01

Alex

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“Have you tried turning it off and back on again?”

Derek looked at me surprised.

“You guys actually say that shit?”

I gripped his computer mouse a little bit tighter.

Okay. A lot a bit tighter.

“Yes. Yes we do. Now the fact that I am up here on the third floor- trying to fix your computer because you got another virus from one of those fucking porn websites again, is really starting to piss me off Derek.”

“Now in my defense-” Derek started.

“No!” I aggressively whispered, cutting him off. “You don’t get a bloody defense for watching porn on your company computer, you twat.”

He gave me a frown at my scolding words.

“You’re not as cute when you’re angry.”

“That’s because I’m here to protect this companies confidential information. Now,” I took a brief pause to control my anger… and convince myself that killing Derek would be frowned upon by the judicial court system. “How in the flying fuck am I supposed to do that when one of the companies own employees continuously decides to ignore the restrictions we’ve placed on these computers. How are you even accessing porn websites anyways?” I asked, turning to this idiot besides me.

Apparently I must of said that last part a little too loud, because our good friend Joan had made it back from the break room in time to catch exactly what I said. She abruptly burst out into a fit of laughter so suddenly, both Derek and I’s heads snapped up towards her direction.

Joan was the receptionist stationed a few feet away from Derek’s desk. She was probably one of the greatest friends I had here. Or in general.

Seriously.

This job would be a shit show if she wasn’t around.

“ Jesus fucking Christ , Derek. Porn? At work? You really couldn’t wait till your ass made it home, huh?“ Joan started wheezing from laughter so hard I was actually medically concerned she might topple over and die from the way her body was violently shaking.  I couldn’t help but crack a grin myself.

I’d never seen somebody actually slap their knee until now, but that was Joan for you.

God, I loved her.

“Hey! Hey! I thought this was a judgement free work zone?” Derek barked back. He shot me a look that silently pleaded with me to back him up, but I just shot him one that very blatantly said ‘you must be fucking joking.’

As soon as Joan was able to correctly breathe again, she lead us back into our usual string of gossip. “You hear about Janice up on the fifth floor? Fired. Just like that.”

I looked back at Joan with an arched eyebrow. “Well.. fuck. Wasn’t this only like her second week here?”

“Yep. This’ll make her his 23rd assistant of this year. I swear the guy’s fucking batshit.” Joan shook her head in disapproval.

“Could you guys keep your voices down? It’s like big brother in here. He’s always watching.” Derek muttered.

“I don’t know how you do it, Alex.”

“Do what?”

“Care so little about he who shall not be named .” Joan muttered.

I chuckled at that. “I don’t see him. He doesn’t see me. We don’t have an issue. In fact, I’ve surprisingly never had to answer a single I.T. problem from the fifth floor. The only reason I even know what this guy looks like is because his face is quite literally plastered everywhere.”

We all glanced up at the huge portrait of the guy, that was hung on the wall furthest from the elevator. There was one on literally every floor.

Christian fucking Ivanov, man. Who knew someone could be this full of himself.

“He probably just buys new shit once the old shit starts to lose functionality. Everything is disposable to people like him.” Joan joked, but there was truth to her words.

“You guys are out here conversing real recklessly like you aren’t trying to keep this job.” Derek shot over his shoulder as he logged himself back in to the now working computer. I gave them both a shrug.

“It’s time for me to head back to my own floor. The first floor. The sane floor.” I gave Joan a wink as I finished packing up my stuff.

“We still on for drinks at six?” She asked.

“Let’s push it to seven, I gotta finish testing out some new devices.” I called out on my way to the elevators.

“Sounds good, baby. Hang in there today! I’ll make sure to keep Derek off those damn porn websites!”

My face broke out into the biggest grin. I heard a few laughs erupt from the rest of the floor. If everyone didn’t know Derek’s little problem before, they sure as hell knew it now.

Christian

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“That’s unacceptable. They can’t back out from this deal now.”

Christian …

Breathe …

Don’t lose it , I thought to myself.

“You told their negotiator to go straighten his life out. That he was about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. Lastly, you proceeded to comment in an expert amount of ways on why everything he was wearing was cheaper than the bandaids you use and their company was like a one ply generic brand of toilet paper… unreliable.” Brad spoke as he tossed the file back onto the table.

My hands were gripping the armrests so tight, I thought I might rip them off completely.

I’d fucked up. I’d really fucked up.

“You can’t just lose your shit every time something starts to go south, Christian. The company is taking hits for your explosive personality.”

“Don’t think your not expendable, Brad .” I snapped.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, and I softened my eyes a bit.

“Sorry man. I didn’t mean that. This whole thing has been stressing me the hell out.” I ran my hands through my now very messy hair.

“Mr. Ivanov!” A woman burst into the room flustered, not moments later. It took both Brad and I, by surprise.

“What in the absolute fucking hell-” I started, but the words she said next shut me up immediately.

“I have Mr. Larington on the line for you!” She blurted out before exiting my office just as quickly as she had entered it.

I had questions. Like first off: Who the fuck was that chick?

Second: Where the fuck was my actual assistant?

But those questions were going to have to wait. I picked up the phone so fast, I ended up knocking coffee all over the laptop on my desk.

“ Jesus, Christian .“ Brad sighed, but I aggressively hushed him as soon as the phone reached my ear.

“This is Mr. Ivanov.” I rushed out.

“Hello, Mr. Ivanov. This is Mr. Harris, Larington’s Assistant. He’s currently in a meeting and is unavailable, so I’ve been asked to step in. I’m sorry to inform you that while Larrington has received your message-… messages . All twenty-seven of them… We stand by our initial decision in refusing the deal. You have yourself a great rest of your day, Mr. Ivanov… and please stop calling.”

Before I could get a single word out, the line went dead. It took me a minute to process what had just happened, but when I finally did, I felt the all too familiar burning sensation.

The anger slowly starting to bubble up inside of me.

“Christian…” Brad spoke quietly.

But it was too late.

I. Fucking. Lost it.

“That piece of fucking shit! How the fuck dare he just have his goddamn motherfucking secretary pick up the goddamn motherfucking phone . His little bitch self didn’t have the fucking balls to say that shit to my face, god fucking damn it!” I slammed the phone down so hard it toppled over and off the table.

Then I shoved the coffee soaked laptop off the table as well.

Then I picked it up off the floor.

Then I slammed it down again.

Then I stomped on it. Repeatedly .

Brad had to finally pull me away before I could get my hands on anything else. “Calm down, Christian!” He scolded. “That barely even made any sense, my god.”

When I did finally cool down, all I could do was stare at the laptop that was completely smashed to pieces. “Did you clear everything out  from this one?” Brad asked me with a sigh. It was alarming how used to my outbursts he had gotten.

As realization trickled in, my hands went up to massage my temples. “Fuck.” I whispered. “There’s some saved documents on their. Important ones…”

“Don’t sweat it, I’ll get our I.T. guy on it.” Brad shrugged.

I glanced over at him with my eyebrows furrowed. “We got an I.T. guy?”

Brad looked at me like I was one serious fucking idiot.

“You do know your the head of a corporation, right? Not a bar or a run down pawn shop or something. A corporation. Now functioning corporation is up for debate, but yes. This is a company. We’ve got an I.T. guy.”

I gave him a look that said ‘don’t push it.’ His hands shot up in the air in defeat.

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••

02

Alex

I checked my watch.

Then I checked it again.

Then again.

It was currently 6:28pm. In two minutes, I would be off. Thank the lord Jesus Christ almighty cause I was ready to get the hell outta here.

Jesse on the second floor had called me in to fix her computer. Turns out it was just turned off the whole fucking time, but of course she wanted to fill me in on her seventeen cats… And that made for a three hour long conversation.

I glanced down at my watch again.

6:29… okay.

As my hand reached for my messenger bag on my desk, I was interrupted mid stride by the office phone.

Okay .

This didn’t always mean a bad thing.

Who was I kidding, a phone call to my desk was always a bad thing. No one called the I.T. guy for some good conversation.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Good, you’re still here.”

I’m not trying to be.

“We need you up at the fifth floor pronto.”

“Sir, it’s ac-” I started, but the man had hung up before I could get another word in.

Fucking fantastic… Did he say the fifth floor?

When I finally made it up to the fifth floor, my jaw almost hit the floor. I was welcomed immediately by a man who brought me to another wing of the same level. I didn’t even know we had wings . Where the hell was all this space on the other floors? I was about to demand to see some floor plans.

“Mister…” another man greeted me (if you could call that a greeting). Judging by the sharp suit, and fresh cut, the guy clearly didn’t work anywhere near our departments.

“Hamilton. Mr. Hamilton. Everyone calls me Alex.” I was used to people not knowing my name around here.

“Yes, I’m not doing that. Mr. Hamilton, I need you to take a look at a laptop that’s warranting some repair.”

Repair?

“Yes. Repair.”

I must have said that out loud.

“Are-Are you sure? I mean, I’ve never been called out here before to repair anything. Literally. Nothing.”

“It’s a… unique situation. One we would also prefer to be kept a little private.”

I looked at him for a few minutes, searching for any inkling of what the absolute hell that meant, before eventually shrugging.

At this point, I was just trying to get out of this building at a reasonable time. The sooner I could take a look at the laptop, the sooner I’d be able to fix it.

“Lead the way.” I sighed. He gave me a nod and started to guide me into the main office at the end of the corridor. As soon as he opened the door, my jaw unhinged and dropped all over again.

This office, man.

This fucking office.

It alone was probably the size of the whole first floor.

“I think my entire apartment could fit in here.” I whispered to myself.

The man besides me chuckled. “The laptop is on the desk over there. Directly underneath the desk should be a mini fridge. Help yourself to some water cause you might be here a while.”

“What do you mean-” I started, but when I turned around to face him, he was gone. “What the hell?” I whispered.

As soon as I got to the desk to look at the laptop, more vulgar words came tumbling out of my mouth. “What the actual fuck happened to this thing?”

I almost thought I was walking all over a crime scene.

I tried to lift it, and a few keyboard keys fell out from this scrappy plastic and metal mess.

There was no way.

There was no fucking way.

There was absolutely no fucking way in hell I could fix this.

I felt the phone in my back pocket buzz. Looks like Joan was also wondering where I was. “Hey Joan.”

“Hey, you off yet? We just got to the bar.” I could barely hear her over the noise in the background. Sounded like Tully’s jukebox was playing some old hits.

“You wouldn’t fucking believe where the actual fuck I am right now, Joan.”

“Speak up, babe. I can barely hear ya.” Joan shouted into the line.

“I’m in Christian fucking Ivanov’s office right now.” I spoke a little louder.

“You’re where ?”

“I’m in Christian-”

“Yes yes I heard you the first time. What the bloody hell are you doing in there?”

“I can’t even explain it. I was brought in by some guy to take a look at Mr. Ivanov’s laptop. At first I’m thinking fine. Okay. Whatever… I’m literally going to have to send you a picture of this laptop. It’s been smashed to fucking pieces, Joan. Looks like someone put this through a freaking wood-chipper.”

I heard one of Joan’s signature laughs on the other end of the line. “That’s batshit. He does know there’s no way you can fix that by tonight, right?”

“I think it’s hard for rich people to see the common sense and consideration behind their entitlement.” I replied. Joan straight out laughed at that. Derek was mixed in the background noise somewhere, screaming “let’s take shots!”

I was so consumed by the background noise over the phone, I almost didn’t heard someone clear their throat from the door.

As I glanced up from my spot at Christian fucking Ivanov’s desk to see who it might be, my eyes met a pair of very vibrant blue ones.

Familiar blue ones.

Very vibrant, familiar blue ones.

The phone fell slipped past my fingers and tumbled off the desk.

“You must be the I.T. guy.” He spoke. His voice on any other day, would’ve sounded startling from how low it was.

Today, all I heard was fucking ringing. I think my body was going into shock.

“I-Y-Yes.” I stammered out. I was completely frozen in place.

“You’re here to fix this laptop, correct?” He asked me.

I think my legs were about to give out.

“Y-Yes.”

“Is it fixable?”

Holy shit his eyes were the bluest blue I had ever fucking seen. I didn’t recognize him from the man in the portraits. This man was far scarier.

“Y-Ye- No. It’s too broken. It would take years for me to fix it. I think it would be more cost efficient to just get a new laptop.”

He was looking at me with such intensity, I couldn’t even process whether to stand or sit at this point. Beads of sweat were starting to form at the base of my forehead.

He pushed himself off the doorway frame he was leaning against, and stalked towards me.

“It looks fixable to me.”

This was probably the part where my mother would have told me to straighten my face… cause I quickly went from worry to looking at Christian fucking Ivanov like he had lost his fucking mind.

“I-I this- this isn’t fixable.”

“Looks like it went through a wood-chipper, huh?”

There was a pregnant pause. During said pause, my eyes grew so wide, I thought they were about to pop right out of the sockets.

He had heard everything. Everything .

“It’ll take time… to retrieve all the parts.” I settled on finally.

“Its a good thing you’re on my companies payroll then, isn’t it?”

All I did was give Christian fucking Ivanov a nod.

Because what else could I do?

••

03

Alex

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m serious, Joan. I’m so fired.” I sighed, before downing yet another shot.

I was already maybe four or five shots in.

“This is some deep shit.” Derek whispered to himself as he ordered another round for us. I had finally made it to Tully’s at around close to midnight. It was now far past bar closing, but since Joan’s brother (Tully) owned the bar, we weren’t in any hurry to leave.

“Well here’s to Alex having to look for a new I.T. job after he fails to salvage one very messed up laptop!” Joan’s cheered. We all took another round of shots.

I was definitely starting to see double. Or triple. Or really nothing at all. I couldn’t tell anymore.

The last thing I do remember telling the gang was that they might be carrying out a body by the end of the night.

Christian

When my body finally hit those sheets, the feeling of content washed over me. I pulled out my second laptop that was securely charging on my bedside. I wasn’t sure what was compelling me to pull up the building security cameras, but curiosity was definitely a factor.

My mind wandered back to earlier this evening.

It was only when I made it down to the main lobby, did I then realize I’d forgotten my key card in the office. As soon as I arrived back on the fifth floor, that’s when I overheard the conversation that was flowing out from my office.

“I can’t even fucking explain it. I was brought in by some guy to take a look at Christian fucking Ivanov’s laptop.” The man said.

Christian fucking Ivanov? Who the

fuck

did this guy think he was? Other than our I.T. guy apparently.

“At first I’m thinking fine. Okay. Whatever. I’m literally going to have to send you a picture of this laptop. It’s been smashed to pieces, Joan. Looks like someone put this through a freaking wood-chipper.”

Wood-chipper, huh?

I was about to barge into the room, but stopped myself short in the doorway. There was a man sitting at the chair of my desk, examining the laptop like it was a beaten up puppy.

He didn’t look any older than his early twenties yet the bags underneath his eyes were insane. Large framed glasses overtook the majority of his face, but they framed his chiseled features well.

I’d never seen this guy before in my life.

“I think it’s hard for rich people to see the common sense and consideration behind their entitlement.” I heard the man say. I decided that was probably enough bullshit I could tolerate for the night.

I cleared my throat, and the man looked up from my desk, to me. It looked like I might have startled him.

His gaze was… different. Before I could put a handle on what felt strange, realization settled in for him.

He looked like a dear caught in a headlight. Almost as if I had found him with his hand in the cookie jar.

I watched the phone that he was holding against his ear, slip through his fingers and tumble to the ground. “You must be the I.T. guy.” I noted.

“I-Y-Yes.” He forced the words to push past his lips. They seemed strained and foreign, unlike what his voice sounded like a few moments ago.

“You’re here to fix this laptop, correct?” I had asked him. It looks like he was just about ready to faint.

“Y-Yes.” He croaked out.

“Is it fixable?” I continued. Something about him getting all flustered and uncomfortable brought out the sadist in me. It was nice having people fear you. It really was. He proceeded to inform me on how non-fixable the device was.

“Looks like it went through a wood-chipper, huh?”

His face paled at my words. There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air before he finally composed himself enough to reply . “ It’ll take time… to retrieve all the parts.“

“It’s a good thing you’re on my companies payroll then, isn’t it?”

Something flashed across his face. I recognized it instantly as annoyance. I was now annoyed because he had the audacity to be annoyed with me .

The camera screens flickered on my computer, and I changed the time stamp to just after I had left him in my office. There wasn’t any audio, but judging by the faces he was making over the phone again, he looked pissed.

I spent the rest of the night watching him order parts for the computer, and attempt to start taking the rest of it apart. I convinced myself it was because I wanted to make sure he didn’t mess around with anything, but really, I didn’t know why I was looking at the footage.

I also didn’t know why I had put up with his disrespect. I mean, I’ve fired employees for a lot less…

Alex

“Oh fuck me.” I whispered to myself as soon as the light rays hit my very sensitive eyes. All I felt was intense throbbing.

I thought I was in my bed.

I had definitely passed out on the bean bag chair in my living room.

Actually, just making it home in general was a big enough accomplishment for me.

There had been some mornings where I’d woken up in a park, or at a transit station…

Or in Louisiana…

I felt around for my phone, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

“Fuck.” I whispered again. What time was it anyways? As I stumbled into the kitchen and glanced at the microwave, I almost tumbled back into my dining room table. It was 10:43am.

10:43 am.

I was suppose to pick up the laptop parts at 8:15 sharp!

I mean, I could probably make up a solid excuse for my tardiness. And it wasn’t like Christian fucking Ivanov was going to personally oversee the reconstruction of one stupid fucking laptop… right? My teeth clenched at the thought of our conversation yesterday. The guy seemed like a real verified jackass.

I didn’t have the time to figure out where my phone was, and I decided that if I couldn’t find it tonight, I would just replace the damn thing.

“Oooh you’re late as hell.” Joan commented as soon as I entered the third floor. Inconveniently, the third floor was also where we signed in with our badges.

“What the actual hell happened last night?” I groaned. Both Derek and Joan chuckled.

“You got so fucked up.” Derek spoke up over the chuckles. “ You tried juggling whiskey glasses and broke all three of them. That was when Tully said we had to get you home.“

“Nah, I’m pretty sure it was when Alex tried making out with a poster of Rosie the Riveter by the jukebox.” Joan added.

I both mentally and physically face palmed.

“Please text Tully and apologize on behalf of me and my inadequate tolerance for alcohol.” I barely whispered.

“I’ll just send him a snapchat of how terrible you look. I think he’ll feel bad enough.” Joan replied. She was right, though. My everything was a mess, and I was sporting some serious bags underneath my eyes… although I guess I always had bags. I had basically just thrown on whatever I could and left. Almost made it out the door without any pants.

“Today is going to be bullshit too with that fucking laptop Christian fucking Ivanov wants me to fucking fix.”

Joan and Derek shared a glance.

“You might want to maybe just not talk… like at all today…” I gave Derek a look.

“I’m hungover. I have to literally go work for the devil himself. Today is too hard a day to give a fuck about, man.” I mumbled. Derek and Joan shared yet another glance. Today was going to be one of those days.

“You’re late.”

“I couldn’t find my keys.” For two hours ? I mentally face palmed.

I guess that was the best excuse I could come up with. I was currently speaking with the same man that had made that call a minute before I was supposed to leave this god forsaken place last night. I still didn’t know his name.

“You were looking for your keys for two hours?” He asked me.

Micromanaging much?

“Excuse me?” He asked. Fuck . I couldn’t distinguish between whether I was thinking shit or saying shit anymore. Now I felt like I should’ve just called in all together.

“Nothing. Nothing. I’ll get right on it.” I sighed again. My head felt like it was going to fucking explode.

He said nothing as he left me to get to work. I had carefully laid the remnants of what was once a functioning computer, in my bottom drawer. As soon as I pulled out that same drawer to retrieve the laptop, my heart dropped all over again.

This thing was so fucked up.

••

04

Christian

“I’m thinking we hit up Maverick’s Corp about potential long term investments. Give them the same sort of offer, but throw in some compensation. We’ll give them a portion of our cut from the next Gala, as well as promote their new front line fitness products in our gym’s.” Brad spoke.

He was currently sitting comfortably in the office chair across from mine. My desk was covered in files and contracts as Brad desperately did everything he could to save the millions of dollars we were about to loose with Larington.

I was currently paying him zero attention.

“With this little contribution, you’re very soon going to run this company into the ground, Christian.” Brad finally cracked when he noticed me shooting a quick text under my desk.

I gave him a sigh. “I’m sorry, man. Something’s been on my mind.”

“What’s up?” He asked. I gave him a shrug.

It was sort of hard for me to get into words.

“Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if you walked in on a private conversation where one of your employees was saying some less than polite shit about you and your company… hypothetically speaking.”

“Someone said something about you, and they’re still breathing?” Brad asked in too serious a tone.

“ Hypothetically speaking. Hypothetically. “

He rolled his eyes at me.

“I think it would all depend on the person. If they prove to be a valuable asset to the company, I would sit down with them and have a very real conversation. If they’re expendable, then I wouldn’t really go the distance. I wouldn’t necessarily lose sleep over a janitor saying some things about you, Christian.”

He wasn’t exactly a janitor , I thought to myself. My teeth clamped down harder on the insides of my cheek.

After a little while longer, I nodded.

“I’m more surprised by the amount of thought that you’ve put into this. You’re usually not one too… Well.. Not one to think before acting.” Brad said those words as if, at any moment, he could choke on them.

“You’re totally right. This is what’s bothering me, man. Like why do I care so damn much? If it was anyone else, They would have been fired on the spot.”

“I think you’re just not used to overhearing people say anything about you.” Brad replied. I rolled my eyes at him. “You don’t handle criticism well, Christian. Like at all. So you don’t have anyone there to push you.” He continued.

“I have you.”

“I’m also your brother. I’m not sure that even counts.” I couldn’t help but tense up at those words.

“You’re admitting that far more often than you should be. Let’s not forget the consequences of people finding out about that, Brad.” I reminded him.

“I thought hell would freeze over before a word like consequences ever left your mouth.” Brad joked, but I shot him a look.

The one thing I cared about more than anything, was family.

And protecting it.

“Seriously, Brad. If that information got out…”

“It won’t.” Brad replied… and we left it at that.

I pulled the laptop closer to the edge of the desk so I could get a better look at the employee files.

Alexander Hamilton…

Odd name.

Wasn’t he a founding father or some shit?

In the picture that was shown, Alex looked a little younger. It made me wonder when he had started with the company… Only took a few more scrolls down the page to answer that question.

“He’s been working here for three years?!” I couldn’t help but blurt out loud.

How had I never seen him before?

“You didn’t know who the front desk rep was until last week… when she accidentally let Bridget in.” Brad reminded me. I couldn’t help but laugh a little uncomfortably at those words cause he was right. I barely knew anyone that worked for me.

Up until now, that hadn’t bothered me.

“Let’s not even talk about Bridget right now. I was in a decent mood up until you brought her up.” 

“Why don’t you just break up with her? No one is pushing for you two to be together besides mom.” Brad reminded me.

“You know she’s absolutely batshit crazy. That woman is something else, I swear. She thinks I’m going to die alone or something.”

“We all do.” Brad countered. I punched him in the arm.

“I’m just picky with who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Brad looked at me skeptically.

“I think we’re overlooking the fact that every woman you’ve been with, has left you. Bridget is just a gold digger who’s willing to withstand all your bullshit for a payout.”

Brad was probably right. I treated Bridge like shit cause she was god awful annoying, but one shopping trip and all was forgiven again.

Luckily, she had left for Paris’s fashion week and wouldn’t be back for another few weeks.

“I need you to set something up for me, Brad.”

“What’s up?”

“Could you get Alex in here before the end of the day?”

Brad looked at me for a few seconds in complete utter disbelief.

“It’s great how I went to school for 8 years to become a lawyer, but instead of doing actual law shit, I’m over here managing your personal life. I’m not your assistant, Christian.” He reminded me. I gave him a grin.

“But you’re so good at it.”

Alex

It was steadily approaching the end of my shift. And fuck I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of here. Joan had ever so nicely massaged my temples to help relieve some of the hangover… she also expertly patted my back while I was throwing up my insides.

That happened a lot today.

Just like clockwork, as soon as 5:50 rolled around, I already had all my stuff packed.

Today had been a slow day, mostly thanks to Derek.

He sent a mass email out on the first, second, third, and fourth floor- letting them know that a day may come where their computers or company phones may need fixing… but today was not that day. He delivered this as expertly as Aragon did at The Black Gate in Lord of The Rings.

My desk phone only rang twice.

Once was for a update on an ongoing open ticket, the other was Joan checking up on me to make sure I was still breathing down here. The rest of the day was left for me to fix the laptop and recover.

So as I slung my messenger bag across my body, and slipped my personal phone off the charger, you could imagine the feelings I received when my desk phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered into the line.

“Hello.” An all too familiar voice replied.

••

05

Alex

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Man, what the fuck.

What the fuck.

Tell me why I was here on the fifth floor, well past my fucking clock out time, waiting on Christian fucking Ivanov to show up for a meeting he had apparently schedule.

I felt my stomach churn with uncertainty. Not so much the uncertainty of what this meeting was about (although I was pretty concerned), but more so the uncertainty of whether I was about to throw up all over Christian fucking Ivanov’s floor or not.

“You don’t look to good.” The man besides me commented. He was the same man that had brought me up here the first time. Still didn’t know his name, but right now, I couldn’t care less.

“I’m hungover.” I all but grunted at the guy.

Something flashed across his eyes. The look of pity. It did nothing to soothe my thoughts about what was to come. Was I getting fired?

I mean, I’d barely made any progress with the laptop today… But he was at least going to give me a few days… Right?

“Alexander.” Christian greeted me as he finally walked through the office doors and took a seat at his desk.

He was in a freshly ironed dress shirt this evening. He was a little more casually dressed than when I had first seen him. His hair, however, looked as if it had fallen victim to his hands. It was tossed around messily… If you could even call it that. Somehow, he managed to still look insanely handsome and well put together.

I, on the other end, was a goddamn mess.

I gave him a nod. “You’re probably wondering why I called you up here.” He continued.

“Sure.” I sighed. He eyebrows raised slightly at my response. I was doing my best to act cordial but annoyance and sleep deprivation were starting to seep through the cracks of my resolve.

“Well, it’s been brought to my attention that I should probably call you in to speak about your views on how I run things here. Brad explained how a good working environment makes for a good business. I’m interested on hearing your thoughts.”

Christian fucking Ivanov really didn’t want to hear my thoughts right now. I was very sure of that.

But he just sat there across from me…

Waiting.

“Uh-” I started. My voice came out horse. It sounded foreign, even to myself. “I mean- The work load is sometimes unstable for the reps. We end up on the shitty end with sales whenever a deal goes south. Overtime is also an issue. I think it should be double for mandatory overtime and time and a half for voluntary-” I stopped myself short.

I couldn’t tell whether Mr. Ivanov was about to explode or not. He looked like a mix of emotions. A big pot of emotions on the verge of over-boiling. The expressions of his face were blatant enough for me to assume that no one had really ever criticized him like this.

“Continue.” He struggled to say.

“Dave on the second floor has been with this company for 25 years, yet when he put in a request for a few more vacation days, he was denied. This happened around the time that Ivanov Corp. lost the deal with Winchester. I think employees should be in the loop of why deals are continuously going south. All we see are added OT to our schedule without a good explanation as to why. It’s not a great image to see our C.E.O. without at least an assistant. This company isn’t just you. You rely on us to do damage control, we rely on you to build relationships and deliver successful closings. It’s a two way street.”

I basically shot out that entire paragraph in one breath. I felt my metaphorical balls being held in Christian Ivanov’s hands as his insane eyes tore through me. I was looking everywhere but at him.

There was a brief pause where I had to brace myself for the backlash that was sure to come.

Christian leaned back in his chair. His muscles flexed in such an intimidating way, I forgot how breathing worked for a second there.

“So you’re telling me I mistreat my employees, and I’m a failure as the head of this company.” He finally spoke.

“I’m sure that’s not what the kids saying.” The man besides me tried to butt in, but Christian just held up his hand.

I wasn’t sure what wave of no fucks given had washed over me, but I nodded.

“I’m saying you can do more to build this company.”

So… If I wasn’t getting fired before, I was definitely getting fired now.

It took Christian another pause before he spoke again.

“You make what… $49… $50,000 a year right now, right?”

I nodded.

I was so getting fired . I took a swig from the water bottle that hadn’t left my side since the beginning of the day due to this fucking hangover. I wasn’t sure if it was Mr. Ivanov’s presence, but my headache felt worse.

There was a pause before the man spoke again.

“How would you like to bump that up to $68,000 a year?”

Water came exploding out of my mouth and straight onto Mr. Ivanov’s desk. I could feel his gaze intensify on me.

“I-I’m sorry, what now? “

“A raise.” He replied. I almost couldn’t hear him over the sound of me choking.

“I-I don’t understand.”

“You would be doing the same tasks as you do for your current job, but I would also be hiring you on as a temporary assistant until further notice… Or until Brad here can find me a suitable replacement. I’ve been reviewing your work over the last few hours, and you have a very decorated resume. You’ve dabbled in management and sales before I.T. I think this would be a good fit for the both of us.”

“Once again, Christian, I’m your lawyer. Not apart of you HR department.” Brad shot back. I was taken back a bit by how he spoke with Mr. Ivanov. In my three years of working here, I’d never seen a single soul address this man like that over the phone… I couldn’t fathom them doing this in person… and staying employed.

It seemed like these two were closer than I thought. I had also learnt from this conversation, that his name was Brad.

“I’m not really cut out to be an assistant.” I spoke honestly. And I wasn’t. I couldn’t give a rats ass about what Christian Ivanov’s personal life entailed. It probably involved kicking puppies or something.

“This offer will only be available for right now, tonight. You can either take this offer, which is almost double the starting pay for someone in your position and well over ten grand more than the average salary for a I.T. Specialist… or you can walk out of this room right now still getting paid the $49, 482.68 average pay. With this job, you will not only be assisting me with multi-million dollar contracts, but you’ll have the chance to reform the way we run things around here.”

I think I was beginning to understand how Christian Ivanov had managed to build this company. When it came to a deal, he really knew how to present it. I wasn’t sure why my heart was beating so quickly from seeing him in action.

I looked at Mr. Ivanov like he had grown a second, third, fourth, AND fifth head.

Was he really serious about this?

He couldn’t have been.

I glanced at Brad.

“He’s totally serious.” Brad replied.

I thought about all the hell I had been put through these past few days… but then I also thought about the money.

My family needed it. I needed it.

I finally gave Mr. Ivanov my answer…

And this is how I ended up sealing a deal with the devil himself. Was I to regret this in a couple of months- scratch that, a couple of hours?

Probably.

Was this a risk worth taking?

Probably not.

Was I going to do it anyways?

Unfortunately, yes.

••

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06

Alex

“I’m not sure if we’re celebrating or mourning here.” Joan spoke as she poured us another round of shots.

“I’m still not sure as to how you landed this job in the first place.” Derek chimed in. I gave them both a bewildered look. I’d been in a daze all night about this new sudden promotion… if you could call it that.

“I mean, the guy’s never had an assistant that lasted more than maybe a few weeks. If you fuck this up, do you just go back to your IT job, or will you be permanently terminated, or…”

“I mean, you don’t think this fuck tard would actually fire the poor kid, right?” Joan asked Derek.

Somehow, both their eyes landed on me. I gave them another shrug.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight.” Derek noted.

“I think he’s still trying to sort everything out.” Joan replied. I slowly nodded my head. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was going to be working for Christian Ivanov.

Christian fucking Ivanov.

I mean, I technically worked for him right now- but this was going to be a hell of a lot different.

Everything was cut short by the vibrations in my pocket. As I pulled out my phone out to check the caller ID, I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

Whatever mood I was in, had just gotten a whole lot worse.

“I-I-I’ve got to take this.” I stuttered quietly. Derek looked confused, but Joan just nodded to me as I headed towards the men’s restroom.

“Hello?”

“Hi sweetie.”

My heartbeat was starting to pound. I couldn’t tell how hard since I was already a few shots in, but the weight of my mothers voice had cut straight through my buzz.

“Hi mom.” I spoke unevenly.

“How are you, baby?” She asked.

She always asked. But I knew she never really cared.

I knew exactly why she really called in the first place… but even the false thoughts of her giving a fuck, still gave me hope… for some sick reason.

“How much do you need, Mom?”

I was biting back tears now. My teeth were digging so deep into the side of my cheek, I was sure I drew blood.

“Just another $200 baby. Just enough to get by… I’ve been working on a start up. This ones going to work out so much better than the last one baby, I promise.”

I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. It was almost as if I could hear the very sound of my heart breaking at her words. I knew what the money was for. I knew I was enabling her.

But her voice… her fucking voice…

“I’ll transfer it over tomorrow.” I choked out.

“Thank you so much, baby. You know you mean the world to me. I love you…”

“Always.” I whispered that last part before hanging up.

When I finally found the courage to look back up into the mirror of Tully’s restrooms, all I could do was sigh. My eyes were now a botchy red mess. I’d done my best to wash the tears away, and while Derek might not notice, Joan sure would.

But I decided there was really no going back, as I made my way over to my friends again. Derek was at the jukebox picking a song wile Tully started to take down the register. He wasn’t going to charge us for the remaining drinks anyways. Tully never did.

“You alright?” Joan asked me. Concern was laced in her eyes. I gave her a stiff nod.

“How about some more shots?” I offered quietly. She said nothing as she filled my glass up once again.

I felt a buzzing right besides my head.

And then another.

And then another.

As soon as I pulled my phone screen out from under my pillows, the bright light blinded the complete shit out of me. Who the fuck was calling my work phone this fucking early anyways? I didn’t have to be up for at least another hour.

“ What? “ I groaned into the phone.

“ Where the hell are you? “ A voice replied. A voice I was starting to get agitated with.

Also… This voice belonged to someone that I didn’t think knew my fucking work number.

“Mr. Ivanov. It’s 7am.” I mumbled. “I don’t have work till 8:30.”

“You come in at 7 from now on. You get off at 4:30… if it’s a good day. If it’s not, you get off when I say you get off. “ Christian replied. “Get here pronto.”

I sighed into the phone, as I tried to pull myself out of the enchantment my pillows had me in.

“And Alexander?”

“Yes?”

“Bring me a large coffee. Two sugars, one creamer.”

I tossed my phone at the nearest thing I could. It just so happened to be my alarm clock, and it knocked both the alarm and my glass of water off the table.

The glass shattered on impact with the wooden floors.

Great.

Christian

As soon as Alex made it to the fifth floor, I could already tell he was hungover. But there was something else.

He set the cup of coffee down at my desk, yet did everything else to avoid my gaze. It looked like the area around his eyes were red in irritation. Was it allergies maybe?

Before Alex could make it to the door, I stopped him short. “Alex.” I called. He half heartedly turned back to me. “From now on, your office will be across from mine through there.” I pointed to another door on my right. “I’ll get everything of yours transferred.”

“Alright.” He nodded.

“Go check up on him.”

“I just did.”

“Check on him again.”

“Christian, leave the poor kid alone. He’s in there working on the computer that you completely obliterated with your size 13 Stefani Beamers.” Brad reminded me. My fingers went up to massage my temples. “Your investment in this guy is totally weird, man.”

Brad was right.

I wasn’t sure why I gave a shit.

His energy had just thrown me off from the get go this morning… maybe he was pissed that I had woken him up at such an early time?

“Have you given much thought to the Maverick’s Corp pitch? They want to set up a meeting in New York within a few weeks. You’ve got to come up with a kick ass pitch.”

I ran my hands through my hair again. “I’d completely forgot about that. Set something up for me in about… three weeks? That’ll give me enough time to prep everything including estimated Gala figures.”

Brad nodded, and started entering the events into my schedule off his iPad.

A few minutes passed without either of us saying something.

Brad sighed.

“Go check up on him, yourself.” Was all he said.

I pulled something out from one of my desk drawers before getting up and making my way into his office room. Just as Brad had said, Alex was working quietly on reinstalling computer parts. I strolled over to his desk and spun his chair around before he could say a word.

One minute, he was hunched over the laptop with a small screwdriver.

The next, he was pinned between me and his desk.

••

07

Christian

“W-What’s going on?” Alex asked. His voice had returned to the unevenness it was the first time I met him.

It could have been because I had surprised him.

It also could have been because my face was now about a foot away from his and he had nowhere to look but at me. His breathing had seized completely from our proximity.

I said nothing as my hands went up to flip his shirt collar. Being this close, I noticed that the irritation around his eyes had subdued substantially, but he still looked miserable.

“Who goes out for drinks on a Wednesday night?” I asked him.

“Someone who works for you.” He grumbled back. I couldn’t help but crack a grin at that. This kid had balls. I made a mental note of the fact that this was now two days in a row that he had come in hungover during this week.

“What’s that?” Alex asked, as I pulled something out of my pocket.

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen a tie before. Well, considering you’ve made it in to my office both days without one, I’m guessing that’s a pretty great possibility.” I replied, as I slid the long piece of material around his neck but under the collar, and crossed them at the front.

“Ties are optional for my-”

“IT position, I know. How many times must I tell you that you’re not just our IT guy anymore. You’re Christian fucking Ivanov’s assistant.” I replied, using the words I had first overheard him say in my office.

The surface of his cheeks turned beet red at those words. I liked seeing him this flushed.

“I really didn’t mean-” I cut him off by raising my hand, as I finished pulling the thin portion through and tightened the knot.

“We’re past that now. I came here to speak with you about something else entirely. You mentioned that the people should be in the know about our business arrangements. That, while it’s my employees jobs to build the company, it’s my job to close the deals.

I’ve got a big one coming up in a few weeks with Mavericks Corp. I’m going to need your help with not only prepping me and us for this meeting, but putting together a deal so phenomenal, the company would have no choice but to say yes.“ I finished.

Alex’s eyes grew wide.

“We’re partnering with Mavericks? Holy fucking shit. They own some of the biggest surf and just workout gear in general! I was able to head over to one of their corporate buildings for a tour a few years back and their tech-”

“Stop geeking, start typing. I’ve got a spare laptop in my office you can use to help.”

Alex nodded as his once lifeless hazel eyes had some warmth returned to those unique orbs. You couldn’t see them well behind the reflection of his glasses, but being this close, gave you a front row seat.

Alex and I had almost lost ourselves in the paperwork, that neither of us heard the door open.

“Baby!” Bridget shrieked as she barged through my office. I was so startled, I ended up hitting my cup of coffee and it spilled all over our freshly printed paperwork.

“Shit!” I hissed. Alex was quick to remove all the electronics from the desk.

“Now I understand how that other laptop got doused in coffee.” He mumbled as he began wiping the liquid down.

Bridget had given me a fucking heart attack.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Bridget?” I asked the once dirty blonde, now platinum blonde and one cup size bigger, bimbo. She must have gotten another operation done while she was out… but I thought she was supposed to be gone for a few more days?

“I thought I’d come surprise my babyyyyyy. I left Paris fashion week early cause of some bomb threat or something, so now I’m here!” She replied.

She was wearing too much makeup, and too little of everything else. When I glanced back at Alex, I could tell he was doing his best not to look amused.

This little fuck was really enjoying this.

“Bridget. We’re busy. I don’t have time to entertain you right now.”

“Oh that’s okay. Allison and I want to go see a movie. I was wondering if I could borrow something from you baby? I maxed out all the credit cards in Paris.”

I almost choked on my own spit.

“You maxed out all the credit cards I gave you already? What the fuck did you do, buy everything that made it down the runway?”

“Well, duh babe. I was with Allison. I couldn’t let her out-shop me.”

I could swear Alex’s face was growing red from all the restraint he was visibly showing. He was potentially another comment away from laughing his ass off.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” I whispered to myself, before slipping my wallet out of my back pocket and handing her a couple hundred dollars.

