Fragments of Grey [Book Five of The Alexis Stanton Chronicles]

by Phelps, J. C.

  “You know what? I’m going to suggest this to Martin tonight. That’s a great idea. Now you have to tell me what you’ve been doing. It’s been months, again.”

  “I quit working for my dad and started working for Mesa. Kind of quit working for them and am now freelance. I have a job tomorrow. I’ll be gone three months for this one.”

  “You aren’t going to stay here with White?”

  She actually looked offended.

  “He’ll be fine without me.”

  I looked into his office. He’d gotten off the phone and had turned his chair to face the window. Now it was my turn for my eyes to fill with tears.

  “Honey. I’m sure he’ll be just fine. You do what you have to.”

  “He’s off the phone. I should go in and say my goodbyes.”

  I left Gabriella at her desk and shut White’s door behind me.

  “Hi,” I said as he turned his chair to face me.

  “Been on the phone all morning with your dad,” he said.

  “About what?”

  “He won’t give me the report on Will’s death.” White was obviously frustrated and drained.

  “I’d offer to try to convince him, but he’s not even talking to me right now.”

  “We’re both in a hell-of-a mess, aren’t we.”

  I nodded. “I’ve got a job. I leave tomorrow.”

  “With Jake?”

  “For Mesa,” I answered.

  He sighed. “Alex—” His gaze was intense. He stared at me for maybe five seconds before he sighed and shook his head. “Asking as a friend,” he said. “Can you tell me about the job?”

  “I haven’t been told to not talk about it. I’ll be a guard at a South American refinery for three months.”

  “Three months. Will you be coming back to your apartment when you get back?”

  “Probably,” I said.

  “So, you’ve been to see Gabriella in the past couple months?” He moved from behind his desk to stand directly in front of me.

  “How’d you know that?”

  White reached over and took my hair between his fingers. “She touched your hair and said it had grown. How short did you cut your hair?”

  “About this short.” I waved my fingers just below my ears.

  “Bet it looked nice. Not that I don’t like it now,” he said. “But, I like it long, too.”

  “What does this have to do with anything?”

  “Nothing. Just thought I’d make a comment on your hair since it’s different. It looks nice.”

  “Thanks.”

  He held my gaze. I could clearly see the pain in his eyes and had to fight to hold my head up.

  “Alex.” He caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. “I’ll always be here for you, even if you can’t bring yourself to come back to the company. I just want you to know that.”

  I couldn’t speak and I couldn’t keep eye contact any more, either. Last night, with Jake, slapped me in the face.

  “I’m sorry, White.” I took a step backward. I’d been an idiot and let my hormones get the best of me. Last night was one of the biggest mistakes I’d ever made. I sickened myself. White deserved better.

  “It’s okay. I thought about what you said last night, and you were right. But, I’m still not going to make an active decision. It’s up to you now. You can come back to work at any time. But, that means working with Red. He’s killed off Penumbra, so I can’t imagine he’d have anything worth talking about. I suspect, if you gave him a chance, he could make it up to you.”

  I snorted and shook my head.

  “I know,” he said. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m minimizing anything. I’m not. No one has. Something that might bring you a little satisfaction; Red’s been off the books since you left. I’ve not given him any jobs and I’ve not met any resistance for my decision from any of the partners.”

  “What? You’ve cut him off?”

  “And he’s not complained, either. He knows, Alex.”

  This revelation made my pride swell a little.

  “I’ll keep in touch after I get back,” I said.

  “Good. We miss you and we need you.” He went back to his chair behind his desk. “Something else I think you should know, before you come back,” he added. “The Admiral has cut our job allotment by more than half. I’m sure he’s done this because you’re no longer an active member of the company.”

  “I’m so sorry, Rick,” I said.

  “No.”

  He held up a hand and shook his head.

  “It was expected and we’re still doing just fine. I just didn’t want you to find out about it later and think that’s the only reason I’m asking you to come back to us. It’s not. In fact, if you do come back and he starts offering more jobs, I’ll probably decline most of them. I’m sorry to say, but he’s been a major pain in my ass since you left.”

  “Rick. I’ll keep in touch, but I don’t know if I’m coming back to the company. I have to think about that more.” I looked at my watch. Jake would be here soon and I decided it probably wasn’t such a good idea to put the two men together. I didn’t think Jake had any intentions of a long-term relationship with me, but men were funny about their conquests. I knew White wasn’t sure about us. I wasn’t sure we could salvage anything. That could cause some friction and White didn’t need that. The loss of Will was still very raw.

  “I better get going. I have to meet someone for lunch. You really should consider going to the service your parents have planned,” I said.

  “No. My grief is mine. I don’t have to show them how much I’m going to miss Will to actually miss him.”

  I nodded my understanding.

  “So, you’ll be back here, but not necessarily back to work?”

  Again, I nodded.

  “What about us?” he asked.

  My voice caught in my throat, so I just shrugged. I didn’t want to break down in front of him. I wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms. I wanted to walk up to him right this second and kiss him full on the lips. But I felt dirty after kissing Jake. White really did deserve better.

