Wednesday, June 28, 2016
Tech Geniuses
21 weeks...
Alexandra swallowed nervously as she looked at the towering building from the window of her car.
Tech Geniuses.
Just looking at the imposing building made her shudder with unease. She wondered if Trey had intentionally had it constructed that way to scare and make an impression on people.
Gale had sent her a message, saying that he needed her presence at the office to relay very important information. Apparently, he didn't think it was safe to do it over the phone, so here she was.
Still in the car.
Making zero attempts to open the door.
Much less step out.
She took a deep breath and opened her door before she could chicken out, and Samuel was out of the driver's seat and at her side by the time she had finished unbuckling her seat belt.
She rolled her eyes but accepted his hand anyway. Once she stood on the pavement, he closed the door and turned to her, hands clasped before him. "Would you like me to wait or come back later?"
She was quiet for a bit. "Did you drive Trey to work today?"
"No. He drove himself, leaving me available for you in case you needed to go anywhere."
She blew out an annoyed breath. "I'll come with him then."
With a salute and hint of a smile on his lips, he rounded the car's hood to the driver's side. She watched him drive away then took a deep breath before turning to her doom.
Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic, but the point was, she didn't want to be back in there. Then she looked down at herself. She hadn't bothered to put on a dress that hid her pregnancy and she felt stupid. What if she met up with paparazzi?
She went towards the door hurriedly, keeping her face down till she reached the door. A hand appeared in her line of view blocking her entrance, and she looked up to find Jasper—a security detail of her husband's—looking down at her.
His lips twitched as he pressed his lips together, trying to hide his smile.
"Sneaking into the office?" he teased. She narrowed her eyes at him and huffed. He replied with a full-blown smile. "Just need to know if you are allowed in here."
She tapped him on the shoulder. "Yes, and I'm here upon invitation."
"Okay," he muttered. "But at least hold your head high. Don't give the gossips anything to talk about," his eyes fell down to her bump, "—well except that one. You couldn't stop tongues wagging if you tried. Congrats anyway."
"Thank you."
He stepped back and opened the door for her, wishing her all the best. She nodded and stepped into the building, making a beeline for the elevator. She could feel eyes on her and that spurred her on to be quicker.
She entered the elevator, hoping no one would join her. No one did and it closed on her. She closed her eyes after punching Trey's floor, and took a deep breath to calm herself.
The elevator stopped, and she opened her eyes, confusion marring her face as that was not the right floor. She got her answer when the door slid open to reveal Jason. In the flesh. With coffee to his lips.
"Jason?"
He looked down as if now noticing the elevator was open. His eyes lit up with joy though she saw a little surprise. The door began closing but he hurried through, letting out a deep breath when he made it. "Alexandra."
"Hey," she replied cheerfully, hugging him. "I didn't know you were back."
He shrugged when he pulled away. "I felt bad leaving Trey to deal with things on his own. So, I briefed Sierra and she agreed to postpone it to another time since all we were doing was worry."
Lexi bit her lip. "You shouldn't have come back though."
"I hate to break it to you, but getting married to Trey came with a hard-headed best friend—me. You're not changing my mind," he resolved, narrowing his eyes at her. "I'm not going to sit back and watch my best friend struggle while I have fun."
He stepped out of the elevator first, then offered his hand. Quietly, she took it, still reeling from all the information. She was bringing trouble to her friends and family, and later, her babies will be involved.
He let go of her hand, and put an arm around her shoulders, guiding her towards Trey's office. He decided to remain quiet since she looked deep in thought for some reason. He paused at Gale's door, leaving Lexi's side to poke his head in. "Hey mate."
Gale looked up, then smiled. "Mr. Turner. Congratulations on your wedding."
"Thank you," he replied with a grin, stepping back as Gale made his way towards him.
"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Upon stepping outside the office, he noticed Alexandra leaning against a wall, quietly, which was unusual. "Is she okay?" he whispered.
Jason shrugged. "I'm to meet Trey in the conference room. Keep an eye on her for me?"
"Sure."
As Jason's footsteps receded, Gale turned to Alexandra, studying her as though she was a ticking time bomb. Then he cleared his throat to get her attention, smiling a bit when it worked. "He's in a meeting right now. Would you like to go wait in his office?"
"Yes," she replied quietly, moving towards the door. Then she paused, face scrunched in confusion. "Didn't you call me here?"
"It will be explained when he gets back," Gale replied. "I didn't think he would like me bringing you all the way here so he doesn't know yet."
Hurt flashed across her face, gone the next moment. "Does he not want me here?"
"No no, that's not what I meant," Gale struggled to explain. "He doesn't like the idea of you stressing. You should really sit or I'd be in so much trouble."
The man in question rounded the corner right that moment, coming straight to her. He touched her, tucked her hair behind her ears, and cupped her cheek. "Is everything alright?" he asked softly.
"Yes," she responded, "just thinking."
He was quiet for a while, then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head a 'no'. "Did you want to see me?"
"Gale invited me over," she told him, leaning into him.
He caught her against him, and raised a brow at Gale over her head. His assistant shrugged, saying, "Figured she'd want to hear it all first hand."
Trey sighed. "Call them in," he said.
"Right away," Gale responded, ducking back into his office.
Looking down at Lexi, Trey said, "Let's go inside." He guided her inside, Jason following closely and shutting the door behind them.