“Thank you so much babe!” She beamed as she planted her lipstick covered lips all over my cheek, and snatched the bills from my hand.

Just as soon as she had bombarded into this office, she sprinted back on out.

That was when Alex lost all his shit.

I could barely make his words out between the laughter and wheezing. “First of all, is she going to see a movie or is she buying the whole damn movie theatre? You just gave her like $600!”

“Movie means shopping. Shopping means nails. Nails mean dinner. All in all, that warrants a couple hundred.” Alex was looking at me like I was an entirely different species all together.

“She’s really something.” He added, wiping a tear away. A grin broke out on my lips.

A fucking migraine was what she was.

“What do you have for Gala figures?” I asked Alex.

He flipped his screen around to show me. My eyebrows raised slightly in suprise. Alex had created a column bar graph for previous Gala’s hosted through Ivanov Corp. and a mekko chart for demographic based appealing content.

“This is some serious data entry.”

Alex’s eyes adverted mine. He looked visibly uncomfortable.

It was almost as if he wasn’t used to being praised for his work. I guess it was a bit of a stereotype that the IT guy got overlooked. I mean… even I didn’t know we had an IT guy.

We had been so consumed by work, I hadn’t even noticed the time. It was coming on around almost five in the evening. The thought of food hadn’t crossed my mind until I heard Alex’s stomach growl.

“Did you eat lunch?” I asked him. He slowly shook his head. I had thought he went out to eat some lunch when I did, but apparently, he had continued to work. “Let’s order something.”

••

08

Christian

“This is nowhere near as good as Eddie Chang.” Alex sighed.

He had been pushing around his chicken Alfredo- correction , very

fucking

expensive chicken Alfredo, for the past thirty minutes.

“This meal costs more than you make in a day.” I replied, but he just scrunched his face up in a disapproving way and set the plate aside.

This little shit.

“Jesus, I hadn’t even realized we were coming up on 6:30pm.” Alex noted. I glanced down at my wrist watch to confirm, and sure enough, Alex and I had been here the entire day. My eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. I never lost track of time this easily.

He was looking up at me, attempting those big puppy dog eyes as he silently plea to leave. I caved in almost immediately and gave him a nod. We were pretty much done for today anyways.

“You can head out. Don’t forgot to swing by my place early tomorrow to pick up my dry cleaning.” I added. Alex’s smile dropped as he quickly flipped it to frown at me.

“Im starting to think there are staggering parallels between being an assistant and a slave.” He grumbled. I chuckled at his words. Little did he know this was the first time I had ever ordered food for anyone else, let alone my assistant. So far I had treated him better than any assistant I ever had.

Alex

I wasn’t sure how I had ended up at the front steps of a goddamn chateaux the next morning.

But here I was.

Staring at the gates of what was just shy of a mansion.

Correction: it was definitely a fucking mansion.

“Good day, sir. I assume you are here for Sir Ivanov’s clothing?” The voice had startled me out of my whits, but successfully managed to bring me back to reality. There was a man walking promptly towards me, and as he arrived, the man stuck his hand out for me to shake. “Hello. I am Nathaniel, the caretaker. Follow me.”

And then we were off.

He led me up the steps towards another pathway that lead to even more steps.

It took everything in me not to look like a complete and utter idiot as I gaped at the large fountain we passed that stood front and center of the home.

There were about 4 cars parked outside of an open garage to the right of the home.

Could I name these cars? Definitely not.

Did they look more expensive than every last one of my assets, combined?

Yes. Yes they fucking did.

The real question was, is it still considered a home if you could fit half of the American population in here? At this point, there had to be a different name for something this massive.

An estate, maybe? Fuck if I knew.

“Please watch your step here, sir. The stone is still quite loose from the weekly renovations.” Nathaniel directed me. I gave him a slight nod, as if this I totally understood the struggles of this lifestyle.

Weekly renovations?

I was still using a gas stove from the nineteen thirties.

“His clothing is hanging in that smaller closet over there. It has the details on what needs to be done, as well as a pass attached to the hanger so you won’t be charged for the services.”

Nathaniel was busy talking and I was busy half ass-idly listening.

It was hard to hear him over the sound of money.

And man was it speaking loudly.

The entrance to this palace was ridiculous.. Actually ridiculous . I couldn’t believe that something like this existed. Large marbled walls and beautiful chandeliers.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Mr. Ivanov owned a pet tiger or something. Maybe he kept it outside next to his artificially built river.

“Mr. Hamilton?” Nathaniel pulled me straight out from my thoughts again. He was fantastic at doing that.

“Right. Sorry.” I mumbled back. I made my way over to the door that Nathaniel had pointed to. When I opened it, I almost staggered back again.

This wasn’t a small closet. This was a whole other home. Christian fucking Ivanov had suit jackets and dress shirts lined against the right side, while watches and ties and any other pull out accessory, was on the left. When I did finally locate the section meant for dry cleaning, I felt like I had spent the day at the mall. Every article of clothing felt like sixty freaking pounds for some reason. As I lanced at the tags that were still on some of the items, my eyebrows furrowed even deeper.

Who the hell would dry clean something unworn?

“Somebody that cares about their basic hygiene.” Christian replied. He had startled me out of my wits so completely, I dropped the mountain of clothes all over the floor of his walk-in auditorium. As soon as the clothing toppled to the ground, Christian came into sight. He appeared in the doorway wearing a loose fitted t-shirt, and some casual sweatpants.

I had meant to say words. I really had.

But all that came out instead was something resembling the noises of a dying squrrel. Christian looked at me like I was a fucking idiot. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was standing here staring, or because I was standing here in the center of all his dry cleaning, staring. In my defense, The dry cleaning was already in clear plastic bags. It wasn’t like they were getting dirty.

I was staring because this was the first time I, or anyone else I’m sure, had seen Christian fucking Ivanov without a suit on.

I had always wondered what he looked like. Apparently Christian fucking Ivanov had tattoos.

A lot of them.

Like a whole sleeve.

A whole fucking sleeve.

Of tattoos.

“You good, Hamilton?” Christian asked. That was quick to snap me out of whatever shock my body was experiencing. I didn’t think my heart could take much of anymore surprises.

“Peachy.”

“Good cause you should have left with this dry cleaning t-minus ten minutes ago. And why do you have work clothes on?”

I looked at him bewildered. “Weren’t we… working today?”

“I’m taking us on a field trip. Go dress into something casual and meet me at the office after dropping off my dry cleaning. I’ll also take a coffee. Two sugars and one creamer.” Christian added. I took a mental note of everything. Or at least I tried to.

In all honesty, I was still hung up on the whole tattoos thing.

They looked… good, I settled on.

“Can you stop staring at me and start moving please? We’re late. For like… everything.”

My body, much to my minds dismay, starting operating normally (or at least I sure as hell hoped I looked normal). The dry cleaning made it off the floor and back into my arms, as I awkwardly hurried back out through the doors of Christian fucking Ivanov’s mansion of a home.

••

09

Alex

The traffic this early in the morning was horrific. I held my breath as two large semi trucks drove uncomfortably too close to my small Prius.

“Oh, poor baby.” I whispered to my girl. This car had taken me everywhere from my college days till now. It deserved far more respect on the road than the bullshit it was currently receiving from these two asshole truck drivers.

When I did finally pull into the dry cleaning parking lot, a wave of relief washed over me. It felt weird to have a bunch of expensive shit in my possession for an extended period of time.

“Hi!” a chirpy blonde at the service counter greeted me as soon as I walked in to the local dry cleaners.

She was far too peppy for any human to be, this early in the morning.

“Hi.” I smiled back, lacking about 70 percent of the enthusiasm the cashier had.

“These are some very nice suits. Are they your fathers or something?” She asked me as soon as I plopped the twenty tons of clothing on the counter. I shook my head no.

“They are actually for my boss.” I replied. Her eyebrows raised slightly as her eyes caught sight of the tags.

“It must be someone important if he can afford these brands… Jesus . Are you his assistant?” I gave her a nod.

“Something like that.”

Aaaaand that was it.

The young blonde got all the clothing hung up on those long moveable machines, before taking my pass and scanning it. Then she waved me a quick little good bye and sent me on my way- all expenses paid for by a little black piece of plastic.

I made sure to stop at Joe’s bakery for some coffee. Two sugars and a creamer for Mr. Ivanov, while I got an extra strong cup with two shots of espresso. Anything to wake me up this morning.

“Alex!” Joan called out as soon as I made it to the third floor. Her smile quickly dropped when she noticed I was in a casual shirt and some jeans.

“Oh god… it’s happened. He’s been fired.” Derek whispered. Joan clutched her heart with her hand. They starting pulling out all dramatics.

“Oh you poor thing.” She replied in a hushed voice.

I rolled my eyes at both of them.

“I’m on my way to run errands with Mr. Ivanov… I think. I’m actually not one hundred percent sure what we’ll be doing today.” I admitted. Joan and Derek let out the biggest sigh of relief as they grabbed the two cups of coffee I had set in the drink carrier. “Those aren’t actually fo-” But I spoke too late as these idiots took the biggest gulps.

Great.

“This is really good, Alex. Thank you.” Joan nodded gleefully. Derek spit his drink out as soon as he tried swallowing.

“This is really fucking strong- what the fuck.” He snapped.

“ Technically , that was supposed to be my coffee, you asshat.“ I shot Derek a look.

“Then who’s was this…” Joan started. Her voice sort of trailed off when realization set in. “This is Mr. Ivanov’s coffee, isn’t it.”

I gave her a nod.

Her eyes looked on with terror.

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

“Well, technically, I did. Or tried to at least.”

“Do you think he’ll notice?”

“The dark red lipstick that has now stained the rim of  his coffee cup? Yes. Yes, I think he’ll notice.” Joan had basically made out with the top of that lid. “But don’t worry about it. I’ll just pick another one up on the way to wherever we’re going.”

Those were the last few words I had said to the gang before I made my way up to the fifth floor.

Christian welcomed me with his annoying presence as soon as I made it out.

The words he spoke were these: “What took you so long?”

How charming .

“City traffic.” I replied.

Christian’s tattoo’s weren’t visible any longer. Far from it. He was now in a long sleeve casual cotton shirt and some khakis. He still looked so different without a suit on, I almost didn’t recognize him all over again.

“Let’s head out.” Brad nodded to the both of us. That surprised me considering Brad was still very much in a suit and far from anything casual.

I said nothing, but instead followed close behind the two as they lead me to a part of the building I had never been to. There was apparently another private elevator on this floor. One that didn’t open up to any of the other floors, but instead, brought us into a parking garage.

Since when did we have a parking garage?Where in the heck was this when we had that hail storm a year ago? And every

goddamn

car got damage?

Including my fucking Prius

.

“We’ll take one of the company’s vehicles.” Brad explained.

“Where are we heading?” I asked Mr. Ivanov. He gave me a shrug.

“We’ll be heading to meet with a good friend of mine who’s launching some camping gear under Ivanov Corp in a few days. We’re going to go personally congratulate him.” Mr. Ivanov replied. Brad lead us to one of the few black cars parked horizontally towards the back of the garage. They were all BMW’s.

“Are these all company cars?” I asked in utter shock.

“Yeah. We rarely use them.” Brad explained. I looked between the two of these rich fuck tards with pure malice.

Where were these cars when my car broke down mid transit to pick up extra letter head paper from the printing company? How was I just now discovering all this out about a company I’ve been working at for years ?

Christian and Brad grabbed the front seats while I sat in the back. I felt like a kid getting driven to a field trip by two adult chaperones.

Being in the presence of Christian still made my hairs stand up. There was something about him that made him stand out from everyone else. Power- literal I can buy the last of your worthless existence power- radiated off him.

I was actually quite taken back with the similarities between Brad and Christian. They were almost identical in their mannerisms… besides Mr. Ivanov’s issues with his quick temper. They reached for the A/C nobs almost in sync, then let out weird chuckles afterwards.

I wasn’t sure what was up, but Brad was clearly something more than just a family attorney.

••

10

Alex

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/d80fd3dc2a59b150fd3781f5d52c798510f909c4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f553874485343362d695648387a773d3d2d3633303635363436322e313538393736316636623434343365653530383630393835373538362e6a7067)               

My vision wasn’t the clearest anymore. That cognac was settling in now and everything was forty trillion times scarier.

I dipped two fingers into the mud water mixture I had created, and smeared identical streaks under the bags of my eyes.  I had seen them do this in some action movies a few years back.

This was supposed to automatically make you a wilderness guru now right?

Something snapped a few hundred feet away from me that caused the hairs on my arms to stand straight up. Well fuck.

Twelve hours earlier…

We pulled on towards a long stretch of a driveway that opened up to a gorgeous home.

The location Brad had drove us to was completely unknown to me, but we had only been driving about thirty minutes. This city must have been a neighboring one.

The home was drastically different from Christian’s. It wasn’t anywhere near overdone like Christian’s, but still had a beautiful old Victorian flare to it. Christian had to nudge me forward with his Remi Martin Louis XIII Cognac cause I had stopped walking to stare at everything.

Yes.

He nudged me forward with the box of a $7,000 liquor.

You never realize just how bad poverty can look on you until being nudged by a bottle of liquor that costed more than everything you have in all your bank accounts.

“Hurry up, will ya? You’re dragging your feet.” Christian snapped. I rolled my eyes as soon as he looked away. Fucking prick.

Before we could even make it to the front door, it was swung open. “Christian!” A man called out as soon as his eyes landed on us.

“Miles!” Christian replied. He sped up to pull the man into a tight one handed bro hug. “Jesus, it’s been a really long time.”

I couldn’t really focus on this stranger cause I was too busy processing the fact that Christian fucking Ivanov possessed the ability to laugh. It sounded so foreign to me I almost didn’t realize it was coming from him.

“Nice to meet you again, Brad. You’re looking as unamused as always.” Miles gave Brad a large grin which Brad just nodded to. It was finally my turn for Miles’s attention. I expected his smile to falter, but his eyes found mine, and all he did was widen it.

“Hello. I’m Alex, Mr. Ivanov’s Assistant.” I spoke professionally as I stuck my hand out for Miles to shake. Instead, he stunned me completely by pulling me into a hug. “Uh-”

“Pleasure to meet you, Alex. My names Miles.”

He smelt nice.

Christian cleared his throat and Miles pulled away.

“Alright, come on inside to my humble abode and I’ll show you what I’ve got cooking for ya with this release.” Miles announced. Though he was carrying casual conversation with Brad and Christian, it felt like his eyes were still on me.

“These are all fantastic.” I whispered more to myself than to anyone else who was also currently seated in Miles’s study. He was showing both Christian and I the products he would be releasing soon. Most of the items had a very modern aesthetic feel. Nice neutral tones and our logo was a great fit engraved into a leather tag. The camping tents looked very durable and natural disaster resistant.

“You’ve got that look on your face, Miles.” Christian grinned.

“Well I was just thinking. We could just hang around and take some pictures with the gear for the release… or , we could get some actual shots of the gear being put to work. What do you say, Christian? You up for a little camping trip tonight? It would be like old times.”

I looked at Miles with a sea of emotions visible on my face. Confusion was dominating right now.

Then I turned to Christian as we all waited for his response. He set his cup of coffee down on the table.

Miles, Brad, and I had already cracked open the bottle of cognac, but it didn’t seem like Christian had much interest in alcohol. He had stuck with his cup of Joe while we poured ourselves another round.

The slight pause he took before his response didn’t surprise me. That was just Mr. Ivanov for you. Extra as Hell.

“Let’s do it.”

“I-I-I can’t go fucking camping.” I stuttered out. I was still in shock from Christian just agreeing out of no where. I was even more annoyed that he had agreed for me.

“You’re going. That’s final.”

“Listen, I don’t do camping. I don’t do nature. I don’t due outside. I don’t think you get it. I’m a nerd. A nerd . I’m allergic to about seventy different things that exist in nature. This isn’t a good idea, Christian.”

“It’s just one night, Alex. It’ll be a good way for you to get to know a little more about the company and it’ll be a good experience for the both of us. We’re supposed to be pushing each other’s boundaries to do better. Let me push yours a bit tonight.” Christian replied. His eyes caught mine through the rear view mirror.

I could only hold his gaze for a few moments before I looked away. I couldn’t stop my cheeks from burning up.

I didn’t miss the grin that played on Christian’s lips when he realize he had won this argument.

When we arrived at the site, I had zoned out so intensely that I wasn’t even sure how long we had been driving for. Christian took on the task of driving considering Brad and I were now buzzed. The photographer took a second vehicle with Miles. We arrived around the same time regardless and started unloading the cars.

Christian looked so in his element, I was startled. I guess I never really pegged him as the wilderness type.

Brad and I on the other hand, looked like fish out of water. Could you imagine an attorney in a whole ass suit, with a few drinks already in him, trying to put up a tent? Yeah. It was freaking hilarious. I was surprised Brad hadn’t complained yet.

“If you don’t figure out how to put up your tent, you won’t have a place to sleep tonight.” Christian shot out over his shoulder.

As of right now, I was currently doing something I’d like to call ‘supervising.’ This word was reserved for the few who didn’t have the luxury of graduating from navy seal training and had no idea how to put up a tent.

“This’ll actually be good. Take a look at the instructions enclosed and try setting it up. It could give me really good feedback on how simple the tents are to put up, and Joel here can get some great pictures of you doing so.” Miles spoke as soon as he made it back from the car with the last of our things.

I gave him a polite smile and picked up the instructions that were lodged in with the packaging of the tent.

I was really about to either impress the fuck out of myself, or disappoint the fuck out of this very nice man.

••

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11

Christian

I kept stealing glances at Alex.

We had been out camping for a good few hours now. The sun was starting to set.

And Alex was still trying to get his freaking tent set up.

“I don’t know if I should feel concerned or insulted that it’s taken this kid this long.” Miles whispered to me. I chuckled.

“He really wasn’t lying when he said camping wasn’t his thing.” We both shot another glance at this bewildered guy.

I was… intrigued .

Alex intrigued me. His mind was sharp, and at work, he excelled… But holy fucking shit, he couldn’t do anything physical to save his life. It was nice to know who would and wouldn’t be having my back in case of a zombie apocalypse.

“This is sad.” Brad whispered to the two of us. It looked like he was going to be the first to break as he made his way over to Mr. Hamilton.

Alex’s face lit up when he realized someone was actually coming to his rescue. I was surprised it was Brad. I knew Miles wouldn’t budge until I told him he could interfere. But Brad… he usually didn’t want to intervene, or show interest in anything.

Alex’s face was starting to get flushed from the liquor. His movements were still pretty normal, but every few minutes, he accidentally lost his balance and bumped into Brad. Brad looked irritated…

But not that irritated.

And that, for some reason, irritated me.

The gang had finally settled in. Joel didn’t stay long after the pictures were finished, so that left just Alex, Brad, Miles, and I.

I glanced around the camp a few times until a frown firmly plant itself on my lips. “Where’s Alex?” I asked.

Brad just shrugged, but it was Miles who answered. “Went to grab some more firewood a little bit ago. Come to think of it, he’s taking a while…”

I felt my body grow warm despite the chilly air that surrounded us. “Which direction did he take off in?” I asked, unable to mask my concern as well as I thought I could.

“Down through that trail there.” Miles pointed to a narrow dirt trail. I didn’t stick around to hear much more from either of the guys, and instead, made my way into the forest with a torch in hand.

Alex

Note to self: don’t offer to gather any firewood in an unknown forest if you know good and damn well you get lost in Walmart regularly.

I glance around for the trillionth time in the past ten minutes. Nothing looked anywhere near familiar.

Just trees. Tons of fucking trees.

I felt myself stumble slightly. My foot must have caught on to one of those invisible branches the main protagonist trips on in every horror movie because I felt my soul escape my body shortly before face planting into the ground. It was only when I was dusting the rest of my dirt off my face, did I finally have my first drunk thought.

In all of those boot camp videos, the cadets always spread mud under their eyes to give them a performance advantage… right?

Well it sounded right to me.

I gathered a bit of dirt into my palm before squirting water from my canteen. It created this paste that left what I envisioned to be, perfect lines under my eyes.

I heard something snap a few hundred feet away from me. My heart beat was hammering out my chest and I couldn’t tell whether that was the liquor or if I had actually heard that.

God didn’t give me too long to speculate, as the sound of a branch snapping echoed through the forest again. This time, it was significantly closer.

I lost all functionality in my legs as I dropped to the floor in fear. This was why I didn’t step foot outside. I could already feel my eyes growing irritated from my allergies.

I was shaking in fear. I couldn’t help it. More branches snapped and leaves were pushed aside until I heard another noise at the edge of the opening. What threw me off was the bright light that was flashed over at my dirtied up self.

“Shit. Alex? Alex? Can you hear me?” Christian asked. His voice didn’t sound like his voice… but it also did at the same time. I couldn’t understand let alone explain how that was possible, but I’d never heard him sound this concerned before.

“Oh thank fuck.” I whispered out shakily. I didn’t want Christian to see me like this. I felt my stomach contract in a weird way when my eyes finally found his. Mine must have looked red and puffy by now from the alcohol/allergy mix.

I took a few steps forwards and stumbled. It wasn’t until we both looked down, did we then see the huge gash on my knee. I had cut it open without even realizing when I tripped.

“You didn’t feel that earlier?” Christian asked in disbelief. I could tell he was thinking hard about something but I couldn’t tell what. “Alexander Hamilton. I don’t know if I’ve gained an assistant, or more baggage.” He grumbled to himself. His actions contradicted yet complimented his words as he knelt down in front of me.

When I didn’t move, he turned his head towards me in annoyance. “Can you get on my back already? We’re a couple miles out and you won’t be able to walk on that.”

I stared back at him like he had to be out of his goddamn mind if he thought I was going to let him give me a piggyback ride. “No-no really I’m fine. If we could just take it a little sl-”

“Get on my back or I’m leaving you in this forest.”

That was all it took to have me securely gripping his body for dear life as he effortlessly carried me back to camp. He was careful not to hurt my left knee when his arm stepped under that thigh. At first I didn’t wrap my arms around his neck because I felt like that would be too much, but when he bent down to dodge a tree branch without telling me, I quickly learned that nothing was too much.

“My face.” I whined at where the tree branch had complete collided with my face. I was surprised I managed to stay on Christian’s back. He stopped immediately to mumble an apology, but I ushered him on.

I couldn’t stop my body from leaning into his warmth. It was like an ongoing battle with myself of not getting to close, but alcohol was starting to take over my movements. I laid my head down against his shoulder and took his scent in.

He smelt like the woods. Something you’d imagine a manly wilderness man to smell like. I’m sure I now smelt like sweat and a field of broken dreams. His body went rigid from underneath me, but that was the last of what I could recall before my memory slipped through the fingers of my once sober mind.

••

12

Christian

We had been walking for only a few moments, but I could feel Alex at the edge of consciousness and unconsciousness. He was trying very hard not to inconvenience me any further than he already had (which might I add, was a fucking lot)… but the grogginess and alcohol soon won over.

It didn’t take him long before he stopped processing what he was saying before he was saying it. “You smell like a tree.” He mumbled into my neck. I involuntarily gripped his thigh tighter as I carried him.

I wanted to say it was from the intense smell of liquor.

I wanted to.

“Just hush up. We’re almost there.”

“I feel like a very small jellybean in your hands.”

I cracked a grin.

“These glasses aree mmaking it incredibly hard to lay myy head flat… but without them I wwouldn’t be able to seeee. Have you ever found yourself in one of theseee?”

“One of these what?”

“Predicaments.” I turned my head slightly to catch a glimpse of Alex through my peripheral vision. He looked asleep, yet every so often, slurred and incoherent words would fumble past his lips.

I was just making it back to Brad and Miles when he finally dozed off.

“Looks like you found the kid. What happened to his leg?” Miles asked, concerned.

Brad chimed in as soon as he had made it out of his tent. “Yeah, what happened to his knee?”

I gave them both a raised eyebrow. Last time I checked, he was my assistant. I wasn’t sure why it concerned these two.

“Just a scrape. I’ll look at it.” I rushed that last part quickly before helping the sleeping Alex into my tent. As soon as I laid him down on the blow up mattress/sleeping bag, he stirred awake.

“Are we taking more shots?”

“Not the type of alcohol you’re gunna like.” I mumbled back before pouring a good amount of rubbing alcohol on his cut. That woke him right the hell on up. Just enough to land a swift kick to my chest.

“Fucking hell, Alex.” I groaned. He was still the thralling about in agony.

“Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow.” He whined. I shushed him as the cooling Neosporin was applied next. He looked miserable and there was nothing more I could do but let him rest with his freshly bandaged up leg. I was about to move away from the bed when his hand grabbed mine.

I glanced down at it.

Then him.

His eyes were squeezed shut, but they slowly opened up to look at me. My hands reached over slowly to pull his large framed glasses off. Without them, I could see his eyes better. Much better.

“Will you-” he choked. The words took time to form. “Will you stay a little longer? The night is creepy as shit out here.”

I stared at him. Even in this drunk state, he couldn’t hold my gaze for longer than a few seconds. I sort of liked the slight fear I evoked upon him.

“Sure.” I answered finally.

That brought a small smile to his lips. It then faltered slightly when I shoved him over to lay down.

“Woahwoahwoahwoah I-I-I- didn’t- I just meant-”

“If I’m staying any longer, I’m sleeping. Move over more.” I replied. He almost immediately shimmied to the very edge of the bed… One tap and he literally would have fallen off. I let out a deep chuckle that made him tense up further.

However far away from me he had drifted off to sleep, I couldn’t miss his intoxicating smell, myself.

He smelt like roses.

Somewhere during the course of the night, I had managed to get Alex away from the edge of the floor mattress. It wasn’t until I woke up at around 5:30 the next morning, did I then realize just how close he actually got.

I woke up to the scent of Alex… everywhere.

He had scooted closer to me, yet there was still a rift that felt like the size of the Grand Canyon between us. Being this close to Alex made me realize a few things:

1.) Alex had really long thick eyelashes that fanned the part beneath his eyes.

2.) Alex had allergies. Terrible terrible allergies.

“Alex.” I nudged him softly. He slowly opened his eyes. Or at least tried to. They were puffed so shut, his eyelids had been transformed into tiny slits.

“Christian.” Alex mumbled. “What’s up with my face?”

“I think one of your allergies has flared up.” I replied. His hands shot out to feel around his skin in complete horror.

“I can’t even tell where my eye lids end and cheeks start.” He whispered. I couldn’t help but smirk at that.

Alex was the first to get situated in the company car while Brad and I were still loading up the extra backpacks. “This was stellar gear, Miles. Heavy duty yet practical and lightweight. All in a sleek industrial design. Customers are going to eat this stuff up as soon as it hits the shelves.” Miles beamed at my words of admiration.

“Let’s hope your target audience is no where near as handicapped as Alex.” Brad blurted out. Alex hid even further inside the hood of his sweatshirt. I shot Brad a look that kindly invited him to shut the fuck up. My assistant’s self esteem couldn’t take much more after this.

He looked defeated and miserable as we said our goodbyes to Miles and hopped in. “Can we agree to never drag me on a camping trip again?” he whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

“I think you did great. As for the allergies, I assumed you were joking about that part. I didn’t know you’d turn into a chipmunk overnight.” Alex shot me a glare through the rear view mirror.

“I’ll have you know that this is very normal. Many people are allergic to pollen… and grass… and dust mites… and cats… and specific tree bark…”

“Oxygen too?” I joked. Alex just looked back out the window in irritation… but there was the smallest grin playing at his lips.

••

13

Alex

I was miserable the next two days.

What did I catch on this camping trip, you might ask?

Nature. I caught fucking nature.

And my asthmatic, allergic, weak immune system couldn’t handle the trials and tribulations nature had sent my way over the course of a few days. I was now comfortably rested in bed with a nice cup of tea (sure it was accompanied with a few shots of whiskey… sue me) and some It’s Always Sunny reruns.

I heard a knock on my door just as soon as I settled back into the cocoon of blankets. It didn’t surprise me when I opened the door and Derek and Joan barged past into my apartment like they contributed to these rent payments or something.

“We’ve skipped out on work to tend to a friend in need.” Derek announced to the otherwise empty apartment.

“Yay.” I replied sarcastically.

Derek gave me a look. Clearly he didn’t approve of the tone I was taking with him.

“You look miserable.” Joan grimaced when she got a better look at me. “Did you go tree hugging or something?”

“Christian fucking Ivanov took me camping.”

I could of sworn Derek and Joan’s eyebrows furrowed deeply at exactly the same time. “But… why?”

I shrugged my shoulders in response. “He wanted to test out some of this camping gear before the items go on shelves for Ivanov Corp. The stuff was actually pretty cool, except for the fact that it took me about four good hours to get a tent assembled and I ended up getting too drunk then lost… then I fell asleep in Christian fucking Ivanov’s tent only to be woken up by him in a response to my face looking like a tomato on steroids.”  That last part, I rushed out.

Derek and Joan were stunned into silence. It looked like it was taking Derek a minute to come up with words, and when he did, they made very little sense.

“You-… in Christian fucking Ivanov’s tent- and you-”

“I don’t even want to hear it.” I grumbled. What had started off as a day riddled with potential, was now on the verge of being written off as trash.

“How the flying fuck did you get yourself in a position such as that one?!” Joan spoke up next. Her eyes just about bulged right out of her sockets in shock.

Before I could reply, Derek pointed down to my wrapped up leg. “And what the hell happened there?” 

I gave them both another infamous sigh.

“Nature happened. Now please, my body is going through a constant state of deciding whether it still wants to live on, so let’s not dwell on how shitty I look any longer.” I pleaded with my two best friends. They exchanged a few glances before finally giving me a nod. “Tell me how work’s going.”

Joan gave me a smile.

But it wasn’t one of those warm encompassing Joan smiles I loved so dearly.

Oh no.

It was a I may have done something that could or couldn’t backfire type smile. I offered a smile back that was so tight, it felt like my face was doing a workout. “What the fuck happened?” I asked.

“Nothing bad I swear! Everything is running smoothly… sorta.” Derek added. Sorta ?

“Christian came down to the third floor today. He was looking for you… apparently you’ve been avoiding his messages?” Joan asked. I gave her a look of bewilderment.

“Well, yes, but I explain I was taking a few sick days. Technically, I don’t have to answer anything until I’m back at work.” That was kind of how PTO worked, I thought.

“I-um… I don’t think Christian Ivanov’s assistants get sick days…” Derek replied. “Pretty sure this is a round the clock type of job.”

“That can’t even be legal.” Or at least I thought it couldn’t. As I pulled my phone off the counter to check the muted emails, I almost stumbled backwards. There was a long series of emails from Christian fucking Ivanov, of course.

Subject: Sick Days?

CC: Brad_Rittra@ivanovco.inc

Dear Alex,

I just saw your email regarding your pto request these next few days. Not sure what that was but just wanted you to confirm it’s an error.

Regards,

Christian Ivanov

This email looked like it was sent yesterday morning.  There was another after that…

Subject: RE: Sick Days?

CC: Brad_Rittra@ivanovco.inc

Dear Alex,

Please respond to my previous email… unless death is something your shooting for. I’d gladly make that happen.

Regards,

Christian Ivanov

There were maybe five or six more emails that I skimmed through before making it to his most recent one. This was sent not even a half hour ago.

Subject: RE: Sick Days?

CC: None

I’m heading over now. You better be fucking dead.

Sent from my iPhone

My fingers froze midair as I read that email over and over again.

Oh shit. Oh shit . Oh …

shit

.

“What’s up?” Derek asked.

“Christian fucking Ivanov is coming… here. Like here , here. Like to my fucking apartment , here.” I whispered. It was just loud enough for both Derek and Joan to hear.

“Why the hell would he come here?” Derek asked. Joan, however, still had that uncomfortable smile going.

“I’ve got zero fucking clue. How does he even know where I live?” I continued to whisper in horror.

“Honey, your address is in your company file…” my sweet Joan reminded me. “And I’m sorry sweetie but if Christian fucking Ivanov is heading this way, that means it’s time for Derek and I to head in any other direction boo.” Joan was already collecting her things. Something told me she had something to do with this mess.

“Yeah I’m sorry mate. It was really nice knowing you, though.” Derek added as he followed Joan through my apartment door and out into the hallway. There was no way I was letting them leave without grilling Joan.

“You don’t just get to bail-” I had started to say, but something else stopped everyone (including myself) dead in their tracks.

Christian fucking Ivanov stood not even a few feet away in his nicely pressed suit, holding a laptop bag and portfolio.

My phone almost slipped out from my hand.

Derek and Joan looked as terrified as I did… maybe even more? It was Christian who finally broke the uncomfortable silence between the four of us. He paid Joan and Derek zero attention as his eyes instantly found mine.

“That’s funny. Considering you haven’t made it into work or been replying to my emails, I for sure thought the only logical explanation would be that you’ve broken every finger you have and have had both legs amputated. But here you are. Limbs in tact and everything…”

••

14

Christian

“This dipshit really thinks I won’t do it.” I grumbled to myself.

“Christian, I’m a good ninety percent sure he hasn’t checked his emails. He logged his PTO as sick days, so let the poor guy recover.” Brad snapped back. He hadn’t even looked up from his laptop to do so.

“Brad this is crunch time, we don’t even have a few weeks until this presentation needs to be ready. There are no time for sick days. That, and he’s my personal assistant, what the hell is a sick day to him anyways? Those don’t exist.”

“You’re acting psychotic again.” My mother chimed in.

I glances up at the woman who was perfectly seated in the chair across from my desk. Regardless of the relaxed style of the furniture, my mother demonstrated nothing less than perfect posture. She sat upright at the end of the seat, with her tablet rested on her perfectly crossed legs, and a glass of wine in hand.

Glancing at her brought a few not-so-fond memories to light.

I remember my mother used to smack the shit out of Brad and I whenever we would slouch in our chairs. She always said that perfect posture gave off a different type of radiative energy. Something that represented power and importance.

As I looked back up at my mother, it was hard not to feel her power.

“What’s with this boy, anyways? Brad was telling me you hired your IT guy as your assistant. That’s an interesting move, Christian.”

“Yes well, he’s proved to be quite adaptive. We’ve made some great growth through the last couple days, and he’s assisting me with the Mavericks deal.” I explained.

“He’s also fixing the computer that Christian smashed to smithereens.” Brad added. My eyes snapped up to give him the most intense glare, but he still wasn’t bothering to glance away from his computer screen.

“Christian!” My mother shot out in the most disapproving tone.

“It was an accident! The deal with Larington didn’t go exactly as planned…” I continued with hesitation. My fingers gripped the edge of my desk tight as I braced myself for what was to come…

My mother’s wrath.

“Kristian Ivanov, so help me god, what the fuck have you done now ?”

I flinched as her Russian started to seep through. She was metaphorically morphing into her true form- the spawn of Satan himself.

“It isn’t as bad as it sounds, mother, I promise. I lost my cool when I shouldn’t have, but this Mavericks deal will make up the losses.”

That perked Brad right the fuck on up. His eyes caught mine instantly as his eyebrows raised in surprise. He saw the stats. He knew I was lying straight through my fucking teeth with that one.

“Do not lie to me, ребенок. Your father may have given you control but he still looks through these books. Is this going to hurt the company? Or the family?” I was going to reply but she quickly added, “Tell me, Brad.”

Both Brad and I sort of shared a look. Mother had this way of managing to belittle the two of us with every visit she made. Regardless of who was in the room, my mother was always the only relevant one.

“It-uh… it won’t be something we can’t rebuild from, but it’s directly reliant on this Mavericks deal. If we lose that, I can’t guarantee the rest of this year will be an easy one.” Brad replied in his perfectly monotoned voice.

My mother’s eyes narrowed at me.

“If you lose your shit again, so help me god, I’ll take this all away. Everything, Christian. Show me you can run this fucking company… and not by means of running it into the ground. If Mavericks falls through, I’m having your father intervene.”

Her voice gave no indication of a bluff.

And that brought on chills.

I glanced down at the send button on my email.

This had to of been my sixteenth one to Alex.

I was sure he was just taking some time away to rest, but my mother’s words lit a fire under my ass. We didn’t have the luxury of time to rest.

My father’s involvement was something no one wanted, not even my mother. She knew that deep down inside. My father deciding to take a step back from the company, was the best thing to happen to our family. I didn’t want to think about what would happen if he involved himself now. I’m sure my death would be up for discussion.

Brad had forwarded me the address for Alex’s apartment a few moments after I had sent that email and left the office. I was surprised to see he was living in a lower scale building, when I pulled up to the GPS location. It wasn’t terribly run down or anything, but I expected something more from someone with his salary.

Maybe he had college debt or something he was actively paying. No wonder he accepted that raise. It must not have really been an option for him, to begin with.

I entered the building with my laptop bag in one hand, and our portfolio of docs in the other. It was another interesting experience not to see someone seated at a front desk here… but I had to remind myself that this wasn’t like the apartments I’d been to.

At least the elevators worked alright.

The address said his apartment number was 324, I assumed this placed him on the third floor. Everything was pretty simple in terms of the complex layout, and I managed to find his wing in no time. I was, however, slowed to a stop as I noticed a few other people starting to leave the apartment. I recognized them instantly as the two employees I had chatted with about Alex’s disappearance. I think the woman’s name was Janice?

Jamie?

Jane?

Something like that.

I heard Alex start to say something to them from the doorway, but they all stopped short as they noticed me approaching. The man who stood besides the woman (I couldn’t even remember the first letter of his name) practically had his jaw hit the ground.

No one said a word for a very uncomfortable amount of time… so I took it upon myself to.

My eyes disregarded both of these two, to zero in on Alex himself.

“That’s funny.” I started. “Considering you haven’t made it into work or been replying to my emails, I for sure thought the only logical explanation would be that you’ve broken every finger you have and had both legs amputated. But here you are. Limbs in tact and everything…”

Alex looked absolutely petrified.

••

15

Alex

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/ab82152c2e580918105a1985186d064a95f6eb03/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4e386b34684752443653563630773d3d2d3730393032343730332e313538646334383865313534393631633939343231373535303631392e6a7067)               

He just stood there. Staring.

I was frantically running around trying to last minute clean my disaster of an apartment as Christian fucking Ivanov watched on with some ridiculous intensity.

Why was he here? I internally whined. This wasn’t how my few off days were supposed to go.

“Your place is nice.” Christian commented. It was the first words he had said since our argument on why he was here.

I glanced around and grimaced.

I just had so much… stuff.

Dozens of random gadget I’d collected over the years, and books upon books of tech nerdy stuff lined my shelves.

“Oh for fucks sakes, stop cleaning and get over here. I don’t have all day.” He finally snapped as I attempted to usher most of my comic book collection into my room. I guess it didn’t really matter anyways, right? He already saw the state it was in earlier.

I made my way over to where he was currently sitting- on my futon. He had both laptops set up already and a few of the sales goals sheets rested on my coffee table.

My hands reached up in a poor attempt to at least straighten out my hair.

I just felt so caught off guard.

Christian was the biggest contrast compared to myself right now. His suit was as sharp as every other part of him. It was the attention to detail that really threw me when it came to this guy- all the way down to his cuff links.

He pulled his blazer off and loosened his tie, as well as the top button of his collar. Seeing him slowly relax in my apartment was weird.

Seeing him sit on my futon was also weird.

Seeing him here in my fucking apartment was just unexplainable. Someone like him definitely did not belong within a 10 mile radius of this side of town.

“Have you worked on anything these past couple days?” Christian asked. I slowly shook my head no.

He didn’t look to pleased about that.

“In my defense, my doctor told me to take it easy. The deep cut will take some time to heal, and I’m still experiencing inflammation from my allergic reaction.”

Christian gave me a once over and, judging by my physical state, accepted my excuse. I was still sort of limping around, and I had to keep this ointment on my skin all day that made me look like a slimed up snail.

