by Alana Davis
“Who knew you could cook so well?! You really are a dreamboat, Mr. Alexander Strauss,” I teased.
He turned around and gave me a slick smile that looked like a boy’s smile who has just cherry-bombed a bathroom toilet. It was mischievous. Then he laughed and relaxed. I looked at his white shirt that was still perfectly clean and unmarked by his movements through the kitchen.
“My mother loved to cook. She always told me the importance of being able to cook for yourself. You must keep yourself rooted in your physical body. Grounded by your physical body. Thus, you must nourish yourself well,” Alex said, a nostalgic tone entering his voice when he mentioned his mother.
“She always said that food was the great unifier of cultures. It brings people together. The highest honor that a family can bestow upon you is inviting you to join in the breaking of bread. She taught me how to cook, and more importantly, she taught me how to love to cook.”
“Your mother sounds like she was a remarkable woman,” I said.
“Yes,” Alex said, bowing his head as if in remembrance of her. A human quality came over Alex that I had not previously seen and I wanted badly to run up and grab him and kiss every part of his face. Then with that feeling a pang of panic hit my chest. Was I falling in love with Alex? Or was I already in love?
Before I could answer my own question to myself, Alex put a plate of food before me that smelled so delicious it totally voided any thought. The spices drifted up into my nose with such a tantalizing smell that my mouth watered so powerfully it almost hurt. My stomach growled like a bear demanding to be fed and I looked up at Alex with admiration of a different kind. The man could cook like no one else.
“Please, eat,” Alex said, bowing slightly.
The first bite practically exploded in my mouth like a neutron bomb to my taste buds. It was phenomenal. I had to restrain myself from shoveling it in my mouth and every bite was better than the last. Alex made himself a plate as well and sat next to me, eating. I looked over and saw that he was eating quickly as well. It looked like he was not even immune to the deliciousness of his own cooking and I couldn’t help suppress a laugh.
He looked up at me to inquire about my giggles and I motioned down to the food and made a face that let him know he had floored me with his cooking. He made a mock bow again and we smiled, stuffing our faces with his cooking. After I ate two huge plates, I could eat no more, despite wanting to. My stomach groaned in agreement and I leaned back in my chair, completely satisfied.
“Thank you, Alexander. That might have been the best meal I’ve ever had. Seriously.”
“It was my pleasure,” Alex said. “You’ve had a hectic day, but when you are up for it, I’d like to hear your account of the meeting earlier.”
We moved into the living room and Alex poured me a glass of white wine without me asking for it. It was like he had read my mind.
“Alex, do you trust Henderson?” I asked.
“Henderson has been a family friend since before I was born. He was loyal to my father through some difficult times and part of the success of Strauss Engines can be attributed to him. I believe him to be someone who has the company’s best interest at heart.”
I listened to Alex and paused to consider how to continue. Alex wanted honesty. I would have to be honest.
“I think he might have the company’s interests at heart, but that may not include having your interests at heart.”
I recounted Henderson’s responses to everything I said at the meeting, particularly the part about the BR36 prototype’s testings. I spared no detail.
“I see,” Alex said. “I did speak with Henderson about his reservations with the BR36 unit, but I suppose he found it prudent to bring it up with the board. While his comments have some merit, he must know that we have our own independent testing facilities which have shown the unit to be 99.96% effective.”
“By the end of the meeting, Henderson had effectively made you look like you’re taking huge risks,” I said. “The board members looked worried.”
Alex said nothing. His face was devoid of emotion and he sipped on white wine expressionlessly.
“One more thing,” I said, clearing my throat before going on. “After the meeting, Henderson asked me some pretty odd questions. He suggested you’ve had a lot of other personal assistants and have a history of moving through them quickly.”
Alex eyed me carefully. “It is not easy to find an assistant who can rise to the challenges and demands of the job. I’ve gone through many who were not fit for the job. You and I have a very unique arrangement, Samantha.” Alex said, his eyes locked on mine. “Rest assured that I’ve entrusted no other assistant with the same level of responsibility and personal trust that I have given you.”
My feelings of jealousy abated immediately and I breathed in a sigh of relief.
“Henderson asked me where my loyalties lie. I told him they lie with you and that through you they lie with the company. He told me that his loyalties lie with the company, and he sounded very genuine. But that still doesn’t mean you, Alex. I don’t think he believes in your course of action Alex. And he accused me of being a harlot who slept her way into your office,” I said. When the words came out I felt another flare of anger and I thought of Henderson’s face, sneering and full of dark rage.
Alex was quiet for a while. His face gave away nothing and I drank my wine quietly, wondering if I had made a mistake by telling him what Henderson said. What if Alex agreed with him and he only needed to hear it through the words of another man, especially another man whom worked so closely with his father and is a trusted family friend? I tried to squash my panic and I took a large sip of white wine.
“I apologize for Henderson’s crudeness, Samantha,” Alex said genuinely. “He really is a good man, underneath the exterior that he has. It is necessary to be hard-skinned at the top level of our company, but Henderson takes it too far sometimes, I admit. Trust me, outside of the business, he can be a warm and welcoming person.”
