were stacks of papers everywhere, neat, but towering over us like buildings in a city-scape. There were numerous chairs positioned haphazardly around the room and paintings of all sorts lined the wall. It was a mess of sights. Everything was very clean, but there was just so much stuff.
“Alex, how nice of you to finally show up,” Henderson said, taking a friendly tone.
I wanted to scream at him to shut up. Yet at the same time I wanted to turn and run away. I was scared and angry all at once. I could have cried and screamed in rage at the same time. I wanted to cower behind Alex and beat Henderson with a chair, all at the same time.
“Save it, Henderson,” Alex said. “Give me an explanation, now.”
Henderson leaned back in his office chair and put his fingers together, almost in homage to a James Bond villain. I wondered idly if he was aware of just how sinister and silly he looked simultaneously.
“Alex, you should know that I didn’t want any of this. I made a promise to your father a long time ago that as long as I was alive I would do everything in my power to make sure that a Strauss would always lead this company. I have now failed to uphold that promise. I want you to know how much that pains me.”
Alex said nothing.
“Although I suppose it isn’t my fault. Yet I do feel a certain sense of responsibility. Alex, if you had only listened. I tried to warn you.” Henderson’s eyes moved on me and then off in a flash. I felt a pang of hollowness hit my chest.
“The investors are pulling out. The value of our company’s stock has been taking some hits lately and it’s not looking good. The board was forced to act. One of our major investors pulled out and it compelled the board to call an emergency meeting to address the problem and try to bring them back in. Yet you were nowhere to be found. No one could reach you. The meeting was held anyway, but without the CEO there to give the final word on the course of action, nothing was done and the investor pulled out. The members were outraged.
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