It was just fucking fantastic. Whatever nonexistent sex life I had before was now even more nonexistent.

Can’t think of anyone who would want to get with Slimer from the Ghostbusters, so…

“It’s fine. I’ve been putting in some extra hours these last couple days to start the idea board for the sales pitch. I want something gripping- something that’ll seal them in with Ivanov Corp…”

Christian went on, talking about the expected revenue and growth. I sat there listening, completely taken back by how much work he really had thrown into this. While I knew this deal was important to both him and the company, his ambition felt… different.

It was a whole new drive I was seeing today. One I’d never really seen from him before. Or at least not in regards to this company.

Something had to of happened. Something that made this even more pressing. Nothing else could explain his reasoning for driving across town to see me personally.

“How are we on the Gala aspect? Have we worked on a set list?” I asked Christian. He slowly shook his head no.

“I thought working on the crunch numbers would be more important.” He replied.

“Yes and no. The Gala is apart of that, because if they are to partner with us, the Gala will be the kick off for both their line, and our company. We need to make absolutely certain it, itself, has a perfect pitch. Let them know the events we’ll be hosting, and the A-listers we’ve invited as potential business ventures.” I explained.

Christian eyed me for some time before slowly nodding. His eyes then cast down to the cup of tea I had in hand.

It almost didn’t click till now that I hadn’t really offered this asshat anything to eat or drink. Then again, this was the same asshat that barged into my apartment unannounced.

Okay.

So technically, not totally unannounced. He did write me an email… or like twenty.

“Would you like some tea? Or some coffee?” I offered.

“Coffee would be great, thanks.” Christian replied. I limped back over to the kitchen area. The knobs on the burner didn’t work very well, so it took some time to get the flame going. Once it clicked on moments later, I set the kettle down to heat.

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/6fe742fe3f3a6be928fe0337a9bf5f740bf4ad3f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5970684b526650783869394669513d3d2d3730393032343730332e3135386463336161653135326564396634393030393934313334332e6a7067)               

I tried not to stare too hard.

Everything was just a new experience for me.

Even sitting on this futon. Like I’d heard about these before, but I’d never actually sat on one. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

I grimaced slightly when I saw Alex limp.

The injury may have been in direct correlation with his stupidity, but I still felt sort of… bad? That was another new feeling- one I had definitely never felt for any employee, let alone someone I barely knew.

I was grateful, however, for his help. Just being here the last 30 minutes had influenced this pitch a lot. Alex had a different and fresh approach to things. I could tell he was meticulous in different ways…

Definitely not with his home, but when it came to work, he didn’t leave a stone unturned.

“Do you take sugar?” Alex asked, turning back to me and pulling me from my thoughts. I had to pretend like I was reading some information on the laptop screen so he wouldn’t think I was still staring.

“Straight black is good, thank you.” I replied.

He pulled out this weird looking glass carafe and some coffee beans. I was taken back when I saw him start to manually grind the coffee beans into a small bowl with this ceramic pestle. It looked like the same bowl and pestle my mother would use to crush spices when she cooked.

She was a little old school that way.

Seeing Alex assemble a carafe of coffee from absolute scratch had me baffled. I had full heartedly expected him to use a coffee machine… but watching him make it this way sorta made me feel weird.

A good sort of weird, I think.

When he started brewing, the smell of coffee instantly filled the apartment, and I leaned back slightly to take it in.

It smelt absolutely amazing.

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/8e8bdb26088c2da1b4929d7e75570da00ff33401/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f76586c677a4567647647676e4f673d3d2d3730393032343730332e313538646334383066323736346564363931363239323737353533312e6a7067)               

16

Alex

“I just think if we were to move these figures around, it would look more appealing.”

I gave Christian a sharp glare.

“It would also be inaccurate and deceiving, Christian.”

Another sigh slipped past his lips as he erased more notes.

This had been what the last maybe 45 minutes, had consisted of.

The clock now read 9:35 pm, and I was starting to really feel both the sleep deprivation and the whiskey-tea. Christian had also since then completely removed his tie, and unbuttoned a few more buttons. Work was getting the best of us.

It was when he rolled his first sleeve up, and used his teeth to fasten it… did I then realize I was staring like an absolute creep and I needed to stop. He’d been here more than long enough for me to get over it.

“Could you help me with this other sleeve?” He asked me. I glanced back over hesitantly, and caught his eye. He was looking at me with a furrowed expression on his face. Clearly getting that last cuff fastened had taken some work and this far into the night, I don’t think Christian had the energy to do the second one.

I shifted over from the side chair to the futon he was currently sitting on and he extended his arm out to me. As soon as my fingers graced against the sleeve collar, I could already tell this shirt was an expensive one. The material was incredible against my fingers. Incredibly rich and soft to touch.

Christian and I could not have been cut from a more different cloth.

I rolled the second sleeve up a bit, mirroring how he did it with his other arm. As soon as I rolled this one up, I realized that some of his tattoos were peeking through. It took a shit ton of concentration to stop my cheeks from darkening further than they already had, but Christian’s weird ass intense stares did nothing good for the heart.

“Done.” I nodded moments later. Christian stopped me moments before I managed to scoot myself away from the couch.

“Stop acting like I’m going to murder you at any second, and sit back down.” He motioned towards the futon. “Plus if murder was my intention, a few feet won’t save you from me, Alexander Hamilton.”

I inhaled the fear and exhaled the most shakiest “reassuring” smile I could muster as I plopped my ass back down on the futon. I liked the distance we had. That distance was now gone.

Now, we were here. Both sitting on this far from comfortable piece of furniture, looking at a series of graphs. I could almost feel the last few remaining brain cells trying to figure out what would work best.

An accurate representation of what was going on, could be equivalent to that sponge bob episode where all his brain cells sorta started to lose their shit.

Yeah.

We were just about there now.

Christian got up so suddenly, I almost dropped the few charts I had picked up off the table. “Sorry, just stretching the legs.” He replied.

I realized I hadn’t seen him get up once since we’d stationed ourselves in my living room.

“No worries.” I sort of mumbled out. I was chewing on the top end of one of those cheap BIC pens. It was a shitty habit I had, but it helped me focus.

That was not a good whiskey-tea ratio , I thought to myself. The heat of the whiskey was a sensation I was most definitely feeling it now. My eyes betrayed me as they glanced back over at Christian. He was looking through my extensive collection of books on the large bookshelf that rested against the farthest wall of the living room.

“This is ironic. You have the Hamilton play script in book form?”

My eyebrows furrowed as I glanced at the book he was holding. I didn’t remember purchasing that. It must have been a present from Derek… but as soon as Christian opened the book, everything sort of fell into place.

The inside revealed it wasn’t a book at all, but rather, a hallowed out center that contained a baggy.

“Uh, Alex?” Christian held the baggy up so we could both see its contents.

Of course, no one other than Derek would leave me a joint inside of a baggy located in a book that must have been given to me months ago. I couldn’t tell if this was a present or a hiding space because when it came to Derek, common morals and sensibility were generally thrown out the window. He always mentioned he was going to get me to smoke, but I never really saw the appeal. I had liquor. Liquor was my thing.

This was besides the fucking point, though. What was the fucking point was the fact that my boss was holding up a baggy of drugs he had just found in my apartment.

“Is this what I think it is?” Christian asked calmly. I just about shit my pants.

“I-I-I- I can totally explain- that isn’t even mine, I swear!” I got up and tried to grab both the baggy and book, but Christian was much quicker.

“Now hold on a minute.” He was grinning ear to ear as he plopped down on my futon. “I didn’t peg you as a marijuana smoker.”

I didn’t peg me as a goddamn marijuana smoker either.

“But since I’ve found your stash, I think I’m going to have to confiscate the substance.” Christian added.

My forehead dropped into my palms. This wasn’t good- in the slightest. There was just no way I wasn’t getting fired, right? I mean if have to assume it’s company protocol to fire anyone caught with something like this.

The craziest thing was that it wasn’t even mine!

I was going to have to kill Derek, as unfortunate as it sounded. This was grounds for murder.

My spiraling thoughts were stopped short as Christians next words practically gave me whiplash.

“You got a lighter?”

••

17

Christian

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea.” Alex said hesitantly as I sparked the joint. He was staring at it like this weed would soon demand the life of his first born child. I couldn’t help but chuckle as his face twisted into pure mortification. “Especially after the whole camping fiasco- I don’t think my body is at 100 percent yet.”

“Ease up kid, Jesus. Have you really never tried pot before?”

“It’s not necessarily that I’ve never tried it… it’s more or less the debauchery that ensued when I did try it.” He explained. I raised an eyebrow in response to that.

“What exactly happened? I never viewed weed as a dangerous drug. The only thing I’m a real threat to once I’m high, is my fridge.” I replied honestly.

Alex’s face break into a grin at my words. “It was all types of a mess.” He admitted. “Derek had brought over some as a celebratory high after I accepted the job at Ivanov Corp. We smoked for a while and played a few video games, but got interrupted by a phone call. Apparently his girlfriend at the time had found some other woman’s bra at their place and- well… long story short, he had to leave sooner than we anticipated.

“I was stupid high by that point and decided against better judgement that I wanted to check out the roof of my apartment building. Theres a beautiful overlook of the city from up there, but it’s only accessible through the back staircase. If you don’t prop the door open once you reach the top, it locks behind you.

“I ended up forgetting to do just that, and got stuck up there all night until the maintenance guy came to my rescue the next morning. Scarred me for life.”

I felt terrible… but I also shamelessly cracked a grin because it reminded me of my younger days. I remembered my first year of college, when Brad and I got so high we accidentally drove our brand new Porsche into the campus hedge sculptures. This caused a scene and somehow the Dean had gotten a hold of our mother that same night (that snitch).

We ended up getting our asses chewed out by mother as soon as she pulled up to that campus with rollers still set in her hair, and a robe on. We had successfully woken the devil up at an unrighteous hour.    

Brad and I were dubbed “Hedge Funds” for the remainder of our college career. Of course no one had known Brad was my actual brother, everyone assumed we were just as close as best friends could get.

Shortly after college, Brad got into law school and became a noob.

If you ask me, it was mother’s doing.

She had somehow managed to convince him that giving up his life of freedom and expression, for law, was the only right thing to do.

Brad had this obsession with making our mother proud. If only mother had enough of a heart to give a fuck. It felt like she was perfectly comfortable with ignoring his love.

Brad went on to be this big shot lawyer whom of which Ivanov Corp hired as a private attorney. I, on the other hand, went on to run this shit show of a company.

The first drag from the joint was astronomically profound. I sat back into the futon as I let the smoke escape past my lips. Alex paused for what seemed like ages, deciding on whether or not he was going to accept the joint I was trying to pass to him. Slowly but surely, those long pale fingers reached out and grabbed it.

Everything seemed to be okay as he brought the joint to his lips and inhaled. It was on his exhale, where things went south. One minute everything was smooth, the next, he was coughing up a lung.

“Easy. Easy.” I instructed, patting his back as he took a drink from his cup, then another hit.

“I just think it’s incredibly rude and inconsiderate asking someone to clear off a virus from your computer because you were caught watching porn again ya know? Like where’s the respect? The boundaries? Hell, I’d argue, the love?” Alex joked as he continued to explain to me this hilarious scenario.

Wasn’t sure who this Derek guy was still. Alex told me he was one of the two employees I passed as I came to see him. The way he spoke about Derek made me realize just how close they were. Him and… Jan? Jane? Janice? They were like the three musketeers.

I could tell that by this point, Alex was most definitely drunk. His words had started to slur together, with his cheeks growing rosier and rosier. I didn’t mind, however. I liked seeing him like this…

Less tense.

Whenever he was around me, he acted as if I was going to snap at him at any moment.

I guess I hadn’t really done much to discredit the opinions everyone had of me, and my temper. Brad would argue that “opinions” wouldn’t be the right word choice. He had seen me smash my laptop to pieces just weeks ago. I guess my temper didn’t really fall under the category of speculation.

Alex’s eyes drew heavy as his story came to an end. The clock on his side table read close to 1:00am. I wasn’t sure how the time had gone by so quickly when I could have sworn it was no later than 10pm a few minutes ago. “Is it bed time?” Alex mumbled. He had started to get a little too situated on the futon, and the adult in me knew I needed to move him before he made this stiff couch his bed for the night.

His neck and spine alignment would thank me tomorrow.

“Most definitely.” I replied. He sort of made one half assed attempt to help me collect the papers sprawled everywhere, but I just swatted his hand away. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“But it’s so far.” He grumbled.

I took one good look at his small ass apartment… and somehow I found that very fucking hard to believe.

“Come on.” I laughed. He took the lead as he drunkenly lead me to a door at the end of a small hallway. There were a few moments where I thought he was going to topple over all together, but he managed to get into his room.

The room itself was actually quite nice. Throughout his house, I got this feeling that he really did enjoy a slightly modern touch. Of course every appliance in his house was outdated, but he worked well with what he had.

As soon as his legs felt the edge of his bed, Alex more or less collapsed onto the mattress. “Are you all good to go?” I asked. He gave me a head nod, or at least attempted to. His face was still squished into his pillow.

“Alrighty.” I chuckled. “Goodnight.” I moved to get the lights and close the door, but Alex’s once lifeless body sprung into action.

“Wait! You’re heading out? It’s so late.”

I barely made out what he had said because his face was still partly covered. He turned his face to look up at me when I hadn’t responded for a moment.

Did I want to make the drive back to my house this late at night?

No, not really.

I glanced back at Alex as his glazed over orbs stared at me expectantly. The bed was indeed large enough for two… and it did look incredibly comfortable.

Just a few hours? I thought to myself.

Yes. Just a few hours, I decided.

••

18

Alex

“Alex, sir? Another?” Jerome, my butler, asked as I stretched my sore muscles out on the gorgeous white sand beach. The heat from the sun felt intoxicating against my sun kissed skin. Like a blanket of warmth.

“Yes please, Jer Jer, don’t mind if I do.” I replied. A sigh of satisfaction made its way past my lips as I gratefully took the drink from his hands. There was a slight breeze in the air that felt like pure heaven against this open button down shirt.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Jerome asked. His tone had changed to something slightly impatient. A sound that sounded strikingly familiar.

“Get what?” I mumbled back to him.

“That.” He replied.

“What?” I asked again, this time slipping the shades further down the bridge of my nose to get a good look at Jerome. My eyes zeroed in on the man who was now blocking the sun from my view. Instead of being met with Jerome’s hazel brown eyes, I was met with striking blue ones. Standing before me was none other than Christian fucking Ivanov.

“THAT!” He yelled this time.

My eyes snapped open.

Suddenly, I was no longer on the beach of Bora Bora Tahiti, but rather staring at the alarm clock on the shitty nightstand of my one bedroom apartment.

My head felt like someone had inserted a food mixer straight through to my brain, and turned that shit on high. My eyes could barely adjust to the light coming in through my window. I really needed to invest in some black out curtains.

There was a slight groan before an arm tightened it hold around my waist. The same raspy voice from my dream called out “if you don’t shut that goddamn alarm clock off, Alex, I will throw both you and it out that fucking window.”

That got me right the fuck up.

I fell out of bed so fast, I hit my head against the corner of my nightstand and body slammed myself onto the floor. It took me a few moments to regain my composure but as I sat up on my floor, my eyes landed on the man in my bed.

“W-W-What T-The- W-What- HolyFatherGodofSatanChristAlmighty.” I stuttered out as I looked up to see Christian Ivanov staring back down.

His eyelids hung low, visibly displaying how tired he still looked. His hair was a gorgeous mess… and I mean gorgeous mess. It was tossed in every direction but he still somehow made it look incredibly good. I had to divert my gaze as I felt my cheeks heat up.

“W-What-t the h-hell- what are you doing in my bed?!” I asked him.

“You really don’t remember?” Christian countered as he propped himself up on one arm. It was only when the covers slipped past his chest did I then realize he was shirtless…. his beautiful tattoos on full view.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod

“You got far too drunk, and a little too high…”

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmy

GOD

“Then you lead me to your bedroom…”

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod

OHMYGOD

“And asked me to stay the night.”

Jesus? Are you listening? Jesus? Change of plans, I’m going to need you to take me right now. Right this minute right now. Please, Lord, PLEASE.

“I- No- There’s no- I wouldn’t- I-” I stuttered incoherently.

“You fell asleep shortly after. I, on the other hand, couldn’t because you sleep like you’re channeling the spirit of a samurai warrior during the fucking 1600’s. I’m billing you for whatever damage you inflicted upon me.” Christian replied dead seriously.

I stared at him blankly (doing my best not to let my eyes wander) and took in exactly what he had said.

“So we didn’t…” I mumbled to more to myself than him.

“Didn’t what?” He asked. His eyes darkened just a tad, and that made a shiver run down my spine.

“Nothing. W-What time is it?” I asked, changing that subject as quickly as possible. Christian felt around for his phone on my bed for a while, before finding it under one of the pillows.

“Not too sure. Looks like my phone is dead. Check your alarm clock on your bed side table… well… I guess your floor now.”

I glanced over at the clock that had fallen when I nicked my head on the corner of the table. It read 8:32 am. Speaking of nicks… I thought to myself as my hand reached for my forehead.

There was something wet mixed in with my hair. I brought my fingers back down to take a look, and all I saw was red.

Shit .

Christian

“Hold still.” I snapped.

“It hurts.” Alex wined.

“That’s what you get for waking up like that you psycho.” I replied.

I dabbed a bit more of the rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab before gently pressing it against the open wound.

My eyes slid past the task at hand to catch Alex’s as he gave me another groan. I was still trying to get used to how he looked without his glasses. His skin still had some slight irritation from the allergic reaction, but for the most part, it was clearing.

Alex diverted his gaze just as quickly as his eyes had found mine. He did his best to play it off but his cheeks still resembled the color of crimson red.

I liked how on edge I made him feel…

But I also sort of missed last nights Alex…

My mind wandered back to the night before, shortly after I had gotten myself situated in his bed- which was miraculously comfortable might I add. Alex had long since drifted off to sleep, but his body was still writhing all over the place. There was a time during the night where he literally open palm slapped me in my face.

I got so fed up, I slid both arms around him as he had his back to me, and held him there. It didn’t take more than a minute for him to relax into my touch. And about five minutes later or so, he had snuggled himself flush against me.

My hands unintentionally gripped the gauze a little tighter as I remembered that last part. Before I could recall my last few moments of consciousness from the night before, something startled both me and Alex out of our wits. His front door swung wide open.

“ALEX get the FUCK up you’re going to be la-” a woman started to yell as she barged into Alex’s apartment. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on him and I. Alex was sitting on his kitchen counter while I tended to his wound.

I Instantly recognized her as the woman I spoke with earlier. What was her name? Jane? Jackie? Jocelyn?

“Oh… OHH..” she gasped to herself as she let her purse fall to the floor.

••

19

Alex

“Joan…” I spoke hesitantly.

“Shh! Shut it. Shut up. I’m still processing all of this.” She snapped back.

“There’s nothing to process!” I insisted. All she did was shush me again. Then there was another long ass pause before she said anything else, and for a second there… I thought I might have broken Joan.

“How long?” She demanded after some time.

“How long what?” I asked.

“How long have you two been clapping cheeks?”

Orange juice burst from my mouth.

19

minutes earlier

“Oh… OHH.”

I watched as Joan’s purse hit the ground with a loud thud. I remained frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights. Joan’s face was blank, besides the slight eyebrow raise she couldn’t stop herself from doing as she eyed the partially shirtless Christian from head to toe. Moments later, she slowly picked up the purse that had fallen to the ground, and started to back out through my apartment.

“I’m going… to wait outside. Yes. Yeah. I’m going to do that. Out here. I’ll be out here.” She mumbled before shutting the door closed behind her.

“Fuck.” I whispered under my breath as soon as Joan was out of sight. This one was going to be a tricky one to explain.

When I glanced back at Christian, he was grinning from ear to ear.

“Your friend is funny. I’m glad at least one of you two care about making it in on time for work. Let me get changed and we’ll get coffee on the way in.”

“No!” I sorta blurted out all too quickly. Christian looked at me confused. As if the word “no” was a foreign concept to him.

“By we, I really meant you can get me coffee while I wait in the car, and I can enjoy it on the way to the office.” He explained seriously. “Coffee shops in the morning on a weekday sounds congested. I don’t do congested. I also prefer to stay away from any place that screams… commoner.”

This pretentious fuck.

I almost rolled my eyes at him, but managed at the last moment to compose myself.

“Just go on ahead. I’ll pick up the coffee and meet you at the office.” I insisted. After a few seconds of pondering, Christian finally nodded in agreement.

He finished dressing soon after, and even offered to help pack up everything that we had abandoned on the table from the night before, but I told him I would take care of it.

It took me approximately 15 minutes to usher this man out. In between complaints about the injuries I inflicted upon him that were “sure to bruise,” he was looking for his other shoe that had somehow disappeared.

What I needed was for Christian fucking Ivanov to leave my apartment.

“Don’t forget: Large coffee, two sugars and-”

“And one creamer, yes, I know.” I finished. He’d just made it through my apartment door when he passed be someone else.

“Nice seeing you, Janice.” He nodded to Joan on his way out. Joan’s expression said it all as a flash of confusion then annoyance passed through her face, but she ended up biting her tongue and just nodding.

As soon as Christian was out of sight, Joan sprung into action. She body checked me out that doorframe so hard, I almost flew into the coffee table. I guess my apartment was now a goddamn community center, I thought to myself as she made her way into my living room.

And this was how we got here… with Joan perched on the edge of my futon saying some more outrageous shit while I stood amongst a mess of orange juice that had just came bursting out from my mouth.

“What the hell Joan, no. Nononononono. We’re not doing anything like that, that’s not what’s going on.”

“Tell that to the next person that walks in to such a compromising position.”

“There was no compromising position!”

“With him all naked like that in your kitchen…”

“He had a shirt on! It was just unbuttoned. He was getting dressed.” I tried to explain.

“It makes me question what it was exactly, that got him undressed.” Joan countered, looking up at me as she wiggles her eyebrows. My fingers started to gently rub the bridge of my nose. I wasn’t even fully awake yet for all of this.

“I hit my head falling off my bed and he was just helping my clean the cut.” I insisted, but Joan was past the point of reason.

“You know I truly understand. Who knew Christian Ivanov was hiding alladat underneath those work clothes. Hercules? Talk about Hunkules. Woohoohoo I’d like to make some sweet music-”

“Okay okay okay we’re done here.” I interjected as soon as she started quoting one of the muses from The Gospel Truth in Hercules. She gave me a hearty laugh as she set her things aside and helped me file all the paperwork from the night before.

That’s what I truly appreciated about Joan. She’d have to damn near catch me in the act of murder, before she judged me. And even then… under the right circumstances, she’d hear me out.

Wouldn’t trade that shit for the world.

Christian

“I’ve been calling you and texting you all morning.” Brad snapped at me as soon as the door to my office closed.

I hadn’t managed to look at my phone until I made it to the building. I hadn’t even managed to step foot in my own office before Brad’s assistant ushered me out to my first meeting of the morning. “What’s the big deal? We made it to all three meetings, didn’t we?” I countered.

“Yes, but we were supposed to grab breakfast with mother before all that.”

My body grew a bit more rigid at those words. I had completely blanked on that.

“And when the hell was I suppose to wake up for that?” If I had gone to bed at the time I usually did, I could have easily done both this morning… but a late night with Alex would trump an early morning with my mother any day.

Speaking of Alex… my eyes wandered toward the door I’d been itching to peak through all morning. I wanted to see how his head was doing.

“Are you even listening to me?” Brad interjected, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t noticed he was still talking.

“Yes.” No .

“Mother wants to have a dinner with you next week, sometime before you leave for your business trip. She feels like she hasn’t seen you in a while.”

“What the fuck, this woman was just here.” I blurted out almost immediately.

“Tell that to her. She wants to see you rain or shine. And she mentioned to bring that new assistant of yours.”

••

20

Alex

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“Oh y’all definitely clapped cheeks, huh.” Derek blurted out almost immediately after I exited the elevator to the third floor. I shot Joan a look.

“What happened to the “this stays between us” pact we agreed upon?“ I demanded.

Joan gave me a shrug. “When you said “us” I assumed it was more of a you, me, and Derek type of situation.“

My fingers gently rubbed the bridge of my nose as I sighed to myself. If Derek knew, the whole third floor knew. Derek didn’t understand the meaning of a secret.

“We did not clap cheeks.” I clarified. “He just spent the night because it got late. Now please, for the sake of my sanity, let’s not ever say those words again.”

Derek and Joan gave me a less than trustworthy nod.

I’d barely managed to make it to the employee clock in/out terminal before I felt my personal phone buzz in my pocket. It was a text from a number I hadn’t recognized.

Unknown:

Where the hell are you?

I stared at the text for what felt like ninety years, trying hard to recognize the number. As soon as I settled on not knowing who the fuck this was, I sent a message back.

Me:

Who dis?

My phone buzzed not more than a second later.

Unknown:

“Dis” is the guy who’s impatiently waiting for those files you said you’d have on my desk this morning. Aka your fucking boss.

I outwardly groaned. After Christian had shown up to my home, it was only right to assume the man had all my private information including my cellphone. That’s why this text didn’t come as a surprise.

This wasn’t exactly how I had planned to spend my break, however. The day had actually depleted all that was left of my energy and when noon rolled around, all I wanted to do was take a nap in my car.

I started to type something, but another text went through my phone almost immediately after the first.

Unknown:

I bought you Eddie Chang

That fucking bastard.

“I just want you to know this right now: I’m only here for the Eddie Chang.” I announced as soon as I entered Christians office. He gave me sly grin in return.

“Our business trip for Mavericks Corp is in less than a week, this is crunch time.” He explained as he started to open up those sweet sweet take out boxes. The smell of Chinese food flooded the office.

I kept forgetting that Christian was actually serious about taking me along for this trip. On one hand, I was ready to experience a different side of business relations and marketing… on the other, I was absolutely prettified. As much as I would like to think I could do this, just watching Christian during his meetings today made me scared shitless.

Our company website had uploaded some clips of the morning conferences to the intranet, and watching this vulture in action had me covered in goosebumps. Maybe it was his “I could run this company into the ground at any moment without a single fuck to give” type of attitude that left you gripping at the edge of your seat.

Today it could be billions.

Tomorrow it could be unemployment.

Christian had a way of keeping us guessing.

He lead a very risky but somehow sustainable (I use this word loosely) philosophy of high risk high reward. Working with him closely made me realize just how qualified he was for this position.. but his ability to throw logic out the window whenever he was slightly inconvenienced worried me. Shit, it worried the whole department.

And I thought I was unstable.

“I think we’re ready for whatever Mavericks throws our way.” I told him. It sounded like honesty, but really I was lying straight through my teeth. All it would take was one insult and Christian could very well lose his shit.

“We don’t have room for error on this one.” He replied. For some reason, those words held weight. For a fraction of a second, I saw Christian second guess himself, and I wasn’t sure how to feel. His demeanor was so different, I couldn’t help but wonder what had changed.

“You better have booked one nice ass hotel. I could go for a spa treatment before this hell.” Christian answered.

I froze.

Then gave him the most reassuring smile I could muster.

Booked a hotel?

What?

I had completely forgotten about the fact that I was his actual assistant… and booking shit like this was my actual job.

“I got the best of the best.” I lied.

I hadn’t even looked at the flights yet.

Christian took his first bite from Eddie Chang as I laid out the files and documents we had gone over the night before.

“This stays between you and me… but Eddie Chang is good as hell.” He mumbled as he took another bite of the fried noodles. “I can’t remember the last time I spent so little on food.”

Must be nice, Christian. Must be nice.

“I was thinking we could maybe stay a day later in NYC after the conference. There’s a few things I want to take care of there before coming back. Also, don’t make plans Sunday night.” Christian spoke in between spoonfuls.

“Sunday?” I asked. He couldn’t seriously want me to work the weekend too.

“My mother has requested my presence… and oddly enough, yours as well.”

I stared at him blankly.

I mean, obviously I knew Christian had a mother… How else would he have gotten here? But the thought of meeting that woman shook me to the core. Call me crazy but I didn’t exactly want to meet the woman who raised him. Every fiber of being in my body told me that this wasn’t a good idea.

“You look like I’ve sentenced you to your death.” Christian joked as he took another large bite.

I gave him a reassuring smile as I got to looking up flight details.

Something told me this man very well may have.

••

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21

Christian

“I wonder what mother has planned for us tonight.” Brad spoke as he straightened up his tie in my bathroom mirror. I wasn’t sure why he decided to get ready at my place instead of his, but I sort of enjoyed the company. It reminded me of the when we were back in college living together.

It felt like I only ever saw him in work mode these days. I missed those old days… when he liked banging chicks and wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a tie. Brad was a shit ton more fun back then.

“I don’t understand why she wants to meet Alex. She hasn’t given a shit about any of my previous assistants before.”

“Ironically, neither have you. I’m not sure if you noticed this but Alex is already in the running to become one of the longest assistants you’ve had. Shit, even I’m curious.” Brad countered.

I hadn’t really thought about that before. Alex was essentially doing two jobs now, so I hadn’t given him as large of a load, like I did with my previous assistants. For some reason, they just weren’t as enjoyable as Alex was. He was defiant in every possible way he could be. He kept things interesting for me.

“Half of those assistants were hand picked by mother.” Brad reminded me.

“Half of those assistants didn’t have one thought of their own. They did everything I said without questioning it.”

“Isn’t that… what an assistant is supposed to do?” He asked as he started in on styling his hair.

Brad always did the most when we were going to visit mother. I’d wear sweatpants to see her, if I could. There was just that slight underlying fear of what she’d do to me if I did… maybe strangle me with the drawstrings, who knows. This woman would get creative. I instead opted in for a nice sweater and some dress pants.

“I could’ve told some of those women to jump off a cliff, and they’d do it. I want someone with pushback. Someone I can bounce ideas off of.” I explained.

“Someone who can put you in your place.” Brad joked. I shot him a look. In some ways he was right, but I wasn’t about to openly admit that.

“I’m already in my place as the head of this company.” I reminded him. He rolled his eyes at me. Brad knew I never wanted to run this stupid company to begin with. If I had it my way, I would be sipping margaritas on the beach somewhere with a handful of fine women.

But alas, we were here now.

There wasn’t really any going back, and somewhere along the way, this company had grown on me.

I was the successor… and I had put far too many sleepless nights into making this business expand. I didn’t do all that just to watch it tank.

Did I mention the checks were nice?

Cause the checks were real nice.

“I want someone who’s actually interested in what we do here. Someone who isn’t afraid to give input. Alex is that person.” I explained. Brad gave me a funny look.

“What?” I asked him.

“I’m not used to intelligent words coming out of your mouth. Forgive me while I take some time to adjust to this new found intellect.”

I threw my shoe as him but he was able to dodge it in the nick of time.

“Asshat.” I shot at him.

“Dickwad.” He replied, not skipping a beat.

Alex

I was so nervous it took me 5 minutes just to get the door open for Christian.

“For fucks sake, Alex. It’s a door knob, not the DaVinci Code Cryptex.” Christian spoke as he entered my apartment. My hands were so sweaty and shaky I was barely able to grip the metal.

He stopped short to take a good look at me.

You look nice…“ he nodded to himself, “but a little pale. Ease up, kid. We won’t stay longer than an hour tops. I don’t want to see this woman either.”

I gave him a small smile. His words were oddly comforting enough to ease some of the anxiety I was having. “Let’s get this over with.” I replied.

Christian’s car made my jaw literally drop to the floor. Up until now, I’d only seen him use the company cars (which I was still baffled about), but as he walked us out to his convertible, I got a quick reminder of just how rich this guy was.

“This is… wow. Just wow.” I whispered to myself.

“Stop gawking and get in. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.”

Christian’s driving was one of those things that gave you nightmares. I wasn’t sure where we were heading, but I knew we were getting there fast. Long strips of road indicated we were leaving the city and moving further out into the suburban part of town. The houses got bigger, and the distance between them got longer.

He pulled his vehicle onto another street that had one massive gate in front of it. I noticed the several cameras that immediately zoomed in on our car, and moments later, the gate started to open up.

I’d just got done picking my jaw up from the floor, but as soon as I saw the house come into view, that traitorous bitch dropped all over again.

“Christian…”

“Yes?”

“This is bigger than the goddamn Whitehouse.”

He glanced over at me and chuckled.

“Stop being dramatic.”

“Stop being rich.”

He full on laughed at that as he pulled the car towards the front of the estate. There was a man there waiting for us once we got out of the car.

“Good evening sir.” The man nodded to Christian.

“Sup Steve. Take car of her will ya?” Christian replied as he tossed the man his keys. The man (I guess Steve) gave Christian a genuine smile.

“Always a pleasure sir. Good luck.” He nodded to the both of us before walking around to the driver side of the vehicle. I didn’t know what was more concerning. The fact that that the valet had wished us good luck, or the fact that these motherfuckers had a goddamn valet for their home.

“You have a fucking valet…”

“ I don’t, my mother does. Also, leave your sailor talk at the door. Let’s not give this fucking batshit crazy ass woman a reason to dislike you.“

••

22

Alex

I fidgeted with the hem of my sweater as I nervously waited for something to happen…

Literally anything.

So far Christian, Brad, and I had been waiting in this large open lounge for the past ten minutes. There was absolutely no sign of Christian’s mother, and judging by the look on Brad and Christian’s face, they didn’t seem too sure on when she’d be arriving.

I didn’t fully understand why Brad was here either. It felt like more of a business meeting than a dinner.

“Leave it to this woman to keep us waiting for centuries.” Christian muttered under his breath. I got this odd sensation that he had kept his voice low for a reason. It looked as if it was for good reason, because moments later, a new voice cut in to the conversation.

“I finally get to meet the man that’s done miraculously well in disciplining my son.” A woman spoke as she entered the room.

My eyes started from her shoes as the clicked against the marble flooring, and gradually gravitated upwards.

Her shoes looked like they, alone, held the power to solve world hunger. I knew close to nothing about women’s shoes, but the bright red bottom was something I had recognized almost immediately. Whatever she was wearing, was pricey. The heel on those shoes were higher than my gpa, my self esteem, and even Uncle Earl around the holidays.

She wore a figure hugging skirt and matching black blazer that opened up to a gorgeous white blouse. The ruffles gave off elegance and sophistication. Those were then paired with a beautiful pearl necklace. When my eyes did finally reach hers, I almost choked on my on spit.

My god, this woman was beautiful .

I’m talking runway, American next top model, take my fucking money, beautiful . Her eyes were as sharp as Christian’s. Instead, however, her hair looked as dark as Brad’s. I got so lost in her beauty, I almost didn’t hear what she had said next.

“It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Alexander Hamilton. Me apologies for keeping you all waiting.” She nodded, and for the first time since entering, acknowledged the other two men in the room. “My name is Oksanna Ivanov. You may call me Anna.” She continued as she drew closer and extended her hand to me.

Her accent was the first thing to take me by surprise. You could hear a hint of something that sounded Russian or Ukrainian.

I took her delicate hand in mine moments later. “H-Hi H-Hello, S-Sorry my hands are all sweaty .” I stumbled in between my words and she gave my palm a firm squeeze before finally letting go.

The edges of her mouth turned up into a small smile.

“These boys must have made me out to be the devil. Please don’t be alarmed, I promise you I do not bite. You have my word.” Her smile grew larger as she saw me visibly relax a little when she took a step back.

She just had this presence to her. One that was so difficult to read. I couldn’t tell what was genuine and what wasn’t.

Brad was the first to approach her next. He crouched a little awkwardly and I wasn’t sure what he was doing, until I saw Anna push up onto her tippy toes and plant a kiss on his forehead.

As soon as she was done, he stepped away and allowed Christian to approach her. The first thing she did when Christian approached, was fix a collar of his shirt that had gotten tucked underneath his sweater. Both brad and I stole a quick glance at our own appearances. It was the smallest of things, but that made me all the more self conscious of how I looked.

Christian then bowed a bit more gracefully than Brad had, so that his mother could plant a kiss on his forehead as well. Brad definitely had some height to him, which had made it hard for him to bend down to Anna. Should couldn’t have been past 5’5 even with those heels on. Brad had almost an entire foot on her.

“I’m so glad you and your wrinkled sweater could make it.” The way she said those words to Christian made me shiver. “You know it doesn’t take a second to steam a shirt.”

Something told me this woman probably had no clue on how long it would take to steam a shirt. She didn’t look like the type to steam her own.

“It was between this or my AC/DC shirt.” Christian joked.

“You should have worn that shirt. If you’re going to be messy, Christian, go all in. Don’t half ass it.” She countered.

I just stood there and listened to this exchange. I couldn’t tell if this was their banter… or if Christian really did want  his hands to close the distance between them and his mothers neck. He looked as if he was really showing some restraint.

“Enough of all this small talk. Let’s get on with dinner.” She announced as she lead the way out of quite possibly the largest living room I had ever seen, and into most definitely the largest dining hall I had ever seen.

The table had already been set. What I didn’t understand was why every place at this 12 seated table, had a full dinner set placed in front of it. There were only four of us.

Was this what rich people did?

Use up unnecessarily dishes?

My home consisted of 99.99% plastic plates and cutlery because I could never bring myself to wash the dishes like that. Although I’m sure Anna couldn’t remember the last time her herself had washed a dish.

I was pulled out from my thoughts as Anna engaged me with more conversation.

“Christian speaks very highly of you. We spoke about how… unconventional it was for his to hire his IT director as his personal assistant.”

Well there was something Anna and I could agree on. I wouldn’t have used the world “unconventional” however. More like “completely unheard of.”

“It came as a surprise to me as well.” I replied with a nervous laugh. Anna offered me another smile.

“With this business meeting coming up, I thought it would be best if we all got to know each other. Christian never keeps an assistant around for long, let alone brings them home for dinner. You must be special.”

The look on Christian’s face made it clear he really hadn’t had a say in the matter.

“His lack of dedication to this company is upsetting. It’s hard to deal with this stubborn man-child who could care less about his work. It’s like he rather spend his free time wasting money and firing employees. Some days I cannot believe I left the future of our company in the hands of this idiot.” She continued on with her rant as she tore Christian a new ass hole, and then dragged his shit through the streets.

I wasn’t sure what soul entered my body in that exact moment, but it came with a mouth I had no control of. There was no stopping the words that tumbled past my lips, cutting Anna off.

“That’s bullshit.” I shook my head. “He may not be the most dedicated, but he does most definitely give a damn.”

••

23

Christian

Ah shit, Alex…

His hands immediately shot up to his mouth as if he could back pedal on the words that had already been said. He looked absolutely mortified.

The room remained quiet for what felt like an eternity. I couldn’t recall a single moment during my existence where anyone had cut my mother off.

“Care to elaborate?” My mother finally spoke, breaking that silence. Her words cut through the air like daggers, and I could literally hear Alex’s breathing hitch.

“It- It’s n-not- I didn’t mean-” he stumbled over his words. “Absolutely no disrespect to you, I just didn’t-” he paused again. My mother remained silent as she looked at him expectantly. She wasn’t going to let him take back those words now. She was demanding an answer.

His eyes closed for a moment as he took a deep breath.

“I’ve been with this company for three years now. As an employee here, I can tell you with complete and total honesty, Christian is a total dipshit.”

I looked at Alex, eyes bulging straight out of my goddamn sockets as I heard those words leave his mouth.

“Like and I mean the, “I’m not sure if I’ll still have a job tomorrow” type of dipshit. He’s hot headed. He’s easily angered. He likes to keep the offices in sub zero temperatures regardless of the weather outside-“

Brad tried (and fucking failed) to stifle a laugh that broke out unexpectedly. I shot him one icy glare.

