Alpha Incorporated

IV - vi SUCH MEN OF SORTS AND SUITS

At least that is what he once thought, but the tables seemed to have turned. The other morning he thought he had killed her. That was not part of the bargain, certainly. He wasn't supposed to hurt her. He wanted her to love him, that was what he really wanted. But she reminded him so much of Mariana. Her smell, mainly, but the feel of her skin. And her taste, when he was bent over her, his lips on her back.

But she wouldn't respond. He was tender, he thought: his touch, gentle; his voice, soft. He really tried to make her first time with him pleasurable. But she didn't move. It was like she was doing it on purpose, intentionally trying to make him mad, like she knew exactly what would set him off. And it worked.

When Angelo ran from his room, down to the garage and jumped into the Lamborghini, he was in a panic. When he returned, later that morning, he expected to see Isabella's half-naked body on his bed, sprawled, dead. He thought long and hard about this during his drive and as he sat in his car, watching the ocean. He decided that even though he had the position, the power and the connections to make this problem go away—he still had enough pull in the old neighborhood to bring in a clean up crew—that this isn't how he rolls now. He decided that because he made the mess, he would deal with the dirt himself. He would disclose all, come clean, and throw himself at the mercy of the judge. He would let his fate be measured against the law.

But, of course, there was no dead Isabella on his bed. She was nowhere to be seen. He knows that no one came in and removed her body, as the security log only shows one door had opened by someone on the inside three minutes after he left for his drive. And now he knows that he is being played. He is being forced either to deny or disclose. He will choose the latter.

"Listen, Charles, it is important that you understand what I have to tell you. Can you just close that screen for a minute?"

Charles looks over the monitor to Angelo. He can see the furrow of his brow and reads the anguish in the lines of his face. Maybe he already knows, maybe he has been tipped off already.

"I need to fill you in on something, give you a head's up, before it goes public. You and the Board are going to need to decide what to do about it. I will, for once, stay out of it and do what I am told to do."

Charles touches a button on his keyboard and the glow of the screen goes black. The lights in the office increase and the blinds automatically open. Escalus rolls his chair to the side and places his forearms on his desk, facing Angelo. He has got his attention now.

"Charles, you know that I trust you, and that I respect your opinion. I always have. So, I need to tell you some things, things that may cause you to think differently about me. Things that I am not particularly proud of. Things that we really would prefer not become public information."

Escalus has a look of interest, concern, and maybe even pity. His low voice is calm. "Okay, Angelo, what is it?"

Angelo pauses, takes a deep breath, and begins. "While I understand that there is a public role to be played by a man in my position—unlike Vincent, I am not afraid of the spotlight—I do take steps to keep my personal life private. Especially when it comes to women. Some public figures like to play up the bad boy, playboy schtick, but not me. I would rather be seen as ruthless in the boardroom, not the bedroom. So, I take precautions. You know me, always about risk management. So you also know that before I date a woman, I have her enter into a non-disclosure agreement. Standard Operating Procedure, like with the Navy Seals. The last thing I want is a celebrity gossip show doing a kiss and tell segment with some bimbo. We saw that with my break-up with Mariana, the media doesn't always take the side we want."

"Yes, but we managed to spin that to our advantage, thanks to you, Angelo. But why are you telling me this? Do we have a sex scandal on our hands?"