The Alpha King Call Boy: Chap 47-128

Fiona

My press release went out in morning, and though it was just one step of many toward recovering our public image, I felt like I was at least making progress.

But then, only hours later, the other shoe dropped.

The first domino to fall was a phone call from one of our suppliers, from whom we sourced wood, stone, and other natural building supplies. The company abruptly terminated their contract with our developer, offering no explanation. This would be a significant setback on its own, but it should not have been too debilitating. I expected it would cause a delay while I found another supplier to work with.

But the worst was yet to come. I began to look for another vendor, but quickly found it was not going to be easy. I ended up contacting just about every building supply company and lumber yard across the country, and every single one of them refused to sell us any materials.

“Our entire inventory was bought out just yesterday.

We will have more wood available next month.” That

was the reply from one vendor – the only one willing to speak to me for longer than two seconds.

“We can’t accommodate on short notice.” That was the most popular answer.

One woman simply hung up on me when I asked why I could not place an order with her. And many more vendors did not even take my call or return my messages at all.

I was sitting in my office, watching big white clouds blowing by outside my window and contemplating just how much money it must take to monopolize an entire nation’s supply of a basic resource like wood, when my phone rang. It was Scarlet.

“Queen Luna,” I answered through gritted teeth. “I see that you have been busy.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “You are one to talk, Fiona.

That silver tongue of yours must be useful to you in the workplace, in addition to making you so very insufferable. You have managed to make some impressive deals for Crescent Ventures over the past few weeks.”

“What is it that you want, Scarlet?” I snapped, growing impatient.

“Ooh. That’s right, you have a lot to do. No time for chit-chat.” She chuckled once again, then dropped the cocky sarcasm when she continued. “Your path forward is simple, Fiona. Cancel your project, sell the properties you have been acquiring, and be grateful that you are not looking at a much larger loss than whatever measly startup investment you have already thrown into this ill-advised enterprise.”

I was furious. “This is criminal extortion,” I snapped.

She chuckled. I could practically hear the smug smile on her lips and see it in my mind. “You and your fiancé have a bad habit of accusing me of crimes without any real evidence to back up your claims. You should be careful about that.”

I paused, taking a long but quiet breath. I did not want Scarlet to think that she could bait me into an emotional outburst with her taunting. “You would really stoop to such a low,” I asked calmly, “just because you’re afraid of a little business competition?”

“I am simply protecting my assets, and I am afraid of nothing.” Scarlet’s voice became hoarse, almost a growl as she added, “And you would do very well to remember that.”

I was exhausted when I got home. I was lying in bed

awake, just staring at the wall, lost in thought, when Alexander came in.

“Hey. Are you okay?” he asked immediately, looking very concerned.

“I’m fine.” My voice came out sounding raspy, and I realized that my throat was sore from talking on the phone all day as I tried to sort out the crisis at work. I cleared my throat and sat up, resting my weight against the headboard. I wanted to put Alexander’s mind at ease. He was always anxious about my health lately. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to worry you. I’m alright. Just had a tough day at work.”

Alexander nodded. “Conrad called me, actually. He told me all about what happened.” He jutted his chin at a glass of water on my nightstand, reminding me to take care of myself. I took a sip.

I was glad I did not need to explain the whole thing to him. Living through this workday was hard enough. I did not want to have to repeat the whole awful story. “I feel like I am almost at my wit’s end,” I confessed.

“Scarlet doesn’t fight fair. And she has all the power in this situation. I have no leverage against her.”

He shrugged, frowning. “That may be true. But my stepmother has also never had such a tough opponent before.”

The vote of confidence felt nice, but I could not be sure if Alexander was just trying to make me feel better or if he really believed this sentiment. “Either way,” I said, dismissing the compliment, “all I can do is keep trying. Keep showing up and doing everything that I can, until someone tells me that it’s over.”

A half-smile crept up one side of Alexander’s mouth.

“That is a good attitude,” he said. “Persistence is an

underrated virtue. People like Scarlet often get their way not by force, but by intimidation. She’s a bully.

She expects that when she puts pressure on someone, they will eventually give up and give in.”

“You might be right then, that I am not the type of opponent she is used to fighting. Giving up isn’t something that I do. I’ll fight her until I can’t anymore.”

Alexander grinned. I suspected it was because he liked hearing me say that he was right. Then it looked like he was just about to say something, but he stopped himself.

I took the opportunity to continue talking through my thought. “Right now, Scarlet is just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks. She can’t keep doing that forever. Even she will run out of lies and money to tell them with, at some point. Maybe somehow, I can outlast her.”

Alexander approached my bedside and held out his hand. I slipped mine into it, and he tugged gently, encouraging me to get up.

“You need to eat something,” he said. “And all this business with Scarlet is not going to be resolved tonight. You can take a break from worrying about her to take care of yourself. Or at least, to let me take care of you.”

I let him pull me out of bed and was a little surprised when he pulled me in close to his body, hugging me tightly. But it felt amazing. Every time he touched me, it was a reminder of how necessary it was for us to be together like this. I felt my strength returning, his energy warming the blood in my veins.

Pulling back to look at me, Alexander stroked my cheek and neck gently, making my spine tingle. I couldn’t help that my eyes fluttered closed, and I purred a little at the pleasure of his touch.

“Let’s go get you some food,” he said, dropping his hand. “Before we get too distracted.”