“He’s late to the meetings he schedules, and has a blatant total disregard for anyone else’s time-”

“Alex…” I started, but was interrupted.

“Let him continue.” My mother cut me off almost immediately. When I glanced over at her, I realized she was listening intently to every word Alex was saying.

Lord Jesus Christ almighty please tell me there’s a “but” somewhere in there.

“But-” Alex continued. Halle-fucking-lujah . “-As crazy as it sounds, the guy has a few redeeming qualities.”

A few?

“We didn’t meet on the best of circumstances.” Alex explained, “He actually heard me cussing him out over the phone to a coworker because I had to work some unexpected overtime… yet he still offered me a job.

“He’s shown genuine interest in my concerns with the company, and what he could do to improve. He’s included me in projects I thought I had no business being a part of, and I’ve surprising learned a shit ton-”

“Language.” My mother interjected almost immediately.

“Yes ma’am.” Alex nodded gingerly. “I’ve learned a lot from him. Yeah, he’s not anywhere near as stable as most of his employees would like him to be… but he knows his shi- stuff. He knows his stuff, and it’s clear he wants to move this company in the right direction.” Alex took another deep breath before continuing. “The bottom line is, I don’t think you made a mistake here… you don’t peg me as a woman who makes any.”

His gaze held my mothers as they looked at each other.

I stared at Alex myself, unable to peel my eyes away from him.

I was at a loss for words.

And for the first time in my entire life, I saw my mother at a loss for words herself. She just stared at him. I couldn’t tell what was running through her mind but I was really hoping it wasn’t homicide.

Like really hoping.

“I’m sorry.” Alex rushes out a few seconds later, as if that apology was going to smooth over whatever hell had just erupted at this dinner table.

“No apology necessary.” My mother said with a smile. Both Brad and I glanced her way, then exchanged glances with each other.

That was maybe the first genuine smile we’d seen our mother give in quite some years.

Dinner, for the most part, went by as best as it could. Surprisingly enough, my mother didn’t take anymore jabs at anyone at the table. Instead, she bored Alex with our companies history for the next hour.

Crazy enough, Alex looked legitimately interested. He asked my mother questions about the how business was started, and her early life during the start up phase. My mother seemed happy to have someone to talk to about all this.

Brad and I had heard the same speech over and over again throughout our childhood to the point where we generally ran in the opposite direction whenever the topic arose.

Well, I ran in the opposite direction.

Brad still tried to entertain this bullshit. Over the years, however, you could see his disinterest start to show.

It was finally time for Alex, Brad, and I to say our goodbyes. Brad had an early meeting tomorrow, while Alex and I had our flight to catch.

Before we could leave, my mother did something completely unexpected. She gave Alex a hug.

Brad and I were still waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop out behind a couch or something and inform us that we really on an episode of Punk’d.

She gave Brad and I a goodbye kiss before walking us out towards the entrance of the home. Steve had pulled both cars back around and was waiting patiently for us.

“Come visit again soon.” She spoke to me as Brad and Alex walked further ahead. “We have a lot to discuss.” I gave her a nod, but my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I wasn’t sure what she had meant by that.

As soon as Alex and I settled in my car, and started pulling out of the large entrance gates, I turned to him.

“You almost got us killed tonight.” I more or less stated. He was very clearly avoiding my gaze at this point.

“Yes.” He finally admitted.

“That could have gone a number of ways.” I continued. He gave me another nod.

“But you did well.” I settled on. His head turned towards me, and I saw his face visibly light up. “What do you say we go for a little drive? I think we can spare an hour or two.”

He bit the inside of his lips like he usually did when he was contemplating something…

…But eventually, he gave me a nod.

••

24

Alex

Christian drove us back into the city.

I wasn’t sure where exactly we were heading, but Christian seemed confident in where he was taking us. He pulled up into a street parking near the heart of the city, close to where the company building was. I could have sworn I’ve walked this way a few times, but I never noticed the bridge that stood a few hundred feet away.

Christian turned to me as soon as he pushed the gear into park. “I thought we could walk around for a bit. There’s a path that cuts under that bridge there. It’s more of a scenic route.” He explained.

“Sounds good.” I nodded, and followed in his direction. The air had a bit of a chill tonight. Luckily my sweater provided a bit of warmth, but I instantly regretted not grabbing a jacket before leaving the house.

We walked along the sidewalk that lead to the bridge. This area of town was completely lit up with lights from the neighboring buildings, and the street lamps. Just as Christian described, there was a divide between the sidewalk, and a makeshift path that had stairs leading down to the edge of the bridge. The path looked the farthest from safe, a path could look, but I did my best to follow Christian and not fall on my ass. There was a section where a step was missing, and while Christian crosses it with ease, my feet came to halt.

“This looks like a health code violation.” I whispered to myself. Christian chuckled when he heard my comment. He extended his hand to me. I looked at it… then him… then back at his hand. I mean, we’d made it this far already, right? I thought to myself.

As if Christian could read my mind at this very moment, he said “trust me, the view is completely worth it.”

And so I did just that… I trusted him. My hand slid into his with ease as he helped me close the distance between the gap in the stairs. But just as soon as I thought I had found my footing, I lost that shit. In the not so graceful fashion, I ended up stumbling into Christian. My chest knocked into his and the momentum I had made me think I was going to take us both down… but he managed to catch me with ease.

His hand securely wrapped itself around my waist. When I looked up, I realized my face was practically inches away from his. The last time we had been this close in proximity to each other, he was fastening a tie around my neck. The light from one of the street lamps made his eyes look even more intense.

“S-Sorry.” I croaked out, as my face went from my usually pale shade, to something that resembled the shade of a tomato. He looked down at me for what felt years and it felt like something I could only describe as going into cardiac arrest. He cleared his throat moments later and eventually let go.

“Don’t sweat it, kid. Watch your step though, these stairs are a little steep.” I gave him a nod as I finally tore my eyes away from his and we continued on.

When we did finally reach the bottom, I let go of the breath I had been holding this entire time. Now at the base of the bridge, you could see the rush of water that pushed it’s way between the cement pillars. There were colored lights directly beneath the bridge that illuminated the water.

“This is insane.” I whispered to myself in aw. The near death experience had indeed been one hundred percent worth it. Christian guided me down along the edge of the river. I was so captivated by the water, I didn’t realize he had stopped walking, and I ended up running into his back. “Sorry.” I mumbled again.

“You’re really attacking me from all angles tonight, huh.” He joked. The edges of my lips twitched up into a small smile. I needed to get my shit together tonight.

We continued on just a little further before Christian spoke again. “You nervous about tomorrow?”

“A little.” I replied honestly.

“We’ll be hit with meetings as soon as we get there, but it should run smoothly.” He explained. “You’ve really put in the work with this project, you should be excited. The best part is the part where you get to get up there and pitch ’em a deal they can’t refuse.”

That part made me want to puke , I thought to myself.

But I put on my big boy pants and mustered up the most courageous smile I could. Christian saw right through me as he laughed.

“Let’s head up to that path right there, it’ll wrap around and bring us back to the same sidewalk we saw earlier. I’m starting to freeze my ass off.”

I gave Christian a nod, and continued to let him lead the way.

When we did finally pull up to my apartment building, it was almost close to midnight. I wasn’t sure how time had flown so quickly, but I was ready to enjoy a envious date with my bed before my alarm clock ever so rudely cock blocked me at 6am tomorrow morning.

Christian himself looked pretty tired too. I wondered what he had been up to for most of the day. Probably getting more things prepared for tomorrow. For someone who acted like he didn’t really care about all this business relations stuff, he really did put in the work.

I wondered what he did for fun.

He didn’t look like he’d be caught dead at a local bar… maybe a gentleman’s lounge or something.

The inside of the apartment was well heated, which I was grateful for. At this point, my hands felt like they were in danger of catching frostbite.

Christian walked me inside and all the way up to my apartment building. At this point, he knew the way like the back of his hand.

I kept stealing glances his way as he spoke about the arrangements for tomorrow. He looked so relaxed. So composed. So comfortable. He, in return, made me feel comfortable. Never in a million years had I thought I would be walking up the stairs to my apartment after an eventful day, with Christian fucking Ivanov.

Crazy how shit happens.

“Alex.” Christian called before I could turn the knob of my apartment and walk in. I looked back at him. “Thank you for coming out tonight… and meeting my bitch of a mother. Somehow some way she seemed to really like you.”

“She’s not too bad.” I replied. “I definitely misjudged her. I hadn’t really known she came from a less fortunate background and practically built all that from nothing. She’s one badass woman. All my rich comments will be solely directed at you from now on, you trust fund child.” I joked. Christians face broke out into a grin.

“Don’t push it, Alex.” He warned, “But seriously, thank you. I don’t say that as much as I most likely should, but I’ll start to.”

Thank you seemed like a foreign word to him, yes. Something told me to cherish this moment, because who knew when Christian would thank me for anything next.

“Did you really mean all those things you said at dinner tonight?” He asked me.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You really think I’d talk back to that woman for pure thrill, Christian? Of course I meant all that. You might think your mother left this company to you as punishment, but I don’t think a woman like that would leave a life’s worth of work and commitment in the hands of someone who wasn’t qualified.”

Christian said nothing at he stared down at me.

I thought I might have said something wrong when he didn’t say anything. His eyes looked like they were searching for something in mine, but I wasn’t sure what.

“Thank you.” He whispered again after some time.

Then he did something completely unexpected…

He closed the distance between us, and connected his lips to mine.

••

25

Alex

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That fucking bitch.

I sat in bed wide awake with a cup of tea in one hand, and Mr. Whiskers (my stuffed teddy) in the other.

Why did I name my stuffed teddy bear Mr. Whiskers you might be wondering?

It’s a very long misunderstood story.

A story for another night.

The story that we’ll be focusing on tonight is a very different story. This one involves no teddy bears… but rather, one Christian fucking Ivanov.

One hour earlier…

“Thank you.” Christian whispered again after some time. I was going to respond, most likely tell him that it really was no problem, but Christian didn’t give me the chance to.

He instead did something completely unexpected…

He closed the distance between us, and connected his lips to mine.

My body completely froze as his lips grazed mine. It all happened so quickly, I wasn’t even sure if it was really happening or if I was dreaming it. It was just a peck, but when he pulled away, I found myself wanting to pull him down to me again. To make sure I understood that this was really happening and I wasn’t imagining it…

…for research purposes of course.

When he did pull away moments later, his eyes found mine. His were still calm and collected, however there was an intensity to them. They bore into mine as he stared down at me.

I’m sure I had to look fucking mental as my body refused to move a single inch. My feet felt like they were placed in cement.

“Goodnight, Alex.” He whispered to me, before pulling away completely. He slipped his hands casually into the pockets of his dress pants, then he turned around and left me.

Still standing frozen at my door.

Staring at his back as it disappeared down the corridor.

I was at a complete loss of words, thoughts, brain cells, you fucking name it. I hadn’t managed to move a single inch from where I stood, until the door across the hall from me opened up. Mrs. Penelope was standing there with her cat bundled up in her arms.

“What a lovely young man you got yourself, Alex! I don’t mean to pry- I was setting some canned food out for Darla here when I heard all the commotion through the door. These walls are awfully thin, you know. Anyways I ended up taking a peep through this little peep hole right here and that’s when I saw you with that lovely young man and I just-”

“Goodnight Mrs. Penelope.” I said with one of the most awkward smiles I’ve ever given anyone, then I hurried up and entered my apartment before she could say anything else.

That woman was on a whole new plane of weird.

Fast forward about thirty minutes of intense pacing, and now we were here:

Sitting wide awake in bed with a cup of tea in one hand, and Mr. Whiskers clutched tightly in the other, as I called my boss a fucking bitch.

Why was he a fucking bitch?

Because it was now steadily moving on to two o’clock in the morning, and the thought of sleeping hadn’t even crossed my mind. I had to be up in a few hours, but instead, my mind replayed that kiss like it was the ending scene of Aquamarine (Yes, I absolutely loved that movie. It was a classic and so ahead of its time).

My mind went absolutely mental with thoughts. Maybe it was a “thank you” kiss? Was that a thing? It didn’t sound like a thing. Maybe that was just custom to his culture? No no no this was… different.

I glanced down at my phone.

Not a single text from Christian had come in tonight.

That bastard was probably knocked the fuck out by now, dreaming of buying more property or whatever the fuck it was that rich people dreamt about.

And here I was, wide awake, losing sleep over Christian fucking Ivanov.

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/923fdee8d37c7f4442767af343b3bd1f58871708/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f48516845396961695454703346513d3d2d3739313936303230362e313563623433613834636664623136653834303939353535353332342e6a7067)               

Here I was, wide awake, losing sleep over Alexander fucking Hamilton.

I stared at the light structure that hung overhead from my ceiling. It was a bunch of lightbulbs connected to wire that were intricately spread out. I never really realized how nice it was. My mother designed the entire interior of this home, so that I felt a little more “at home.” I hadn’t really felt that way until now, when I remembered the same light structure was in my bedroom as a kid.

Why hadn’t I noticed that before?

Most likely because it never took this long for sleep to find me.

I felt an arm snake around my torso. Her hand was cold as all hell and it made me shiver in a not so good way.

“Bridge?” I called out to the figure laying next to me. She sort of gave me a mumbled reply. “Bridge?” I called again.

“What, Chris?” She replied. My body visibly cringed at that.

I hated when people abbreviated my name to Chris. It was Chris-tian. If you’re too lazy to say both syllables, don’t say the name at all. After she started calling me Chris, I started calling her Bridge. She absolutely hated it, and would argue that Bridget wasn’t meant to be abbreviated. Well neither was fucking Christian so.

“Are you up?” I asked.

“I am now.” She replied.

“Great. Could you get up and do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Could you get up and leave?”

That made her turn around and whip her head towards me. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Leave. Like you know, gather your things and walk out through the door adjacent to my living room.” I continued.

“Chris, I really don’t have the patience for your games right now.” She snapped, and was about to head back to bed, but I snapped back before she could.

“I’m serious. I’m ending whatever the hell this is.”

She looked at me like I had lost it. Ironically, this was probably the most sane decision I had made throughout this entire relationship. The most mental one was the decision I made to ask her out. “And why the fuck are you doing that?” She questioned.

“Because just the sound of your voice brings on a migraine. All you do is spend my money and hog all the sheets at night. The sex isn’t even that great.” I added. I could see the many emotions running their course, but the one that stuck was anger.

“You piece of shit!” She shrieked at me as she threw the covers back and got out of bed. My main bedroom lights were turned on, temporarily blinding me. “You think you can do whatever whenever all the goddamn time!” She continued as she threw open one Louis Vuitton bag and started shoving her clothes into it.

“Hold up. Leave the bag. You can use a trash bag or one of those plain suitcases.” This girl wasn’t about to take off with an entire designer set too.

Rage flashed across her face. I thought that for a second she was going to leave all her clothes, but she instead grabbed one of my empty black suitcases and filled it up to its capacity. Throughout this entire ordeal, she never once stopped hurling insults my way.

“You know why I hog the covers Chris? Because I’m cold . It’s a gentleman’s job to keep his woman warm . It gets a little chilly dealing with your icy attitude all the fucking time!”

I had followed her out into the hallway and down the stairs. All the lights in the home were now on, and Nathaniel was sitting at my bar, with a drink. “Everything alright, sir?” He asked me. It looked like he was about to get up, but I signaled for him to remain seated.

“Enjoy your drink Nathaniel, don’t worry about this.”

“And you know what?” Bridge asked as she stopped at the entrance of my home. “The dick was trash . Abso-fucking-lutely trash ! Who has sex like once a week? Who? WHO? When they’re dating this ? All of

this

?“

“Once a week was generous.” I mumbled to myself. I heard Nathaniel muffle his laugh. Bridge just got more infuriated.

“Fuck you, Chris! Seriously fuck you!” She shouted from the top of her lungs as she wheeled her luggage outside.

“It’s fucking Christian !” I called out to her before slamming the front door shut.

God, that had felt wonderful. I pulled out my phone and did one last thing for that woman: I ordered her an Uber.

When I turned back around to face Nathaniel, he was now behind the bar pouring a second drink. There was one set on the table for me. “Have a seat, sir.” He motioned to me.

I gave him a smile as I sat down. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, sir. Should I ask what that was about?”

“Let’s just say you won’t have to hear that shrieking voice call you Nate ever again.”

••

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26

Alex

I stared at my alarm clock expectantly as it changed to read 6:29. I hadn’t managed to fall asleep yet, and in about one minute, I was going to need to get up and start getting ready.

I outwardly groaned.

The entire night was wasted on thoughts of Christian. He had officially drove me to the brink of insanity with that kiss. Through the many hours I had stayed awake for, I still hadn’t managed to figure out what it meant… what he meant by it. I wasn’t sure how I was even going to make it through this work trip without having one awfully dramatic mental breakdown.

The obnoxious sound of the alarm clock going off made me jump, and it ripped my thoughts away from me.

No time for bullshit, I said to myself. I guess it was show time.

By the grace of God himself, I managed to get ready in time. Luckily, the procrastinator in me had taken a fucking seat this week, and I ended up packing my bags early. The only thing that was left for me to do was print out some last minute work items, and meet Christian at the airport.

When I made it in to the office around 7:20, I hadn’t seen anyone there besides a few janitors. That was why it took me by surprise when I noticed Joan up on the third floor.

“Well hey there stranger, long time no see huh?” Joan joked as she pulled me in for a bone crushing hug.

She hadn’t exactly been wrong. Joan had texted me Friday night about going out, but with this Mavericks deal coming into fruition, I hadn’t had much time to meet the gang at the bar for drinks. Although I managed to stop by and see them at least once during the day, most of my breaks had been spent putting in overtime with Christian.

I felt a little pang in my heart at her words, when I realized that I had been the one to slip out of our usual routine.

“I promise Joan, as soon as I’m back, it’s you and me baby.” I gave her a wink. Joan’s smile did nothing but grow. I knew this woman would never blame me for a damn thing, but that just made me all the more sensitive to her. Maybe it was the guilt that tripped me up, or the fact that I hadn’t had anyone to confide in, but I hadn’t exactly meant to say the next few words that stumbled out of me. “So Christian kissed me.”

The sip of water Joan was taking, exploded out her mouth and all over her desk. I couldn’t help but smile at the all too familiar reaction I had had, when I first accepted the job offer from Christian.

“Run that shit all the fucking way back , he did what? “ Joan asked. She had set all the shit she had been working on, down, and her eyes were now fully focused on mine.

“He kissed me.” I said hesitantly, “and I’m not sure what for or why, but I’ve been one hot fucking mess about it all night.”

“All night?” She continued as her eyes narrowed. “This happened last night? And you didn’t fucking call me?”

I looked down at the ground in shame. While I knew waking Joan up at two o’clock in the morning would have been an inconvenience to her, I also knew that this particular issue would fall into her “for good cause” file.

“Sorry.” I mumbled an apology. “It all happened so quick I can’t even swear on the Bible that it actually happened. I haven’t received any text all night or this morning-” before I could finish off that sentence, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Christian:

Where the fuck are you?

I glanced at the time, and somehow, it was steady approaching 8:00am.

“Shit! Joan, I gotta dash. Listen but I promise, as soon as I get back, I’ll explain everything.” I called out to her as I started to make my way to the elevator.

“You fucking better, Alex! Don’t you forget I know where you live!” She called out.

That brought me back to the memory of her first walking in on Christian and I. There was no way I’d forget that.

When I made it to the airport, Brad was waiting for me at baggage claim.

“Hey Brad, I didn’t know you were coming.” I spoke, as soon as he came into view.

“I’m not, I just don’t trust that, between Christian and yourself, either of you will make this flight on time.” He replied simply.

I didn’t know whether I should take offense to that… but every fiber of being in my body knew he wasn’t exactly wrong. I just gave him a nod as he shuffled me through the business of the airport. He got me all the way to security then stood to the side as I started to slip my personal items off.

“He’s at the gate already so as soon as you make it through, I’m going to need you to fly .” Brad said before he gave me a “good luck” and exited through the side ropes.

I glanced down at my watch right before tossing it in one of the security bins. It was now 8:40, and our flight was departing in fifteen minutes.

Christian

It was official.

I was going to kill this idiot.

I glanced up at the time that flashed on all the tv monitors. It was 8:45, and the plane had just about finished boarding.

“We need to close up the cabins soon sir, we can’t make this flight late on behalf of one passenger.” The flight attendant informed me. She noticed the flash of rage go through me, but before I could thoroughly chew this woman out, we were both interrupted by another voice screaming down the hallway.

“Wait! I’m here, I’m here!” Alex shot out as he sprinted over. I’d never seen him move so quickly before in my life. His hair had looked like he went through a tornado shortly before gracing us with his presence, but at this point, I couldn’t care less.

He was here. That was all that mattered.

“Oh thank god.” The flight attendant whispered more to herself than me. “Let’s go go go.” She ushered the both of us on. The flight had luckily not been all that crowded. She got us settled in the business class cabin, and even assisted me with putting my laptop bag in the overhead compartment.

Alex still looked a little shaken up as he got strapped in for the flight. I hadn’t noticed the fidgeting he was doing, until now.

“You alright?” I asked finally, as the flight attendants finished their instructions, and the plane started to move along the runway.

“Yes, sorry. I’m just now realizing I haven’t really flown in a while.” He replied. He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was hard to miss the unevenness. Those gorgeous eyes were now squeezed shut as he braced himself for take off.

He looked absolutely miserable.

I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I did the first thing that came to mind.

I pulled his hand away from all the fidgeting he was doing, and slipped his into mine. It didn’t take Alex more than a fraction of a second to interlock our fingers.

••

27

Alex

“Um, I’m sorry, what?”

“The room you booked. You booked it for next month.” I stared at the monitor she had swiveled around for me to see, then my eyes caught hers again. I looked at her like she must’ve lost her damn mind, and she looked back at me like I had lost mine.

“Listen ma’am,” I glanced down and caught sight of her name tag. “Susan? Listen Susan, you see that man over there?” I pointed at Christian.

He was currently sitting in one of the hotel lounge chairs, cursing Brad out through phone. Brad had apparently forgotten to make reservations for a rental car and now we were going to need to set something up with Mavericks company drivers. Christian’s voice carried throughout the entire lobby.

“That man is currently cussing out his attorney over the line. You want to know what for?” Susan looked at me expectantly. “For forgetting to get him a rental

car . Now listen here, Susan… That man is my fucking boss. Unless you want murder on your hands, I suggest we try to work something out.“

Susan looked at me.

Then at Christian.

Then back at me.

“Okay sir. I do apologize about this inconvenience but we really are all booked up. We only have one room available due to a last minute cancellation. Keep in mind however-”

“I’ll take it!” I cut in before she could say anything else . Christian had ended his call, and he was starting to make his way over to me.

“Would you like the same two nights stay?” She asked.

“Keep your voice down, Susan! But yes, same two nights.” I whispered to her. She started to log the our information in the system, and that was when Christian arrived at my side.

“What’s taking so damn long?” He grumbled. “We’ve got our meeting in less than an hour.”

“Susan here was having some difficulty finding our reservation, but she was able to locate it.” I replied calmly. I saw Susan raise an eyebrow at me as I shamelessly through her under the bus.

“Well get you shit together Susan, we don’t have all day.” He snapped.

Susan sent me a full on glare at that one… and in her defense, it was well deserved. Not even seconds later, she all but slammed our key cards on the counter and spit out through gritted teeth and a fake smile “enjoy your stay at The Plaza.”

All I could do was mouth an apology as Christian pulled me back and dragged us through the lobby towards the elevators. “We’ve got about 15-20 minutes to get ready before a company car will be here. That’s 15-20 minutes to get everything ready. Our first meeting is at noon with the CEO of Mavericks, John Terry. If everything goes well, we’ll then have two more meetings going into detail about the Gala and setting things into motion.”

We excited the elevator on the seventeenth floor. Our cards said our room number was 1708. I lead Christian towards our side of the building.

“How late is everything going till?” I asked.

“The goal is to get back to the hotel by nine o’clock pm. Each conference will run for almost two hours, with about an hour of break time in between.” He replied. I slid my key card into the door lock and waited for it to turn green, before yanking down on the knob.

We pushed our suitcases and carryons through first. “Brad just sent me a new set of estimated figures on the Gala so we’ll need to use our down time efficiently-” Christian continued, then stopped short, and I almost ran into him on the way in.

“Alex.”

“Yes?” I asked, walking around him to see what had stopped him dead in his tracks. It had managed to stop me dead in mine too.

We were both staring at one king sized bed surrounded by a clear view of the city. The city was an absolutely breathtaking view…

… But the key words here were

one bed

.

“There’s only one bed in here.”

I gave him a slow nod. Thiswasnthappeningthiswasnthappeningthiswasntfuckinghappening .

“Why is there only one bed in here?”

Jesus, take me now.

“I-I-” I started. Christian looked back at me. “I may have sort of messed up our reservations.”

Christians eyes were on a whole new level of intense.

Lord? I changed my mind, please spare me.

He started to say something, but then stopped himself short.

“We don’t have time for this shit. Get the laptops out.” He directed as he propped his suitcase up on the bench at the end of the bed, and got to work.

I stared at him blankly, completely taken back by his reaction. But as soon as he shot me a glare that sent shivers down my spine, I got to work.

“See I had thought I booked it for this month but really I had accidentally booked it for next month which should have been obvious considering all the availability they had on their website-”

“Alex” Christian interjected. “Stop talking. Start working.”

We were currently zipping through traffic en route to our destination. Christian was focused and determined as he started to compile the new data.

I, on the other hand, was doing my best to explain to him how everything had unfolded. Christian was right however, we really didn’t have time to dwell on the mix up.

Where we were going to sleep tonight was honestly the least of our worries right now, considering it could be a cardboard box tomorrow, if we didn’t nail this deal today.

I opened up the documents Christian was sharing with me, and did my best to stay focus. Stealing glances his way was becoming more and more difficult to not do. Christian was in his flow state, you could tell. I watched on with awe as this man created last minute graphs and articles and slipped them with ease into our presentation.

Sitting next to him had never made me feel so intellectually inferior before.

“Alex?” Christian spoke, breaking the trance I was in.

“Yes?” I asked. He was looking over at me now.

“I need you to promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“Regardless of what that bitch ass, dick head of a COO Jack Nickelson says or does, I want you to make sure I don’t lose my cool. I cannot embarrass myself and this company in front of John Terry.”

My fingers reached up to gently rub the bridge of my nose. Who the fuck was Jack Nickelson? Christian had never mentioned this guy before.

“Listen. As long as you refrain from using any of the words you just said right now, in front of him, you’ll be alright.”

I said those words as reassuring as I possibly could… but that didn’t do anything to ease my anxiety.

The bottom line was that the fate of the company was resting on the shoulders of an impulsive, hot-headed nutcase.

••

28

Alex

“It’s been a while John.” Christian spoke as we entered the board room.

“Christian!” John Terry replied, ignoring Christian’s handshake to pull him in for a hug. “God, it’s been a while. It’s good to see you, man.”

I couldn’t help but stare at John as he smiled. He reminded me of Chip Skylark from The Fairly Oddparents. Shiny teeth that sparkle…

“Look where college got you. I always thought you’d end up selling magazines door to door.” Christian joked. John let out a laugh that made the dimples against the side of his cheek, deepen.

Of course he had dimples.

There wasn’t a thing on this man that wasn’t perfectly managed. I couldn’t find a single stray hair on his head, or even an inkling of a wrinkle on anything he wore. He looked picture perfect, almost unreal.

“Man oh man, I thought you were going to end up in anger management.” John replied. I started choking on a sip of water I had taken. I did not expect that .

John’s eyes landed on me. “And this must be the assistant? He’s a cutie.”

I quickly went from choking to dying as his words had completely thrown me off. Before I could even think of a reply to that, another man walked into the board room.

“Well look what the hooker dragged in.” The man spoke as he eyed Christian. This guy looked a little less professional, and a little more Armani Cologne Model. He wasn’t wearing a blazer at all, but instead, just a dress shirt. It wasn’t even buttoned up all the way, revealing the start of a chest tattoo.

My eyes shot from man to man to man, not sure who to look at first, or what to necessarily do. This was not what I was expecting.

“Alright, have a seat you bloody bastards and play nice for the rest of the board members.” John spoke as he directed us to each seat around the conference table. “And Jack, button up that damn shirt. It’s show time.”

What the fuck was going on?

Jack rolled his eyes over at John, but got to buttoning. As Christian sat down besides me, I started to say something, but we were all cut off by new group of men and woman that entered the room. Immediately, everyone stood.

I guess… we were standing now? I thought to myself as I followed in suit.

“Good morning.” John nodded. Whatever smiles and weird “bromance from the college days” vibes these men were giving off earlier, was completely gone. The atmosphere had drastically shifted in the span of mere seconds. I felt like I had entered the fucking twilight zone.

“Let’s begin.” One of the men said. I could almost barely tell anyone from the new group apart. They were all dressed in crisp suits, and had these expressionless faces going on. They must have been important considering how uptight Christian, John, and Jack suddenly looked.

“We’re here to discuss the potential collaboration and future with Ivanov Corp. Joining us today is their CEO, Christian Ivanov. They deal with a variety of products, including travel and outdoor equipment. They are one of the largest organizations in the country that have worked with NASA equipment, and Military grade gear.” John introduced.

I glanced over at Christian. When the fuck did we work with NASA?

God, there was a shit ton I never knew about this company.

“Mr. Ivanov has compiled data to be reviewed by our board members here. You’ll find this under our shared documents.” John instructed, as each board member pulled out a tablet. “I’ll give you all some time to look over the data, then we’ll have Mr. Ivanov run over the projected figures.”

It took the board members a whole fucking hour to go over our portfolio. Throughout that entire time, all I could do was try to keep my palms from getting too sweaty.

They had asked Christian some standard questions which he seemed more than prepared to answer. Mostly questioned about our projected growth financially, and our current departments. The first thing that had caught him off guard, was the question that was asked by the man I had now presumed to be Jack Nickelson.

“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room… The deal that went south with Larrington.”

Christian visibly tensed.

“What happened there?” Jack asked.

Christian had taken a second to pause before he responded.

“Larrington and I had similar values, however, we were unable to reach a consensus.” Christian replied. He started to hinge and unhinge his jaw.

“And why was that?” One of the board members asked.

“Larrington proposed a deal that was far less suitable for the company, on a percentage that couldn’t be matched financially.”

“He said you told him to go find some braces so he can straighten his life out.” Jack noted. I saw Christians muscles flex. “Then you told him he was about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle?”

Well, this was going down hill very quickly.

“Lastly, you went into detail on why everything he was wearing was cheaper than the bandaids you use and you said, I quote, “your company is like a one ply generic brand of toilet paper… unreliable.”

I could have sworn I saw John try to mask a grin. Shit, I was trying to myself. That shit was hilarious. I had no idea Christian could get this creative with insults.

Christian, however, looked like he was about to fucking explode at this point. He looked visibly tense, and the vein that flowed along his temple was pulsating. Without really thinking, I reached my hand out and underneath the table, and placed it on his thigh.

He flinched slightly, as soon as he felt the contact. His eyes caught mine, and I did my best to send him telepathic waves that said “calm the fuck down.” His hand shifted from his lap, and he took mine in his. I was sure my palms were a sweaty mess but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I acted out of anger.” Christian admitted. “While there are many things I can tolerate-”

Mmm

, I don’t know about that one Christian…

“What I will not tolerate, however, is anything disrespectful said about my mother. She is the founder of Ivanov Corp.”

The fuck did that lil bitch say about Anna?

“I did let my anger get the best of me, and I felt as if that was out of line. My mother would have been ashamed to hear I lost my temper, however, she would be proud to hear I maintained my integrity. I would not want to do business with someone who doesn’t have my company in their best interest, because a partnership is having a mutually beneficial goal in mind.

“This company means the absolute most, not just to my family, but to myself. I plan to continue to do better, and be better, as I grow into this CEO position.” Christian finished.

It was now Jack’s turn to hinge, then unhinge his jaw.

“That was very well spoken, Mr. Ivanov.” Another board member spoke. “And you have composed indisputable data which has lead us to believe that between Ivanov Corp And Mavericks Corp, both our companies have vast opportunity to grow. We are looking forward to these next few meetings today, and to learn more about those opportunities.”

When this board member stood, so did everyone else.

Okay… I guess we were standing again? I stood as well. Each board member began to collect their things, but as they started to leave the room, they stopped to shake hands with Christian… and… me?

“Well done, Mr. Ivanov. Well done, Mr. Hamilton.” Christian gave them a nod. I, however, was not as smooth.

“T-Thank you.” I stuttered, confused by how they had known my name, let along why they were thanking me.

“Looks like the board was impressed. Hell, I’m impressed. Well done, Christian.” John spoke, as he shook his hand. “And well done, Alexander.” He added, stretch his hand out to me. I hesitatingly shook it.

“Christian’s always been the best at building up, and crashing hard- we’ll see how long this lasts.” Jack cut in.

“Suck on my biggest toe, you bitch.” Christian replied as he gave Jack an aggressive pat on the back, before leading us out of the board room.

••

29

Alex

I now understood why the board members had known I existed.

As I looked through our presentation while on break from our next meeting, Christian had made a slight alteration to the slides this morning.

Instead of it reading:

Christian Ivanov

Ivanov Corporation

It now read:

Christian Ivanov

Alexander Hamilton

Ivanov Corporation

He had added my name.

I couldn’t stop the largest smile from spreading a crossing my face. I wasn’t really used to being acknowledged like this.

Christian was sitting across from me in another lounge chair, focusing intently on his laptop screen as if he was studying the material. His eyebrows furrowed every so often as he remained deep in concentration. We were on a break before our third meeting.

The second one had gone incredibly well, and we weren’t due to meet again for another another hour or so.

I felt fucking exhausted, but Christian somehow managed to look even more rejuvenated. He wanted us to attach a few auction events to the slides, but the “us” thing really became more of a “him” thing, seeing as he was the only one doing actual work. I was just staring aimlessly at my computer.

That was when I felt a vibration in my pocket.

I sat up and set the laptop down on one of the circular low coffee tables that surrounded the lounge chairs. When I pulled out my phone to check who the caller ID was, I felt my body grow rigid as my heart dropped to my stomach.

“Where are you heading?” Christian asked when he noticed I had stood.

“I’ve got to take this call.” I sort of mumbled back, passing him to head out of the lounge.

“Don’t be long.” He said over his shoulder, but I didn’t reply to that.

As soon as I made it out of the lounge, and into one of the hallways, I picked up the call. “Hello?”

“Alex?” My mother spoke into the line. “Alex, are you there?”

“I’m here.” I spoke softly.

“Hi sweetie. How are you, baby?” She asked. I heard myself inhale sharply.

There it was.

That question again.

The one I knew she always asked but never truly gave a shit about.

“I transferred you money just less than a month ago.” I spoke. Those words had come out more harsh than I meant to, but I felt the irritation build up in me. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take this shit.

“I know baby, but it’s bad. It’s so bad.” I felt my heart break into a thousand pieces. “The start up hasn’t been going so well and-”

“Enough about the fucking startups, mom. I know where this money is going and I can’t do this anymore.” I snapped. The other line went silent for a moment.

When she did finally speak, her demeanor changed entirely. “You’re one ungrateful little shit, you know that?” She spat at me bitterly through the line. “I raised you, Alex. You don’t get to just abandon me.”

My heartbeat was now as loud as a drum as it pounded through my ears. I could feel myself getting light headed while uncontrollable tears fell. “I’m not going to enable you anymore.” I said finally, before hanging up.

The breath I had been holding since the call had started, was released shakily.

I wouldn’t be able to recover from another round of insults she was most definitely going to throw my way. I knew she was probably high and didn’t mean those words, but that didn’t stop those words from hurting any less.

It felt as if the walls were closing in around me, suffocating me. I needed to get out of this place. Out of this building. Some fresh air would do me all kinds of good.

I made it to the elevators, and did my best to get an elevator up to our floor, but I was getting ridiculously impatient. I finally said fuck it, and took the stairs. As soon as I got to the first floor of the building, everything became more familiar.

There was a woman who was sitting at the front desk of Mavericks Inc. She had originally signed Christian and I in when we made it to the building this afternoon.

When her eyes found mine, recognition flashed across her face and she gave me a wave.

“Hi! Welcome back Alexander. What can I do for you today?”

I glanced at the woman, then back out at the front doors. I had just meant to step out for a few moments, but maybe there was something this woman could help me with.

“Yes, thank you-” I glanced down at her name tag, “Emma. I was wondering if you knew where the closest bar was?”

Christian

I glanced down at my watch for what felt like the thousandth time. Alex still hadn’t returned and we were scheduled to attend this third meeting in about twenty minutes. I looked over at his work that was still set on the table. He had left his laptop and documents… Surely he couldn’t have gone far?

I sent him a text about five minutes ago but I still hadn’t received a reply.

That was when I decided to take matters into my own hands.

It was time to go find this idiot.

I packed up both mine and his work, before heading out of the lounge and into the office areas. I didn’t see anyone out in the corridors, or in any of the empty conference rooms. When I pulled my phone out to check and see if he had texted me back, there wasn’t any new notifications.

Maybe I should try calling him? I thought to myself. I dialed his cell.

The phone started ringing.

Then it rang.

And rang.

And rang.

I was finally left with his business voicemail, after it finished ringing.

Maybe his personal line? I dialed that number in.

This line rang for two rings before I was sent to  his personal voicemail.

He had just ignored my call.

That little piece of shit.

I called him again. This time it rang twice before being sent to voicemail. I started to get just a little panicky when I realized he was also nowhere to be found inside this building. I had checked all the floors we had access to, but there was no sign of him. He wasn’t in the main bathrooms, or at the entrance of the building.

There was only one other person I could think of calling. I pulled up Alex’s emergency contact list I had saved on my phone, and dialed the number listed.

The phone rang just once before it was picked up.

“Hello?” A woman answered.

“Hi…” I replied, “is this Janet?”

••

Currently writing this chapter while I’m hungover this morning… or I guess it’s almost noon (how tf did we get here?). I ordered Cheesecake Factory so y’all might be getting another upload today if this food hits different and resuscitates my deathly looking self.

Enjoy!

xoxo

30

Christian

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“…No… this is Joan.”

Right, Joan .

“Yes hello, this is Christian Ivanov.”

The line went silent for a while. “Jane- I mean, Joan, are you still there?”

“Y-Yes my apologies, how can I assist you Mr. Ivanov?” She stuttered into the line. I must have caught her completely off guard with this phone call.

“Sorry for the abrupt call to your personal line. Alex has you listed as an emergency contact.”

“He had me listed under Janet?” She asked. I sort of froze, then pulled my phone back to take another look at the scanned document. Nope, it said Joan there. I was just an idiot.

“Hard to read.” I lied. “Anyways, I’m having a difficult time locating him right now and we have a meeting in about-” I glanced down at my watch, “Seven minutes. Have you heard from him?”

“He hasn’t called.” She replied. “Aren’t you in NYC? I couldn’t imagine he would go far. What did he say when he left?”

I thought for a moment, remembering the brief conversation we had before he hurried out of the lounge. “I think he got a phone call. Something about needing to take it. I just told him not to take too long but I don’t think he said anything after that.”

Joan took another pause over the phone.

“Give me a minute, and I’ll see if I can reach him. I’ll give you a call when I find out more information.”

“Thank you.” I replied to her before the line went dead. All I could do while I waited, was pace around the entrance. There was a woman who sat at the front desk. Maybe she had seen Alex leave, or knew in what direction he took off. When I approached her, I realized she wasn’t the woman that had helped us get checked in, this was someone else.

“Hi!” She greeted me as I approached. “How can I assist you today?”

