by Holly Rayner
“Thank you, Mr. Stratos,” she replied, taking it with a shaky hand.
“Terrorists are trying to break into my home and kill me. I think it’s safe for you to call me Alexandros now,” the Greek remarked.
Kally laughed weakly, and took a long drink. “Okay then, Alexandros,” she intoned. “I guess it’s safe for you to call me Kally now.”
Kally took a moment to take in her surroundings. It certainly wasn’t the Batcave she had expected after fleeing through the hidden passageway. Whoever had stocked the panic room had forgotten to pack in anything in the way of entertainment. Kally could see neither books nor magazines. There was no television, but the bar, by contrast, looked fully stocked.
“It looks like someone has their priorities straight,” she quipped, shaking her head.
Alexandros kept himself busy tending bar, and Kally launched into one of her many Republic-related stories. In a few moments, she was slaying Alexandros with the one about the April Fools’ Day story arranger.
“So my best friend thought up this crazy idea of mocking up an April Fools’ edition of the newspaper. When she told me what she was planning to do, I was sure she had lost her mind. She sneaked in after closing, and switched the draft copy for her version. Everyone comes in the next day and gets to work. I heard a scream two minutes later, so I looked at the front page. I couldn’t see straight for five minutes. We nearly went to press with a picture of our editor in her underwear at the Christmas party, and a lead story about a hiccuping baby and his adventures in our break room. That was nearly national news!” Kally was crying she was laughing so hard. “The editor stormed out of her office with an expression that said “set phasers to kill”, and for the next three hours, we all went through the Spanish Inquisition.”
“And she didn’t get fired?” Alexandros asked when he could breathe again.
“I thought she would be for sure, but somehow, Beth managed to keep her job. To this day, I can’t figure out how. Our editor was so mad she was turning purple.”
Alexandros poured out more drinks, and the sharing continued. After a while, Alexandros started talking about his daughter. He admitted to spoiling her rotten because he wanted her to have the sort of life his father had denied him. Despite that, Stefania had turned out to be a sweet and loving girl who loved poetry. He tried to recite a poem she'd written, but he was starting to slur when he spoke.
“I’ll try again when I'm sober,” the Greek said, draining his glass.
“S’okay,” Kally replied, swaying slightly in her seat on the bed. “She sounds like a really special girl, Alexandros.”
“The best,” he agreed. “Always full of ideas. She wanted me to build a school for girls in India.”
“And will you?”
“It opens next fall,” Alexandros replied, sitting down beside her. “Unless the board has its way. They seem really interested in teaching too. Just last week, they taught me how many four letter words you can cram into one sentence,” he laughed. “Stefania was ambitious for a six year-old. She wanted me to teach the girls to paint,” he continued. “Her dream was to teach them skills so that they could get in school and out of poverty.”
The talking and drinking continued for another hour or so, Kally tipsily considering that this man had been her enemy only that morning. Now it seemed nearly impossible to her that she had ever found anything to dislike about him. He was handsome, deep, and caring, with plans to change the world for the better.
She pushed herself into a standing position, and shuffled over to the bar, where she took hold of the vodka bottle, and tried to steady herself for the task ahead. At that moment, her phone started ringing, but she barely heard it through the fog of alcohol. She told herself it wasn’t important, probably Layla checking in on her again, and continued pouring drinks.
Alexandros was more proactive, fishing the phone out of Kally's purse before heaving himself off of the couch. He staggered over to the bar and was about to hand the chirping phone to Kally when he glanced at the name on the screen. Even through the liquor, he could feel suspicion rising.
“It’s Don Lewis Jr.,” he said, placing the phone beside her. “I don’t know why he would be trying to call you, though.”
“Oh, he'll be wanting to know what I've found out about you,” Kally laughed, slurring badly, not thinking about what she was saying. “He called me a few days ago with this whole macho Wild West attitude, offering me a big-ass pile of money just to get some dirt on you. Says he’s been trying to get the drop on you for years.”
“And you’ve been feeding him information from our interviews, is that it?”
“Well, I’d planned to, but then I found out you’re not the asshole I thought you were. You’re a nice guy, actually, so I’ve been stalling. Only an idiot says “no” to Don.”
Alexandros' eyes widened in shock. “I trusted you, Kally. I brought you into my home. I’ve told you things I wouldn’t share with my own brothers! What possessed you to consider betraying my trust?” he asked, his voice rising in anger.
“Hey! I needed the money!” Kally slurred defensively. “You’re the one who bought the Republic and took it apart, remember? You come rolling in and poof, there goes my job. And not another one to be had in the whole damn city. Had to come all the way out here. And do you know how much that shoebox I live in costs to rent?”