Lexi detached herself from him to settle on the couch, taking off her shoes. "I need more comfortable shoes," she grumbled, leaning back. "My feet are sore." He made a mental note to get her some.
Going to his fridge, he grabbed three bottles of water, handing one to Alexandra, another to Jason and keeping the last for himself. A few minutes later, there was a single knock, then Gale opened the door, holding it open for four people to pass through.
Jason took a seat next to Alexandra, winking, glad when she smiled back at him.
"Good morning, sir," the four greeted though they wore matching expressions of confusion. Trey stayed right where he was—leaned against his desk—his face impassive.
"These are the heads, sir; Djamila Ayad—PR, Robert Davies—Shipments, Natalia Cortez—Production supervisor, and finally, Jared Tomlinson—HR," Gale announced, each nodding when their names were mentioned. Gale stepped back when he was done.
Trey responded with a single nod before turning to his employees of the year. "Congratulations on a job well done," he began, smiling a little as they eased up.
"Thank you," they said simultaneously, Djamila projecting innocence as she smiled down at her shoes. He didn't miss the flirtatious look Ayad cast his way, but he held back from scoffing. He stopped in front of them, smiling wider.
"I am very amazed how you kept working hard, even when I wasn't paying attention. Is that why you produced more lenses than required?" He watched them stiffen.
He stood, looking from one person to the other while they avoided his eyes. He set both hands on his hips. "I don't have all day. Let's be quick, shall we?"
"Sir," Gale called out, opening the door. When Trey looked up, he said, "There's one more person." Trey's brows lifted in surprise. "Colton Jones; no longer employed here. He's willing to talk."
The other four's head snapped up, their eyes going wide. He completely missed the 'don't do it' glare Natalia and Djamila sent his way. "Great!" Trey clapped. "Tell me everything you know."
He took a deep breath, knowing he was doing the right thing. He no longer had anything to lose. "A few years back my little girl was diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of five, and that's when I secured a job here because the pay was good enough for me to support her oxygen needs.
"Near the beginning of this year, it got bad, and I really needed money. He promised to secretly increase my pay—"
"Who?" Trey cut in.
"Mr. Tomlinson," he replied. "And in addition, they were going to fund my daughter's treatment. But on a condition. I had to deliver something to a location for them. I thought nothing of it and agreed because I really needed the money."
He took another breath, urging himself to continue. "But sometime later, I overheard them speaking while I was going to Jared for the extra pay in advance."
"And what were they saying?" Trey asked, glancing at Lexi to see how she was taking it. She looked surprisingly calm, and he almost smiled at her strength.
"Something about Ethan Donovan getting your wife, so that Djamila could finally have you." Trey and Alexandra looked up at Djamila who had the decency to look contrite. "She said your wife didn't deserve you, so it was only right to send her off to someone as 'crazy' as Ethan."
Trey refocused on Colton. "What did you do about it?"
"Stepped in to face them, because my conscience wouldn't allow it. They told me I couldn't back out anymore and threatened to—" he swallowed, "my daughter." He shut his eyes and when he opened them, he didn't look Trey in the eye.
"Ms. Ayad dug up dirt on me concerning my CV and threatened to expose it. Mrs. Cortez made the extra lenses herself and Mr. Davies made sure it wouldn't be recorded.
"When the time came, I was given the package to deliver, not knowing they'd had someone follow me because they had doubts. As soon as I balked and lost my nerve, I was intercepted and gutted with a knife.
"The doctors said it missed my heart by just an inch; they'd meant to kill me." He balled his fists. "They cut off my daughter's oxygen supply that same day, killing her off like they'd meant to do me. She was only seven."
Alexandra sucked in a lungful of air. "I'll take any punishment you wish to give me for involving myself in it. I am sorry."
Trey went past him to the couch, brushing her hair as he leaned down to ask in a whisper, "Did you call Billy and Mitchell?"
Jason nodded. Trey straightened. "Here's what is going to happen," he said, catching their attention.
Mitch burst in with men dressed casually in tow, grinning evilly. "Like I was saying," Trey emphasized, "I'm going to take your phones, and you're going to go on house arrest. Escape will be impossible, since I'm getting military backing too.
"All you have to do is testify in court when the time comes, and maybe, you'll have a less drastic sentence." He outstretched his hands towards them. "Phones."
One by one, they gave him their phones. "You're going to be at the station with the cops till we finish the arrangements then you can go home with them as your escorts. Your houses will be thoroughly checked too."
He set the phones down on the desk behind him. "Oh and, of course, you're fired. Have fun finding new jobs after your prosecution."
When he saw the guilt and fear plastered on their faces, it was enough for him. "Make no mistake, you will face all the charges—from aiding in name slandering, murder, and attempted murder." He faced Mitchell, Billy and the cops. "Take them away please. I'll keep in touch."
"Him too?" A cop asked, nodding towards Colton.
"Oh yes," Trey replied, walking closer. "Just don't put him in the same cell as the others. If not, he might be dead before he can actually help us." The cop nodded in understanding. "Thank you," Trey whispered to Colton who nodded once, then was being led away.
He went to the couch and gathered Lexi into his arms. "Are you okay?"
"No" she said, her voice muffled against his chest. "If he's so far over the edge that he killed an innocent child, he can do the same to our children if they get in his way. I'm scared."
He pressed a kiss to her head, thinking about it himself. They had to lock him up as soon as possible. "We'll be alright."
But he wasn't worried because he had a plan to speed things up.