“I was wondering if you saw someone go through those doors about forty-five minutes ago?” I pointed to the entrance. “He would have been wearing a blue button down with a gold/tan tie. It’s a Giorgio Armani tie, one that I gave to him because he tends to come to work without any ties- I know, the fucking disrespect right?-” I cut myself short when my eyes found this desk clerks, and I realized I had just disclosed far more information than she probably needed.

“A man in a blue shirt and gold tie?” She clarified. I gave her a nod.

“If it was over thirty minutes ago, I think it was Emma who was working here. She stepped out for a break but should be back in the next ten minutes if you have some time to wait.” The lady explained. I gave her a nod, and took a seat at one of the benches located near the front door.

As I waited, I pulled my phone out and gave John’s office a call.

Alex

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I stared at the series of missed calls from Christian.

I should call him back, right?

“Bartender!” I called out. “I-I-I…” I trailed off, forgetting what I called him over about in the first place. When it came back to me, I yelled out “Aha! Yes. Do I call my boss back? Do I not call my boss back? What do I do?”

The bartender looked back at me with the goofiest smile. “Okay kid, I’m officially cutting you off. I have no idea what you’re asking me about at this point.”

“Noooo!” I whined, “we’ve gotta keep the whiskey coming-” before I had the chance to finish that sentence, I saw my phone buzz again. This time it was Joan. It took me a few tries to get the phone off the counter and into my hand.

I was having one of those moments where you realize you’ve gotten far too wasted and now you’re here and you don’t know how to leave… here .

“Hello?” I slurred into the phone.

“Jesus Christ Alex, are you drunk right now?” Joan snapped back.

“No…” I mumbled back. I heard her sigh heavily.

“What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Alex…” Joan pushed. I took a seething breath.

“My mother called.” There was another pause.

“That piece of shit.” She whispered under her breath, but I had heard it clear as day through the line. Joan was always capable of saying the words that I was too much of a pussy to say myself. “Hand your phone to the bartender, please.”

“Yes ma’am. Bartender!” I called out to the blonde haired blue eyed man that was assisting the few other customers who were ready to pay. He made his way over to me. “My people are trying to get in touch with your people.” I slurred, before thrusting the phone into his hand.

“Hello?” He called out into the line. “Yes, yeah I cut him off like 15 minutes ago. I’ve been serving him Jack and Coke’s, hold the Jack.”

That traitor, I thought as I stared down at my brown drink. No wonder it tasted so sweet.

“I’ll make sure he stays here until then, yeah. No worries. Yep, bye.” He ended the call, then handed the phone back to me.

“Sir. I demand you give me some whiskey right this minute.” I said in the most serious face I could muster. Instead, he chuckled to himself, poured me some more Coke, and went on to assisting other customers.

How dare he? Just for this service, I wasn’t leaving a tip. Well, not that big of one anyways. He was going to feel my wrath in the form of three one dollar bills instead of a five dollar bill and-

My thought process was cut off there, when I felt a hand on my back. “Alex, what the fuck are you doing?”

Christian’s voice had startled me so suddenly, I almost fell off the bar stool from how high I jumped. “I j-just came a drink for.” I tripped up over my own words as I turned to face him. His hair that was once neatly styled, was tossed everywhere. His tie had been loosened, and a few buttons were undone.

“You’re drunk.” He stated. His face seemed tight and annoyed, yet his eyes looked at me with concern. “Come on Alex, it’s time to go.”

“But I’ve got a bone to pick that that bartender! He served me Jack and Coke without the Jack. This is just Coke, Christian.” I pointed to my drink. “I think we are well within our rights to sue.” I saw Christians hand move to massage the bridge of his nose as he did he best to mask a smile that threatened to spread.

“Okay, Alex. Let’s go. Thank you for for cutting him off.” He said to the bartender.

“You’re a traitor, too.” I mumbled, but let him help me off the bar stool.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover the Coke. Just get your man home safe.” The bartender replied as he gave both Christian and I a quick wave, and went back to helping other customers.

••

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31

Christian

“Alex, I’m going to need you to take that off now.” I spoke sternly to this drunk man child who was currently walking around our hotel room with a bed sheet tied around his neck like he was a goddamn superhero.

“You don’t get it Christian, this is the only way to destroy the enemy and secure the castle.” Alex mumbled back.

Okay. Alex had officially lost it. “What kind of dungeons and dragons bullshit are you spewing now?”

“You’ve played dungeons and dragons?” Alex asked, completely ignoring the rest of my question.

“That’s not the point.” I groaned, as I stood up and made my way towards Alex. “We’ve got to get to bed, so give me that sheet.”

My hand went out expectantly, and soon enough, Alex complied. “Now,” I continued on as I set the sheet back on the bed, “the next order of business is to get you out of whatever the fuck you’re wearing, and physically into this bed.”

Alex had already tried getting his tie off, but instead, it got caught around his head and he just left it there. He now looked like one of those Japanese businessman after a night out drinking.

“But this is comfy.” He whined.

“I’m not letting you sleep in a suit, Alex.” Was all I replied with as my hands went up to help him with his tie. Moments after I managed to get the knot loosened, it slipped over his head seamlessly.

The jacket came off next, and I placed both articles of clothing on the chair near the entrance of the hotel room. When I made it back to Alex, I noticed his face was redder than usual. “Y-You know I can t-totally do this on my own-” he started, as he attempted (and failed) to undo the buttons on his dress shirt.

“Shush.” I replied, swatting his hands away. The buttons came undone easily against my fingers. Each button revealed more of his skin, and soon enough, the shirt fell to the floor to reveal his bare chest. His face was was flushed, as I eyed him up and down. I hadn’t meant to stare… I really hadn’t.

But I couldn’t help myself.

He wasn’t buff or muscular, but he was incredibly toned. Far more toned than I had expected. It was an odd first thought that came to mind, but he had the body of a runner.

I pointed to his dress pants. “Take those off.”

His eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of his eye sockets as he replied with a very shaky “W-What?”

“Your pants. Take them off.” I instructed. If it was possible for Alex’s face to get any redder, it would have. He started fumbling with his belt as he did his best to pull it out from all the loops. When he did finally free his waist up, he was able to undo the clasp and slip out of the fabric.

He was wearing some boxer briefs. Once those pants were stripped away, I noticed the defined v lines that slipped into the hem of his boxers.

I finally ripped my eyes away away from his body, as a full assortment of thoughts raced through my mind. Instead, I directed my attention to his suitcase and pulled out a plain grey shirt he had packed. All his items looked conveniently and neatly rolled, as if he took time to plan every outfit for this trip. I don’t know why that had made me smile, but it did.

“Put this on.” I handed him the shirt. He did his best to get the shirt open and over his head, but when he pulled it down, I noticed the tag was sticking up from the front.

“It feels all itchy.” Alex mumbled as he rubbed at his neck.

“That’s because you have it on backwards.” I replied with a chuckle. I moved closer to him, until my hands were close enough to grab at the hem of the shirt. When I started to slide the shirt back up, my fingers grazed his sides, and I felt him shiver against me.

Fuck . I noticed his eyes had slightly shut at the contact.

I couldn’t help myself as I trailed another finger down the grooves his ribs made. He shuddered, unintentionally leaning into the touch. My eyes found his again, and I studied his expression as I continued to drag my fingers up to his chest. It was almost like he wanted to look away… but he didn’t.

“Alex.” I spoke softly. I wasn’t even sure what words were going to leave my lips next.

Alex didn’t say anything as he stared back at me.

Instead, he did something far more enticing. He got up on his tippy toes and placed his lips softly against mine.

I froze completely, unsure of what to do or say.

It was only when he started to pull away from me, did my body finally stop acting like a fucking idiot. My hands tightened around his torso and I pulled him into me again, closing the distance.

The kiss started out innocent. I slowly moved my lips against his, getting a feeling for just how comfortable he was with this. His skin was warm and soft to touch, which made me want to explore. I gently massaged the area around his hips and lower back, craving more of this feeling as his hands tangled into my hair.

My teeth went out to delicately prod at his lower lip, and Alex let out a low moan.

That was when I forced myself to pull away.

Alex was still on his tippy toes with his eyes closed, and when I took a step back, his eyes slowly opened. He looked dazed, but his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled out quickly, but I waved my hand to dismiss it.

“You’re still very drunk.” I explained, “let’s get you to bed.”

He gave me a nod and started to stumble to the bed. Instead of gracefully slipping under the covers, Alex did the same thing he did the first night I was at his apartment.

He face planted into the mattress.

I couldn’t stop the largest smile from spreading across my lips as I pulled off my own work clothes and got into bed.

“Did I do something wrong?” Alex asked, with his words muffled by one of the pillows.

“There’s a lot of shit you did wrong today,” I told him as I pulled the blanket over the both of us, “but that kiss was not one of them.”

Not at all , I thought to myself. My hands reached under the covers to adjust my growing bulge.

••

32

Christian

I awoke to the feeling of something buzzing somewhere near my head.

I already had one arm firmly around Alex’s waist as I held him close to me, so I used my other arm to search for my phone. As soon as I managed to find the device and answer the call, I almost immediately regretted it.

“Christian.” Brad spoke into the line.

“What.” I mumbled back.

“You were supposed to transfer the files back to me last night. What the hell happened?”

I glanced at the clock on the night stand. It was six in the morning.

“I got busy.” I replied, sitting up. At first I thought I might have woken Alex when he turned around, but he just nestled his body into my lap. He looked so peaceful sleeping, I couldn’t help but run my hands delicately through his hair.

These were probably going to be his last few hours of peace before that hangover kicked in full force.

“Well now that you’re not “busy” I’m going to need you to run me those files this morning.“ Brad cut in, breaking up whatever peaceful moment I was having.

“Can’t we do this is a few hours?” I pleaded, but I already knew Brad’s answer to that.

“Get up and get me those files before mother starts asking for them.”

I did my best to tuck Alex back in when I got out of bed. He stirred from the loss of contact, but managed to hold on to a pillow as a substitute to myself. His eyes were still as irritated and puffy as they were last night when I found him. Clearly he had been crying, and much to my dismay, I wasn’t sure why.

But I was sure as hell going to find out.

There was a pen and pad located on the night stand, and I scribbled out a note to Alex…

I went to the business center downstairs to take care of some work. I’ll most likely return before you wake up, but on the off chance I don’t, try your best not to puke on the bed.

I set the note besides him, on my ready made side of the bed. Odds were that he probably wasn’t going to see it, but at least I had left him something.

Because today was technically our one free day, I opted for faded jeans and a sweatshirt, and it felt good wearing something casual. Every movement I made, I tried to do quietly in hopes I wouldn’t wake him. Nothing sounded more tempting then to get back into bed with Alex and tell Brad to fuck off, but unfortunately, Brad seemed just about ready to kill me.

I was excited to tackle whatever bullshit work Brad had me doing this morning, so I could get on to enjoying my day with Alex.

Alex

I woke up with the unsurpassable need to throw up.

As soon as my eyes adjusted to the light that was blaring through the countless windows, all the covers that were tightly tucked around me were immediately thrown off. I just barely made it to the bathroom before I projectile vomited into the toilet. It was so violent, it drew tears to my eyes.

My stomach did summersaults as I tried my best to control the dry heaving. This had to of been, by far, one of the worst hangovers I had ever experienced.

Memories of the previous night had started to flood in, but they came in broken fragments that were ridiculously hard to piece together. My last solid memory was the phone call with my mother. I remembered leaving Christian in the lounge, to take the call… then having a vague conversation with the front desk associate. I think she had given me directions to a bar?

It had to have been within walking distance because I didn’t remember taking a cab.

“Shit!” I hissed to myself, as everything started to come in full circle.

I had missed the third meeting with Christian.

I had gotten white girl wasted and missed the third meeting with Christian.

Alex, you officially aren’t shit. .. I thought to myself.

How the hell could I have been that irresponsible?

How the hell could I have missed something so important?

…And how the complete hell did I make it back to this fucking hotel?

I glanced around the bathroom, and out into the bedroom. Christian was nowhere to be found, but instead, there was a little note left on his side of the bed. I tried to stand up and investigate it, but as soon as I did, I felt the world spinning…

And I bent down to throw up again .

From the looks of things, I had to assume I was drinking some sort of whiskey and Coke last night. I must have been completely hammered at that point because I never drank Coke. I was more of a straight shooter when it came to liquor, because the sugar from soda always made me feel even worse the next morning.

The only time I ever drank mixed drinks was when I got drunk enough to start taking the bartender recommendations. Speaking of bartender… I vaguely remembered the man who had assisted me that night. I know he struck up a casual conversation when I was sober, but I couldn’t remember what we had talked about.

Just as soon as I thought I had found control over my body, I lurched forward again to release whatever was left of that demon inside of me. “I’m never drinking again.” I mumbled to myself.

“And that, I’m going to hold you to.” Christian’s voice cut in.

He had startled the complete shit out of me as my head whipped up in that direction. He was leaning against the entryway of the hotel bathroom, with a glass of water in one hand, and a bottle of pills in the other.

I stared at the ibuprofen longingly.

“Can I have one?”

“In a minute.” He replied, as he took a seat on the floor besides me. I stared at him… Then at the spot on the floor he was sitting… Then back at him.

Then I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

There was no way this man was sitting on the floor of a hotel bathroom right now.

Was Christian okay?

As if I was one to talk. I was currently hunched over a toilet throwing up vital organs.

“Right now, we’re going to discuss a few things.”

I couldn’t tell if the throbbing was from the hangover, or the embarrassing memories of the night before that were just now coming to light.

“Discuss a few things?” I asked hesitantly.

My first thought was I’m so getting fired.

There was no way Christian fucking Ivanov was letting me off the hook for this one.

“Yes.” Christian nodded. He set the glass of water beside me. “I want you to tell me about your mother.”

••

33

Christian

One hour earlier…

“The files have been sent.” I said as soon as Brad picked up.

“Thank you.” He replied. “Will you be heading back today?”

“We’ve got one more night here Then we’ll be flying back tomorrow morning. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. See ya later.” The line went dead shortly after.

Brad had seemed a little stressed this morning, and I’m sure it was due to the fact that mother was currently breathing down his neck. She had texted me a few hours ago as well, inquiring about the Gala. As much as I truly did love that woman, her dipping into our affairs stressed everyone out. I get that she wanted to be more involved, but Brad was useless to me when he couldn’t do his job because of her. I was sure he had probably forgotten to update HR on Alex’s payroll, which meant I was going to have to do a manual change when I got back.

What I needed right now was for my mother to create some breathing room.

I had started to look for Jill, our HR specialists phone number, but I instead stumbled upon Joan’s. I remembered Joan had sent me a text the night before, letting me know the name of the bar Alex had run off to. By that time, I had already grilled the bar’s name out of Emma (the front desk clerk) as soon as she had gotten back from break.

I still didn’t have much of an idea as to what might have happened last night. One minute, Alex was fine. The next minute, Alex was shit faced wasted.

I know it wasn’t necessarily my business to pry… yet I couldn’t stop myself from hitting that dial button. It took a few rings before the phone was picked up.

“Hello?” Joan answered. Her voice sounded raspy and sleep deprived, like she had just gotten to bed.

“Hi Joan, this is Christian.” I replied. I heard her clear her throat.

“Hi Christian!” It was like a whole different person grabbed the phone from Joan. That raspy sleepy voice was replaced with perkiness. “Sorry, I just woke up. What can I do for you?” She asked.

“I saw your text yesterday about the bar. I just wanted to thank you for that, and apologize that I didn’t respond until now. It was a hectic night.”

“I completely understand.” She chirped back almost immediately. “I’m just hoping Alex made it back safe. There’s been nights where he’s ended up in Canada.” My eyebrows shot up in a surprise at those words.

“I don’t mean to pry… but did Alex tell you anything about what happened? It was all just so abrupt. I was able to smooth things over with John but that meeting he missed could have been critical.”

“I understand, yeah.” Joan spoke hesitantly. “I don’t necessarily think it’s my place to say anything… but I also get wanting to make sure your employee is safe-”

I would reckon that Alex and I were a little passed a standard employer/employee relationship, but I let Joan continue.

“So I’m going to disclose information to you. If Alex asks, you heard this from God himself. You spoke with a burning bush or some shit, I don’t care, as long as my name isn’t brought up in this mess.”

“You have my word.” I assured her.

“Alex has had a pretty messed up childhood. His dad passed during his deployment overseas, his mum quickly turned to substances as a way of coping, and Alex took a nosedive into books. His mum is the definition of an emotionally abusive cunt. She’s clung onto Alex his entire life, depending on him to be there for her physically, emotionally, and financially. Every time he says no, she’ll bring up her dark disastrous past… as if Alex didn’t lose a father that day too.”

I sat there, fiddling with the pen in my hand as I listened to Joan. With every word she said, I felt myself growing more and more angrier.

“Anyways, he told me she called him yesterday. I understand that the way he handled the call may not have been the best, but trust me when I tell you, that woman could make anyone need a drink. I had the pleasure of meeting her a little over a year ago. I almost punched the bitch in her throat. Sorry, excuse my language.”

“You’re fine.” It would be a little hypocritical of me to chastise her for swearing. “But thank you Joan, seriously. It sounded like I might have woken you up and I apologize for that. Please allow me to make it up to you when I return.”

“Don’t sweat it.” She replied. “If it’s about Alex, nothing could bother me.”

I smiled at her words… and continued to smile, even after we said our goodbyes.

Alex had something beautiful.

Something I was slightly envious of.

He had a solid support system, filled with people who truly gave a damn. For someone who had solid people such as Joan, in his life, I didn’t understand why he insisted on handling everything alone.

As I made my way out of the business center, I realized there was just one more call I needed to make.

The phone only rang once, before Brad picked up.

“Yes, Christian?” Brad asked. His voice had that same strained tightness.

“First off: ease the fuck up. This is just mother, so stop acting like we’re getting fucking audited . My employees can pick up on fear, you know. Second: I need you to do me a favor.”

There was a pause before Brad replied. I heard him take a deep breath. “What’s up, boss?” He asked me. He sounded like he was finally getting his shit together.

“I need you to run me everything you can on Alex’s mother.”

“Should I even ask?”

“No. Just get it to me as soon as possible.”

Present time…

“My mother?” Alex asked, as his hand reached up to rub his eyes. He looked miserable, with his eyes still red and puffy.

“Yes. I want you to tell me about your mother. You missed a very important meeting last night because you got drunk. I want to know how we got there.” I replied. I noticed Alex’s eyes avoided mine when I mentioned missing the meeting. He already looked completely spent with guilt, I felt a pang in my heart when he gave me a sad smile.

“I’m really truly sorry about that, Christian. I cannot believe I made a complete fool out of myself. While a conversation with my mother happened, I still went to that bar on my own accord, and for that, I’m deeply sorry.” Alex spoke.

“That sweet and all, but that just won’t cut it.” I replied. “Your mother upset you. It’s okay to admit that. Anyone, regardless of who they are and their relationship to you, can be triggering. You cannot take full responsibility for someone being so toxic. What you need to take responsibility for, however, is how you react to that toxic energy.”

••

34

Alex

“She’s always been a little… needy. Even before my father passed. She was practically incapable of taking care of herself, let alone us. I became that person who payed for everything. Covered everything. Provided everything.” I explained, before swallowing the pain killers that Christian had shaken into my hand.

“It’s not a crazy thing, you know… wanting to take care of your mother. That’s understandable.” He replied.

“I know… it’s just that I know better. I know I’m enabling her. Every time I send her something, she burns through it so quickly. Sometimes I wonder if she legitimately thinks money grows on trees.” I leant my head against the wall as I got a grip on myself. The nauseation was subsiding but that was swiftly being replaced by a terrible headache. “I know she’s using the money on drugs and alcohol.”

“Then draw that line. Have discipline with yourself. Make sure she understands that you’re no longer going to be that provider. You’re no longer going to throw money at the problem. If she truly wants to help her situation, then by all means, she can reach out to you… but only when she’s ready to do that.”

I nodded slowly at Christian’s words.

He wasn’t saying anything different from what Joan had told me. I basically had to stop being a lil bitch and man up.

Sadly, that was easier said than done.

Christian inched closer to me until he was on his knees with us face to face. His eyes looked baggier, like he hadn’t had much sleep these past few days. I had almost forgot I personally hadn’t slept at all before our trip. I must have looked even worse right now considering I was also hungover.

Those spiraling of thoughts made me become instantly self conscious as his eyes studied mine. He was so close, he could probably see all my dirty and clogged pores.

I wasn’t sure why I was getting this feeling he was going to kiss me…

When I thought of it, pieces of memory from the night before, resurfaced. It was a vague scene where Christian was helping me get out of my business clothes.

Did we… kiss last night?

“But enough about all this shit. We’ve got one more day to enjoy the city before we gotta head home. Let’s not waste it on bathroom floor chit chat.” Christian spoke. His thumb graced my chin for a moment before he stood up. “Come on.” He instructed, offering his hand to me. I hesitantly took it. “I know just the place for the best hangover pho in town.”

“Christian, if you’re turning left, you have to yield for all the cars in oncoming traffic that are turning right. That’s why it says ‘Left Turn YIELD On Green’ you didn’t do the ‘YIELD’ part.”

“What? No. You’re telling me not only do I gotta wait for all the motherfuckers going straight, I gotta yield for their turning asses too? That’s a whole lot of waiting, I’m not doing that.”

“Well I guess there is always death. I’m surprised we didn’t fucking die earlier.” I mumbled back to him as we waited to be seated.

Before Christian could come back with a rebuttal, we were both scared out of our wits by our names being shouted from somewhere in the restaurant. When Christian and I glanced over in that direction, I was surprised to see John Terry sitting at one of the booths. He signaled for us to head over. Christian gave him a smile, but quickly turned to me.

“Okay listen, don’t talk. Don’t mention getting drunk. Don’t say anything… just apologize.”

“An apology is going to require me saying words, Christian.” I replied, with my eyebrows furrowing.

“Don’t get smart with me.” Christian nipped back.

I didn’t think I was getting smart, I was just genuinely confused on what I was supposed to do. Talk? Not talk? Apologize? Stay quiet? He wasn’t very clear on these instructions.

“Alex! Christian! Lovely to see you both out and about! Please, come join me for brunch.” John continued to grin as we made our way to his booth. When we reached his table, I noticed he was sitting across from none other than Jack Nickelson.

Oh great.

As soon as Christian saw him, I visibly noticed Christian’s face get three shades redder. All he was missing was steam coming out from his nostrils and ears. Before Christian could say or do anything, I slid into the booth besides Jack. It was probably best if Christian and he weren’t sitting side by side. Christian slid in besides John.

“What have you two been up to today? Hopefully enjoying the city.” John spoke. I was sure he was speaking to Christian, but he was looking directly at me. He was looking just as perfect as I remembered him. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to answer his question… or even if I was supposed to. Was this when I talk? Or was Christian supposed to do all the talking? Who the bloody hell was supposed to

talk

?

Luckily, Christian stepped in. “We’re just enjoying our last day here. Alex and I haven’t really had a break from work these past few weeks, so I wanted to treat him to a work-free outing.”

“That sounds very nice. How are you liking our city, Alex?” Jack asked, as he turned to look at me. I saw Christian visibly cringe.

“It’s Alexander.” Christian cut in.

“But you just said-” Jack started, but Christian cut him off.

“I know what I said. It’s Alex to me but Alexander to you.”

“But John just-”

“I know what he said too. It’s still Alexander to you.”

I glanced between Christian and Jack. These two looked like they were reading to jump across this table to get at each other.

“Okay, Alexander , it looks as if you really enjoyed your evening last night. A little birdie told me you spent it wasted in a bar?”

Christians nostrils flared at Jack’s words. Now he looked ready to kill.

“Oh don’t act so above it, Jack. It’s not like you made it to that third meeting either.” John interrupted. I think he could also tell how close Christian was to murder.

“Speaking of that, I messaged a good friend of mine who lives here in NYC. He owns a few… adult establishments around the downtown area here. As it turns out, he mentioned seeing someone in particular last night. I didn’t know you frequented Honey, Jack? A strip club on a Monday evening? That’s quite adventurous.”

I almost choked on my own saliva.

It was now Jack’s turn to turn a few shades redder.

••

35

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/2e6958ce98f599dd3aecc5f885d09310e1fd574e/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e5f4a6c7347592d6748777479673d3d2d3739363035353239392e313563666634663661616639383033343834333036363232343431332e6a7067)               

Alex and I wrapped up lunch with John and Jack. Regardless of the perpetual need I had to punch Jack in his throat, the rest of lunch went surprisingly well.

Alex apologized about his inappropriate behavior from the night before.

He apologized like a total of 926 times.

To the point where John started apologizing too. When I asked that idiot what he was apologizing for, he just shrugged and said “I have no clue. His apologies are starting to rub off on me.”

I managed to get Alex out of there before he requested to kiss Johns feet, or something equally ridiculous. We said our goodbyes and left the restaurant. I was going to aske Alex what he wanted to do first, but when I looked over at him, he was already yards ahead of me walking in the direction of Times Square. Thus ensued our exploration of the city.

Regardless of how many times I visited NYC, the hustle and bustle of it all still managed to astonish me.

While the buildings and light were mesmerizing, this place looked like an absolute hell hole to try and drive in. Alex and I passed by six car accidents while going down two blocks. No wonder every other means of transportation was so popular. I’d rather walk then deal with the bumper to bumper traffic.

I’d probably reach my destination faster anyways.

Alex’s eyes were glued to the city, yet mine were fixated on him. Every few minutes he’s stop us to point something out, or take a moment to admire the street performers. I brought him to almost every interesting spot I could remember, that when evening rolled around, I was genuinely surprised by the time.

Realization settled in, when I glanced at my watch. Alex and I were going to need to have an early night tonight, considering our flight was in the asscrack of dawn tomorrow morning. We made our way over to a lake that was close to where we had eaten earlier, which was our final destination. Alex had started looking a little worn out himself.

“I think this is a good spot to end the day on.” I said, as I plopped down on the rich green grass that was looking over the water. Alex followed in suit.

“This place makes me want to never leave.” He joked. I had that feeling as well. It was truly a city that never sleeps.

“We’ll come visit again.” I told him. He gave me a nod, before looking back out to the scenery.

I’m sure he probably thought I meant we’d return for a work trip… but that’s not what I had had in mind. I wanted to return with Alex for an extended stay. One solid vacation away from work, where he could truly take in every inch of this city. I wanted to experience that with him.

“So what now?” He asked, turning back towards me. “What’s our next course of action?”

“We’ll head back to work. Get a move on prepping for our Gala. Work our the nitty gritty details with Mavericks Corp, and start the process of manufacturing.” I explained.

He gave me another nod, but his eyes didn’t look away. Instead they held mine. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but he looked deep in thought. When his teeth moved forward to gnaw on his bottom lip, my eyes followed every action. His tongue then slid out to coat the rawness of his skin, before he repeated the process over again.

“Is it okay if we head back to the hotel?” He asked me.

My reply came out in more of a hoarse voice than I had meant to, as I answered “Yes, let’s go.”

Alex slid the hotel room key into the door, and pushed it open for the both of us to enter. Our room looked as clean as the first night we came. The only addition were our opened suit cases and a few of Alex’s clothes that were still hanging around.

“We need to set an alarm for tomorrow. In order to make it to that flight, we’ll also need to check out by 5:30am tomorrow morning.” I saw Alex visibly groan. This was probably going to be the earliest he had ever woken up.

He started to gather his clothes that were laying around. When he reached for the tie he was wearing the night before, he slowed to a stop.

“What’s up?” I asked him after he failed to move for a while. He looked sort of dazed.

“Last night… I think some more memories are resurfacing.” He spoke slowly, then his hand went up to his mouth. “Did I… did I kiss you?” He blurted out. I stopped what I was doing to look over at him. He was staring back at me with a mixture of emotions present on his face.

“Yes.” I said simply. He frozen completely in place.

“I-I’m so sorry I-”

I took a few steps towards him, to cut him off before he could continue.

“Don’t apologize. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“I-I shouldn’t have done that, I was wasted and-”

I cut him off with yet another step forward.

“Do you regret it?” My voice was even and direct.

He looked at me bewildered… so I repeated myself. “Did you regret it? The kiss?” I took another step forward. Alex tried to take a small step back but he ended up bumping into the wall behind us.

“I-” Alex started. I took one more step that brought us inches away from each other.

“Because I don’t regret it.” I continued. I could see the rise and fall of his chest quicken. As if on que, his face got numerous shades redder by my words.

“You don’t?” He choked out. I shook my head. My hand reached up to trail a finger along the side of his jawline, and back down towards his chin. His eyelids fluttered closed at my touch. I dipped my head down besides him so that I could whisper in his ear.

“Let’s try something a little different here… so there’s no confusion this time.” I spoke. He visibly shuddered at my proximity and words. My tongue slid out along the intricacies of his ear, gently trailing its way down to his lobe. He left out the softest moan, and I just about damn near lost it.

“Alexander Hamilton,” I whispered low in between the nibbling of his lobe. “May I fucking kiss you?”

He answered with a whisper so quiet, I barely caught the almost inaudible “Yes.”

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/f3f7bb9dc5f04eec992736c748dbdf998d71bc95/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f79647a5a72626c4e6967756d43513d3d2d3739363035353239392e313563666635623034346662653630333636323933323135343537372e6a7067)               

36

Warning: Explicit Content

(I mean like I really didn’t hold back here… but to all my fellow smut lovers… Finally, amirite?)

Alex

“Let’s try something a little different here… so there’s no confusion this time.” Christian whispered against me.

His voice sounded different.

I wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it made my knees go weak. I felt his warm tongue trail it’s way down the side of my lobe. It sent a jolts of shivers running through me as I let out a quiet moan.

“Alexander Hamilton,” He whispered. His words were slightly muffled against the delicate skin. “May I fucking kiss you?”

I was well past the point of thinking. I did my best to get the word yes out.

Christian pulled away from my ear. His vibrant blue eyes met my bland hazel ones, and I couldn’t figure out whether he was going to say something or not. His hand reached back around to hold the side of my neck firmly in place. He answered my question almost immediately after, as his eyes drifted closed again, and his lips collided with mine.

If it wasn’t for the wall behind me, I would’ve toppled back. He pressed me flush against the surface as his soft lips moved against me. His other hand worked its way from my hair, down to neck… then my shoulders… before they landed against my chest. He tasted sweet like peppermint when his teeth took hold of my bottom lip and tugged roughly.

I let out a strangled moan as I felt my cock growing increasingly harder. Christians hold tightened around my waist. His leg moved to reposition itself between my own. When it rubbed up against my crotch, I let out an even louder moan. It was muffled by his kisses.

Soon after, he pulled away just a tad, which allowed me to gasp for much needed oxygen. I hadn’t even noticed I was holding my breath until then.

“These are far too many clothes.” He growled. In one fluid motion, my top was untucked and pulled up over my head. I felt a a cold shiver run through me as he undid my pant buttons. I remembered him undressing me the night before, but now that I wasn’t under the influence of alcohol, everything felt ten times more exhilarating. I felt his every touch. His every kiss.

His eyes were staring on intensely at my body. I started to get a little embarrassed. My lack of muscle was pretty evident when it came to my build. I liked going on runs to try and keep myself fit, but when it came to lifting or sculpting, that shit was not for me.

My thoughts were interrupted by Christians lips as they captured mine again. This time he started to inch me away from the wall and towards the bed. It was almost nothing for him as his hand wrapped around my back, and gently laid me on the mattress. His lips never broke away from mine as he supported me.

My hands hesitantly slipped away from his sides to the hem of his t-shirt. I wanted to see him. All of him.

My fingers fumbled with the fabric as they did their best to lift his shirt off him. When Christian realized I was having some trouble, he pulled away to effortlessly yank it off. He did that thing where guys grab the at the back collar and lift up in one fluid motion. I wasn’t sure why, but that turned me on even more.

Once he had his shirt off, I let me eyes roam completely. I was allowed to now, right? His tattoos were heavenly. Every time he moved, a muscle would flex, and I could feel myself drooling.

“Fuck Christian, you’re perfect.” I whispered without thinking.

He froze for a moment, and his eyes only seemed to darken.

When his head dipped down, I thought he was going to kiss me again… but instead he lips latched on to the crevice of my neck. “ Fuck .“ I moaned out when he ran his teeth along the sensitive skin.

“I want to taste every inch of you.” He spoke against me. I felt my cock twitch at his words. “Every inch.” He whispered again. The trail of his kisses start at my neck and slowly lead down to my chest. As he got lower and lower, I couldn’t stop the series of moans from being released.

When he had finally reached the hem of my briefs, he glanced back up at me. My eyes had been watching his every move. His eyes locked in on mine, another shudder was released from my body. A hand slid down from my side to the elastic band and slowly pulled back the thin fabric.

My cock was past the point of hard. I was leaking against the side of my lower waist. When the briefs were pulled fully off of me, I heard Christian mumble “Fuckkk, that’s hot” under his breath.

That practically separated my soul from my body.

His hand reached up to grab me, and I let out a load groan. He’d barely even touched me, and I already felt like I was close to coming.

I watched on in anticipation as Christian’s tongue slid out. He licked up from the base of my shaft to the tip, and my hands gripped the bed sheets.

Sweetmaryjesusmotherofgod .

I was definitely going to hell for even thinking of god at a time like this, let alone praying to him that I wouldn’t cum so soon.

When he reached the tip, I felt his tongue lick the precum that was now dripping onto his hand. The death grip I had on those sheets intensified.

That was when he fully took me in his mouth.

His mouth felt unlike anything I had ever experienced before. My eyes roll back as my hips buckled to his touch. He placed a firm hand on my abdomen and pulled away slightly. “Stay.” He demanded. I gave him a enthusiastic nod, almost begging him to take me back in his mouth.

When he did, he used his other hand to stoke the base of my cock. “ Fucking god, Christian!“ I muttered out through clenched teeth. He started to pick up the pace. His hand would tighten and release, then tighten and release.

I felt a sensation building… I knew I was going to cum soon. “ S-Shit Christian, I cant- “ I started through pants of my breath… then he took me all the way into his mouth again. I tried to sit up, but his hand held me firm against the mattress. “Christian, I cant, I’m going to-” I got out in a barely coherent sentence.

“Cum.” He mumbled against me, with my cock still in his mouth. The vibrations sent me other the edge. I squeezed my eyes so tight, I swore I did some serious damage to my retina. The fabric of the bed sheets were so tightly bunched between my fingers, I thought I was going to rip them.

“Christian!” I practically shouted, as that built up tension was released, and I came in his mouth.

••

This was a later upload from earlier this morning because what I wasn’t going to do, was write this during work (my coworkers be reading my shit while I’m writing, and I dunno how I’d explain this particular chapter). Hope y’all enjoyed!

Oh and Thank You for all the get well wishes! I’m currently making this cold my bitch via NyQuil and Vick’s Vapor Rub.

37

Christian

“Holy shit.” Alex whispered between pants. My eyes raked over his naked body as he struggled to gather his bearings. I climbed further onto the bed, leaving soft kisses all over his body as I made my way back to him.

“That was amazing.” I whispered to him. His face was now just inches away from mine. His eyes were still closed, and so I took that opportunity to study him. Take him all in. He had the most perfect face. The longest eye lashes. The cutest smile dimples. My fingers reached out to trace the side of his cheek, and his eyes fluttered open.

“I want to reciprocate.” He mumbled to me. Those eyes looked tired. They reminded me of the time, and how early we were going to need to wake up.

“For another day.” I replied simply, as I placed a kiss on his lips, then his nose, then his forehead. “Let’s go to bed.”

He didn’t protest as I pulled out the covers and tucked him in. I made sure to set about 10 alarms for the morning, because something told me Alex was going to be a bitch to wake up tomorrow. When I finally slid off my own pants and got into bed, he snuggled in by me.

His body was a little cold, but when I offered to get him a shirt, he refused.

“I’ll just use you as a blanket.” He mumbled to me before snuggling his head into the crevice of my neck. With every breath he took, I could feel it against my skin, and it sent shivers down my spine.

My whole body was still on fire from what we had done earlier. I wanted to see Alex climax like that until the day I died, It was beyond any expectation I could conjure up.

I wasn’t sure what direction this was going to go, considering I’d never done much of anything with a man before… but I also wasn’t opposed to the idea of it. No guy has ever captivated me quite like Alex.

Alex was bold. Sharp. Quick witted. Intelligent. He challenged me in almost every aspect of my life, and I liked that. I’d never felt something quite like this before…

…it felt like we were a team.

He was now my priority… And I couldnt help but wish that one day, I could become his too.

I laid awake for hours. I thought sleep would have found me quickly, but as creepy as it sounds, I watched Alex sleep instead.

His movement was always sporadic, like he was having a bad dream or something. It was the same way he slept when I had spent the night a few days ago. If it wasn’t for my arm holding him against me securely, I probably would have experienced a slap to the face, or a kick in my abdomen. It made me wonder what it was he was dreaming about.

I had a running list of questions I wanted to ask Alex, but I wasn’t sure how. I wanted to know about his upbringing, about his childhood, about his mother. I wanted to know why alcohol was his vice, and his escape. I wanted to know about the demons he kept buried so far inside of himself… but I wasn’t sure how to ask.

Alex never asked for help. He never reached out, or vocalized his feelings. You almost couldn’t tell he was struggling until he unraveled before your very eyes. I wanted him to understand that sometimes, it’s okay to not be okay. That regardless of how hard you want to mask pain with a smile, there are still cracks in that façade.

I wanted him to know that I would and will never judge him. Whatever mistakes he may make would be just that, mistakes.

I wanted him to realize that, if all else fails, he would always have me.

I was pulled away from my thoughts by the sounds of my phone ringing. At first I thought it was the alarm, but when I checked the bedside clock, it read that it was only four in the morning. We had another 45 minutes or so before the first alarm. When I pulled the device off the table, the caller ID flashed. It was so bright, I had to readjust my eyes to read the name.

It was Brad.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked as I picked up. There was a bunch of muffled noises on the other end, that I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. “Brad?” I called into the phone again.

“Christian! Are you there?” He asked me.

Was this guy drunk or something?

“Yes, I’m here. What’s up? Why are you calling me so early in the morning?”

“We’ve got a situation. I need you here as soon as possible. I got you on a flight that’s at 6am-”

“What’s going on?” I asked Brad, cutting him off. I could barely make out what he was saying to me, but he seemed frantic.

“Christian? Can you hear me? I need you here like yesterday.”

“What’s going on?” I repeatedly myself, as I sat up in bed. Alex stirred next to me, but didn’t wake.

I’d never heard Brad sound this worried before. He was always the cool and collected one. I was the batshit crazy one. This didn’t feel right.

“Get here as soon as possible, Christian… I think we’ve been hacked.”

••

Sorry for the late chapter! Work was meh… no time to write. Hope you enjoyed! It’s getting juicyyyyy.

38

Christian

“What happened?” I asked Brad as soon as he entered my office.

“I’m not sure. I got logged in to the servers a little past midnight today, and noticed an unauthorized user had accessed our network. I’m not sure how they got through our firewall, but they did. The files they accessed were incredibly confidential, Christian. I’m talking private corporate to corporate information. Files dating as far back as the beginning of this company… and our family.”

“Did it have anything on you?” I asked Brad as he set paperwork in front of me.

“I honestly don’t know. There were files that we hadn’t opened in years, sitting in that server. This shit is bad, Christian. Like really fucking bad.” Whatever calm façade Brad usually had, was crumbling to pieces. He wasn’t even wearing his usual suit jacket, just a dress shirt. His tie had been loosened around his neck, and his once perfectly done hair was now a complete mess.

I could feel my own heartbeat quicken as my mind spiraled. This shit was bad… like

really fucking bad.

If someone found out about Brad being my brother, an outrageous amount of shit could come to light. There was confidential information on our mother as well.

