CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Whatever happened during that phone call had left Alex visibly rattled, but he didn't want to talk about it, so Ian had let him be. He'd handed Boo over and watched Alex's shoulders dropping as he inhaled deeply against Boo's hair.
"Thanks for doing this," Alex whispered, catching Ian's gaze. "I should take him upstairs and start getting ready, so can we talk more once I'm back?"
"Sure." Ian took a step back when all he wanted was to move closer instead. "I'll be here, observing the neighborhood, but I'm available if you need me."
He allowed himself to stare after them for a minute, but then he took a post by the window.
There was some foot traffic in and around the café on the other side of the street two buildings to the left, but nothing appeared to be suspicious so far, so he texted an update to Kalei, letting him know things were fine.
Before Alex appeared for breakfast, his mother had asked if they could leave the apartment together after lunch, and Ian assured her that they could. There was a park nearby and the weather was good, so he didn't think there was any reason to keep Boo inside.
He was honestly more worried about letting Alex leave by himself, but that was Alex's call and Ian had to accept that.
Alex hadn't put up any protests about wearing a watch with a tracker and he wasn't wrong about being able to better blend in with a crowd if he was on his own, either.
Alex's stage persona—with his long hair loose, the cane, and the distinctive stage style—made it actually harder to recognize him in a normal setting when his hair was hidden and he was dressed in jeans and a hoodie.
Ian had rarely accompanied him during the day on previous assignments, too.
It was the concerts, the press tour, and sometimes the award shows that required additional security.
Still, now that Ian was staying at Alex's place and would be forced to watch Alex leave while he stayed behind, it was making him nervous.
It had nothing to do with a rational risk assessment, and he knew that, so he focused on watching the delivery guy pull up the crates of boxes to the convenience store down the street.
Then he saw movement on his left and turned to see Alex approaching.
"Mom's five minutes out and once she's back, I'll be leaving. I should be done around five. I'll let you know when I'm on my way back."
"Okay."
"I—" Alex looked behind him for a second to where Boo was lying on a playmat and staring up at the animals hanging above him. "Could you send me a text every hour or so, telling me where you are and such?"
"Sure." Ian was tempted to ask for the same, which was completely bonkers, and he knew it.
Still… "If there's a change in your plans, text me as well, please.
I know my prerogative is Boo and your mom, but old habits and all that.
I'd like to keep tabs on you, too, and the watch offers data with no context. "
Alex nodded. "Yeah, of course. You should know where I am at all times, anyway. Just in case."
"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to them," Ian offered in a promise he shouldn't make but did anyway. "We'll hang out here, Boo's going to sleep half the day away, and at some point we will probably go to the park. That's all."
"Your plans sound better than mine," Alex muttered, but there was finally a shadow of a smile.
"You could do the press thing in your sleep." Ian shook his head. "You're patient, but you don't let anyone walk all over you."
"Not anymore."
Ian's eyebrows shot up before he could school his face, but the blank expression that followed Alex's admission told Ian he should let it go.
"You know how to handle the press," he reassured once again. "I've seen you do that multiple times."
"It's been a while."
"Which is why you have today, right? To practice over and over before the live events."
Alex huffed. "Yeah, you're right. I can always walk out."
"You can." Ian chuckled. That was like a mantra for Alex before any press events. "One day, who knows, it may actually happen."
"Hopefully not today."
"Still, it's good to have that option at the ready."
Now it was Alex who chuckled. "Okay, I'll—" The intercom interrupted him. "And that's my cue."
Ian nodded, then watched him walk away.
Everything was going to be fine.
It had to be.
* * *
A while later, during Boo's nap time, Ian called Kalei from the privacy of his room, sitting back in the chair by the window and straightening his legs in front of him.
"Everything's fine," he said after greetings. "There's no sign of anything amiss, but we haven't left the apartment yet—me and the family, that is. Mother left on her own earlier and there was no issues. He left about an hour ago, but we're in contact and he's fine."
