SWNOVELS : Chapter 114
Fiona
Gerald was very nervous. That was not normal.
Usually my colleague was calm and confident. He’d been working for Crescent Ventures for over a decade, up on the eighty-ninth floor for nearly half of that tenure, and seemed very much at home here.
“Hey, Fiona,” he said, gritting his teeth. “I’ve, uh… got some bad news. Okay if I come in?”
“Of course. Please, have a seat.” I was very grateful I’d had time to empty my wastebin and freshen up in the restroom before he arrived at my door. “What’s going on?”
He sat down in my visitor’s chair, sighing as he went.
He didn’t wait till I was seated across the desk before
he leapt right in. “I was just on the phone with the development company. We’re looking at a big delay with the build sites.”
“Okay. What kind of delay?”
Gerald shook his head, frowning. “The short story?
Aftermath from what happened with their rival…” He meant, of course, the scandal with Scarlet’s real estate firm. A company that no longer existed. “A couple of the contractors went out of business. The entire industry has been affected by everything that happened… a lot of closures, small businesses that had depended on one or another of Scarlet’s companies that she’s now dissolved or declared bankrupt.”
“Mm-hmm.” I narrowed my eyes at Gerald, nodding.
I internally reprimanded myself for not anticipating
something like this happening. I should have seen it coming.
“Keep talking,” I said, turning to face my computer. I started searching for news stories on this topic while Gerald told me more about his conversation with our client, the real estate developer I had been working with for months to expand their property holdings.
It had seemed like everything was going very well with the project lately. We had just broken ground on the third and final construction site, while the other two were well underway.
I should have known that streak of luck was bound to run out at some point.
“What do you want me to do?” Gerald asked hesitantly.
I sighed. “We have a lot to do. A lot.” I drummed my fingers on the table. My mind was already racing.
“How about we meet in the conference room in half an hour to start talking through all the details.”
“That sounds good.”
“Call the client back in the meantime. Let them know we will have a proposal ready in the morning, detailing our new plan of action in response to this issue.”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
As if on cue, my stomach growled loudly. Gerald arched an eyebrow.
“Have lunch delivered to the conference room,” I added. “Oh, and will you also go and tell Tavis and Emmie to join us? I’d like to loop them in quickly.
They can help us with all the damage control we need to get started immediately.”
Gerald was all agreement and thanks; I could tell he was very glad he was not the one responsible for these decisions right now. He left with his assignments, and I retrieved my cell phone from my purse.
I texted Alexander to let him know I would not be back in time for dinner with him tonight.
I thought about sharing the specific reason. But I would rather not get into it. I just said I needed to work overtime with the team.
I really hoped he would not read into it. Take it the wrong way. Think that I was being emotional about Iris and avoiding him.
I drove myself into the city. Something I did when Kayden, who was a better, more patient driver than I, was busy, or when I wanted to use the time for a private conversation.
I’d driven to the downtown courthouse plenty of times
– I didn’t need directions. But I plugged the address into the Benz’s GPS anyway, looking for a current ETA. Looked like afternoon traffic had started early.
I had Conrad on the line a minute after rolling past palace security onto the service road that led to the highway.
He answered, “Alexander,” then coughed loudly. I pushed a button on the back of the steering wheel to lower the volume on the car speakers. “How are things back home?”
“Things are fine here. You have a minute to talk, Conrad?”
“Of course.” He cleared his throat. “What can I do for you, nephew?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Do you have something in the works that you’re not telling me about?”
Conrad’s voice fell flat when he replied, “No. Like what?”
“Like… anything involving Fiona? I’m curious about your decision to have her take on so much responsibility right now, covering your meetings.”
I heard Conrad breathing. Slowly. He was trying to piece together my meaning.
“Tell me straight, uncle. Does it have anything to do with her father? With our investigation?”
“No.” Here, Conrad’s booming voice returned to full force. He sighed, sounding frustrated. “Why would I even… Listen, Alexander. I told you I’d leave her out of it, a long time ago. I am a man of my word. You know that.”
“Okay.” I believed him; his tone and demeanor seemed sincere. “Why are you piling so much on her, then?”
“Is she okay? Seems like she’s handling it fine.”
“Of course she’s handling it. Fiona can handle…
anything. But you do remember this is my pregnant fiancée, right? She needs time in the day to sleep, Conrad. She’s working twenty hour days right now.
It’s not healthy.”
He grunted. “I’ll give her a call today. We’ll figure something out. And to answer your question… I told you I want to promote her. She’s a good project manager, but her best talents are wasted in that role.
She needs to be in leadership. I’m using this opportunity to train her. And test her. See if she’s ready.”
I thought this over. It made sense. “You do realize, though, you’ve got her doing two full-time jobs at once right now.”
“Yes, I do. Listen, son. We should speak about this further, but can it wait until I return? I’m on the road right now.”
“Me too. That’s fine.”
“Everything going alright with the maid?” he asked quickly, like a parting thought.
Little did he know, this was not a simple question.
That topic of conversation, too, would have to wait until later, when we had more time for storytelling.
“Iris is okay,” I answered. “She did start recovering some memories related to the case. But the doctor says we need to focus on her medical care and recovery, before I push her on it any further.”
Conrad made a short “hm” sound.
“She is going to give us what we need,” I assured my impatient uncle. “She knows exactly what happened. I know she does. She’s got the information. But it’s
going to take some time to get it. We have to be patient.”
I rolled up to the courthouse and turned into the parking structure that stood nine stories tall beside it.
“I have to let you go, Conrad.” I slowed the car, sure I’d lose reception as soon as I was ten yards deep into the concrete structure. “Call me when you’re back in town.”
“Will do.”
I drove all the way up to the top level, where fewer cars tended to park. I parked the Benz straddling two covered spots in a far corner, my usual spot when I came here to meet with my attorney.
Before I got out of the car, I checked my phone. A smile spread across my lips when I saw Fiona’s name
It melted away, though, when I opened and read her text.