“Pull every file the unauthorized user was able to access. We’re going to need to see what they saw.”

“It’s a shit ton of files to sift through.” Brad spoke honestly. He looked like he had already tried.

“I don’t give a shit.” I replied. “If it takes all night, it takes all night.”

“It’s going to be incredibly difficult to do this between the two of us, Christian. I’m talking there is a shit ton of files the user accessed. They jumped around quite a bit, like they was searching for something.” Brad explained. “We’re going to need some help.”

I glanced over the reports he had set on my desk, and I could see some of the files that were opened. Some were from a few years ago, some decades old.

“I think I’ve got just the team .”

Alex

“What are we doing here?” Derek leant in a little too close, and whispered to me. I gave him a shrug.

I was every bit as surprised to see both Derek, Joan, and myself sitting in the waiting area outside of Christian’s office. Christian had called us in about ten minutes ago, yet there was still no sign of him. I couldn’t imagine what he would need with all three of us. Hell, from how frantic he was this morning, I didn’t think I was going to see him at all today.

He had woken me up pretty abruptly. All he said was that we needed to get our things checked out to make an early flight. We didn’t talk much during the duration of the flight. He managed to bring a smile to my face when his hand slipped into mine… yet he stared straight ahead, deep in thought, for the majority of it. I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, but something was very clearly troubling him.

“I’m as lost as you are.” I whispered back to Derek.

“Do you think we’re getting fired?” Joan questioned.

I shook my head. “No, this seems different. I don’t think-”

Before I could finish that sentence off, Christian’s office doors flew open. “Come in.” Brad spoke to all three of us. For a second there, I barely even recognized that it was Brad when he walked through and held the door open. He looked like a freaking mess… for his standards of course. His hair was far from the neatly combed over style. He wasn’t wearing a suit jacket, or even a freaking tie.

We all sort of awkwardly shuffled into Christian’s office. Christian was sitting at his desk amongst boxes and boxes of paperwork. I got this fluttery feeling in my stomach when he glanced up and our eyes locked. He gave me a smile, but it faltered slightly.

“Have a seat.” He instructed both Derek, Joan, and I. We sat down right in front of his desk. “So you’re probably wondering why I’ve pulled you all from your daily tasks today. I just want to take some time to thank you all for coming up. Brad and I have had a few things brought to our attention that we will need each of your assistance with.”

I squirmed a little in my seat from how intense Christian’s eyes were as they focused in on me.

“Early this morning, I received word that there was an unauthorized user who managed to break through our firewall and access some of our highly confidential files-”

Before Christian could finish, Derek blurted out “Okay listen I am so sorry. I won’t ever access those porn websites again, I promise.”

Immediately, my fingers went to massage the bridge of my nose. This fucking idiot .

“I hadn’t meant any harm by it, I just like to see some tits every once in a while. It really lifts the spirits, you know?”

“Derek.” I snapped at him. “Please shut up.” When I glanced back over at Christian, he had his hand up to his mouth in an attempt to muffle his laughter.

“Shit, I needed that this morning.” He chuckled. “No Derek, I’m not accusing you, or anyone else here. We will have a discussion, however, about those porn websites. That’s just going to have to be for another day. What I’m trying to say here is that we were hacked by what we presume to be an outside source.”

Well, shit .

“Brad gave me a call in the early hours to inform me on what had happened, and that was why we had to leave so abruptly this morning.” He said that last portion to me. I gave him a nod. “We can see what files they accessed, but unfortunately, there’s a lot of information that was compromised. Everything on that server dated back to the start of this company.

“Brad and I have started the meticulous process of sorting through the information, but we realized pretty early on that there was no way we could do all this by ourselves. This is why I’ve requested you all here today.”

“Why us?” Joan asked. Before Christian could reply, Brad did.

“Because you are probably the only employees Christian has bothered to get to know.”

I tried to stifle a laugh, and Christian just shot Brad a look.

“As much as I’d like to say that isn’t true, it is. I also wished I could say that you have a choice on whether you’d like to participate, but really, you don’t. In addition to that, I can’t verify how long this is going to take, but for good measure, you might want to clear up your schedule for the night.”

••

Don’t worry, I didn’t forgot about y’all!

It was my sisters birthday this last weekend so it got just a tad bit busy…

but I’m back, baby xoxo

39

Alex

“Ivanov Corp did business with playboy?” Derek shot out. I glanced up from the files I was currently skimming over, to glare at him.

Christian just shrugged. “Playboy did some sort of shoot in the nineties, and approached the company for use and promotion of its products. It was a solid collaboration that got us featured in a few magazine articles.”

“Oh, but I’m the weird one for watching porn at work.” Derek grumbled.

“Yes you are, you dipshit.” Joan shot back. “Ain’t nobody else out here watching a girl get her back thrown out in between service calls.”

I glanced over at her. She was sitting next to Brad, also drowning in paperwork. Her and Brad were probably the only two people fully focused on skimming meticulously through the files. Christian and I were half adding it at best. I was just trying to keep my eyes open, I was so tired.

I saw Brads face twitch up into a smile at Joan’s comment.

We had started off sorting through boxes at Christian’s desk… but eight hours and 100 files later, everyone was now spread out on the floor of Christian’s office, surrounded by department boxes and papers.

Christian explained to me that it would take too long for us to pull up each individual file on the computer, so he was requested the boxes from storage. It made me wonder how the authorized user had opened so many files in such a short amount of time. Most of the boxes we received from storage hadn’t been touched in years, so they were covered in layers of dust.

Christian was sitting besides me, doing his best to stay concentrated. I was doing my best not to stare too much. He had loosened up his work clothes a little by taking off his tie and undoing the top three  buttons of his shirt. It gave me a front row seat at the few tattoos that showed beneath his dress shirt. My eyes shot up to his lips.

I wanted his lips on mine again, I thought to myself . Like badly.

As I glanced between Christian and Brad, I noticed just how similar the two men were, when they worked. They had this weird sync… it was almost like they knew exactly what the other was going to ask or do. Brad would call out a companies name every so often, and Christian would immediately dive in to explaining what that particular deal entailed. Watching them work together made me realize just how close they were.

Within these last few hours, I managed to learn more about this company than I thought was physically possible. Anna had sunk her teeth into just about every company you could think of. She damn near created an empire during the early nineties.

The company was involved in almost everything. They started with manufacturing their products to private vendors, then their own stores began opening up. They promoted just about every sport product you could imagine. One of the files had images of Anna standing next to Andre Agassi, a renowned tennis player during the nineties. He was wearing Ivanov Corp gear.

“Jesus, your mom is fucking iconic.” I whispered under my breath. I hadn’t even known that Christian heard me, but he let out a chuckle.

“I’ve never met a woman more determined than her. Whatever she set her eyes on, she made happen. Her and my father were an iconic duo.”

“They were true mitochondrion.” Derek added. We all looked up to see what this motherfucker was talking about now.

“What the hell?” Joan asked.

“Mitochondrion. You know… Mitochondria?The powerhouse of the cell?” Derek explained.

My hands went up to my temples this time, as I did my best to massage the confusion out. You just never knew were Derek’s mind was going to wander, and these last few hours showed us just that. Christian and Brad, on the other hand, burst out laughing. “I can say with no doubt, this is the first time anyone has compared my mother to an organelle.” Christian added.

“As much as I don’t want to relate this to whatever bullshit Derek is going on about, your mother was a beast.” Joan chimed in. “I’m just reading up on the first Gala she hosted for Ivanov Corp. This woman donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to non profit organizations, took trips to less fortunate cities in Russia. Donated back to her own community. Shit, this woman is my fucking everything.”

Christian and Brad smiled at her words. I noticed Brad’s eyes lingered on Joan just a little longer.

Unlike Derek, Joan was doing a good job at not embarrassing me. She was phenomenal at staying focused and being thorough.

“And she’s summertime

fine

. Like goddamn just looking at that woman makes me melt.“

I was about damn ready to choke this shithead out.

“Derek, go take a walk. Grab us a few waters from the break room, will you?” Joan asked. She made it sound like a sweet request, but that woman’s face said it all. If no one else was going to do it, Joan was going to punch our sweet friend in his throat. Derek lacked a filter at times, and only god could know what the rest of the night had in store for us.

“So far we’ve got a few scandalous files, but nothing major.” Brad said with a deep sigh. He ran his hands aggressively through the already abused locks.

“We’ve made it barely a fraction of the way through this pile, and it’s already getting late. I’ll have to send you all home soon.” Christian added with an equally depleted sigh.

“I don’t mind staying.” I blurted out. “I don’t mind the hours, and I’ve stayed here pretty late before. Plus I can try and configure my software system to search through the files electronically using key phrases. It would cut down the irrelevant documents.”

“I can stay too.” Joan chimed in. “Alex was supposed to come over tonight so if he’s staying, I don’t see why I can’t. Plus, once he gets into that computer stuff, he’s going to need a pot of coffee running round the clock. I think we could all use a jolt of something in our system. Alex can forward over the more important files to us, for us to look at. I think that would be more efficient.

Christian gave both Joan and I a nod. “Thank you both, seriously. What about Derek?”

“We don’t speak for that man.” Joan shook her head. “He’s dating this new psycho that’ll probably skin him alive if he doesn’t make it back to her before midnight… And when I say psycho, I mean psycho . Just waiting on the day they break up and the bitch pulls a drive by. We must treasure the time we have with Derek. Any day could be his last.”

Christian, Brad, and I all cracked up at that.

It was slightly concerning how accurate that statement was.

••

40

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/e02857fb7aa4c947b72a79a13af9226258fbbb71/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f626b34756c7372784e56633045673d3d2d3830313835383334372e313564343461383464376539663132383234383839303435393533372e6a7067)               

“So what does this do?” I asked Alex, reaching past him to point to this small drive he had plugged into his laptop.

“This is the software I was talking about earlier. We’re going to run it against the files using key words and phrases. It will take some time, but not as long if we were to manually search through the documents.” Alex explained. I gave him a nod.

When I glanced away from the computer screen, and towards him, I now started to notice just how tired he looked. His eyes were dark with bags underneath, and the lids slowly began to lower from the sleep deprivation.

“Thank you for staying. This was some smart thinking, too.” I scooted closer to him. “You never cease to amaze me.” That last part came out low in an almost whisper against his ear. I saw him visibly shiver at my words and proximity. “It makes me want to do something else.” I added. My teeth grazed his lobe, and his fingers stopped typing completely as they hovered over the keys.

“Christian.” Alex spoke. He had most likely meant it as a warning, but it came out as more of a moan.

I liked it when he said my name.

I was going to have to make him say it more often.

Before I could spiral further into my devilish thoughts, I was pulled away by the sound of someone clearing their throat near the doorway of Alex’s office.

Alex

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/184145218159cf14d697f6b8944479f41eb3a1cc/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f77357847564e4f637a6a364e49773d3d2d3830313835383334372e313564343461383838306533663532613734313335383030303132302e6a7067)               

“How’s it coming along?” Brad asked, as he entered with two cups of coffee in hand.

“Just powering it up now.” I replied. “Are there any phrases either of you wanted to start with?” Christian glanced at Brad, and they both shared a look. I wasn’t sure what that look meant, but Christian was the one who ended up putting in the request.

“Let’s start out with the word ‘Lawsuit’ and see what that brings up.”

“There’s going to be quite a bit of hits.” Brad mumbled. My eyes furrowed at that. How often did these motherfuckers get sued?

I typed in the phrase and hit search. The adaptor began flashing good signs of green lights as it got to work, and the search results started to grow in numbers as well. So far it had found 265 files with the word ‘Lawsuit’ mentioned.

“Holy shit.” I mumbled. Brad and Christian scooted a little closer to take a look. “How often do y’all get sued?” I couldn’t stop myself from voicing my thoughts.

“Often.” Brad replied simply. “It’s never anything too serious or impactful, and it almost never makes headlines… I make sure of that.”

Both Christian and I pulled our eyes away from the screen to look at Brad. I wasn’t sure why that last part sounded a little sinister, but okay…

“That last part sounded like I kill people. I don’t actually kill people.” Brad added. Christian and I couldn’t help but crack grins at that terribly worded comment.

“Let’s hope you never get put on trial, Brad. You’re a stellar lawyer, but you’d make one bloody terrible defendant.” Christian added. Brad tried to mask a smile that was threatening to break through past his own lips.

I had to admit though, when Brad and Christian were together, Brad seemed far more… relaxed? It was hard to explain but he was less of Lawyer Brad , and more of a I’m More Than Just Law Brad . That was the Brad I could see myself inviting out for drinks. It could have been the stress from the situation, but it felt as if Christian physically made Brad calmer.

I’m sure this took me as a surprise because I couldn’t imagine Christian having that affect on anyone. Usually he was the cause of anxiety and high blood pressure.

Brad had since changed out of his work clothes, and into his work out clothes that he had brought for the gym. That decision was definitely for the best. He was so stressed, his dress shirt had started forming pit stains around his underarms. It was a terrible look for him.

So… un Brad.

In this exact moment, I was kind of mad at myself for not going to the gym more often, and having my own bag of gym clothes I could change into. The time was coming on close to midnight, and this dress shirt was getting increasingly uncomfortable. The fabric felt suffocating against my skin, regardless of how many buttons I loosened.

Any more undone buttons, and this might have well been a set for Magic Mike 3.

“Let me skim through a few of these files.” I mumbled to the group.

Brad and Joan had taken a seat in the chairs across from my desk, and Christian was sitting on the ledge of the table, facing me. They all looked pretty worn out as far as appearances went. Joan was probably the one holding it together the best. She was still in her pencil skirt and high heels, with one impeccable bun pulled back tight. I couldn’t help but think she was looking a little too good for a night like this one.

My suspicions were swiftly confirmed as I glanced between Joan and Brad. They were talking about something to do with law, yet their body language said something completely different. Joan had taken a liking to Brad, and I had to immediately remind myself that I was going to need to administer the big brother talk to him. Yes, Joan was older, but I didn’t give a fuck. That was my ride or die bitch right there. I wasn’t about to have Brad get it twisted.

Christian distracted me, as he started to play footsie with me from behind the desk.

I shot him a look, letting him know that that was awfully distracting. He shot me one back, letting me know he didn’t give a shit.

I did my best to get back to work. The ninth file I began skimming through looked like scanned documents from some sort of written statements. It was talking about a birth that happened. Most of the words were in Russian, however, so I could barely make out a large part of the story. I noticed their were pages missing at the end of the scanned images. It just stopped all together. It said this file contained ten scanned pages but there were only six.

I pulled back out into the main menu of the program, and felt Christian’s eyes on me as I typed ‘Baby’ into the search engine.

The first few hits were just merchandise for toddlers and babies in relation to sports and camping. It took me a while to sort through and relocate most of those files into our uninterested pile.

There was another file that caught my attention, however. This one, just like the other, was almost completely in Russian. I couldn’t understand much of anything, besides on name that popped up frequently. It was Bradford. Bradford Ivanov. My eyes furrowed even further… who the fuck was Bradford Ivanov? I couldn’t recall Anna telling me about a Bradford when she went through the company history.

I glanced up at Christian and noticed he had become increasingly distracted by his now chilled cup of coffee. This was when I went back to the search engine, and typed in my last search for the night.

‘Bradford Ivanov.’

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/16d1096546c2b5222e1f46a12e9cdbad9ad019d4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f3371366f5a5a4e4d5a4273484f773d3d2d3830313835383334372e313564343462343436353632316462623137353035323933303031312e6a7067)               

41

Lol y’all sick of me yet? First and foremost, thank you to everyone that has read and continued to read this book. I’m dying at the amount of people who actually give a shit about this story. Y’all are amazing, thank you.

Like I said, there isn’t a comment that’s been missed so please continue to give your hilarious input on your most favorite, and least favorite parts. I appreciate every last one of you. Xoxo. On to the story now… (

TW: SA

)

Alex

The search pulled up just 4 results. Two of the files were ones I had already skimmed through earlier. The third file looked like it contained some scanned images, the only issue was that you could barely make out what they were. When transposed through the scanner, the images came up as black blobs in the files.

I flipped through the next page, searching for anything clear and in English. On this page, I recognized one of the documents as a birth certificate. It was dated back in 1989. The name read Bradford Ivanov. I leant back in my chair as I felt my thoughts start to take over.

I glanced over at Brad.

There was no way, right?

I glanced between Brad and Christian. Brad was still sitting across from me, carrying on a conversation with Joan. Christian was too busy playing with the glass paperweight I had on my desk, that he hadn’t noticed my staring. When I flipped to the last page of the file, there was a second scanned birth certificate. This one was dated the same date as the first, except the signature on the certificate was different. So was the name.

It read Bradford Stevenson.

“Hey Brad?” I called out, pulling my eyes away from the screen to catch his. He stopped the conversation he was having with Joan to glance over at me.

“You find something?” He asked.

“Sort of. I was just wondering… what’s your last name? I don’t think I’ve heard you say it before.”

Brad’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Stevenson… why?”

I glanced back at the digital files again.

Was Brad really an Ivanov? Did that make him and Christian, brothers? Why would he change his name? Why was he now the families lawyer? What the hell? My hands aggressively ran through my hair.

Christian looked over at me, intrigued. When his eyes caught sight of what I was looking at, his whole body stilled. “Brad…” he whispered. Brad was up in an instant. He walked around to take a look at the laptop with Joan followed close behind.

“Who’s Bradford Ivanov?” I asked, switching back and forth between the two birth certificates.

“That would… be me.” Brad whispered out So quietly, I barely heard him. my eyes darted back and forth between Christian and him.

“You two are…” I trailed off. Christian finished the sentence for me.

“Brothers. We are brothers.”

Joan was the next person to chime in. “What the actual fuck. You two… are brothers? You’re also an Ivanov?” That last part was directed at Brad. He responded by gently massaging the bridge of his nose.

“It’s an incredibly complicated situation. One I don’t believe we have the time to explain right now.”

“Poppycock.” I snapped back at Brad. “My schedule just cleared up.”

Both him and Christian shuffled away from the laptop to take a seat in the same positions they were sitting in earlier. Joan sat besides Brad, and Christian sat on the edge of the desk. He took a deep breath. “Brad and I don’t have the same fathers.” Christian explained. “My mother’s past is far more complicated than she has lead you, and much of everyone else, to believe.

“This was many years ago, about a year and a half before she met my father. She had ran away from home at an awfully young age because of the abuse that took place in that household. When she managed to leave her home, she was already seven month pregnant with Brad. She told no one of who had gotten her pregnant, and immediately fled her home in Russia, to a small city in Ukraine. The baby was born just months later, but for the protection of the child, my mum decided to change his last name. She gave him up to an orphanage in Ukraine, and found a way to make it to the States. That was where she found my father, who was a young entrepreneurial businessman himself.

“They fell in love. My father obsessed over my mother, and every last detail about her. She was perfect in his eyes, so perfect he folded on taking her last name instead of his own. I was born very shortly after they met. They gave birth to me during one of their trips back to Russia for business. By this time, they had already started on plans for Ivanov Corp. This was why my father adapted so quickly to the news, when my mother told him of the boy she had left behind in Ukraine. My father’a home country was Ukraine, and he used his own connections within his family to find that boy. By now, Brad would have spent maybe close to four years in an orphanage.

“The Orphanage my mother had left Brad at, had burnt to the ground. They ended up splitting and relocating the children to nearby orphanages. It took my father a bit to track Brad down, but when he did, they started the arrangements to bring Brad back to the States with them. For his safety, my mother still found it best to keep the child at arms length. She kept his last name as Stevenson, and he lived in a different household with hired staff, but behind closed doors, my mother allowed both him and I to play as children. As brothers, rather.

“My mother told me fairly early on who Brad was, but she stressed the importance of keeping that information a secret. She told us we could never tell anyone who he really was, and that here in the States, he was nothing more than a friend.” Christian finished.

The room fell completely silent for what felt like eons. The first person to break that silence was myself. “ Holy shit .“ I whispered.

“ Holy shit .“ Joan replied, as she too looked stunned into silence. “T-That’s- Thats- Holy shit.”

“Yeah.” Brad sighed. “As we grew older, it became less suspicious. Christian and I didn’t look too similar in appearance, and when I went on to Law School, Christian took over Ivanov Corp. Now we’re… here.”

“Did your mum ever tell you who your father was?” Joan all but whispered that question.

Brad hesitated. “I was the product of repeated sexual assault by the hands of my uncle. My mother’s brother.”

••

42

Christian

I glanced back at Brad. He had the same stoic expression he usually had when we had to talk about this.

Behind that stone cold front, Brad harbored a literal sea of emotions. He wasn’t the best at expressing or confronting all those emotions. He never liked to discuss his past… not with me, or even mother. That’s how I knew that this was difficult for him.

Unfortunately, the main issue still remained: whoever accessed our files, had accessed this one.

This was quite possibly the worse case scenario I had done so well at trying to dismiss.

Alex and Joan were completely speechless at this point. A series of different emotions passed through each of their faces before they landed on one: sadness.

“So what now?” Brad asked quietly. He was starting to get fidgety. The topic was always a difficult one, and I’m sure he would excuse himself soon to go get some fresh air. We never spoke much about it, but he’d taken up smoking cigarettes. He was always so self conscious about whether or not he seemed anxious to others. Cigarettes, in his words, helped him keep his cool.

Little did he know he know looked like a goddamn robot all the time.

I massaged the cramping that had started in my neck. I really needed to get some sleep soon. The second our plane touched had down, Brad beelined me to the office. I hadn’t even has the chance to change or taken a shower yet, but as soon as I saw what Brad was concerned about, I understood the urgency.

“Now we tell mother.” I replied simply.

This was a difficult yet inescapable fate. We had no choice.

“…Shit.” Brad sighed. I felt that sigh so heavily.

Our mother was going to go on full blown lockdown mode once we told her, but I really couldn’t think of a better option at this point.

This would be a very emotionally heavy conversation that we were going to have to have with her. Something Brad and I didn’t want to have to deal with at the moment. The only unfortunate thing was that Brad and I knew close to nothing about the past. If anyone could clean this mess up, it would be mum.

“Brad I-” Alex started to say something, but caught himself.

He looked conflicted with his words, like he was trying to choose them correctly.

“Don’t worry about it. The past is the past. No point in dwelling on something you can’t change. We’ll figure all this out, I’m sure of it… Maybe we should call it a night? Start fresh tomorrow morning?” Brad asked. We all gave him a nod.

“That sounds good.” Joan replied. Both her and Brad had gotten up first. “Derek was my ride tonight, so I’m just going to call an Uber real quick.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Brad would be more than happy to take you home tonight.” I wiggled my eyebrows at Brad, and he just rolled his eyes at me.

“I don’t want to inconvenience you.” Joan spoke as she turned to Brad.

“No inconvenience at all. It would be my pleasure.” He replied. Joan gave him a flirtatious smile. They both started to collect their things.

“Goodnight, Brad. Take care, Joan.” I gave them a polite nod as they exited the office. Once they were out of earshot, however, I collapsed back on Alex’s desk. “We’re so insanely fucked.” I whispered.

“I’m sorry about Brad… and your mother.” Alex started. “I know an apology doesn’t come close to fixing this but, I’m sorry.” When I sat back up, I noticed just how sad he looked.

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay. Come here.”

I beaconed for him to scoot closer until he was sitting in his chair between my legs. That gave me a direct view of his gorgeous face. He glanced up at me from my position on his desk, and my legs linked around his chair, pulling him closer. “Like Brad said, we can’t change what happened. Don’t let that crazy mind of yours spiral, okay?”

Alex gave me a small nod. My hand reached out and my fingers gently grazed the side of his face. He leant into my touch, slowly closing his eyes.

“Would you like to go home with me tonight?” I asked him.

His eyes opened up again at my words. He bit the inside of his cheek, almost as if he was contemplating intensely on his decision. If it wasn’t for how tired he seemed, I’m sure his entire face would’ve gone red from my words.

“Does this mean I don’t have to drive?” He mumbled. I chuckled at his words.

“We can take my car.”

He gave me a nod.

Alex

There were a few emotions running through right now.

One portion of myself was undeniably devoted towards hunting down whoever hurt Anna like that, and stabbing a ice pick straight through their fucking heart.

The other portion of myself needed to see a bed.

Quickly .

I felt my eyes drifting close as Christian drove us back to his home. Watching the city lights pass by through my peripheral vision was oddly beautiful and soothing. It felt like a light show. The only thing keeping me awake was Christian’s hand on my thigh. Every time he lightly squeezed, I forgot how to breath.

I only wished I would have slept better earlier in the week. Now I just felt drained. Joan was god sent for keeping the coffee running the rest of the night, but even with all that caffeine, I could feel myself slowly losing the battle to sleep deprivation.

“Almost there.” Christian spoke to me. I couldn’t remember how minutes had passed by before he pulled into the gates of his home.

The grogginess came to a halt very quickly. Adrenaline shot through me immediately when I realized something… This would be my first time sleeping over at Christian’s place.

“Y-You know we could always go back to my place.”

A place where I could, you know, potentially break less expensive things.

“Don’t be stupid. We’re here. Let’s get you to bed.” He replied with, then stepped out of the vehicle. I took a few deep breathes myself before following him out. It had felt like years since I’d see his place last. There was an almost eerie feel to it at night, as Christian guided me against the lit path.

When we entered the building, a completely different scene came into view . The home was very well lit. It looked like all the lights were still on.

“Is anyone else here?” I whispered to Christian.

“Let’s hope so.” He winked back, as he locked the front door behind us. “Nathaniel? Are you in?”

“Oh!” A voice replied almost immediately. “I’m just in the kitchen! I received your message a tad bit late, but I’m almost done getting everything ready.”

Getting what ready? I thought to myself. Christian helped me slip off my jacket and shoes, before leading me down a very long open concept living room towards what looked like a kitchen. I saw Nathaniel slipping straws into three large milkshake glasses.

He had made us all milkshakes.

“Midnight snack anyone?”

••

43

Christian

Alex fell asleep almost immediately after he inhaled that milkshake.

Sleep, unfortunately, didn’t find me as easily as it found him.

I laid awake for what felt like an eternity before I finally forced myself to get some shut eye. In a few hours, Brad and I were going to have to speak with our mother, and I needed to be fully rested before then.

When Alex awoke the next morning, I let him in on how the day was going to look for the both of us…

“Good morning.” I said with a grin, as Alex rolled over again to face me. I loved having him in my arms, this close to myself. He felt so good against me.

Before he could say a word, I tilted his chin up to gently place a kiss on his lips. I heard a small moan escape past him, and he pouted his lips in protest when I reluctantly pulled away.

“Morning.” He replied. The raspiness of his voice made me want pull him down under these bed covers, and have my way with him.

“Sorry for the abruptness, but we’ve got to get up love. You need to make it in to work on time to cover for Brad and I’s absence.”

“Where are you two going?” Alex asked. His eyes were still drowsy from sleep, but he did his best to rub it out. I pulled away from his warmth completely, and made my way out of bed.

“We’ll be paying a visit to our mother today. Did you want to wear something from my closet? I know you were in those work clothes all day yesterday. I barely managed to get you out of them before you face planted on my mattress, and knocked out.” I couldn’t help but crack a grin at the memory. I had no idea how he managed to sleep like that. “Also, feel free to take a shower, there’s a bathroom behind that door over there.” I pointed to the room at the far end.

“Thank you.” Alex smiled. That smile faltered slightly when he gave me a once over. “I don’t think we’re the same size though, Christian.”

My eyes trailed down his slim build. He was in a large shirt I gave him last night, and some boxers.

“Not a problem.” I replied. “My mother gifted Brad and I with business wear for most of our adolescent years leading into college. I’m sure I can find something that’ll fit you.”

Alex thanked me again, and I got to work digging through the countless shirts that were folded neatly in my closet. It didn’t take long to find one in a size small. The pants, however, proved to be a little trickier. Brad and I had sort of always been tall. Alex wasn’t short by any means, but these pants would definitely extend past his ankles.

“Don’t worry about the pants!” Alex called out from the bedroom, as if he could sense I was having trouble finding something in his size.

I grabbed an extra towel from the top shelf, before making my back out into the bedroom. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t account for my height. This shirt should fit though, and let me know if you need any toiletries.” I handed him the folded shirt and towel.

Before he could thank me again, my hand shot up to stop him. “No more thank you’s. We don’t have the time. Go get changed.”

He shot me one of those grins that made me want to pull him back into bed with me, then disappeared behind the bathroom door.

I won’t lie, I zipped through that morning traffic like a goddamn maniac. When I arrived to the entrance of Ivanov Corp, Alex looked fucking terrified.

“Was your objective death? Because we came awfully fucking close to dying a few times there, Christian.”

I shot him a grin then reached over to unlock and open his passenger door. Before he could protest again, my fingers gripped his shirt collar and I pulled his lips to mine. It was a chastened kiss. Alex barely had time to react before I pulled away slightly. That kiss had left me wanting more.

But we didn’t have time for more.

“Have a great day at work, love.” I whispered against his lips before finally letting go. His anger vanished almost instantly.

“T-than-”

“No thank you’s, get moving.” I interjected. He chuckled before making his way out of my car. I gave him a small wave which he returned, then waited patiently until he made it safely inside, before I sped off

When I did finally pull into the long stretch of the driveway, I noticed Brad’s car was parked in the front entrance of the estate. He must have already arrived.

“Morning Christian.” Brad greeted me as soon as I walked into one of mothers living rooms. He was seated there with a cup of tea in hand.

There was no remnants of the mess he was the day before. That tragedy of a hairstyle was now slicked back perfectly. His suit was firmly pressed without a single wrinkle in sight. He looked like the Brad I was used to seeing.

“Morning bro.” I gave him a nod as I took a seat next to him.

“Tea?” He offered. I shook my head no. Coffee was my crack cocaine, I never got into this tea business.

“Have you told her yet?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t seen her yet actually. One of the house keepers let me in this morning. I’d say that’s strange, but let’s be honest, mother would arrive fashionably late to her own funeral.”

I gave Brad a nod.

The one thing I did notice when I got a good look at him, was that he had slight bags underneath his eyes. It didn’t look like sleep had found him either last night.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

Brad let out a small sigh. “I’m just wondering what all this could possibly mean. What if the person that accessed the server didn’t even know what that birth certificate meant? Do we really need to inform mum?”

I gave him a look.

“Come on Brad, you know that’s ridiculous. Regardless of whether they did or didn’t understand those documents, the information has been compromised. Mum deserves to know.” I replied.

“I know. It’s just… I don’t want her to get upset.” He mumbled that last part out under his breath.

“Upset? Brad, look at me.” I snapped at him. His eyes caught mine. “Us getting hacked has nothing to do with you. Literally nothing. You’re our damn attorney, and you’re one damn good attorney. Stop adding extra stress to your plate. If anything, the woman is probably going to fire our entire security department.”

Brad offered me a small smile, but I could tell my words hadn’t done much to change his mind. Mother had shaped Brad into a micromanaging perfectionist. There were decades of detrimental self criticism there that we needed to unpack, but we just didn’t have that time right now.

Before I could say anything else, the all too distinct clicking of my mothers heels against the marble stone, echoed through the halls. With every step she took, the clicking grew louder. When she entered through the corridor entrance, the first thing I recognized was that she was still in her night gown. It was odd because she never greeted us in her sleepwear. The last time Brad and I had seen her in a gown, was when she arrived on college campus because of that little hedge incident.

What was even more odd, was the fact that she was also wearing high heels.

Brad moved to stand and greet her, but he stopped dead in his tracks when another man appeared behind her. This man was taller. His peppered hair that was once no longer than Brad’s, was now slicked back into a neat man bun. The beard I used to beg him to grow out as a child, had since reached the length of his chest.

I blinked.

Then blinked again.

Was I hallucinating?

Regardless of the changes in his appearance, those all too familiar eyes never changed.

“Well good morning, looks like the boys are back in town.” The man joked. His Ukrainian accent, all these years later, still managed to seep through his English.

Brad and I glanced between each other, then back up at the man.

“Dad?” We called out in unison.

••

XOXO

44

Christian

“Been a while, hasn’t it?” My father spoke. He and mum made their way into the living room to take a seat on the leather sofas adjacent to us.

Brad and I still stayed frozen in place as our eyes followed them.

“H-How are y- When did you get back?” Brad asked. We both had the same expression etched into our pale complexions: pure shock. This was the first time we were seeing our father in what had to be close to half a decade.

“I know it’s an earlier date than when you and your brother should have been expecting me, but I decided to fly in with the intentions of surprising your mother here.” Our father explained, as his arm slipped  around our mothers waist. “Your mum had a few things she wanted to discus, and when she contacted me, I realized just how much I had missed her.” He added. His his hand tightened around our mothers waist, and he planted a soft kiss against her temple.

Brad and I both grimaced. It was always uncomfortable watching our parents together. They were incredibly open with their displays of affection.

“When she told me she was expecting you in a few hours, my excitement grew… So I decided to extend my trip by a couple days. I was hoping I could spend some time with you before my return to Ukraine.”

Brad and I still hadn’t moved an inch.

“How long are you thinking of staying for?” I asked. My fathers smile faltered slightly.

“Did I catch you at a bad time? Goodness, I should have called first.”

“No no no, it’s not that.” Brad and I both rushed out. “We just want to appreciate the time we do have with you, maybe take a few days off.”

Our father nodded after moments of consideration.

“I’ll be here for three more days. I did receive a request from an associate that my presence was needed at a conference hall meeting the day after tomorrow, but I let my department know that I would be staying longer than anticipated. Your mother and I have spent some quality time together, that alone, has made me want to spend more time here.”

Brad and I squirmed at that suggestive comment. I wanted to puke.

Brad’s eyes caught mine when I glanced over at him. We weren’t expecting this. Not now, at least. It couldn’t have possibly been a worse time to discuss the predicament we were in.

“Spend as much time as you can with your father, boys. You know he’s a very busy man.” Our mother added. Her eyes was gazing adoringly up at him. As disgusting as it was to hear our parents speak about their sex life, I did appreciate seeing my mother let her guard down. My father made her soft and less scary. Of course, she was the only one who could do so. Brad and I were even more on edge.

It wasn’t that our father was a bad man per say. I would argue he was the farthest from that.

Our father was, however, as scary as satan himself. He gave off this intimidating and sinister aura that forced Brad and I to be on our absolute best behavior. When our father grew angry, he had a temper about him. He never laid a single finger on either Brad or I, but his demeanor gave us the impression that if he wanted to, he could kill us.

I guess it was that same eerie aura our mother gave off. They were people that no one, including both Brad and myself, had ever thought of crossing.

“What was it you two wanted to speak with me about? And why can’t you ever visit me just to visit me? I swear you two are so distant.”

Before Brad or I could reply, our father cut in. “You’re telling me you don’t visit your mother?” His eyes darkened as he spoke. “Why is that?”

I felt a small shiver run down my spine.

“Our apologies, father. We’ll make more of an effort to come visit.” Brad intercepted.

“Damn right you will. From now on, you’ll do Brunch every Sunday morning with her. I don’t want to receive a call that either you or Brad couldn’t make it.” Both Brad and I’s head hung low as we listened to him speak. Neither of us were trying to come over here for brunch every Sunday, but my fathers word was his bond. Whatever he said, went. “This research job will last me just one more year before I’ll be able to relocate to the states. You promised me you would keep your mother company amidst my absence.”

“Our apologies, father.” I replied.

My hands had since started to grow sweaty. Did mother tell him about work? Did she tell him about the deal that fell through with Larington? If our father found out, he surely would kill me.

Brad opened his mouth as if he was going explain the current situation to our parents, but no words came out. I took one deep sigh before preparing myself for the absolute mayhem that was bound to ensue. “Brad and I visited today because we ran into an issue. When I returned from my business trip, Brad informed me that there had been an unauthorized user who accessed our server the night before.”

“Are you telling me we were hacked?” Our father demanded immediately. Mother’s loving smile was now completely gone. She had detached herself from our father to stare Brad and I down head on.

“Y-Yes.” I stuttered out, far less sure of that answer or my decision to have this conversation right now. “We did a search on the files that the user had accessed, and it looks like some of those files were personal. One of them contained Brad’s birth certificates. Both certificates.”

That was when my mother’s face paled completely. Our father’s hand gripped the arm rest so tight, I thought he was going to rip it straight off the couch.

“No…” she whispered quietly to herself. I had never seen my mother look so worried before. Her worry, in return, worried me. It looked like she knew something that Brad and myself didn’t.

My father stood up so abruptly, Brad flinched from the sudden movement. Father’s facial expressions were absolutely terrifying as he glanced between the three of us.

“W-Where are you going?” I asked.

“I’m going to go change. We’ve got some work to do, boys.”

••

45

Alex

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/f8d01680eea0c33caa28c3664a7fa5910e343150/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f456966646a496d57537a475f64413d3d2d3830353330393635362e313564373262376135343566643463373232383731323430343237362e6a7067)               

“My head hurts.” Derek wined. I glanced over at him. He was currently doodling on one of the files, instead of doing the actual work that Christian had instructed us to do.

If it wasn’t for the bruises along the top of his forehead, I would have most likely jumped across my desk to choke this man out. Apparently, Derek’s girlfriend had beat the shit out of him as soon as he got home. The bruises were from the countless random objects she’d thrown his way and managed to hit him with. She had claimed he smelt like another woman. He said he smelt that way because he had ran into a friend on his way home, and she had given him a hug.

The truth could most likely be found by determining what Derek’s idea of a ‘hug’ is.

In all honesty, Derek was a wild card when it came to monogamy and loyalty and faithfulness. It could have been a hug…but it was more likely something more. The way Joan and I saw most of Derek’s relationships, was like this: not our relationship, not our problem.

We’d probably have viewed things differently if the girls Derek dated and cheated on them with, weren’t so fucking mental.

I couldn’t help but wish to live long enough to see Derek find someone right for him. Really couldn’t tell you who that might be, but I’m sure there had to be someone on this planet for him… right?

I glanced back over at Derek. His hand accidentally knocked over his coffee mug which flipped and spilt all over his dress pants. He stood up so suddenly, his ice bag fell off his head and whacked Joan in the face. The intense glare she gave Derek, made him scoot further away as he mouthed her an apology. There was now a very large crotch stain on his khakis that made him look like he peed himself.

Okay… maybe not.

“Derek, just break up with the poor woman already. We all know this relationship is the farthest from healthy.” Joan spoke sternly.

“But the sex is so good.” Derek whined. Joan smacked the back of his head. “Ouch!”

“Then establish something casual. Stop nose diving into commitment you know you’re not ready for.” I said. Joan nodded in agreement.

“But woman don’t want something casual.” He argued.

“So you rather manipulate someone into a relationship where they’re under the assumption you are devoting yourself to just them, and investing time in just them… just to get some pussy? You’d do all of that for some pussy?” Joan snapped. Derek’s head hung low.

“Well when you put it that way…”

“No other way to put it, sugar. Go get you a good woman that won’t put you in the goddamn hospital, because you and I both know you don’t have health insurance.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at Joan’s comment.

She was right though. Just how some people calculate they might have fifty or sixty more years to live, Derek was three girlfriends away from ceasing to exist.

I always wondered where the hell he found these chicks.

“Enough about Derek and his stupidity, are you making it to the Gala this year, Alex?” Joan asked.

“Yes, Christian mentioned that it’s important for me to be there.” I replied, glancing past the computer screen to to lock eyes with her briefly.

“Oh nice! I’m excited for you to finally have the experience. The food is always amazing, and it’s open bar all evening. You’ve been so busy the last few Gala’s, I’m glad you found some time this year.” She shot me a grin.