I watched Alex speak about Henderson and saw that Alex seemed to care for this man. The history between these two men stretched much deeper than I had previously thought. My anger began to dissolve when Alex apologized for Henderson, and my panic was gone. I could see that Alex was genuinely apologetic and that he even seemed a little angry at Henderson for his misogynistic outburst.
“He’s very cold towards women in general. I know this does not excuse what he said to you, but you should know that it isn’t personal. I will have a word with him about his choice of words and that he is not to speak to any employees in that tone. That will be the end of it.”
I finished my wine. I felt a wave of drowsiness and my limbs seemed to double in their weight. I was filled with delicious food and just the right amount of wine. Yet through my fatigue I could still see that I had not gotten through my doubts about Henderson, and not just about his rude comments towards me.
“Alex, I believe Henderson is trying to undermine your efforts. He’s not on your side with this new project. Everything he said in the meeting was geared towards casting doubt on what you’re doing and the future of Strauss Engines. You wanted my honest opinion and that is what I saw,” I said confidently.
“I understand, Samantha. Know that I will have to consider everything you’ve said to me and give it a lot of thought. I will talk to Henderson and try to find out exactly where he stands on all of this,” Alex said.
He ran a hand through my hair and my eyelids grew heavy. Sleep enwrapped me and I slumped against Alex, the darkness like a blanket over me.
Chapter Fifteen
I woke up on Alex’s bed. Outside, the sun had set and I looked around, trying to get my bearings. I checked my cellphone and saw that it was close to 8 pm. I had slept for two hours. Alex must have moved me to his bedroom, because the last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the couch. I got out of bed and noticed a beautiful dress hanging in the room.
“It’s for you, of course. Take your
time getting ready, we’re going out,” Alex said, stepping out of the bathroom. He was wearing a suit and he was perfectly styled. His hair was slicked back and his face was smooth, freshly shaven.
I turned to the dress and studied it. It was an elegant evening dress, sleek black and without frills. I turned it over delicately in my hands and looked back up at Alex. I thanked him and he gave me a small wave and descended the stairs to give me privacy.
I showered for a long time, letting the hot water wash away the last remnants of my nap. I cleaned my hair and felt completely refreshed. By 9 pm, I was completely ready, my hair conservatively done and the dress fitting like it was made for me, which I dumbly realized it definitely was. Even after all that happened I was still amazed by the extravagance and elegance of everything. It would be a while before this became normal for me, if it ever did. I hope it never did. I loved the excitement and surprise of the life of opulence.
I descended the stairs slowly and I saw Alex watching me. He stood before me like a high school senior waiting for his prom date and took my hand.
“You look excellent. You and I will be dining at the finest restaurant in the city. I want to make a very public appearance to show whomever is threatening you that we are unafraid. Our response to that crudely defamed photograph will be our public appearance,” Alex said.
“What about your rivals in the company? Won’t they start watching me more closely if they see me in public with you?” I asked.
“Judging from your incident in the subway and the poster they tacked to your door, it seems like they already are watching you. We don’t need to hide anymore.”
We took the elevator down and Alex held the limousine door open for me. Once inside, he poured me a glass of champagne and we toasted to the future. We sat closely to each other and more than once I considered asking Alex to tell the driver to take the long way to the restaurant, but it was just nice to sit and enjoy a glass of champagne and some idle conversation. Alex talked about the future of Strauss Engines and how he looked forward to the implementation of the new direction of the company.
“Once we make the transition and we’ve entered into production and contracts that are binding, we’ll be past the danger. It can’t last forever,” Alex said. “It won’t last forever. The company has faced trouble before while my father ran the company and it came through stronger than it was before. I will follow in those footsteps.”
We arrived at the restaurant and I looked up at the sign. I started to feel giddy when I saw the name. This was the most exclusive restaurant in the entire city, possibly the country. Even celebrities had to make reservations weeks in advance. There was no set menu and the chef personally tailored a new menu each night, no small task indeed. The driver opened the door and we walked out.
A camera flashed immediately. Panic hit my chest like a bullet and I started breathing heavily, gasping for air. I felt a wave of distress and I was sure that it was the same person who had posted the photo on my door and maybe the same guy who had chased me through the subway. I turned to flee back into the limousine when Alex’s hand caught my arm softly and pulled me in close.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered into my ear. “I called two photographers from different tabloid magazines. We needed to make sure they knew we were coming out for our public appearance to have the needed effect.”
I calmed down. When my vision cleared from the blinding flashes of light, I saw that the photographers were two young guys who were smiling and calling out to Alex amicably from behind a velvet rope. A well-dressed bouncer stood by the door, making sure the photographers kept their distance. Alex gave out a small wave to the photographers and gave his shadow of a smile that he always gave for public photos and I did my best to imitate him.
“Alex!” A photographer called. “What’s the beautiful young woman’s name?”