  Finally, I spoke. “You might be better off without me.”

  “I’m not going to ask you to explain yourself. I just want you to be happy.” He pushed the button on his intercom. “Gabriella, would you send Mr. Jensen in please?” He took his finger off the button.

  I was shocked. When had Jake gotten here and how did White know he was here? He’d not taken any calls since I came in.

  “I’ll see you in three months. Be careful.” He dismissed me.

  I reached the door at the same time Jake opened it and stepped in.

  “I won’t be long,” he said as I passed him.

  Gabriella’s expression was questioning.

  “You work for him?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Damn, girl. You sure know how to pick ‘em.”

  Gabriella’s voice made me tear my eyes from White’s closed office door.

  “I just work with him.”

  “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about that in your bed,” she said. “He’s fine.”

  I shrugged. “He’s okay, I guess.”

  “Okay? You’re hedging. You’ve already been there.” She was so sure of herself.

  “No. I haven’t, actually.”

  My stomach was in knots, wondering what they were talking about in White’s office and Gabriella wasn’t making this any easier for me.

  “But you want to.”

  “All I want, right now, is to know what they are talking about in there.”

  “Ha,” Gabriella said. “I can imagine. If I hear anything break, I’m calling Black.”

  I strained my ears and Gabriella must have done the same because she didn’t keep talking.

  After two minutes of quiet, Gabriella said, “Sit down, Alex. Your pacing is making me seasick.”

  “Sorry.” I sat down and caught myself leaning forward, trying to hear som
ething come from the office.

  Gabriella sat much the same way I did, obviously straining to hear something, too.

  “It’s no use,” she said. “No matter how hard I try, I’ve never heard anything come from his office after the door was shut. As long as the conversation remained civil.”

  Just then, White’s door opened. He stood on the threshold and shook Jake’s hand before he let him pass. Then he looked directly at me and gave me a wan smile and a slight nod of his head.

  I cocked my head in a question, but he just went back into his office and shut the door behind him. “What was that about?” I asked.

  “Uh.” Jake looked at Gabriella then back at me. “Nothing,” he said.

  I shook my head.

  “No. That’s not going to cut it.”

  “You really want to talk about this now?”

  “You’re damn right she wants to talk about it now,” Gabriella said.

  “He threatened me. I threatened him. We shook on it.” Jake shrugged. “You ready to go to lunch now?”

  I looked at Gabriella.

  “I can live with that,” she said.

  “Fine. Let’s go,” I answered Jake.

  When we got on the elevator I told Jake to repeat his conversation with White verbatim.

  He looked up at the camera deliberately. “We’ll talk in the car.”

  “Fine.” I hurried through the lobby with Jake struggling to keep up.

  “It’s not a race, Alex,” he said.

  “Shut up and get your ass out here.”

  I held the door open to the garage.

  “I parked on the street. They wouldn’t let me into the garage.”

  “Damn it.”

  I let the door slide shut and made my way to the front doors.

  As soon as we were in the car, I demanded to hear the conversation.

  “Alex. I’m not going to repeat it word for word. What I told you in the office is what I thought Gabriella would like to hear.”

  “So you didn’t threaten each other.”

  “No. He asked me about a few jobs we’ve done lately. He keeps an eye on Posner, and I oblige with a little information here and there. Where do you want to go for lunch?”

  “You pick. I’m not hungry.”

  “Come on, Alex. What did you expect? Even if we both have an interest in what only one of us can have, doesn’t mean we don’t still have real jobs.”

  “Good,” I said.

  My ego was bruised, but I was sincerely relieved I wasn’t going to be an item of contention between them. I loved White and didn’t want to cause him any hurt. And, I had feelings for Jake, too. I didn’t want to hurt him, either.

  He laughed. “I didn’t mean to make you feel inferior. I’m certainly not going to object to sex with you. Sex is fine with me. Last night was fun, but I won’t fight White for you. You come willingly or you don’t come at all. Simple as that. I sure as hell am not going to jeopardize my standing with White, of all people, to get you in my bed.”

  Again, another slam to my ego. At least now I knew where I stood with him. It made things much easier for me.

  “Just shut up and drive.”

  He did as he was told and when we got to the restaurant I went straight to the bathroom. My pride was hurt, but I was glad I hadn’t been the topic. I just wished Jake hadn’t made it clear he was only in it for the sex. If it had gone any further last night, I would be devastated.

  After taking a minute to compose myself, I found Jake’s table and joined him.

  “You aren’t going to like this,” he said as he picked at the bread at the table.

  “What?”

  “We leave right after lunch. Not tomorrow.”

  “What’s with the change in plans? I already told everyone I was leaving tomorrow.”

  “Something with the boat scheduling. Just got the call. You still in?”

  “Yes.” I sighed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  About an hour later, I found myself on a private jet with Jake, Joe, and Eric. Eric glared at me for the first couple hours of the flight, but I pretended I didn’t notice and sat quietly in my seat.