I gave her a smile, but it faltered slightly. The reason I hadn’t attended a Gala yet was pretty simple: I had no family to take. Derek brought both his parents to the last event, and Joan had brought her mother. She would have brought her father too, if it wasn’t for the fact that her mum and dad couldn’t be in the same room together without killing each other. All I had left was my mother, and she’d need to get clean first before I’d even think of bringing her anywhere.

“Oh god yes it’s heavenly. I was thinking I might use one of my plus one tickets to take Sabri-” Derek started, but Joan quickly cut in.

“Leave that psycho bitch at home, Derek, I’m not playing. Leave her ass the fuck at home. I’m not dealing with none of your relationship bullshit. Plus, you get handsy when you get tipsy and I don’t think you should give that girl a reason to make a scene at our company event.”

“That and let’s be very serious here, Christian would down right kill you if you did.” I added.

“Well she’s never seen where I’ve worked before. I wanted to flex a little, ya know? Show her what I do.” Derek explained.

“You take calls about fitness products. There is really no flexing to be done.” Joan replied.

“Okay, rude. I’ll have you know I’m a necessary asset to the company. Some would argue I’m irreplaceable.”

Joan and I laughed out loud at that. Derek had gone back to doodling on one of the files again. “Maybe those words would hold some weight if you were actually a productive member of society. Now stop doodling, and get the fuck back to work.” I snapped at him.

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/40498ec9c492db73d92bdc7e7b74f83104ff7287/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f527468494442326f4b6f62444c773d3d2d3830353330393635362e313564373537353839663737313337313837393739323236383235362e6a7067)               

“How much longer do you think they’ll be?” Brad asked.

“It’s already been like 32 minutes. They can’t go at it for that long, right? I mean they’re old.” I replied. Brad gave me a shrug.

We were currently waiting for our parents to finish having sex. This home was far too big for us to hear them (thank god), but the way in which they both went upstairs (with my mother literally in his arms) was a dead giveaway.

“I mean, he has been gone for a long time.” Brad explained. I shook my head at him.

“But mother’s gone to visit him a few times, right? They’re acting like they haven’t seen each other in literally five years.”

“Well you know how hard it is to access his research site. Hell, even we aren’t cleared to enter, and whenever mother goes through, it’s a whole damn process for her. I’m sure she’s enjoying the freedom of seeing him in the comfort of her own home.” Brad spoke.

I hated when he was right.

Before I could think of something clever to respond with, we heard the sound of shoes tapping against the marbled floor as they walked. When our father entered the living room, he looked entirely different. He had trimmed the beard, and fixed the few strands of hair that had fallen out of his slick bun. He’d also put on one crisp suit. A suit so crisp, I was convinced it was impossible to wrinkle.

“Are you ready?” He asked Brad and myself. We both gave him a nod.

“Is mother coming?” Brad asked.

“She’s going to rest a little while. I think I really wore her out.” He said to us with a wink. I felt my insides churn.

God, that was gross.

“Where are we heading?” I asked in a hopeful attempt to move this conversation in a new direction.

“We’re heading to Ivanov Corp.” He replied. “It’s time to fire some motherfuckers.”

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/3d7ff2da5bd940f1811b107bddf5d1bf569ccbf7/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f755561754a5875626278644876413d3d2d3830353330393635362e313564373537353437623864333735353331353238323534343338352e6a7067)               

46

Christian

“Where’s Karen?” My father asked as soon as we entered my office on the top floor.

“You’re about sixteen assistants too late.” Brad replied.

I shot him a look.

Yes I realized that I had a problem with firing assistants too quickly… but dad didn’t need to know that.

“I’m sorry, how many assistants have you had?” Our father asked. His voice had did that thing where it got dangerously low and cold. It gave me goosebumps. Like the bad kind of goosebumps.

“Twenty.” I said quietly.

“We’re actually at twenty-four now.” Brad interrupted as he opened up his laptop. “But really who’s counting.” It was a very quick transition as my father went from calm and collected, to completely pissed. You could almost see the smoke shooting out of his ears while his face got redder.

“And why is that?” He spoke between his clenched teeth.

“It just wasn’t a good fit. I think I found someone who’s a really great match for me- I mean the company.” I explained. It was challenging trying to keep my cool while my father looked like he wanted to jump across my desk to choke me out. When I mentioned this new assistant, however, he sort of dialed it back with the anger. He now seemed curious.

“Ah, this Alex kid right? Your mum had nothing but good thing to say about the boy. When do I get to meet him?” Father asked. That complete 180° he did, gave me whiplash. I guess I knew where I got my quick temper from.

“Apparently now.” I replied, glancing past him to my office door. Just as soon as my father finished speaking, Alex had started to walk in. When he saw me, he froze almost immediately. That’s when his eyes landed on Brad and my father.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I was just coming up for some files. I didn’t know you returned to the office already. I’ll come back later.” He started to walk back out, but I stopped him before he could slip away.

“Actually, could I bother you for a moment?” I asked. His eyebrows furrowed slightly at my words, but he made his way back into my office. “I want you to meet someone.” I stood up from my desk and extended a hand towards my father. “This is Bohuslav Dmytro-Ivanov, my father.”

Alex’s eyes damn near popped out of his sockets as he leaned forward to shake my fathers hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander Hamilton.” My father smiled at him. “You’ve made quite the impression with my wife. I decided I just had to see for myself, what all the fuss was about.”

“The pleasure is all mine, sir.” Alex replied politely. He was doing his best to act professional, but I could see the beads of sweat start to form along the base of his forehead. My fathers presence was even more intimidating than my mother’s. Alex looked like he had shit his pants already.

“I’m sure Christian has informed you of the breach we had in our security. What can you tell me about that?” My father asked. Alex looked even more light headed.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t here personally when it occurred. I was in New York with Christian for a business meeting. I do oversee the the IT department and was able to get the users information. My team is doing their best to isolate a location.”

“You oversee the IT department?” Father asked.

“Yes sir.” Alex replied with a nod.

“Oh good, this makes things convenient.” My father said simply. “Your fired.”

Alex just sort of froze.

“Let’s not be hasty.” I rushed out before Alex had the time to react to my fathers words. “Alex has nothing to do with this, and he’s been working hard on figuring out what might have happened.”

“That’s great and all Christian, but I need to hold someone accountable. I can’t leave this place without firing somebody . Your mother would skin me alive.”

“I’m sure we can find someone else to fire. Mother probably wouldn’t appreciate us letting Alex go, especially with her high praises of him, and the fact that he’s working this hard to resolve the problem.” Brad cut in, looking up briefly from his laptop to glance at our father.

My father went silent for a few moments as he pondered Brad’s words. “I guess you’re right.” He spoke finally. “My wife did speak very highly of you. It looks like you get to keep your job, Alex.”

Alex was still completely frozen in place with an expression of horror etched into his face. He looked like he had just witnessed a murder.

“T-Thank you, sir.” He stuttered out.

“However, I expect exceptional work from here on out. For all I know, you’re probably overworking this poor kid, Christian. Why would you make him your assistant when he already has a full time job?”

My eyes caught Alex’s as I processed my fathers words. In all honesty, I hadn’t thought Alex was going to be my assistant for this long. When I offered him the job, there was a large part of me that expected him to quit. I brought no stability to the work place and his professional life. I thought surely there was no way he could handle it. For some wild reason, he’s stuck with me though. I haven’t scared him away just yet.

“Alex gives me a fresh insight on ideas. I like the way he thinks, and how analytical he can get with problem solving. It’s an odd situation, yes, but Alex truly has transformed the way we run things around here.” I replied.

“And what was wrong with the way you ran things before?” My father demanded. I heard Brad snicker.

I was going to need to remind myself to punch this motherfucker in his throat next time we were alone.

Surprisingly enough, the man who came to my rescue was Alex. “I think I just provide Christian with a better understanding of what his employees are thinking, and a little more background to assist in making this environment a good working environment. Sometimes you get so wrapped up in your work, it gets easier to lose sight of the team that got you here.”

Okay, a little harsh there Alex… but I guess nonetheless true.

And just as quickly as my fathers temper came, it went again. In return, it was replaced with a smile. “It sounds like you’re just the man my wife spoke of, and more. I know we Ivanov’s have got a temper about us, but there’s a whole lot of good there too. Sounds like you see that in Christian. I guess I can’t really ask for too much else.”

My father stood up with that sudden swiftness again, and it made both Alex and myself flinch.

“But now its time to tackle bigger problems. Do you think you could show me exactly what happened? I’ll need to make some calls before the end of today’s business day regarding this matter.”

Alex gave my father a firm nod. “Yes sir.”

••

47

(;

Alex

“What did you say your fathers name was again?” I leant over and whispered to Christian.

“It’s Bohuslav Dmytro-Ivanov.” He whispered back.

“Why does his name sound like too many consonants and not enough vowels?”

Christian chuckled, and gave me a shrug. “I wish I could tell you. Everyone calls himself Slav for short.”

Christians father looked up at the both of us, and we quickly pulled away from each other. “Can I fire this one?” He asked.

He had pointed to an IT employee, Cole, who was sitting a few desks away. Cole was our Data Processing specialist. When Slav spoke this words, Cole’s eyes grew wide in horror. His eyes darted sporadically between Christian, Christian’s father, and I. Everyone in the department looked on in panic when Christian glanced my way.

“Can we fire him?” Christian whispered to me. I quickly shook my head no.

“He uploads the files onto the server. He has nothing to do with security.” I whispered back. Christian gave me one firm nod.

“It’s a no go, Dad. He had nothing to do with the breach!” He called back to his father. Slav looked less than happy as he continued on with this interrogation.

The entire IT floor was absolutely petrified- you could see it on everyone’s faces. Christian, in the few years I had been working here, has never entered this department of the building before. Hell, if it wasn’t for his massive portrait on the wall, I’m sure half the guys in this room wouldn’t have had an inkling as to what this man looked like. Not only was Christian fucking Ivanov in the IT department, but so was his father… who just so happened to be one of the founders of the company.

I was waiting to see who would piss their pants first.

“You want to catch a movie after this?” Christian whispered back to me. I looked at him like he had officially boarded the looney bin express.

“After this? Christian, I don’t exactly know when this is going to end.” I whispered back. He shook his head at me.

“It’s a promise to ourselves that we’ll do something enjoyable after this all blows over.” Christian replied.

“You know what would be enjoyable? Some sleep. I mean some deep ass sleep, the kind of sleep that that has you waking up at one in the afternoon with your clothes and the bedroom light still on. I want that kind of sleep.” I mumbled a little more to myself, than to him.

“I mean… that’s something enjoyable we could do together.” He sent me a wink, and I looked away from fear my face would get four shades redder.

“Stop saying things like that in front of your dad.” I whispered back. “I’m trying to maintain composure here.”

“Hey Christian! What about this one?” Slav pointed to another person. His name was Xavier.

Christian leant over to me, as if on cue, and asked in a hushed voice “Can we fire this one?”

“Christian. That is the unpaid intern you hired like 4 months ago.” I replied.

Hearing the tone of judgement in my voice, Christian replied with “In my defense, I don’t personally do any hiring. It’s all HR, you know?”

“You personally gave him a tour of the company…. literally four months ago.” I snapped back. Christian suddenly became interested with the loose strand of thread that was hanging from his shirt. “But anyways, we can’t fire Xavier. He’s interning to earn hours of experience for the job he wants at Silent Knight Security.”

“Christian!” Slav called again. “Am I firing him, or what?”

Xavier looked like he was actually seconds away from peeing his pants. I gave Christian a nudge with my elbow to get his attention.

“That’s also a no go, dad!” Christian replied. “He’s an intern.”

Slav had another disappointed look on his face, but he moved on.

“The Gala is coming up here next weekend. Are you excited?” Christian asked me. I gave him a small smile.

“It’s actually going to be my first time going.” I replied. Christian arched an eyebrow at me.

“And why’s that?” He asked.

“I’ve just been a bit busy the other years.” I lied. “I’m definitely excited though… but I haven’t figured out what to wear yet.” That last part had actually held some truth. I didn’t have any full suits, which meant I was going to need to buy something.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.” Christian replied. I almost immediately shook my head at him.

“No no no, I’ve got it figured out.” I replied.

“Well at least allow me to accompany you to the store?” He pleaded with me.

Before I could say anything, Slav cut in again.

“Christian! What about this one?” He pointed to Daniel. Christian glanced at the man, then looked back at me.

“What about that one?” He whispered.

“That’s Daniel. He’s our security director.” I replied. “He would be the one in charge of monitoring users or any unusual activity. He’s a bit of a dick, but I mean… I don’t think he deserved to get fire-” before I could complete that sentence, Christian butt in.

“Better him than you.” He shot back to me, before he gave his father two thumbs up.

Slav’s face lit up. His hand came down on Daniels shoulder so quickly, like the hammer in a game of whack a mole. I saw Daniel visibly wince from the force. “It is my sincerest apologies to inform you of this- err…”

Slav looked at Christian.

Christian looked at me.

I face palmed.

This was so unprofessional.

“ Daniel .“ I reminded Christian.

“Daniel!” Christian called to his father. I was witnessing first hand where Christian got his terribleness with names from.

“Daniel, my boy. It’s brings me great sadness to inform you of this, but we must be letting you go. Please pack up your things at once.” Slav said to the poor unfortunate soul. I leant over at Christian again.

“Usually we have until the end of the day to go because the rest of data processing is going to need to strip Daniel of all his rights before he can leave the building.” I whispered to him. Christian gave me a nod before turning to his father.

“They’ve gotta do some tech stuff before the guy can go, dad! Let’s give him till the end of the day.” He called out.

Daniels face was alternating between fifty different emotions right about now, as he listened to Christian and Slav speak. At one moment, I thought he was going to cry. At the next, I thought he was going for Slav’s jugular. At last, all he did was stand up and start to file his work. Daniel may have swung hands with myself if I had tried to fire him, but this was coming from someone far above myself.

Before Christians and I could exchange anymore side conversation from where we were sitting, Slav approached us.

“I’ll be taking my leave now.” Slav spoke. “I think I got everything I needed here.”

“Where are you heading?” Christian asked.

“I’m going to go home. Make a few calls. Have my guys back in Ukraine do a little assisting. I’ll also see if I’m able to extend this stay a little longer because I would like to attend the Gala with your mother this year.” Slav replied.

Christians lips twitched up into a tight smile. “Of course father, we’ll be seeing you.” He gave his dad a nod before he exited the room. As soon as Slav left, Christian didn’t miss a beat when he turned to me. “You want to get the hell out of here?” He asked.

I couldn’t help the smile from forming on my own lips. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

••

What up, babes? How y’all doing? Still uploading at a weird ass time for my fellow Americans but I felt inspired so (: thank you all so much for reading! Y’all had me fucking cryingg reading the comments on the last chapter so thank you to everyone who comments, and expresses how they feel when reading my work. It makes me smile on the regular, my guy. I’ve decided to make this book like two different parts if that sorta makes sense? I’ve got about 10 chapters left of this book unfortunately, then I’ll take a little break and start in on the second one.

Thank you all again for tuning in! Can’t express how much I love y’all.

Xoxo

P.S. I’ve included another song that’s one of my all time favorite chilling vibes, in media above. Let me know what you think <3 (it is a cover by Lorde, which was originally sang by Tears For Fears, so def check out the original cause that shit slaps hard as hell too)

Oh also, P.P.S. (If y’all are even still reading this lol) I’ve got Wattpad beef/updates.

1.) Stop showing me adds on my own story, Wattpad, when I’m viewing as reader. I get that I’m viewing it as reader, but it’s literally still my own work. That’s bogus.

2.) I’m not going to do paid stories for any of

these

books. I don’t believe

in

the fact that you should pay to read my

fun

drafts. I started out on Wattpad because I appreciated the fact that it was a community where readers could read for free. I appreciate you all for the sheer fact that you have stumbled upon my writing and supported it so greatly. If I am to market this

series

, I’ll promote

the

completely edited book

s

on a different site, and

these

book will still remain available on this platform.

What you love becomes less of what you love when you add monetary value to it. I’ll always have

this

series

here for free.

Anyways thanks you!

48

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/3fdc64dada15b03a41ab6a00ef012976543d3729/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f545649576f35704c5932334d5a673d3d2d3830373732363932372e3135643934393263636437656466643036323033393433333135352e6a7067)               

So I had meant to do this whole romantic thing with Alex where I was going to take him to a nice high end apparel store, and have him try on suits to see which fit best… Maybe get a little frisky with him in the fitting rooms, that sorta stuff. That’s what I had meant to do.

Instead, I was now sitting in one of our company cars, accompanied by Alex…

And Brad…

And Joan…

And… Derek?

When did he even-

“You got any snacks or candy back here?” Derek asked.

“This is a company car, not an Uber.” I shot back at him. “I thought it would be just the two of us.”

Alex was sitting up front with me, in the passenger side, looking defeated. All he could do was give me a shrug.

“You know it’s a fucking sin to go to Magasin De Costume without me.” Brad shot from the back seat when he overheard my words. I made eye contact and rolled my eyes at him through the rear view mirror. He was right, though.

I couldn’t understand Brad’s obsessions with suits (I don’t think anyone could), but that place literally breathed life into him. He was like a kid in a candy store… except he was actually in his thirties, over six feet tall, and the candy was really craftily sewn fabric that costed thousands of dollars.

My eyes flickered up at the rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of him again. He was sitting awfully close to Joan, who was showing him something on her phone. When she glanced up from the screen, and her eyes caught mine.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m just trying to skip an L10 meeting I’ve got today. Alex told me we were taking the day off and still getting paid, so here I am.” Joan explained.

“No, see, Alex was supposed to be the only one who took the day off and still got paid.” I replied.

“Well that seems a little sexist.” Derek chimed in.

“Discriminatory maybe, but not sexist. I guarandamntee you Christian was not planning on paying your ass either.” Joan corrected.

Okay, maybe I didn’t mind her tagging along, as much as I thought I would. That, and I had promised to make it up to her for all the trouble we put her through, when I was in New York.

“Yeah no, I really wasn’t. I don’t understand why any of you would even want to tag along to buy a suit… besides Brad I guess.” I glanced at the bunch of them through the rear view mirror.

“Wait, we’re buying suits?” Derek cut in. “I thought Alex said we were shopping for costume magazines.”

“No, I said we’re heading to Magasin De Costume…. Derek, that means suit store in French. Why the hell would we be going shopping for costume magazines?” Alex turned his head to face Derek.

“Well I dunno. I thought maybe you were making a vision board or something.” He shot back.

“With costume magazines?” Joan asked.

“ Okay Joan. I chose to keep my mind open here… But back to the most important topic at hand: you really don’t have a snicker bar back here? No Kit Kat? I’ll even settle for a butterfinger, I’m that famished.“ Derek sighed.

My fingers lightly massaged my temple as I drove.

“Oh hell no. Oh hell no. Oh hellllllll

the fuck not. Y’all spend this much on a damn suit? Fuck that. With these prices, the only suit I’d be able to afford to wear to the Gala, is my birthday suit.“ Joan spoke, as she staggered away from the price tag in pure shock.

“You should see Brad’s collection.” I replied.

Brad shot me a look that blatantly told me to shut up. I just grinned at that. He wasn’t going to be able to hide his obsession from Joan for long. I could already see him eyeing a few pieces on the rack.

“How many full suits do you have?” Joan demanded. Brad looked back at her like he was a deer caught in the headlights.

“Thwimty tweo.” Brad mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what was that Brad?” I asked him, knowing full and damn well how many suits he had. I knew, because he had the tendency to put the charges on the company card. And I had to reconcile the charges on our fucking company card.

“Thirty-two.” He said a little louder. I watched as Joan’s jaw hit the floor.

“Brad… I’m judging you. Don’t get me wrong, you look really good but-”

“I do?” Brad asked, completely disregarding what Joan was going to say next. That comment had perked him right the fuck up.

“Well yes, I mean like, you look really good in them- I mean, like in a casual way-”

My eyebrows furrowed at Joan. Then I looked back at Brad. There was absolutely nothing casual about the way Brad dressed.

“Oh, well not casual but- like-”

“Joan thinks you look nice, but she’s concerned you have a problem.” Alex swooped in to save Joan from anymore embarrassment. She had quickly turned into a blubbering mess, which oddly enough, made Brad smile.

“Maybe I could cut back a little.” He suggested. I looked at him with pure fucking astonishment.

“What the fuck have you done to my brother.” I asked Joan. That brought a smile to her face.

“Talked some sense into him, Christian.” Joan replied. “I’d be afraid to breath in something this pricy.” She whispered that last part.

“Do you know how much sushi you could buy with that money? Speaking of sushi, we should get some.” Derek added.

So far, he’d managed to steer ever conversation we had, towards food.

“We’ve been here for like ten minutes, Derek. Didn’t you eat lunch?” Alex asked.

“No, you all kidnapped me before I got the chance to.”

“That’s not how I remember it.” Joan jumped in. “You followed us to the company car and jumped right on in that bitch.”

“That’s cause I thought we were going shopping for costume magazines!” He replied.

“I don’t even know who that sounds appealing to.” Brad mumbled to himself. I couldn’t agree more.

“Anyways, I need to eat. I’m a growing boy.” Derek stated.

We all turned to look at him.

“You’re a twenty-six, five foot eight inches fully grown man. It’s pretty optimistic of you to think there’s even the slightest possibility of you growing even a centimeter taller.” Joan replied.

Jeez, I knew Derek was pretty short, but five foot eight?

“I’ll have you know there are many great men who were short. Like Napoleon what’shisname.”

We all turned to Derek again.

“Napoleon Bonaparte?” I asked.

“Yeah that guy!” Derek nodded.

The fact that he looked dead serious, concerned me. “Have you never heard of the Napoleon Complex before?” I asked him. He shook his head no.

“Yeah that’s not the best guy to compare yourself to.” Brad said in between his laughter. Joan and Alex were all chuckling themselves. I didn’t understand why no one else was concerned about this. He really hadn’t heard of the Napoleon Complex?

When I had the chance to, I pulled Alex over to the side.

“Derek is…” I started, but then trailed off. There really wasn’t a nice way to put this.

“Interesting.” Alex finished for me. “Yeah. He can explain in vivid detail how the porn industry was started, and its evolution through centuries in regards to american society and sacrilegious beliefs…. but he has zero idea what the Declaration of Independence is, or what it did.”

What the hell.

“But… but it explains itself in the title…” I whispered back to him.

“Yeah, we know Christian.” He replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We know.”

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/c930f9a327b10af7929ea54223cbf85afa3b6284/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f445756306d304468754875664a773d3d2d3830373732363932372e313564393439323635643562636133643138313234323837363135342e6a7067)

49

Christian

It took me approximately 4 hours to find a suit for Alex. Instead of it being too many cooks in the kitchen, there were far too many friends in the fitting room. I’d pick something out for Alex, and give my opinion on it…

Then Joan would give her opinion…

Then Derek would give his opinion…

Then Joan and I would ignore that opinion and debate amongst ourselves on why it did or didn’t look good. After a few more failed options, Brad decided to get involved. He did, after all, know more about suit fitting than Joan and myself.

The night ended with a suit that Brad, Joan, and I could all agree with.

Alex looked exhausted.

Derek had knocked over four mannequins.

And I was left with a splitting headache.

When I got home later that night, I saw a text come through from my father. He had messaged to let me know that he was approved for the extension, and would be attending the Gala. All this did was add some unnecessary stress to an already stressful day. I’m sure many of our long term sponsors would be ecstatic about my fathers attendance, considering it had been some time since they’d seen him last.

I was going to need to move a few guest speakers around, in order to make room for a speech I knew he was going to want to give. As annoying as this would all be, it was good news for the company, and the potential investors that would be attending. It also gave Ivanov Corp the look of a more unified front.

I heard my desk phone ring as I started to unpack my briefcase. It was coming from another phone within the house.

“Hi Nathaniel.” I spoke into the line.

“Good evening sir. I see you’ve made it home. I was just tending to some things in the courtyard when I heard the car. Looks like there is a call coming through to you from Regional… Would you like me to send it though?” He asked.

“Yes please Nathaniel, thank you.” I replied “Could you also bring me up a whiskey on the rocks? It’s been one of those days.”

“Absolutely, sir. The caller will be on the line when I hang up here. I’ll see you shortly with that drink.” Nathaniel said, before I heard his line end. Seconds later, another voice spoke through.

“Hello? I was hoping to reach Mr. Ivanov?” A woman asked.

“Yes, this is he.” I replied. “May I ask who’s speaking?”

“Good evening Mr. Ivanov. This is Sandy from the Regional Treatment Facility. I was forwarded a case from one Bradford Stevenson. He mentioned you had an inquiry into the initial treatment of Vanessa Hamilton? We received this request one day ago.”

Through all this hussle and bustle, Brad had managed to submit my inquiry. I was going to have to thank him later for that.

“Yes Sandy, thank you. Do you have any updates for me?” I asked.

“Yes, sir. We have since stabilized her. She is being treated for the overdose, however, she’s refused rehabilitation. She would need her to give consent in order for us to process her admission. There’s no way we can force her.”

I fiddled with my pen cap as I listened to the update. When she said that last bit, my thumb unintentionally pinched down on the cap so hard, it slipped and flung the cap across my desk.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked the woman. My jaw had started to hinge and unhinge as I did my best to control my anger.

“Unfortunately sir, there isn’t much you can. You’re more than welcome to visit her here. She’ll be discharged at one in the afternoon tomorrow. We do require a final decision as to whether we will be enrolling her in rehabilitation before she is released, so I would suggest you do your best to try and convince her.” Sandy explained.

“That sounds good Sandy, thank you. I’ll be in tomorrow before she is discharged. Please notify the facility for me.” I replied.

“Absolutely, sir. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning. If she does agree to rehabilitation, would you like to charge the same account on file?”

“Yes please. Keep the all the information the same, and charge that account for all billing. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call.” I replied.

“Thank you very much Mr. Ivanov. You have yourself a wonderful night, and we’ll talk again in the morning.”

“You as well, Sandy. Take care.” I replied in the same friendly tone she had. As soon as I hung up, I heard a knock on the door.

Nathaniel always did this thing where he was hesitant to enter my office while I took a call. In his defense, he had narrowly missed getting hit by a paperweight I once threw at my office doorway. I had gotten into it with one of our vendors about a year back, and I hadn’t noticed Nathaniel until it was too late.

Luckily, the man had the reflexes of a goddamn ninja. Not only did he dodge the paperweight, but his hand caught it before it could fly out into the hallway.

Since then, he’s always waited until the call is over, then knocked first before entering.

I don’t necessarily blame him for not trusting me. I did offer him a nice bonus to his paycheck because of what happened, but all he said was “I’ve been serving the Ivanov’s for many years. I knew what I was getting into taking this job… and frankly, You’ve got nothing on your fathers throw.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that.

Nathaniel had been the caretaker for my fathers estate. During my fathers absence, my father sent Nathaniel to me, to assist me with my work. He had watched over Brad and I since we were children, and if I was to entrust my life in anyone’s hands, it would be his.

“How was the call?” He asked, as he made his way into my study, and set the drink I had asked for on my desk.

“Not as well as I imagined.” I replied honestly. “Do you think you could clear up my schedule for the morning? I know my mother had requested me over, but it doesn’t look like I’ll make it.”

“Of course, sir. Would you like me to arrange for a company car? I know the drive to Regional is a little ways out, and I’m sure your parents would appreciate you having a driver.” Nathaniel mentioned. He had started to busy himself with tidying up my files.

“Thank you Nathaniel, but that won’t be necessary. I think it’s best if I go on my own for this one.” I replied. He gave me a firm nod before placing the glass of whiskey on a coaster, and heading back out into the hallway. Before Nathaniel could disappear around the corner, he stopped himself short.

“Are you sure you should be meddling in Alex’s affairs? You know how private some people prefer to keep their personal life.”

I glanced up at him, and my eyes met his.

Throughout the entirety of Nathaniel’s services, he had never once given me bad advice. Something told me he wasn’t going to start now.

“I just want to help.” I replied quietly.

He gave me another nod, and left me to think about his words.

••

Mannnnnnn I’m writing like crazy rn because the ending has finally sorted itself out, and mark my words, y’all ain’t ready for it (; haha but thank you, as always, for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

50

Guess who’s back… back again (;

Christian

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/50a71dad1bb66feec4fa45b8a196afdeec8d4e88/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6e42334973364c4d4650346a73773d3d2d3830393237343639342e313564643431376332623165373466363436343734393239353933382e6a7067)               

I woke up later than expected the following morning. When I checked my bedside alarm, realization quickly settled in. My unintelligent ass had set the my alarm for seven in the evening, as opposed to seven in the morning.

What I hoped would be a relaxing and prepared start to the day, quickly turned into something hasty. I didn’t even have the time to put on a suit, so I settled for a sweater and some khakis. This was just going to have to do.

When I made it downstairs, Nathaniel had already wrapped some breakfast burritos to go, and set them on the counter. There was a note attached to the foil that said..

Call your mother when you can. And bring back some avocados. I want to make guacamole.

My lips twitched up into a grin. Nathaniel was one of the few people that could send me out on errands like this.

Who was supposed to be paying who again? I thought to myself.

The note fit perfectly into my back pocket, as I grabbed the two burritos off the table, and made my way towards the garage.

It felt like I had been driving for eternity. Literally. I kept glancing at the time on the gps impatiently as I zig zagged through the traffic. Once traffic cleared from the congested areas of the city, and out into the country, the drive became easier.

Farm fields stretched out for miles ahead of me.

The facility was located out in the middle of what felt like nowhere. I decided upon this treatment center because Regional had assisted an old buddy of mine with getting clean years ago. Their programs worked, and the staff had just the right amount of backbone for a struggling addict. I appreciated how hands on and invested the facility made me feel during that process, and I wanted the same for Alex’s mother.

There was an unavoidable amount of anxiety which started to build up inside of me as I neared the building. What was I even going to say to her? How was I going to convince her that she needed the treatment? These were questions I probably should have thought of before I left.

At this point, we were going to have to wing it.

The facility lot was generally empty for the most part. I was able to find parking near the front of the building, and as soon as I entered the treatment center, I was welcomed with a smile from the receptionist.

“Good morning, sir. How may I help you?” The woman asked. The name plate on her desk said Cindy Matthews.

“Hi Cindy.” I returned the smile. “I believe I had scheduled a meeting with Sandy to see Mrs. Hamilton this morning.” She quickly got to typing something into her computer.

“Yes, I do see that here. It looks as if Vanessa Hamilton is due to be discharged today. She is still in her room right now, while the last of her vitals are being checked. Let me walk you to her.” Cindy replied, as she quickly sprung to her feet.

When I followed her into one of the secured hallways, memories of this place came flooding back to me. Not much had changed since the last time I’d been here, I noted. The intricate winding of the hallways still had this complicated feel to them. Regardless of how many times I walked down these corridors, I still managed to get myself lost.

“She is in room 107. First door to your right there, Mr. Ivanov.”

“Thank you.” I nodded to her, as she gave me one last smile and headed back the way we came.

The door was already propped open when I walked through. There was a nurse sitter next to a woman. She was just finishing up drawing blood. When her eyes caught mine, she gave me a smile. Vanessa also looked over at me.

“Right on time, Mr. Ivanov. I’m just going to run these samples to the lab and I’ll be back in about thirty minutes or so. Sandy is currently in her office. I’ll bring you to her when I return if that’s okay?”

“That would be perfect, thank you.” I nodded to her as she packed up her supplies and shimmied past me outside.

“Who are you?” Vanessa asked as soon as the nurse had disappeared. I took a seat in one of the chairs located across from her bed.

“My name is Christian. I’m a friend of your son.” I replied. Her eyebrows furrowed as she processed my words.

“That nurse called you Mr. Ivanov. Do you work where my son works? At Ivanov Corporation?” Vanessa asked. My eyes cast down to her arm, and I noticed the multiple injection scars before she could pull her sleeve back down. The marks were also on her neck leading down to her shoulder. They made my skin crawl.

Just the thought of shooting up made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. I never understood how someone could do that to themselves with a needle. All that for a few hours of a high?

“Yes. I’m the CEO of Ivanov Corp.” I replied. Vanessa’s eyes got huge.

I noticed the resemblance between her and Alex’s eyes. Besides those eyes, however, Alex and Vanessa looked close to nothing alike. Alex had brown hair, yet Vanessa’s hair was bright blonde. Alex’s features were chiseled and defined, Vanessa just looked sickly.

The bags underneath her eyes were the worst I’d seen.

“W-What? What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I’m here to get you help. I was the one who brought you to this facility after your overdose a few days ago. They informed me that you were to be discharged today, but that you turned down rehab. I thought I’d pay you a visit to ask why that was.”

Her face got tense at my words. “I don’t need rehab, I’m fine. I just slipped up a little but I’m fine. I’m handing it. I don’t need your charity.” She spoke sternly.

“That’s a fucking understatement if I ever heard one. You damn near died. What part of almost dying made you think you’re okay? Was it the almost part? Or the dying?” I snapped back. The dark aggressive tone in my voice, made her visibly flinch. “What I’m offering here is a new life. Literally. If it wasn’t for my inquiry into your whereabouts, my team wouldn’t have even found you in time. Your body was turning cold when they discovered you laying in that alley.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, then she closed it again. A few moments passed before words finally did form.

“I’m handling it.” She said quietly.

On my soul, if this woman said she was handing it one more goddamn time, I was going to lose it.

“You aren’t handling shit. You’re homeless. You’ve been jumping between shelters the last year. Does your son know that? Has he seen you? Has he seen those fucking scars on your arms and neck? If this is what handling it looks like, then not handling it must be death itself.” I completely snapped. “You’ve already put Alex through a shit load of hell, now you want to go and die on him?”

I saw Vanessa’s eyes start to tear up.

But somehow, there wasn’t a shred of fucks in me left to give for this woman.

“I can’t afford rehab.” She said in between sobs.

“Everything is being paid for by me. Even your hospitalization here. All you have to do is show up, and complete the work.” I replied.

She fell silent for moments, as she pondered my offer.

“I have one condition if I do this-”

“Let me clarify this for you, ma’am.” I cut her off. “You don’t have a condition , you have a request . If I have to, I’ll drag your ass to that rehabilitation center myself. I just prefer you’d go willingly.” She game me a small hesitant nod.

“I’ll check myself in to the treatment center, but I want to attend the Ivanov Gala this year. I want to see my son.”

I leant back in my seat as I digested her words. If I brought this woman to the Gala, I wasn’t sure how Alex was going to react… but I couldn’t dump this woman back on the streets either. Especially after she got sober here. The beginning stages of sobriety was such a fragile thing. It could take the smallest bit of drugs, to tempt her.

Thus I was at a crossroads.

After a few minutes of thinking, I finally gave her nod.

“Alright then.”

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/196cebd4ac5110f35964d03f594a64e573a77c88/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f37413769372d65524247616e62513d3d2d3830393237343639342e313564643531653635623763323761383133373031323135383830322e6a7067)               

Hey lovelies! Hopefully y’all didn’t die in my absence. I took time off for Thanksgiving and the holidays and such, but now your girl is pregnant with a galore of food babies, and fully rested- my truest form if I do say so myself. Hopefully everyone has one fantastic week of reflections. This book passed 800k reads and what I’m most grateful for, is every last one of y’all.

So thank you.

Xoxo

51

Alex

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/1110101a7e1222137b62eaea961475c00d1b9994/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f564436743444327333446f5535673d3d2d3831323438333339332e313564646465623235303166653565613430343532353731323434332e6a7067)               

I woke up Saturday morning feeling refreshed. To be quite honest, I couldn’t remember the last time I stayed in on a Friday night. When my alarm went off, I almost didn’t recognize my cognitive being.

Usually my alarm and I had to square up on Saturday mornings. This time, I managed to turn it off without hitting that snooze button, or completely knocking it off the side table.

A goddamn miracle if I do say so myself.

Christian hadn’t responded to the text I sent him, and in comparison to how promptly he usually responded to me, I was a little worried. With everything going on, I understood that he was most likely busy… but that didn’t make me miss him any less. With the Gala being tomorrow, I did my best not to bother him too much.

That didn’t stop my heart from fluttering when my phone vibrated with a new message.

When I glanced down at the screen, I noticed it wasn’t from Christian, but rather Derek. He had sent me a meme. If I wasn’t waiting for Christian to return my text, I probably would have enjoyed the meme. Instead, I was more annoyed at the fact that it wasn’t from Christian. I’m whipped, I know.

Before I could reply to Derek’s text, my phone started ringing. This time, it was Joan.

“Hey beautiful.” I chirped into the line.

“Well hey there handsome. Why do you sound so alive right now?” Joan asked.

“Let me tell you about this sleep I got last night.” I replied. Joan chuckled through the line.

“No late night escapades?”

“I’m getting old, sweetie. Damn near threw my back out early last week. I think I’m done with the bars and the heavy drinking.” I explained.

“You aren’t even close to thirty, Alex, but okay. Regardless, I’m glad to hear you’re working towards taking better care of yourself. I was just calling to see if you were still going to help me with baking some pies? I was going to donate them to a few shelters in the area.”

I glanced over to check the date on my alarm. Sure enough, Joan was right. She had asked me to help about a month back, and I had told her I’d lend a hand today.

“Absolutely. Let me get this apartment cleaned up and situated, then I’ll take a quick shower and be on my way. Do you need me to bring anything?” I asked her.

“Nahh, I got everything yesterday. Just bring your fine ass self on over, sugar.” Joan replied. That brought a smile to my lips.

“You never fail to raise my self esteem.” I replied gingerly.

“I try my best, love. Now go do what you need to do, and come keep me company while I do practically all the cooking myself.”

“I’ll help a little.” I butted in.

“Absolutely not. Do you recall the fire of ’14? It’s a miracle I’m even letting you step foot in my kitchen.”

Joan was referring to the fire I accidentally started  in my old apartment, back in 2014. Thank god Richard Tilley from Allstate had talked me into renters insurance a few months before. At the time, it felt like the most adult thing I ever did. I didn’t understand what exactly renters insurance was, but that fire put everything into perspective.

“Well jeez Joan, okay. Come for my life why don’t you. I’ll be over there shortly.”

“See you soon, my guy.” She replied into the line, before she hung up.

It took me a few hours to clean up. I forgot about the wild ass mountain of laundry I had neglected to take care of for the past few months. My dilemma was that the location of my apartment was the farthest from the laundry room, and I didn’t have a hamper with wheels. Of course, if I hadn’t let it get this bad, it would have been easier to do. My bitch ass self wasn’t thinking about that when I let the laundry accumulate.

By the time I managed to get back and shower, it was already well into the afternoon.

“Joan is going to beat my ass.” I whispered to myself as I glanced at the time. “But at least I’m going to look presentable.” I added.

And I wasn’t wrong. The laundry situation was getting so bad, I was down to one pair of pants and 3 shirts. Now that I had managed to take care of that problem, all my beloved khakis were freshly washed and ready to be worn. I paired that with a nice sweater and some casual shoes. I even went so far as to lightly gel my hair back.

Why was I doing all this just to bake pies with Joan?

Well upon catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror after cleaning, and scaring myself shitless, I decided to put in a little work on my appearance.

Now we were here, running slightly late as I tried to pour tea into one of my thermos’s while brushing my teeth.

When I did finally get the tea together, and finished brushing my teeth, the time was going on to three thirty. “Alrighty.” I sighed to myself, before slipping on those casual shoes and making my way out the door. As soon as I did open the door, I was met with a pair of familiar striking blue eyes.

“Christian.” I spoke, surprised.

“Hey.” He gave me a small smile. “I was going to call but I thought I might just stop by instead. I wanted to see if you wanted to go catch a bite to eat.”

“Oh.” I replied. The word yes almost left my lips, but I stopped myself short. “I’m actually on my way to Joan’s place. We’re making pies.”

“Oh perfect. I’ll drive.”

Christian zipped through Saturday traffic like I was his pregnant wife about to give birth.