I couldn’t help blushing at this little compliment. I admitted it felt nice to be called beautiful, I suppose especially by a tabloid photographer.
“Her name is Samantha Dubois. We are going to enjoy a nice dinner at this fine establishment after a busy day. Now gentlemen, please excuse us while we enjoy our meal.”
We walked into the restaurant and the hostess immediately perked up when she saw us. She excused herself from the couple she was talking to, one who I noticed was a prominent television star. The television star watched us as we entered the restaurant and whispered to his date, excitedly pointing at us.
“Mr. Strauss,” the hostess said brightly. “It is always wonderful to see you, sir. A table for two?”
“Yes, that would be wonderful,” Alex replied.
“It’ll be only a brief moment, sir.” The hostess ran off quickly, motioning to two other waiters and then pointing towards Alex. They immediately dropped what they were doing and scrambled away with the hostess.
“How long ago did you have to make the reservations for this place?” I asked Alex.
“I didn’t make any reservations,” Alex said, letting his smile grow a fraction of an inch. “I own this restaurant.”
The hostess returned and led us to our table. A bottle of red wine, a bottle of white wine, and a bottle of champagne were all waiting for us on the table. An assortment of oysters were also waiting. Alex pulled out my chair for me and I sat down. I looked around and noticed every table was secretly stealing glances over at us.
“You’re a celebrity here, I see,” I said.
“It’s not often I come here, I suppose. So when I do come, they make quite a big deal out of it.”
Alex poured me a glass of white wine and when the waiter came over, he waved away the red and the champagne. I took a small sip of white wine and I could feel myself growing warm from the earlier champagne and the fine wine that I was now drinking. I felt good.
The chef walked over to our table and introduced himself personally. His presence dominated the entire room and he talked not with his hands, but his entire upper body, exploding with joy and excitement with every sentence he said about the food he was going to cook for us personally. I barely understood any of it through his accent and his emphatic way of speaking. When he left, he bowed and turned to the entire restaurant and let out a glorious yell of triumph, to which most of the restaurant applauded.
I ate the finest oysters I had ever tasted and looked at Alex. He looked perfectly at ease and comfortable, every set of eyes in the restaurant returning to him whenever they got a chance. Alex took a sip of wine and then put it down, casting his eyes down.
“Let’s leave it all behind,” he said quietly. “Tonight, we’ll leave the country and never come back. We’ll travel the world and become new people.”
I was shocked. The fantasy was too amazing to consider even being real. We would never want for money. We could become anybody we wanted to be and do anything we wanted to do. All this drama and the danger that loomed over the company would disappear instantly. And I would disappear into the night with the most interesting and sexy man that I had ever known.
I could ask for nothing more.
Yet I knew it could not be. We couldn’t walk away from this fight. Alexander Strauss was not a man who could walk away from his goal and still be complete.
“Alexander, I know you don’t mean that.”
“I want to mean it,” Alex said. His voice was strong. There was no sense of self-pity or despair in it.
“You’ll fight and win, you know that. If you run away, you won’t be able to live with yourself. I’ve come to know you enough to be able to immediately recognize that,” I said, staring directly into his eyes. “And you won’ t fight alone.” I put my hand over his and squeezed gently.
Our food arrived on the table. I was silenced by the smell of it, and it almost rivaled the cooking of Alex earlier. We ate quietly and Alex seemed to have let go his earlier admission that he would want to run from everything.
“Tell me more about you and Henderson,” I said boldly.
Alexander put down his
fork and took a sip of wine.
“William Henderson and my father met in college. They were practically inseparable afterwards. William was always around. He was like an uncle to me, I even called him Uncle Will until I was in my twenties. After my father died, he was practically my father. He’s always looked after me. When my mother died, Henderson was almost more crushed than I was. He was that loyal to our family.”
Alex paused and took another bite or two of his food, contemplating what he said.
“I remember the day my father died. It was raining. William came to me and sat me down. He poured me a drink and told me that my father had passed. Then he told me he would always be there. The company would never fall apart as long as he was alive, he said. I remember how he looked when he said that. His eyes were red. I didn’t see him cry, but it looked as though he had.
“That is why I can’t believe that Henderson would conspire against the company he had put so much of his life in. Yes, he might disagree with me, but I’m sure he has his own reasons that are justifiable in his mind. I must give him the benefit of the doubt until I’m shown otherwise. Trust in me, as you have; I will not let your warning go unheeded, but I still believe in Henderson as a good man.”
We finished our meals and despite our protests against desert, an assortment showed up at our table anyway. We nibbled decadently on the dishes and when my stomach threatened to explode inside me, I admitted defeat to the remainder of the food.
“Alex, I think you were right about my apartment,” I said. “It’s not safe there anymore. I’m going to take you up on the offer for a new, secure place.”
“Consider it done,” Alex replied. “I’ll have your things gathered and brought over to your new place for you tomorrow. Tonight, you can sleep at my apartment and tomorrow you’ll have your new apartment fully furnished and waiting for you.”
