Chapter 6 – Alexander
ALEXANDER
My phone pinged as I slathered garlic butter on the loaf of French bread our housekeeper had picked up for me earlier.
Sebastian: They just pulled in.
I winced. We had pulled a lot of high-handed moves this afternoon to maneuver Evelyn into one of the two apartments below our penthouse suite.
Marcus suggested it after our meeting with the FIA agents earlier this afternoon.
The other apartment was occupied by Adrian, and the security on this building was top-notch.
It had been installed by SDS, after all.
But none of that was going to matter to Evelyn when she learned we had packed up her entire life from her house and installed it one floor below our own.
And that was why I was cooking Evelyn’s favorite meal, lasagna and garlic bread, in her new kitchen.
I wasn’t above using underhanded tactics to get her to see the benefits of living here.
At least temporarily. Truthfully, her “Miracle” manor felt more like home than the penthouse suite, but if we wanted it to remain off the FIA’s radar, we couldn’t be commuting back and forth.
Adrian reached into the refrigerator next to me and poured a glass of Evelyn’s favorite wine. A white Greek wine my mother had sent her from one of their many travels. He poured half a glass, paused, then poured more.
“Good choice.” I smirked at him as I slid the garlic bread into the oven.
He rolled his eyes. “Like you’re not pulling out all the stops too.” He motioned to the gray sweatpants and tight white T-shirt I had thrown on as soon as I had gotten home.
I knew Evelyn liked seeing me in casual clothes. I had caught her staring at me more than once. So after leaving the office early, I’d dug through my closet and changed quickly.
“And here we are.” Sebastian’s cheery voice came through the front door as he threw it open.
The apartment was a mirrored layout of Adrian’s apartment across the hall.
It was large, being one of two apartments on this floor.
The main door opened into a large living area with the kitchen off to the left.
The stainless-steel appliances and white cabinets lent it a modern feel that was the polar opposite of the manor’s kitchen, but I hadn’t had time to renovate it to match before Evelyn arrived.
A large kitchen island with four barstools separated the kitchen from the dining table.
Wall to ceiling windows covered the left side of the room.
The bulletproof privacy glass presented a picturesque view of the city skyline.
On the opposite side of the room, a large TV hung above a gas fireplace.
A gray sectional couch with neutral throw pillows faced the TV.
The couch was something I did have time to get delivered in the last few hours.
The previous couch was a leather monstrosity that I knew Evelyn would hate.
She liked soft, comfortable things. I couldn’t do much about the modern feel of the apartment on short notice, but I could get a new couch delivered.
Down the hallway to the right of the door were three bedrooms. The master bedroom that Evelyn would be taking, a guest room in case one of us stayed over, and a third bedroom that Sebastian had converted into an office.
The office was complete with a secure link into the Archers’ command center.
Liam had helped Sebastian set it up, and now Evelyn had a wall of monitors from which she could run the Archers.
I knew it probably killed her to take a step or several steps back from running the Archers, but hopefully it was only temporary.
“Marcus, this is absolutely ridiculous. I—” Evelyn’s voice cut off when she stepped through the doorway.
She took in Adrian and me standing in her new kitchen.
Her nose twitched, and I knew she could smell the lasagna.
She sighed, muttering something to herself as she closed her eyes and looked up.
Her hands were on her hips, and she looked like the picture of righteous indignation.
I buried my chuckle as Adrian approached her carefully, glass of wine in hand like an offering to appease an angry goddess.
As Adrian distracted her, I took an opportunity to look her over as if she had been injured when I wasn’t around.
It was a possibility with so many people gunning for her.
Plus, she was so stoic, so used to handling everything on her own, that it took me six years to figure out that she had a whole dual life I knew nothing about. A dangerous life.
Tight lines around her mouth and eyes spoke to the stressful day.
It wasn’t just the interview with the FIA agents.
Her life’s work and the future of her organization were at stake here.
And more than that, everyone she had ever helped, or was trying to help, in the city was now at risk.
On top of all of that, now we were dealing with the fallout of Citadel and everyone jumping ship to us.
It made me want to wrap her up in bubble wrap and hide her in my bedroom away from the world.
No one could survive that much stress without it affecting them.
How much more pressure could she take before she broke?
We would never find out, because I was determined to take it from her before I would ever let her fall.
She took the glass of wine from Adrian without saying a word.
Her mouth was still pinched. I cracked open the oven door, so the smell of the garlic bread wafted into the room.
Her eyes narrowed at me as if she knew I was playing dirty.
I almost cracked a grin at her fierce expression.
I had respected the hell out of her when I thought she was just my assistant.
She ran the SDS office with an iron fist and inspired both fear and awe in people.
But now that I knew how much good she accomplished in the city and how much she took on her shoulders, it only made me respect her more.
And if I hadn’t had a chance to get to know her over the last several weeks, the look she was leveling at me now would have sent shivers up my spine.
But that was before I had fallen head over heels in love with her.
She was irritated at us, but there was also something else in her eyes.
Resignation. Like she had known this was coming.
Her eyes glanced over me to the pile of paperwork that was sitting on the kitchen island.
Her Archers laptop and tablet were sitting neatly next to it.
Her lips tilted in a frown, and I had no doubt that Danny was going to be getting an earful later.
When Marcus had come to us earlier, I immediately texted Danny to enlist his help.
When we first met him, I wasn’t sure what to make of him.
He was fiercely protective of Evelyn but also knew that she was going to stand on her own two feet.
From what little I knew of Evelyn’s history, the bond the two of them had was strong.
Stronger than any bond I knew. He could have pushed Evelyn to stay away from us, but instead, he seemed to know exactly what she needed.
Although I had no doubts that if Evelyn wanted nothing to do with us, Danny would have made it happen.
“It’s time for the grand tour!” Sebastian announced like he was presenting a royal palace instead of a three-bedroom apartment. He bowed low before her, gesturing dramatically for her to head down the hallway.
Her lips quirked a little bit at his antics, and I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t too angry with us if she still found Sebastian funny. Sebastian had a knack for breaking the tension and making friends wherever he went.
However, I had never seen him become obsessed with someone like he had with Evelyn that first day she’d started working for us.
Originally, I had been worried I was going to have to be on guard for an HR report when he first flirted with Evelyn, but she had just looked at him coolly and shut him down without being cruel.
She’d handled him beautifully, and he had become even more obsessed.
You would think with all his flirting, he was a playboy, but I had never seen him flirt with anyone before her.
Before Evelyn, his obsessions were his toys in the tech lab, and after Evelyn… well, she became his.
As Sebastian guided her down the hallway, Marcus and Adrian joined me in the kitchen.
“That seemed to have gone smoothly,” I said to Marcus.
Marcus frowned, rubbing his temple as he stared down the hallway after them. “Too smoothly. I expected more of a fight.”
Adrian laughed and clapped a hand on Marcus’s shoulder.
Four years ago, Marcus had come to me and asked if we could hire Adrian.
His name had barely come out of Marcus’s mouth before I’d said yes.
Adrian had saved Marcus’s life in many ways when they served together in the military.
When Marcus had joined his platoon, Adrian had taken Marcus under his wing and taught him the lay of the land.
The lessons the more experienced soldier had taught Marcus had saved his life, and the bonds they had built in the military were just as strong as the blood bond I had with him.
I could have been jealous of Adrian, but he was genuinely a good guy, and over the last four years, I had built my own bonds with him.
Besides, it was because of him that Marcus was even standing in this kitchen.