Page 48 of Emeric

I could be brave if I wanted to.

That didn’t sound convincing at all in my head.

“Ugh!” I groaned loudly.

I’d heard what happened with Vail and Oleander. Sheldon texted and asked me to let Emeric know as well. Sheldon cared about his best friend, who was beating himself up.

There was no way Oleander could have seen someone coming unless the person was in front of him or on the side, not on a city street with car noises, people hollering at each other, store doors opening and closing, and conversations drifting out. I understood it wasn’t an overly busy hour, which worked in their favor when Oleander grabbed the man. It still wasn’t his fault.

I hadn’t heard from Oleander. We had a group chat with Emeric. I didn’t want to bring up what took place, so I asked when we’d see each other next. There was nothing but crickets from Oleander.

After reaching out to Sheldon, I learned Oleander had been busy but also very quiet. Sheldon said that meant he was really in his head. The more I’d heard, the more pissed I became at Jordan. I understood it was Vail’s life, but to expect his guards to be superhuman was unreasonable. I’d also heard Vail let Jordan have it in front of some of the guards, including Sheldon and Oleander. Sheldon told me not to let it out that he spilled to me what took place. It wouldn’t look good for him with Jordan.

“That’s it,” I muttered

Phone in hand, I tapped the screen to pull up Jordan’s contact information and hit the call button. I usually texted when I had an issue. That way, he could get back to me when he had time. I’d sat on this long enough.

“Sylvan, what’s wrong?” Jordan asked in a concerned rush. My anger thawed a little. Jordan had always been good to me. More than good. He’d given me exactly what I needed when I was at a low point.

“Everything’s fine. I just… Are you still angry with Ollie?”

“For fuck’s sake,” he growled. “That’s why you called me? To ask if I’m treating your boyfriend okay?”

I didn’t want to do it, especially to him, but I raised my voice. “Don’t act like my calling is a childish request. You’re treating one of your best guards like he allowed someone in your life to be killed. That’s not the case. In fact, he did everything in his power to correct the situation, and yet you still laid into him. I’m not your father or his. I’m your friend and his boyfriend. If I want to call because I’m concerned about what happened, you’re damn right I’m going to and should be able to without you yelling. You’d do the same if the situation were reversed.” I bit my lip to shut up. Hopefully, I didn’t fuck up too badly.

A loud sigh came through the phone. “Sylvan, I honestly have done all I can, short of apologizing to him, which I refuse to do. I won’t set the standard among my guards that if they fuck up, one of my partners will scold me, and I’ll tell my employee I’m sorry. I don’t live in that world here. This isn’t a typical company where there’s an HR department and others to look over my actions. I’m every department. I’m the whole goddamn company. And if I want to hold my guards to higher standards than any other employer, that’s my right to do so. What never occurred to any of you was that if I didn’t hold my guards above others, they’d end up dead. Shot. Stabbed. Murdered. Blood on the streets. They are one of the reasons I’m feared. They’re that fucking good. So when one of them doesn’t do what’s expected of them, you’re damn right I’m going to yell.”

There was a brief pause where I let Jordan’s words sink in. He was right, but he still could have handled it more tactfully. Maybe not holler at Oleander in front of others. Not argue with Vail there either. Maybe understand how hard Oleander was on himself and nothing Jordan said would have made him feel any worse. We were our own worst enemies after all.

Finally, I said calmly, “I understand why you run things the way you do. What I’m asking is that you remember the human being on the other end of those conversations. You tore him apart in front of his peers. You got into it with Vail because of Ollie, which had to make Ollie feel worse for causing an issue between you and Vail. Next time, think about how your actions impact those around you as well as the words you say.”

“I’m not going to make any promises.”

“Just think about what I said.”

Jordan wasn’t going to apologize to Oleander. That was a far-fetched dream. I still didn’t like how things were handled. Speaking to Jordan about it made me see it from his point of view, one I needed to take in the scope of what happened. Not the issue itself, but the chain of events that occurred once it was done.

“I will,” he said. “If anyone else had called and said what you did to me, I’d have their fucking head.”

I grinned, even though he couldn’t see it. “I love you too.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled and ended the call.

Jordan Altair Sr., the softie. Too bad the world wouldn’t ever see that side of him. It was for the best. If people thought of him that way, they’d come for him and everything he had, including the people he loved. There had to be fear, or he’d have a bigger target on his chest.

With a sigh and a little smile from feeling like I did something good, I went to work at my desk, writing for a bit before getting up and stretching. I found if I took breaks every thirty minutes, I sat down feeling more refreshed. Although, if I were in the groove and didn’t want to stop, I stayed where I was. There was no reason to interrupt a great flow except if hours had passed and I was more in my book than reality. That wasn’t a bad place for me to be when writing; however, my body would cramp up, and I’d realize I hadn’t eaten or used the bathroom in a while.

In the kitchen, I grabbed the container of fruit I’d cut up earlier. The market got in a bunch of fresh fruit I couldn’t pass up. I enjoyed eating with the seasons. In winter, I craved hot comfort foods or baked vegetables. A little fruit too, but nothing like the summer. Then I wanted all the fresh vegetables and fruit, plus lots of frosty and frozen drinks. There were so many great recipes for every season that I went with the flow and what I craved.

I was busy putting the lid on the container when my phone alerted me that someone was at the gate. Looking at the screen, I saw Oleander’s Subaru come through.

Oh fuck.

What if he was here to tell me off for talking to Jordan? What if he was so pissed that he said he didn’t want to be with me any longer? What if he’d already talked to Emeric and they both felt I violated their trust?

“Shit. Shit. Shit.”

Placing the container in the fridge, I rushed to the bathroom to make sure I wasn’t a complete wreck appearance-wise. I hadn’t expected anyone today, so I was in a pair of comfortable shorts and a T-shirt that was beyond worn with a few small holes at the hem. There wasn’t time for me to change.