Alexandros went quiet. Even if he were sober, he doubted he could have remembered buying out the Republic. To him it had been only one of dozens of assets he’d acquired to diversify his investments. He had never thought of the people that worked there, all the people Kally had been telling him about. With a sudden pang of horror, he remembered Beth Matthews. He had shoved a mother and her two month old into the street. He took a hard, unsteady look at Kally Jones, and realized that he had been responsible for ruining her life.
“I’m so sorry,” he said suddenly, looking earnestly into Kally’s unfocused eyes. “I didn’t realize…” he faltered, unable to continue. His grief at ruining yet another life was inexpressible, but Kally saw it in the lines of his face.
Obeying a sudden instinct, Kally reached out and cradled his face in her hands. “You are the most beautiful, complex, and frustrating man I have ever met,” she breathed, staring into his eyes.
She pulled him to her and they began to kiss each other passionately, basking in the heat that radiated from their skin. They struggled to move around the bar that was between them, and when they at last succeeded, they fell to the floor in a heap.
***
Kally awoke several hours later, hazily realizing that she and Alexandros were entwined together on the couch. It took her a few moments to remember what had happened, and she wasn't quite sure what to say.
Thankfully, Alexandros took the opportunity to speak first. “Well, good morning, Ms. Jones,” he snickered.
“That’s Kally to you,” she laughed, her head still swimming a little.
“You’re a good kisser, Kally,” he returned.
“And you’re great at what you do,” Kally replied with a wry smile.
They fell into a fit of laughter for a few moments, and then Kally gave her companion one more kiss.
Alexandros ran his fingers softly through Kally’s hair. “I really am sorry for all the suffering I’ve caused you, Kally.”
“I know you are, Alexandros, and you’re forgiven. Obviously,” she said, pointing to the pair of them.
Alexandros laughed and shook his head. He held her close, for once without a care in the world, until the sound of a latch unlocking suddenly filled the room.
“Shit!” the two of them swore in unison.
Seconds later, the door swung open, and Kally and Alexandros dived for sheets and blankets to cover themselves. Kally blushed hotly under the gaze of the equally flustered guard, who had charged into the room without any warning.
“Um..er…the coast is clear, sir,” he said, trying desperately to avoid looking at Kally. “We swept the ex
terior for six hours. Someone did gain access to the grounds, but not to the main house. The team is discussing ways to improve external security, and local law enforcement has been alerted.” He retreated without waiting for a response from Alexandros, looking like a man praying he wouldn’t be fired later.
When the guard had shut the door behind him, Kally made a beeline for the little bathroom, wondering vaguely if it had a shower.
On further inspection, she discovered that there was indeed a shower, and as she used it, Kally reflected on whether she could continue to do her job after what had happened between them. Would her newfound interest in Alexandros cloud her judgment, or keep her from being critical when it was appropriate? She felt that she might enjoy a deeper relationship with Alexandros, but her work required professionalism and candor, two things that were hard to maintain in the face of intimacy.
Eventually she came to the conclusion that, in the end, they had only slept together once, and there had been a good amount of alcohol involved. She told herself all she had to do was keep her focus, but even as she got dressed, she began to wonder if the damage wasn’t already done.
“I suppose I’ll see you at our next interview,” Alexandros said when Kally emerged. She didn’t know whether it was because he had the same concerns as she did, or that the invasion of the guard had been a wake up call, but whatever it was, Alexandros seemed to be trying to adopt his former professional manner.
Kally agreed, and rather reluctantly left the panic room, blushing as she passed each of the guards. It might have just been her imagination, but it felt like they were all watching her just a little more closely than they ought.
Police officers were waiting at the gate. They had questions for her, they said. Had she seen anything? What had she heard before the alarm went off? What was she doing on the premises? How long had she known Alexandros Stratos, and what was her relationship to him? Very good question, Kally thought to herself.
When they were done giving her the third degree, two of the police officers drove Kally home, making the reasonable argument that it was the safest option for her after an incident like this.
By the time she reached her apartment, Kally's head was throbbing, and she wasn’t sure whether it was because of her embarrassment, the constant questions, the alcohol, or a combination of all three. Her stomach suddenly reminded her she hadn’t eaten in several hours, so she scrambled two eggs, and then three more, followed by toast and jam.
When at last her appetite had been sated, and the dull pounding in her head had faded away, Kally allowed the previous day to play in her mind. Her world had turned upside down literally overnight. Yesterday morning, she had been intent on betraying Alexandros Stratos. Today, she was failing to convince herself that she wasn’t deeply interested in him. She wondered again how the next meeting was going to go. Would Alexandros keep up the pretense? Could she?
“It never gets easier, does it?” she asked herself quietly. “Near as I can tell, there’s only one thing for it.” She gathered up the notes she had made during the interviews so far and began to work them into a narrative.