"He clearly stated his wishes," Kalei pointed out, probably picking up on Ian's tension. "We offered him more manpower and he refused."
Ian pinched his nose. "I know, I know. I'm used to something different, that's all."
"We talked about it, and that's normal. You shadowed him a number of times, of course your instincts are conflicted right now."
Yeah, in more ways than one.
"Anyway, things are good here, but I realized I haven't… We haven't finished yesterday's conversation."
"That's true. But, to be clear, I didn't expect you to give me an answer right away.
An offer like that is obviously something that requires some thought, and I wouldn't want to pressure you.
I thought it was the right time, because you weren't supposed to be busy with an assignment, but while things didn't turn out that way, I'm still willing to give you time to consider your options.
Unless you already know you're not interested, in which case, please let me know and we'll move on. "
"No, I—" Ian fixed his gaze at the roof of the corner building on the left. "I'm interested. I haven't decided yet, but I'm definitely interested."
"Great, I'm glad to hear that. If you have any questions, I can answer them now or whenever you want."
"I'll have several, I'm sure, but for now, I'm curious about the timeline.
How soon would you like to do this? I assume it's at least partially dependent on the current state of things over there, and I admit I don't know what that entails.
There's a lot we would need in place for a team, even a small one. "
"Noa's already working on organizing the space to include the things we'd need, like proper training area, offices, and the like.
The moment you say yes, we'll involve you in the decision-making process, with me taking the back seat by then.
Ideally, I'd like your response in two weeks, but if you need more time, we can be flexible.
I don't expect you to move right away—certain things can be done long distance and you can travel back and forth for a while, too.
That said, three months from now, I see you over there full time, with a small team already in place and ready to get started. "
That was fast but not unreasonable.
And it was challenging and exciting, too.
A part of Ian wanted to say yes right away, make a jump and figure things out as he went.
But he should still consider all the angles, and since he was on an assignment now, he really shouldn't be splitting his focus between that and making plans for the New York City office, even if he was already getting ideas.
"Okay, thank you. That gives me more context, and I'll definitely have an answer ready for you in two weeks at the most."
"Great. Gather any other questions you have at the moment and we'll have another call when you're available.
If you want to talk to Noa as well, we can arrange that, of course.
You two are going to be working closely together, so you should get a chance to talk beforehand.
I can already tell you there's no one better you can have at your back when it comes to running a company, though.
KRK wouldn't be half of what it is if it wasn't for him. "
"I don't worry about that, I know he's great at his job. It's me who will have big shoes to fill, here."
Kalei snorted. "Okay, okay, you don't have to flatter me. I have already offered you the job. Think on it, okay? And call if you need anything."
"I will. Thanks."
A moment later, Ian was left alone with his own thoughts again.
Three months from now, he could be in New York, in a new office, picking and overseeing ops and planning further expansion, which was, honestly, a little daunting.
There was no shortage of jobs they were needed for, but growing too big too fast wasn't good for anybody—especially not a company that had to uphold its reputation.
In their line of business, reputation truly was everything.
And Ian was going to be the one responsible for it—more so than as a field agent on an assignment.
He was going to be responsible for others, too, for gathering the right team and fostering the right culture.
Kalei had managed to create something special with KRK, giving space for a bunch of mostly former military personnel not only to create a second or third career but to push themselves to be better.
To actually use the skills they'd learned and not just put them aside, to satisfy their protective instincts without the need for violence, and to be competitive without being stupid about it, at least most of the time.
Ian wanted to create that in New York, too, but he wasn't sure how to go about it. He'd observed Kalei over the years and watched various people on their team, which gave him some idea, and yet he felt like he didn't know the special ingredient, that one thing that made it run smoothly.
Another question for Kalei, I guess. He could already tell it was going to be a long list.
For now, he needed to go check if it was time to go to the park yet.