Page 5 of Fractured
“This was not an arranged meeting, Robert. We will resume speaking about this tomorrow in the proper venue. You mistake the marriage of our children to license liberties with my time.”
My father turns away from him and walks towards the doors. Robert’s face is red, his fists gripping tight at his sides as he watches my father's retreating back.
In the words of Marcus; “Mike drop!”
I smile and move past him, catching up to my father just inside the doors.
“Once you shower and change, come to my room. I want to see what you and your brother have for me."
James goes to the desk and checks us in, Carlos and James join us with the luggage cart. James hands Carlos two key cards and we all head to the elevator.
Once inside, James hits our floor and then the penthouse for my father. James hands Carlos an extra card for the penthouse and we ride up in silence. We arrive at our floor and we step off.
“An hour Alexander.” My father speaks just as the elevator door closes
Well, so much for taking a few minutes. I nod and the door closes, leaving me in the hallway. Carlos already has our suite door open and I step inside. Grabbing my duffle and garment bag off the floor, I head to the master bedroom. Carlos follows behind me, heading over to the guest bedroom.
We shower and meet in the living room. I pour myself a finger of whisky. Carlos shakes his head when I tip the bottle at him. I shoot it back in one swallow, taking in the New York skyline.
It’s taking all I have to not bring up Isabella’s room on my phone. It’s been three hours; she should be having her dinner delivered soon. I twist the glass in my hand, watching the ice melt as it slides around the edge.
There is so much I still need to learn, so much I could do better, but my temper gets the better of me and I lose focus.
I turn to look at Carlos; he’s texting on his phone. “Ready?”
He nods, stands up and heads to the door. I put my glass on the coffee table, head out past him, and press the elevator. We stand there in silence as we wait. He still won't speak to me and I smile to myself, I guess he’s still looking for the right words.
The door opens, and he presses the card to the scanner. A minute later, we arrive at my father’s penthouse, and he’s already hard at work. James takes us to his office, files and folders spread out on every surface. His sleeves are rolled up and his suit jacket is off, as well as his tie.
My father points at the two chairs in front of his desk not lifting his head to acknowledge our arrival. “Sit. James, bring us fresh coffee and something to chew on.”
James leaves and we take a seat opposite his desk.
“Show me the folder you and Sebastian compiled.” He holds his hand out.
I dig it out and hand it to him; he flips it open and begins to read. Carlos and I exchange a look.
“Explain the disagreement.” He looks at us from under his eyebrows and then goes back to flipping the pages.
I clear my throat. “It was a misunderstanding. I got into a quarrel with Anna…”
“The gate girl?” He says.
“Yes, she’s very opinionated, which led to us raising our voices. Isabella left unbeknownst to us, she is not partial to arguments. Long story short, I ran a trace, and I found her and I brought her home. So till I get back from New York, she’s remaining in her room for today and will have an escort, as well as her bodyguard, when she needs to leave the property.”
My father puts the folder down and looks at Carlos. “And you feel this is unwarranted?”
“It’s not my place to say what is or isn’t. My job is to look after Alex, protect him with my life.” Carlos states firmly.
“Ahh… I see.” He flips a few more pages and continues to read, leaving us hanging.
He closes the folder after a few minutes and grabs his phone pressing a number. In a few minutes, he addresses someone with a growl. “The plane will come back for you. I expect you to be in New York tonight. I’ll have James leave a card at the front desk. You’ll stay in my suite.” He hangs up and then settles back in his chair, looking between us.
“Put your personal issues aside. You boys can bicker about females later. Business is business. And we have a problem.” He taps the folder with his finger. “What’s the update on the Will.”
Carlos shifts in his chair. “There isn’t one. I have a guy on the ground looking into the son. I’m hoping he might have some of his father’s important client papers.”
My father nods, and he looks at me, “And the subsidiary companies? Any clue who owns them? He can’t run this big of an operation all on his own. He’s not that smart.”