NINE
Over the next two weeks, Kally completed her interviews with Alexandros, fleshing out each of the characters in his life. His impossible father, Khristos, his long suffering mother, Agata, and his two brothers, one obsequious, the other fiendish. They delved more deeply into Alexandros’ relationship with his sister, Briza, who had stayed on as an accountant when the company changed hands, even though they hadn't spoken for years. Alexandros explained that he hoped to get past the way he felt about her one day, and provide her the means to pursue her passion for chemistry.
During each of these sessions, both Kally and Alexandros acted as though the incident in the panic room had never happened. They never worked at his house again, and when the last interview was finished, they shook hands, and parted ways as colleagues. The most intimate thing Kally allowed herself to say to Alexandros that day was “congratulations”. Neither of them particularly enjoyed the pretense of indifference, but they knew it had to be done.
Don turned out to be another problem entirely. The man had very little in the way of patience, and be became more insistent with every passing day. He’d long ago dropped his unflappable cowboy demeanor and whenever he spoke to Kally, his tone was borderline threatening. She was keeping him at bay with excuses and promises, but she knew sooner or later, she was going to have to tell him she was backing out of the deal.
Somehow Kally managed to force the Texan from her mind, and turn her thoughts to the billionaire Greek from Kaminos. She holed herself up in her apartment, and focused all of her energies on putting together the first draft of the memoir, sorting through endless details. What was the name of the man Alexandros had saved from drowning? What company was he working for when it happened? She barely allowed herself to do anything else, telling herself she’d have plenty of time to sleep when she was dead. Not even Beth was able to reach her.
Layla called several times, mostly for updates, and to offer the odd word of encouragement. At first, Kally had ignored those calls too, but ever the worrier, Layla had sent the police to her apartment to check if something had happened to her. After that misadventure, Kally never missed Layla’s calls again.
When she wanted to be, Layla could be a great source of comfort, but Kally also had a complaint or two to lodge. Chief among these was that Don had decided to call her too, and complain that Kally wasn’t giving his project enough attention. Kally had yet to explain the true nature of Don’s assignment to Layla, so she had to endure endless lectures about learning to multitask, and meeting the needs of all of their customers.
“And as I’ve pointed out before,” Layla had said a few hours earlier, “Mr. Lewis is a powerful and very influential client. We’re talking about a guy who tells senators what to do, who counts some of the country’s most powerful lobbyists among his close friends. Antagonizing him is a bad business plan for you, me, and the agency, Kally.”
“I get the picture,” Kally lied for the twelfth time. “I’ll get on that right away.”
“I really hope so,” Layla replied evenly. “Ms. Lewis didn’t sound especially friendly when we last spoke.”
As always, Kally did her level best to get Layla off the phone as quickly as she could without seeming rude.
She faithfully worked around every distraction, until she could see something truly unique starting to form. What had, only a few days ago, been a mountain of anecdotes and factoids was quickly becoming a deep and thoughtful look at the capricious life of an unusual human being. She was bringing Alexandros into focus, through the rumors, the press reports and the outright lies. It wasn’t always a pretty picture. Sometimes it was downright horrifying, but Kally toiled endlessly to make sure it was true. There was no need for pretense as she marshaled her data, no reason to hide from herself. She had started work on Alexandros’ memoir as a means of survival, but now it was a labor of love.
TEN
Kally’s entire body was aching by the time she came round to compiling the last few facts she had on Alexandros’ forthcoming charity launch. By all accounts, it was going to be a massive event at the organization’s headquarters in Harlem. Hundreds of people would be in attendance, and security was going to be tight as a drum.
She had been at the task for several hours, fighting the desire to nod off or work on something less demanding. Now more than ever, she knew, she had to keep her focus. Her entire livelihood depended on it. She had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow, and she wanted to be prepared for every eventuality.
A few days ago, Kally had realized that she was late, and a worry she had never thought of before had entered her mind. She had been too busy with the memoir to think of it before, but her encounter with Alexandros had been completely unplanned. They had both been drunk, and it had just sort of happened. Kally had suddenly wondered whether something else hadn’t happened too. Three home pregnancy tests later
, she knew the truth: pregnant. She was pregnant!
There was no doubt in her mind that the baby was Alexandros’. She’d barely seen anyone at all in the last five weeks, let alone slept with anyone. She knew it was his child, but what she did not know was how the Greek would take the news, and what would happen afterward. Those questions hung over Kally like an icy fog, causing her already weary body to feel heavier than it was. She had known it for days now, but the shock of discovering her pregnancy was still fresh and raw.
After days of wracking her brain, she had decided that there was only one thing to do. The next morning she would walk to the subway and make the now familiar trip to Alexandros’ offices. She would tell him herself. She wanted to see his face when he heard the news. She wanted to look in his eyes and see if they could be a family. She did not want staring eyes and gossiping tongues, and she did not want her child turned into an appointment or a voicemail.
Her reverie was broken when her phone started to ring. She looked at the screen and let out an exasperated sigh.
