SWNOVELS : Chapter 47
Third person
Fiona strode into her boss’s corner office, carrying a neat stack of paperwork.
Conrad was pacing the room while speaking on the phone by way of a headset tucked into his right ear. It was invisible under his thick, dark gray hair, except for a tiny blue light that blinked intermittently when he was on a call.
His back was to the door, but he sensed Fiona standing there and turned, waving her inside.
“Close the deal today,” the CEO barked into the air.
Then he put his finger to his ear briefly, pressing a button to hang up his call without another word.
“I have the reports you asked for,” Fiona said quickly, not waiting for Conrad to greet her or even make his way over to the desk, where she was placing her paperwork in three tidy stacks beside his computer.
She knew by now that her boss did not like to chat, and she had grown accustomed to patiently delivering her work to him in the small gaps between his busy schedule, never taking offense at his gruff demeanor, even when he ignored her completely at times.
Conrad looked at his watch. “Early,” he said, frowning.
“You’re done with all the accounts? I told you I didn’t want to see any of the reports until all three were complete.”
“Yes,” Fiona replied. “I set the code to run overnight and came in early this morning to review the results. I would have had the reports to you before lunch, but I decided to ask a couple analysts to double and triple check all the numbers before I printed the final copies.”
Conrad sat and looked at the work Fiona was presenting to him. He had asked her to review the portfolios of all the company’s biggest accounts and compile updated summaries of all their financials.
Now, he was looking at the completed reports on his desk. They were all labeled and organized in color-coded files. Contracts were collated with brass split pins holding them together in the top left corner, the way he preferred. He could not remember ever training her to do that, though.
Fiona summarized her findings and gave her boss a
quick explanation of the way she formatted the documents. “Everything looks to be in order,” she finished, smiling politely. “No surprises. I do have some ideas for optimizing the way we manage these accounts, though. You will find those recommendations at the very back of each portfolio.
We can cut our operating costs if we employ some of these strategies.”
Conrad did not need to open the folders to know that all the paperwork inside of them would be thorough and accurate. Fiona had quickly made it very clear, even in her first few days of working at Crescent Ventures, that she was more than just competent and hardworking. She was a genius, smarter by far than anyone else Conrad had ever employed. In fact, sometimes he wondered, uncomfortably, whether she might be even smarter than him.
Fiona rose to stand. “I’ll let you get back to work. I
should catch up on my email, anyway, before I go home.”
Conrad narrowed his eyes. “When did you get in this morning?” he asked, looking Fiona up and down.
Fiona held herself together as a professional every minute that she was in this office, but the pallor on her skin betrayed her exhaustion.
“Four a.m., I think?” She shrugged.
“Go home,” he said, his voice loud and commanding as always. “You’ve done enough for one day.”
Fiona returned his critical gaze and said, “I have more work to do though.”
“You’re no good to me if you work yourself to death.”
Conrad put a toothpick into his mouth and stood. He walked to the door of his office in a few large strides,
put one hand on the door and used the other to motion for Fiona to exit. She moved past him obediently.
Fiona
I sighed as my body dropped heavily into the back seat of the car that would return me to the palace, grateful for Conrad’s uncharacteristic moment of kindness and understanding, or whatever it was that made him decide to send me home early.
Shifting my weight uncomfortably, I glimpsed my reflection in the rearview mirror as the driver rounded a corner up a highway onramp. I had deep purple circles under my eyes, and my skin looked ashen. I started to understand how an employer might want a pregnant lady who looked like this to get out of his office and off her feet.
The walk from the front of the palace to our bedroom in the West Wing felt longer than usual. I was out of breath by the time I reached the door, my mind fixated on the relief that awaited me when I could finally get my body resting horizontally in bed.
Alexander, looking sharp in a dark blue suit, was standing near the door buttoning his jacket, just about to leave. He turned to look at me, his amber eyes narrow, and said, “You’re home early.”
“I went in early this morning,” I offered in explanation.
But I knew what I looked like and was sure that Alexander understood I had come home to rest.
I began to settle in, using up the last of my energy to get my shoes and briefcase put away tidily. Alexander followed me to the bed as I eased down onto it atop the covers with all my clothes still on. He stroked my cheek, his big hand running gently down my neck and
It made my eyes flicker closed for a moment, and my throat unconsciously released a low Mmm sound under his warm touch.
But he said, “I will be back in just a few hours,” and slowly ran his hand down the length of my body just once before covering me over with a blanket and tucking it tightly around my shoulders.
I felt like frowning and pouting, not wanting him to leave. But that would be no way for a proper Luna to behave. I gave Alexander a single nod of acknowledgement instead, and then let my heavy eyelids fall indifferently closed.
He lingered at the bedside for a moment. Though my eyes were closed, I could feel that his were on me, his intense gaze almost as tangible as the touch of his
It was not my place to question Alexander about his business. Or about anything. But my mind could not help but wonder about where he spent so much of his time. Maybe I felt jealous of whatever it was that kept his attention, and his body, away from me.
Eventually he drifted away from my side, and then the sounds of diminishing footsteps and the door opening and closing told me he was gone.