SWNOVELS : Chapter 48
Alexander
“You were right once again.” Uncle Conrad grinned at me from across his desk. “Fiona is ready. And she is even more capable than I could have imagined. I am confident that she can handle the expansion project.”
My uncle was a difficult man to impress, and only one thing could make him smile like that – money.
“What has she done now?” I asked. “Recovered more unnoticed losses?”
He cocked his head to the side. “She has found some creative opportunities to improve our operations.”
A smile forced its way across my lips. “I am not surprised to hear that. And does she have a plan for how to address those opportunities, as well?”
“Indeed. I intend to have a team start implementing her solutions first thing in the morning.”
I nodded, feeling pleased that Fiona was exceeding my uncle’s expectations. I knew she would not let me down. “And have you finished the proposal?”
Conrad produced a thin file from a desk drawer and passed it to me. “Once you approve this, I’ll sit down with Fiona and go through it with her. If there are no further delays, we could launch the project as early as Monday.”
“I’ll look it over tonight.” I took the file and stood. I did not want to delay my return to the palace any longer than necessary, remembering the fatigue I saw on Fiona’s pale face when our paths had crossed briefly on my way out of the palace. I already felt guilty about leaving her side when she was in that condition, and I wanted to make good on my word to return to her
Conrad had called me after he sent Fiona home. His concern about her health, I knew, was nothing sentimental. He simply wanted to ensure my fiancée’s wellbeing out of respect to me. And, undoubtedly, also to protect what he now saw as an asset to our business. On the phone he had implored me to take the opportunity of her absence this evening to meet in his office for a discussion of urgent business.
I presumed our business was concluded once I had the expansion project proposal in hand, but Conrad cleared his throat and said, “There’s another matter we should discuss, as well.” Then he jerked his head to the side, indicating he wanted to take the rest of our meeting outside. He removed his earpiece and set it on his desk, then led the way out to the rooftop deck.
The wind lashed at us wildly the moment we stepped outside, making Conrad’s private smoking area null for its usual purpose. But my uncle did also enjoy using his high-altitude rooftop for its other unique trait
– total isolation for private conversations.
“It is time to set our other plan in motion as well, nephew,” Conrad shouted over the noise of the whipping wind, which crashed around us as loud and fast as ocean waves. “And I believe that Fiona is going to provide us with the perfect opportunity to make it happen.”
I raised a questioning eyebrow at my uncle. “And how is that?” I asked, already knowing I was not going to like the answer.
Third person
Conrad put his hands deep in his pockets and closed
his eyes. He liked the feeling of the wind up here, despite how uncomfortable most would find the sensation of being slapped in the face and body by sharp blasts of icy air. But it made him feel awake and alive.
“I know you would like to kill the man with your own hands,” he said to his nephew. “But there is another way. A way to avenge your mother but keep your hands clean.”
Alexander’s face became serious. He hardly needed to say a word in argument, as his uncle already understood full well how he would feel about such a proposal. He held his tongue and allowed Conrad to finish saying his piece.
“The money that Fiona is bringing in has already changed things for us, Alexander. And if the expansion succeeds under her leadership, we stand
to double our annual revenue. Or more.”
“And what exactly is your point, uncle? What are you proposing we do with the money? Hire a hit man?”
Conrad smiled. “It’s an idea,” he said, his voice edging on excitement. “A professional can make an assassination look like an accident. We will still get what we want, but we will also minimize our risk of damaging fallout.”
Alexander wiped his mouth with his hand. “You know exactly why we cannot do that,” he said. “He deserves worse than that. He deserves to suffer.”
Conrad put one hand on his nephew’s shoulder, turning his body so they were eye-to-eye. “But you do not. Consider this. If you do what you really want to your mother’s killer – rip his throat open with your teeth, tear his beating heart out of his chest – you will
make yourself more vulnerable to your other enemies.
You could be giving your stepmother the very noose she needs to hang you with.”
“I am not afraid of my stepmother.” Alexander’s tone was calm, but his eyes were serious. “And we cannot trust anyone enough to bring another party into this.
You and I have long agreed on that point.”
Conrad nodded seriously. “Yes, I have agreed with you on that in the past. But money is opportunity, nephew, and with a lot of money, we can buy a lot of discretion.”
He knew that he would not sway Alexander’s opinion on this subject in a single conversation. His nephew was a man of high honor, a warrior and a leader who did not allow others to fight his battles for him.
Alexander’s long golden hair was being tousled all
around by the wind, looking like a lion’s mane. “We are not going to use Fiona as a pawn against her family,” he said, surprising Conrad with what felt to the older man like a change in subject.
“Fiona’s involvement would be indirect,” he replied, frowning. “I am merely suggesting we make use of a resource that our new star employee has brought in.
It’s only business, Alexander.”
In truth, Conrad had been thinking a lot about the many other ways he and his nephew could exploit their closeness with Fiona, as they worked to craft the perfect plot to kill her loathsome father. But he knew Alexander would not find these other, more nefarious ideas palatable at all, considering how protective the young Alpha tended to become when the topic of his pregnant fiancée was at hand.
When Alexander did not reply, Conrad added, “I only
ask that you consider it, son.”
Alexander gave his uncle a slight nod and exited the rooftop without another word. Conrad followed immediately in his wake.