  Less than a day later I found myself on a small yacht, floating lazily down the river. My conscience nagged at me as I came out on deck. I’d actually forgotten about the fishing trip and it grated on me. I should have stayed with White and flown down after the vacation was over and the job had begun.

  I slumped down in a chair and opened a book. I struggled with my feelings of guilt for leaving White to go fishing for a few days before the job. There was nothing I could do about it now, so I tried to concentrate on the book.

  Jake, Eric, and Joe fished from the back deck and didn’t seem to notice me right away. I had a little trouble turning the pages on my book. They were floppy and sticky because of the high humidity, but I kept trying. Reading was my escape, but today it was my nemesis.

  Having so much trouble turning the pages just added to my annoyance, so I watched the guys fish. They were having a good time bantering with each other and had finally noticed me in my chair. Every once in a while they tried to include me. Eric was the most persistent, and becoming even more resolute with every drink he had. Eventually, Eric hobbled toward my comfortable deck chair using his fishing pole as a crutch.

  “What’s this?” Eric grabbed my book. “We aren’t out here to watch you read. You either fish or you get off the boat.”

  I doubted his broken nose was healed, his eyes still had some unnatural color to the lids. By the way he grabbed my book, he must not have broken his hand when he threw that punch into the wall.

  I recognized the anger in his eyes. He played it off as if he was joking, but he was still pissed about his knee. I didn’t take the bait and held my hand out for my book. His top lip curled up and he tossed the book out into the river.

  I kept my calm and left my hand out.

  “Go get it yourself.”

  “Fishing pole?” I said.

  Eric grinned, but he wasn’t happy. He’d really wanted a fight this morning. Still, he handed over his pole. When I took hold of the pole I also took hold of his wrist. I flipped around him and pushed him down on his face. I stepped in the middle of his back and held his arm straight up with one hand on his wrist and the other on his elbow. If I kept up the pressure there was no way Eric could wriggle out of his current position.

  I bent down and replaced my foot with my knee.

  “Here’s the fight you were aching for. You still wanna play? I’m warning you, I don’t play well with others, lately. Thought you might have learned your lesson back at Mesa.” I felt my top lip curl, mimicking Eric’s previous expression. I welcomed it. It felt good to get the best of him again.

  “Get off me,” he growled.

  “I don’t like you, Eric. If it wasn’t clear, it should be now. Just for the record, I don’t care who you are to Posner. There is no way I’m going to allow you to push me around. I’m better than you. Simple as that.”

  “Hey!” Jake’s voice filtered into my ears. “What the hell is going on?”

  I waited for him to reach us before I jumped up and away from Eric. As soon as I let go, Eric got up and lunged for me. I was expecting it and popped him in the mouth. I didn’t hit him hard enough to draw blood, but I did stop him in his tracks.

  Jake stepped between us and glared. “I don’t want to babysit the whole trip. Get over it. We have a job to do. I can’t afford to have you two trying to kill each other when we might have a real enemy to fight.”

  He waited for both of us to nod our understanding before he continued.

  “We’re all going out on the boat,” Jake said as he indicated one of the small fishing boats moored at the back of the yacht.

  “Might as well,” I said.

  The four of us fished the remainder of the day. I kept as much distance between myself and Eric as I possibly could on that small boat. He never showed me any further animosity. Eventually, we cau
ght up to the yacht that had anchored downriver for the night. Jake explained the yacht would anchor every night so we’d be able to pick up our fishing where we left off every morning until we reached the docks of the refinery a few days from now.

  The next couple of days proceeded the same way until we pulled up near shore after the yacht had rounded a bend early that morning.

  “Here’s your stop,” Eric said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You get off here. This pack has water, a few supplies, a map and a compass. If you can reach the refinery, you’ll be put on the crew.” He shoved a pack at me.

  I looked at Jake for support and he just shrugged.

  “Initiation process,” he said.

  “Fine.” I took the pack and jumped from the small boat. This wasn’t my first time in the wilderness alone. But, it was my first time in the jungle alone.

  I stepped into the trees before the boat left the shore. When I was sure I was no longer visible to the men on the boat I opened my pack. They certainly didn’t leave me much. I found everything they’d listed as well as a survival knife and machete.

  I pulled White’s cell phone from my back pocket. It had been shut off so Jake wouldn’t know I’d brought it along. I’d been considering getting rid of the phone for so many months. It was always nice to be reminded of the practical reason I kept it. I switched it on and coordinated my location and that of the refinery. If I pushed hard, I might even make the refinery before the men who’d thrown me overboard.

  I studied the map for a couple minutes longer making sure to mark the landmarks in my mind so I wouldn’t have to stop until dark.

  After an hour of hiking through the heavy brush I was exhausted. The humidity clung to me, and sweat dripped from the end of my nose. I stopped to check my map and take a short breather.

  I took in my surroundings as I studied the map again. This was nothing like the mountains where White and Associates had their cabin. The vegetation was so thick I couldn’t see more than a few feet in any direction. I was more thankful for the machete than even the water in my pack.