“Christian, a yellow light means to slow down.”

“Mmm, I think it’s one of those things that has many different interpretations.” He replied.

“No, Christian. A yellow light is not a religion. It has one interpretation: slow down .” I shot back at him. He just gave me one of his signature smirks and a wink. Before I could press the importance of safe driving, Christians phone started ringing. He ended up picking it up with his car Bluetooth.

“Hello?” I called out.

“Hey, it’s Brad.” Brad replied through the car speakers.

“What’s up?” Christian asked.

“Just calling to see what you were doing. With the Gala tomorrow, I’m thinking we should run over all the last minute things.”

“Oh. I’m heading over to Joan’s with Alex. We’re going to make pies.” Christian explained.

“You’re seriously going to make pies at a time like this? With the Gala literally tomorrow? Wait- did you say you’re going to Joan’s?”

“Uh yeah, she lives pretty close. I’m almost there.”

Joan didn’t live pretty close, Christian was just driving like a maniac.

“Send me the address. I forgot to saved it when I drove her home.”

“You want to make pies too? That doesn’t seem like you. Plus, you weren’t invited.”

“Christian, you weren’t invited either.” I reminded this piece of work. He shushed me.

“No, we need to discuss last minute things. I’m coming over for work.” Brad replied.

“If that’s what you want to tell yourself, okay buddy.” Christian said with a grin.

“Shut it. Just send me the address.” Brad replied, before he hung up.

Great , I thought to myself. I guess the whole gang was pulling up to Joan’s. I pulled out my phone and shot Joan a quick text.

Hey so I guess Christian will be tagging along. Is that okay?

A text came through not even a minute later.

Yeah, sure. The more help, the better… especially considering you’ll be useless in that kitchen. Derek just got here.

I sent her a text back.

Well damn okay, rude. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Oh, and Brad is on his way too.

She replied seconds later.

You should have lead with that, you twat. Now I gotta take this bonnet off

my damn head,

and put on make up.

You bitch.

See you soon. Doors unlocked.

••

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/bb3480f70d9f7b8e312526f814936d4f99ed40a0/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f69467a445246314b5169376468673d3d2d3831323438333339332e3135646464653965353134333866653131323337393631313539312e6a7067)

52

Alex

“What’s this?” Derek asked, pointing to a metal utensil on Joan’s kitchen counter.

“That would be a whisk, Derek.” Joan replied. “Have you seriously never seen a whisk before?”

Derek proceeded to look at the whisk from all angles, like it was some piece of art or something. “What does it do?”

We all looked at this motherfucker.

“It… it whisks , Derek. It whisks .” I replied.

Joan couldn’t hold in her laughter. “Derek, when was the last time you baked anything?” She asked him.

“I think I baked cookies with my mother once when I was six.” He replied. I’m sure we all mentally facepalmed, but Joan physically facepalmed.

“Okay, So I’m not letting either you nor Alex near the baking. Y’all sit right on over there across the counter, and watch.” She instructed. “Christian? Brad? Any experience in baking?”

Christian quickly shook his head no. “I can cook, but baking is a whole different skill set I have zero experience with.”

I looked over at him. Well I guess we weren’t doing any romantic baking together any time soon. As if he could hear my thoughts, Christian leant over and whispered “Don’t worry. I’ve got a butler for that.”

I rolled my eyes at him. I think he missed the point of us doing it ourselves.

“Hoookay I guess you’ll join the moral support team with Alex and Derek. How about yourself, Brad?” Joan asked. Brads lips twitched up into a triumphant smile.

“Unlike these inadequate humans, I do actually know how to bake. Just tell me what you’ll like me to do, and I’ll get it done.” He replied. Joan smiled sheepishly at his words, and handed him an apron. I’m sure there was a lot Joan wanted Brad to do, I thought mischievously.

“What happened to us reviewing documents from work, BrAD ? “ Christian butt in. I kicked his leg from under the counter and mouthed to him stop

cockblocking.

“I’m like three feet away from you, Christian. I can multitask.” Brad snapped back. Christian gave him one judge mental ass look before he started pulling out Brad’s laptop from his briefcase. Joan instructed Brad to thoroughly clean his hands under the faucet while she got to taking out more ingredients. They actually looked quite cute together with their matching aprons, as they got to baking.

I noticed just how on point Joan looked in general, and that made me smile. This girl had even done her damn edges, I was so impressed. I noticed Brad had noticed too, because he kept stealing glances her way.

“What’s your password?” Christian asked. Instead of telling him, Brad moved to type it in, but Joan swatted his hands away.

“No. You just washed those.” She scolded him.

“Yeah, Brad. You just washed those.” Christian reiterated.

He was really enjoying this. I mean like sadistically enjoying this.

“Fine.” Brad grumbled. “It’s wibleymwobbleytrimeywimey.” We all looked over at him.

“I’m sorry, what? “ Christian asked.

“wibleymwobbleytrimeywimey.” Brad continued to mumble.

“I’m going to need you to speak up here, Brad .” Christian said. He had the largest grin plastered on his face. It was almost as if he knew what Brad was mumbling. I could barely make out any of it.

“Wibbley Wobbley Timey Wimey.” Brad said clearly in defeat. Christian muffled a laugh.

“I see your love for Doctor Who still hasn’t left you.” He joked.

“For your information, Christian , Doctor who is fantastic.” Brad argued.

“I actually second that.” I added. While I wasn’t fully caught up with the show, I had made it through about six of the new seasons, and all of the classic Doctor Who.

“I don’t think I’ve seen it before.” Joan pondered for a moment, before admitting.

“Maybe we can watch an episode together sometime?” Brad asked her.

“I’d like that.” Joan replied. She had her flirtatious yet nervous smile going that made Brad smile in return. I felt the fanboy in me die with happiness.

“Well, if we finish the pies in time, why don’t we all watch an episode tonight?” Derek asked.

I shot him a glare at lightning speed as I tried to have him pick up on the signals that Brad had probably meant just him and Joan. As soon as his eyes met mine, he back tracked.

“Actually ya know, I completely forgot I had this thing. Another night though.”

I gave him a nod of approval.

This clueless idiot was not about to stop Joan and Brad’s alone time tonight.

The rest of the evening went by pretty effortlessly. Brad and Christian talked about the Gala while Brad assisted Joan in the kitchen. Every once in a while, Joan would struggle with cutting the apples, and Brad would place himself behind her to show her how to firmly hold the fruit down. Christian and I shared looks with each other.

They were so freaking cute.

By the time the pies had made it into the oven, I decided to take just a small power nap on Joan’s comfy futon. I didn’t remember falling asleep so hard, until I felt a pair of hands gently wake me.

“Alex.” Christian spoke gently. “Time to wake up. Looks like the pies are done, and I think Brad and Joan are going to watch a movie together. I think we should leave the two love birds to it.”

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and when I glanced outside, it looked like darkness had already settled in. “What time is it?” I mumbled. The smell of baked pies flooded my nostrils. They smelt amazing.

“I think it might be going on ten now. Would you like to come back to my place tonight?” He asked me. I was going to say yes, but then I remembered I had actually done some cleaning today. I wanted to show off the fact that I could be a tidy human being when I wanted to.

“Do you mind coming back to mine?” I asked him. His grin widened.

“Not at all. Let’s get going.”

We said our goodbyes to Joan and Brad. We also had to practically drag Derek out with us, so we could leave Joan and Brad alone to do their own thing. He wanted to stay for at least one episode of Doctor Who. I yanked him out that bitch by his ear. Derek went back to deal with his crazy girlfriend that he had finally made the executive decision to break up with. I reminded him we were just one phone call away if he needed any assistance, or a hospital.

He gave me a genuine thank you, before pulling off in his own Prius.

Christian and I slipped into his car, and made our way back to my apartment. Sleep has slowly started to slip through the cracks of my alert façade, but Christians hand on my thigh kept me awake. My heart had started to do that thing it did where it forgot how to beat normally.

I was finally going to get alone time with him. It felt like it had been ages. I was going to get to kiss those lips again… and touch that body again…

My mind started to spiral at the possibilities.

Of course I had wanted to be intimate with him. It felt like it was a topic we had never really discussed with each other. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I wasn’t sure what Christian was comfortable with. It didn’t look like he was running from his sexuality, but I didn’t want to do anything he wasn’t ready for… or hell, anything I wasn’t ready for.

But Christian made me feel so good and safe. When I thought about being that intimate with him, it made my heart skip a beat.

As his hand inched higher and higher against my thigh, I felt myself growing more and more aroused. We hadn’t said anything to each other during the duration of the car ride, we just enjoyed the music that was playing… but the sexual tension had started to build. Christian would steal a glance my way every few minutes, and when our eyes connected, I felt my stomach do flips so great, it would rival the talents of Simone Biles.

Before I knew it, Christian had pulled into one of the available streets parking spots of my building.

“It looks like we’re here.” He said. Those words came out his mouth in more of a raspy groan, and that just made my cock even harder.

“It does.” I replied in equal raspiness. It was hard to suppress my horniness, especially when Christians eyes glanced down at the growing bulge in my pants.

“Should we go in?” He asked. His eyes had grown darker. I gave him a nod.

As soon as we made it into the building, Christians hand slipped into mine. When I tell you we all but ran to that goddamn elevator. Christian smashed that up button so hard I thought he broke the damn thing. When it finally opened for us, he pulled me in with him, then repeatedly abused that Door Close button until the elevator closed around us.

As soon as it did, his lips were on mine immediately.

Instead of hesitating from the surprise kiss, I kissed him back with the same urgency. He pushed me up against the side of the elevator, as one hand held my back firmly and flush against him, while the other tangled itself into my hair. I felt the goosebumps spread across my arms as I felt him against me. I couldn’t stop the pornographic moans from escaping my lips when he forced my mouth open with his tongue.

It felt so… primal. Like we hadn’t touched each other in months. I could feel my knees going weak as he growled out my name.

“C-Christian.” I moaned back when his hand slipped up the inside of my shirt to touch my bare skin, before it traveled down to the hem of my boxers. “T-The door.” I choked out.

His kissing slowed as we heard the ding from an elevator. He lingered a little longer against my lips before pulling away completely. I wasn’t even given the chance to say another word as he directed me down the hallway towards my apartment door. I fumbled with my house keys trying to get them into the lock. Christian had made it almost damn near impossible to concentrate when his lips latched on to the crevice of my neck.

“Fuck Christian.” I moaned, giving him access. I completely forgot about the lock at that moment. His hands yanked the keys out of my hand, and unlocked the door in one fluid motion. He didn’t give me time to take off my shoes.

All he did was close and lock the door behind us, before attaching his lips back to mine, and carrying me off to my bedroom.

••

Oh and Happy Belated Birthday @ShrejalMohanty!

Sorry I wasn’t able to post a chapter on your birthday, love. Hopefully that day was magical for you!

Xoxo

53

Warning: Explicit Content

Christian

I tossed Alex back onto his bed. I tried to do it as gently as possible, but his moans and groans were driving me absolutely mental, and I was growing impatient. He had tried his best to get my shirt off when I was holding him, but the sweater was a little difficult to pull out from my waistline.

Once I set him down on the bed, I was able to slip off his shoes and my own, before tugging at my clothes. I felt his eyes on me once I undid the bottom of my pants. Before I could pull them down, Alex sat up at the edge of the bed, and pulled them down for me. Seeing him in the direct view of my crotch made my cock twitch. I couldn’t even fathom how I’d feel in his mouth. His hands moved to touch my bulge, but instead, I bent down to slip his shirt off.

“Move further up the bed.” I directed him. He shimmied up until his head was rested on one of his pillows. Our eyes were glued to each other and our body movements, the entire time. I couldn’t not look at him.

My body slowly crawled onto the bed until I made it to his waist. I all but ripped those damn buttons off his khakis, and the pants were pulled down in one fluid motion. I felt his breathing hitched when my fingers grazed against his bulge. The briefs he had chosen to wear today, had the Nirvana smiley logo all over them. They looked like perfection against his skin.

I climbed further up to attach my lips to his again. His breathing was sporadic by now, as he tried to capture oxygen between my kisses. It felt amazing feeling him beneath me as I kissed him. I ground my crotch against his, and he broke our kiss to let out a load moan.

“Fuck, Christian!” He called out, as his hips buckled up. That made me grip the sheets of the bed tighter. I began this slow torturous process of grinding ourselves together. Alex’s hands had since latched on to my back as his eyes shut tight. After a few more thrusts, I had to stop, otherwise I was definitely going to cum in my briefs.

“Alex.” I whispered hoarsely into his ear. He shuddered hard against me. “Tell me what you want.” My tongue slid out against the side of his neck, as I nibbled at the skin there.

His grip tightened on me, and his hips buckled up again. I pulled my hips away before he could grind himself against me again. “Tell me.” I growled at him again.

“Y-You.” He stuttered out between pants. “I want you.”

And that was the green light I needed. I slipped both Alex and my boxers off with ease. When Alex glanced down to take a look at me, his eyes grew wider.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered down at him. “I’ll be as gentle and as slow as you want me to.” I placed one long sweet kiss against his lips, before I started to redirect the kisses to his neck, then chest.

I could feel his pounding heartbeat against my lips as I continued further down. He was stuck between watch me intensely, and having his eyes roll back. When I reached his lower waist, right above his cock, his hips buckled up again at me. One hand grabbed hold of his cock, as his hands secured a death grip on his bed sheets again.

I slowly took him into my mouth. That was when a string of cuss words lefts his lips.

“Holy fuck of fucking god fuck me, Christian!” He called out, buckling his hips again with less control as I continued to slowly suck him off. He was rock solid between my lips, and a bit of precum was oozing out from the tip of his member.

“Christian I- I-” I knew this torturous pace was driving him mental, but I didn’t want him to cum just get. I wanted him to feel everything tonight.

When I slipped him out from my mouth, I felt him whimper from the loss of contact. Instead, I had to create room for me to suck on something else. My fingers slipped into my mouth as I got them wet with my spit. When Alex saw that, his eyes rolled back all over again. “ Jesus fucking Christ .“ He mumbled.

“I’ll go gentle.” I assured him, as my slick wet fingers circled the base of his entrance. To ease the feeling, my hand slowly stroked his cock. Once I was sure he had relaxed, I slowly started to slide my fingers into him. I started with one just to be sure he could handle it, and made sure his entrance was wet enough to alleviate the discomfort.

After a few slow inserts, I added the second digit. Alex didn’t look to be in any pain, but I still asked him if he was okay. He gave me a nod and urged me to continue.

I slowly started to pick up the pace, curling my fingers inside him and slowly expanding him for me. When I added that third finger, I started to pick up the pace with my strokes on his cock as well. His eyes were squeezed shut tight as his hips started to buckle against me.

“Christian I d-don’t know i-if I c-can…” he started between load moans. That was when I slowly pulled my fingers out from him and slowed the strokes on his cock again. It was all about pace, and I didn’t want either of us to cum just yet.

“Do you have a condom?” I asked him. He signaled to the dresser on his bedside table. Or at least tried to. His hand waived over in that direction before they went back to gripping the sheets. I yanked the drawer open and pulled out one, before ripping the packaging open with my teeth.

I put the damn thing on in record fucking timing, and before we both knew it, I was positioned at his entrance waiting for his approval. He gave me a slow nod. His eyes tried to watch my movements, but they rolled back once more as my hand picked up speed on his cock. I slowly started the torturous decent inside of him.

I went as slow as my body could allow, and did my best to read his emotions, so I could stop if he looked like he was in pain. His face made many different expressions, but pain didn’t seem to be one of them. I, myself, had to grip the absolute fuck out of those sheets because he felt so fucking goddamn amazing against my cock.

“God, you’re so fucking

tight , holy fuck .“ I moaned out, as I bent down to start kissing his lips and his neck.

“Fuck, Christian, oh my god. Oh my god. Please, fortheloveofgod please fucking move!” He practically shouted against me. My strokes against his cock sped up as I slowly pulled out, then pushed myself back in. I wasn’t sure how much longer either of us was going to last. I had never felt anything like this, as he pulsated against me.

“ H-Harder .“ Alex choked out. That was all I needed. I started to pull out and push back into him. His body shuddered against me as I jerked him off with intense speed.

“Christian I-I’m going to-” he started, yet I did nothing but speed up. I started to feel his hips buckle up against my strokes uncontrollably. His lips parted open slightly as his hands went from the bed sheets to my back again. He dragged his nails hard against my bare skin, which sent me over the edge. I was now pounding into him. He buckled once more before he let out one intense moan. I felt his body shake as he came into my hand.

I felt him throbbing with intensity against my own throbbing cock, and that did it for me. “ Fuck, Alex .“ I called out. My own hips buckled as I came hard while still inside him. I tried to push a few more strokes, but it felt like my whole soul had been separated from my body as I came. Everything was heightened with intensity.

I collapsed against Alex who still had one strong death grip on me.

When I managed to pull myself out of him, I felt himself wince against me. I pulled back so I could see his perfect face.

“ Oh my god .“ He whispered. His eyes found mine. His chest was rising and falling rapidly while his entire face was red with sweat. He looked perfect as he snuggled in against me.

I managed to slip and tie the used condom off. I was going to get up and toss it, but Alex snuggled in even further, and I decided I’d take care of it later.

“ You’re absolutely perfect .“ I whispered to him, as I placed a kiss on his swollen lips, then on his forehead.

“ You’re absolutely perfect .“ He whispered back, as he tried to fight off the sleep that inevitably captured him.

••

54

Ooooh chileee y’all. There’s only two more chapters left of this book after this. How the hell we get here? I’m shook. Anywhoooooooooo strap in, and think of this as the calm before the storm.

Alex

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. When I glanced over at the bedside alarm clock, the time read 8:17am. I was a little confused as to where Christian was, but those questions were quickly answered as the smell of bacon flooded my nostrils. I moved to sit up, yet ended up plopping back down on the mattress. The soreness that shot straight through me, instantly jogged my memory of the sinful acts Christian and I had done the previous night.

That brought a smile to my lips.

Was it bad that I wanted to do it again? And again? And like ten gazillion times more after that?

Just the thought of what we did last night, gave me a massive hard on. I did my best to climb out of bed with minimal pain.

When I made it out into the living room, my cock grew hard all over again.

Christian was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He was scrambling some eggs while bacon sizzled on the nearby pan. To add to this beautiful sight, Christian was also in nothing but his briefs. When his eyes met mine, he smiled.

“Well good morning, love. I woke up hungry, and you looked so peaceful sleeping, I thought I’d take care of breakfast myself.” He spoke as he poured the rest of the egg onto the fire.

“It smells amazing.” I replied, rubbing the rest of the sleep from my eyes. He moved around the kitchen island to pull me in for a kiss. I immediately felt self conscious of my morning breath when he pulled away. He tasted like mint. I probably tasted like death itself.

“I’m just surprised your cooking.”

Christian rolled his eyes at me. “I’m an excellent cook, if I do say so myself.”

“I thought you had a butler for that?” I teased.

“I do. And we could of had breakfast in bed if we were at my place. But you clearly wanted to show off your clean apartment, so here we are.” He teased back. My eyes grew wide in shock.

He noticed.

As if Christian could hear my thoughts, he added “And of course I noticed. This place is so damn clean, I wouldn’t be surprised if you folded the towels into little swans in your bathroom.”

Truth be told, I did try doing that yesterday… but Christian didn’t need to know that. Wasn’t sure why I even attempted it, considering I couldn’t do basic origami to save my life. Finally, I settled on just rolling them up neatly.

“Have a seat.” Christian gestured towards the barstools next to the kitchen island. I slowly lowered myself onto one. Christian immediately noticed my struggle, and he gave me a shameless grin. “Was I a little too rough last night?” He asked.

I quickly shook my head no. “It was beyond amazing.”

That made Christian’s smile widen as he placed the finished breakfast on two plates for us.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to need to head out right after eating. We’ve all got a big day ahead of us.”

I had almost forgotten that today was the Gala. All I wanted to do was spend the day in bed with this man, doing more sinful acts. I didn’t want to have to throw on a suit and look presentable for an undetermined amount of time. The Gala usually started at around six in the evening, and went til about close to midnight.

The end time went to all hell when people started drinking. I remember Joan had sent me a picture of the event at two in the morning, still having a drunken blast with the company DJ.

Breakfast was surprisingly amazing.

I say surprising, because I thought seeing Christian in a kitchen actually cooking, was a figment of my imagination. We cleared breakfast in record time, and Christian did the dishes before he eventually had to head out.

Me being the needy bitch I was, practically attached myself to him until he had to literally pick me up and set me down. I knew it was only going to be a few hours before we saw each other again, but that was going to be in a professional setting… and judging by how stressed he already seemed, I doubt we would get to spend much time actually enjoying the event together.

I spent the rest of the day trying to busy myself with the remaining house chores and some Workaholic reruns. Joan and Derek finally made it to my apartment around 3:50 to start getting ready.

“How were the… pies? “ I asked Joan suggestively, as I wiggles my eyebrows at her. She threw her makeup brush at me. I narrowly missed getting hit in the head. That women had aim .

“It was fine.” She replied with a layer of sass. “We cuddled a bit while watching some episodes of Doctor Who. My old ass ended up falling asleep halfway through the second episode, and I think he may have carried me to bed.”

I practically fell off the bed from excitement.

“Fucking fuck you guys are so cute. No kiss?” I asked. She shook her head no, then facepalmed.

“I fell asleep before I could even lay any moves on the guy. He texted me this morning to let me know that he made it home okay. He asked if he could order me some breakfast. I told him to sell three of his expensive ass suits, and I’ll think about it.”

Ah, there was the woman I loved.

“Well done, my child. We’re infiltrating the Ivanov’s bad spending habits from the inside.” I joked. She cracked up.

“He sent me a picture of three suits packaged for donating, then sent me another picture of a food delivery confirmation.” She continued. My eyebrows raised so damn high, I thought they merged with my hairline.

“Shut the fuck up. He’s donating them? Donating ? I mean I’ve got nothing against donating, but I mean, them bitches were expensive!” I shot out as Joan disappeared inside the bathroom again.

“That’s what I’m saying!” Joan called back.

“You wanna know how much Lo Mein you can buy with that suit money? A shit ton. Speaking of Lo Mein-” Derek started, but Joan quickly cut him off.

“No, Derek. No. The Gala will be catered. Save your appetite for that. It’ll be a lot of great rich people food, and you’re going to hate yourself for showing up full.”

Derek pouted from his position besides me on my bed.

“Joan’s right, Derek. Don’t do it to yourself. It’s starting in about an hour anyways. Speaking of which, I should probably start getting ready myself.” I replied. “That suit looks like it’s going to take five hundred years to get into.”

“But you’re going to look fantastic in it!” Joan chirped back.

And she wasn’t wrong.

Her, Christian, and Brad had made a fantastic decision with the style and color. It was a dark grey with a white shirt, and salmon colored tie.

“I still think we should have gone with my option.” Derek grumbled.

“You mean the hot pink flamingo suit you picked out?” Joan called out from the bathroom. “Not a fat chance in hell.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. The options Derek presented had to of been purposefully bad. There was no way he seriously thought I could show up to a company event in that.

But when I glanced down at his bright purple suit that was laid out in my bed… I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Regardless of how excited I felt, there was just something about tonight that didn’t sit well with me.

••

55

Oh my pretties… only one chapter left?

Let’s get it, let’s go!

Alex

As we pulled into the parking lot of Ivanov Corp, I noticed just how packed the visitor parking was. The cars that occupied damn near ever space, looked beyond expensive. There were an abundance of high end vehicles, with a few limos parked in the front. A sign that read Valet Parking , was positioned towards the right side of the building, and it had a few other signs with arrows on them that directed us around the side of the building.

Sure enough, there was valet workers stationed at the side entrance, waiting on each car that pulled up. I felt goofy pulling my janky ass Prius up to this man who’s name tag read Chad. He was incredibly sweet to us as Joan, Derek, and I all piled out of the car, and handed him my set of keys.

“Take good care of her.” I joked with Chad. He gave me another polite smile before sliding into my drivers seat, and pulling the car into our underground parking.

Before we even made it into Ivanov Corp, you could hear the event. Music was flooded through the lobby of the building. There was a large fancy sign that read

Welcome

. A man was ready to greet us as soon as we made it to the doors of our convention center.

“Good evening Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Holding, and Ms. Delores. Please come with me right this way.” He spoke, before opening up the main doors for us. When I did catch sight of the Gala room, I couldn’t help but openly gape.

It. Was. Gorgeous .

There was white and gold decal everywhere. About 30 round tables were positioned throughout the room with cutlery and plates placed in correlation with each chair. Hundreds of guests were already seated, enjoying the catering and watching the live musical performance that was playing up front. I scanned the room, looking for Christian. Sure enough, his family was at the first table closest to the stage. I could only make out Christian because he was standing up behind someone else.

The man that had greeted us at the front, brought us over to Christian’s table. When his family came into view, that was when I stopped dead in my tracks.

Next to Christian, was his mother and father, as well as Brad, John Terry, and Miles. There was also one other woman next to Christian. When realization settled in on who that was, the glass of water that was given to me by our escort, almost slipped through my fingers. Christian turned around to meet us.

“Alex.” Christian smiled. I didn’t smile back. Instead, I said the first few words that came to mind.

“What the wholesome complete

fuck

is she doing here?“

“Alex, please don’t make a scene.” Christian spoke as soon as he managed to pull me into the first office he could find.

“Make a scene, Christian? Are you fucking kidding me? You invited my fucking mother. This isn’t even a scene, I promise you, I’ll show you what the fuck a scene looks like.”

“Please, Alex. Just listen, okay?”

“Listen? Listen? No Christian, you fucking listen . It was not your place to invite her. It was not your place to get involved. Why would you even let me come here tonight? Why would you make me go through all this?” I was bordering on either starting to cry, or swinging on Christian. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do first, but my blood was far past boiling.

“This was not my idea.” Christian pleaded with me. “In order for her to agree to rehabilitation, she requested that she come here tonight to see you.”

I was trying to count backwards from ten. I failed.

“Did you ever stop to wonder why I hadn’t seen my mother in so long? Did you ever stop to think that I didn’t agree to see that fucking nutcase because it was for my own mental peace?” I spat back angrily at him. “And if you think for one second that woman is going to stay in rehab, you’re dumber than I thought you were. How much money do you think I fucking wasted on trying to get that woman help?”

Pain flashed across Christian’s face at my words. In any other, and I mean any other fucking instance , I would’ve cared. Tonight, I didn’t.

“Alex, she overdosed a few days ago. If my team hadn’t found her, she would have died.”

“Then you should have left her to fucking die.”

As soon as I said those words, I froze completely. Christian’s eyes grew wide.

“You don’t mean that.” He whispered barely audible to me.

And he was right. I didn’t mean that.

But the words had already been said.

That was when I lost it completely. Tears won that game of tug and war as they started to stream down my face. Christian eyes softened at me as he quickly pulled me into him. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” He whispered against me while I shook uncontrollably in his arms. I felt my tears dampening his suit, and I tried to pull away so I wouldn’t ruin the jacket, but he just held me tighter.

“Christian, I can’t fucking do this.” I mumbled into his shoulder, between sobs.“

“That’s the thing, Alex. You don’t have to do this alone . You never had to do this alone. Let me take some of that weight off your shoulders. This will be her last chance to get her shit together, if she doesn’t, then that’s it. At least you’ll know that you did everything you could to help her. Whatever outcome plays out will be on her.” He whispered to me.

I stayed quiet for a moment as tears continued to fall. Listening to Christians heart beat besides my ear, gave me a level of comfort. It was beating hard against his chest.

He leant back slightly so he could tilt my head up to face him. “Cause I won’t leave your side for shit. Your kinda stuck with me.” I couldn’t stop the small smile that played against my lips at his words. They made my stomach flip as his eyes bore into mine. His hands reached up to wipe the tears away from my cheeks, then he bent down and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

It was tender, and gentle, when his lips moved against mine. One hand tangled itself in my mess of hair, while the other held me even tighter against him. Before Christian could deepen the kiss, we were interrupted by someone clearing their throat from the doorway. When Christian and I broke away to see who it was, Brad was leaning up against the doorframe next to Joan. Brad looked less than surprised for the most part, while Joan looked like she was three seconds away from fainting.

“My fucking god, that was hot.” She blurted out.

I chuckled as I pulled away from Christian. I guess I hadn’t really disclosed this part of our relationship to her yet. When I looked back at Christian, I noticed his jacket now had the largest tear stains.

“You can’t go out like that.” Brad said simply when he also saw the ruined suit.

He then did something that was very unBrad. He walked over to Christian and pulled Christian’s suit jacket off him, before slipping his own suit jacket off, and handing it to Christian.

“I can’t take that.” Christian said almost immediately.

“You can, and you will. The head of the company cannot go out without a full suit. Mum already acts disappointed in everything I do, I think she’ll live tonight seeing me in just a shirt.” Christian gave his brother a warm smile and a thank you, as he slipped the jacket on. “Plus, Joan over here is already trying to have me offload every fucking suit I own.” He added.

I saw Joan give us a nervous smile. “Don’t act like we all don’t know this mans got a problem.”

Christian and I nodded at that. Brad really did have a suit problem.

“Then shall we get on with the night of festivities?” Brad asked. Christian turned to me.

“Shall we?” He asked me.

I hesitated before I finally mustered up the courage to reply. “Fine, but if that woman says a single triggering word to me, I cannot be held responsible for punching her in her fucking throat.”

Christian smiled down at me, then did something I wasn’t expecting. He slipped his hand into mine, and led me back out into the Gala room.

His hands didn’t let go of mine as we entered the crowded center with every last eye on us.

••

56

Alex

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When Christian returned us to our table, his mothers eyes were practically glued to his hand in mine. I moved to pull my hand away, but Christian just held it tighter.

Before either Anna or Slav could comment on my earlier outburst, or the fact that their son and I were holding hands, Miles was the first to speak at the table.

“Well look at that familiar face. Feels like it’s been a while since we’ve last seen each other, ay? I’m glad to see your face has since returned to its original state. My apologies for dragging you out into the wild like that.” Miles smiled warmly at me. I gave him a smile back. I had forgotten how much I liked Miles.

“Technically, it was Christian’s fault for not listening when I told him I was highly allergic to the outside.” I shot back. Christian, Miles, and John all laughed at that.

“Sounds like the ignorant Christian we know.” John chimed in. “I’m glad to see you again, as well. The New York trip was far too short, you and Christian must come to visit again soon.” I glanced over at Christian, and he gave me a casual shrug.

“Whenever Alex has some free time, I’ll make sure to make a date of it.” He replied. John’s face lit up at that.

I glanced over at everyone sitting at this table. It felt good to see familiar faces. Miles and John had both made me feel incredibly welcome over the span of working with Christian. I couldn’t fully understand how all these guys had become so close with him, but it made me feel a level of warmth to know Christian had such great support.

In a way, I guess we both did.. . I thought, as I panned over at Joan, Derek, and Brad. Christian had been right, sometimes it was okay to lean on friends.

When my eyes finally landed on my mother, all that warmth I had felt, was annihilated. Pain and anger filled the void instead. She was wearing a dress far too elegant for her. I knew it must have been something provided to her by the Ivanov’s. I leant over to Christian and whispered in his ear.

“Please make sure you collect that dress before my mother leaves. I know she’s going to try and pawn it for money.”

He gave me a stern nod almost immediately. “I already let her know our security team was cleared to take her down if she tried to leave with it.”

“Thank you.” I whispered back, before glancing up to pay attention to what everyone was suddenly applauding for. It looks as if Slav had stood up to take the stage.

“No worries, love. That’s my cue though. I’ll be right back, I’m just going to introduce my father.” Christian whispered before his hand eventually left mine. It felt cold when it wasn’t in his, but I watched on proudly, as Christian took the stage. Brad’s suit jacket looked fitting with the rest of Christian’s attire.

“Why is Christian wearing your suit jacket?” Anna asked Brad.

I felt myself seize to breathe entirely as I glanced over at Brad. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to tell her.

“I accidentally spilt wine on his.” Brad replied. Anna looked irritated by that explanation, but said nothing else as Christian made it to the stage. I made a mental note to thank Brad for that one later.

Before Christian could start out on his introduction, my mother leant over towards me. She had been seated at the other side of Christian. “He’s a very handsome man.” She whispered. I ignored her.

“I want to thank you all for coming out tonight in support of Ivanov Corp, my family, and the firm foundations we are building here with each and every one of you. While Ivanov Corp has held these celebrations for many years now, tonight, I have the special pleasure of introducing one of the co-founders of this company. I know there are many here tonight that will recognize this familiar face. He has since stepped down from the CEO position within the company, to bestow that responsibility upon myself. While he continues research abroad, my father managed to carve some time out in hopes of attending tonight’s Gala.

“Of course, he has tasked me with the strenuous work of introducing him tonight. But for those of you that know how great this man is, you know there isn’t much of anything I can say up here tonight that will do him justice. This is why I would like to welcome my father, Bohuslav Dmytro-Ivanov, up on this stage to talk to all our current and new investors. He was always better with words, anyways.” Christian finished.

Everyone stood from their seats to applaud the introduction. There were a few laughs that rang through the center from Christian’s words. I, too, couldn’t help but laugh. The energy that Christian and Slav brought when they were up on stage together, was unmatchable. Christian really did look like his fathers son.

“I’m just going to head to the bathroom to freshen up.” My mother whispered before Slav could start his speech. I glanced over at her in acknowledgment, but said nothing as she left.

“Good evening ladies and gentleman. I am honored to be here tonight, and to see so many familiar faces. It has been such a blessing to witness the growth and love that is blatantly evident here in this room. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have continuously received support from some of my very first investors. Imagine, it’s been this long, my friends. Tonight, we honor and appreciate each and every one of you that has built this company from the ground up, with me and my beautiful wife. We have gathered here to honor both old and new investors.

“I wish to specifically highlight our recent collaboration with Mavericks Corp, and the work my son has done to establish that relationship. Tonight is a celebration of what we’ve done. I ask that if you haven’t yet, you find me before tonight’s end so I can specifically thank you for all that you have done for my company, and my family. My continued goal is to make you all feel as appreciated as you deserve. I may not be steering this boat anymore, but it brings me nothing but joy to pass this success onto my son, Christian Ivanov. So please: eat, drink, celebrate.” Slav finished.

Everyone stood to their feet for an even louder round of applauses. I was surprised by how much thought Slav had put into that speech. When I looked around, I noticed a table that stood out from the rest. Instead of white tablecloth that the other tables had, this one was gold. There was a group of men and woman seated there that each stood give Slav a hug as he stepped down from the stage.

As if Brad could read my thoughts, he leant over and whispered “Those are Ivanov Corp’s original investors.”

I made a small o shape with my mouth while I watched the investors interact with Slav.

The live musicians took the stage again as celebrations went on in full swing. Christian made it back to our table, and gave John a hug, congratulating him on their partnership. He then took his seat besides me and slid his hand back in mine. If no one knew Christian and I were an item before, I guess they all did now.

I noticed we received a few stares from some attendees as they passed us, but most made it to our table to congratulate Christian and John for the their future work together. Once the number of guests had died down, Christian turned to me.

“Where in the sweet fuck is your mother?” He asked. I glanced over at the empty chair.

I hadn’t even noticed she had been gone this long.

“She said she was freshening up in the bathroom.” I replied. As soon as those words left my lips, we heard one loud crash echo through the center. Towards the middle of the room, there was now a large tray of champagne glasses that had been knocked down to the floor. Some of the guests got up in horror as a few glasses spilt all over their table and on their attire.

The Gala went completely silent. Even the live musicians stopped playing.

And in the midst of all this chaos, stood my mother. Well, stood was an overstatement.

She was drunk.

Her legs barely held her as she staggered from side to side in an attempt to make it towards our table.

“Get her the fuck out of here

now

.“ Anna hissed at Christian and Brad. Those words came through so cold, it sent shivers down my spine. Brad leaped into action first as he all but sprinted to my mothers side to guide her out of the room.

Because not another soul had said a word in the convention, all you could hear was my mother screaming at Brad to “get the fuck off her” and “don’t touch her.” Brad went from guiding her, to dragging her out of this event. Christian was next to spring to his feet as he followed Brad out. Joan, Derek, and I all got up from the table directly after that.

Before I could make it to the side doors of the convention entrance, I felt someone stop me with a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around to see who it could be, I noticed that I hadn’t seen this guest before.

“Hi, I was looking for a Brad Stevenson?” The man asked.

“Hi.” I smiled warmly back at him. “It looks like they might be a little occupied. I can show you to him in a little bit, just give me a moment.”

I didn’t wait for the man to respond as I bolted out of the room to find the gang. This was not a good time.

Sure enough, everyone was gathered in the same office Christian had pulled me into earlier. As soon as I entered the office, the first thing I saw was Joan removing her long dangling earring that she had worked hard to pair with her gorgeous dress.

“I know Alex might not be about it, but test me bitch. Imma baptize your face into that fucking table.” Joan snapped at my mother. She was getting ready to beat my mothers ass. Brad was doing his best to keep them separate as my mother continued to hurl insults Joan’s way.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I shouted at my mother. That got her attention. She looked over at me with those glossy familiar eyes. It was the first words I had spoken at her all night. “You come to my motherfucking company event and you want to make a complete fool of yourself like this? Embarrass yourself in front of me and every single fucking sole I care about? Are you

fucking

kidding me?“

My mother fell silent at my words.

“Do you see what the fuck I meant, Christian? Do you fucking get it now? She doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself. She will

never

give a shit about anyone but herself.“

Those words cut through the silence in the room like a knife. We almost didn’t notice the office door opening again.

“Excuse me?” A man called out from the doorway entrance. When we whipped around to see who it was, I recognized him as the man who had tapped me on my shoulder earlier.

“Can we help you?” Brad asked.

“Yes. I’m looking for a Brad Stevenson?” The man replied. Brad furrowed his eyebrows.

“That would be me.” He said hesitantly.

“Brad..” the man trailed off as he looked at Brad with some weird ass intensity. “I know your mother probably never spoke of me. Hell, I guess she had every reason not to.” He mumbled that last part to himself. “My name is Vadik Ivanov. I’m your mothers brother. I believe I’m also your biological father.”

The glass of champagne Derek was holding in his hand, slipped through his fingers and crashed to the floor.

To Be Continued…

••

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So first, I just want to start by saying THANK YOU.

Like seriously, THANK YOUR BLOODY SOULS.

I’m so excited to have wrapped up the first book. I’m also just fucking speechless that this book surpassed a million reads. Like what the hell y’all, I’m just a blubbering mess rn from all the feels. I appreciate everyone who has made it to the end, and stuck with this story. I appreciate every comment. I appreciate every vote. I appreciate each and every one of you.

I’m so excited to jump into the next book. You might not get it until after the holidays so please just exercise some patience with me while I enjoy the festivities with the family. I will update this book when the new book is available so also keep an eye out for that.

I know I’ve probably already said this nine gazillion times… but THANK YOU.

This piece of work wouldn’t have been completed without your continuous support. I love y’all so much.

Till we meet again, yeah?

xoxo

57 - The CEO’s Addiction

Introducing:

The CEO’s Addiction

Christian Ivanov and Alexander Hamilton have finally found each other.

But it wouldn’t be love, if every universal force imaginable wasn’t hell bent on breaking these two lovers up before their romance has really even begun.

Among the lies, the family secrets, the revenge, and the addictions… Will Christian and Alexander have what it takes to hold it together when shit really hits the fan? Or will they fall victim to their own self-sabotage?

•• Book Two to The CEO’s Kryptonite (Out Now!)

Update: 5.27.26

Well hey there all you cool cats and kittens.

Quick show of hands, how many of y’all would like this one published? I’m talking physical copy, right on your shelf?

xoxo