Kay hopped up and headed back to the recording studio. “I’m ready if you are.”
It was time she learned to focus on the things in her life that were real. She might not be in love, but she had something almost as good.
Music.
CHAPTER TWO
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Eli waited until the last client left the boardroom before he yanked his tie loose. He’d spent the morning in back-to-back meetings. Welcoming new clients was important work but tedious, and he was more than happy to get it over with.
“Please tell me I don’t have anything else scheduled?”
His assistant, Carly, glanced over at him with a sympathetic smile. “No, that was the last one. I don’t know why you don’t let George handle the new clients. He’s the vice president of the company. Why do you bother hiring executives if you won’t let them do anything?”
Eli scowled. “What’s wrong with having a personal touch? I like the clients to know that every contract will have my personal attention.”
Carly harrumphed. “There’s a fine line between a personal touch and being a control freak. Anyway, I’m sorry I had to schedule all the new clients on the same day. It’s just so hard to get you in the office.”
Which was his fault. If he hadn’t been avoiding her, he would have been in the office more lately. “Yeah, I know. That’s my fault.” He rubbed his temples.
“Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
“Just a headache.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Is this your way of saying you won’t be in the office this afternoon?”
“Yeah. But why don’t you just bring me anything I need to sign? I’ll be staying in Springfield tonight,” he added before she could pout.
Just as he’d expected, her expression brightened. “Really? Okay, I’ll get everything together and bring it over. You go ahead home and take some medicine. Maybe a cold compress will help.” She brushed a hand against his cheek before gathering the folders containing the new clients’ contracts.
Once she was gone, Eli walked back through the maze of cubicles to his office on the west side of the building. Even though he was here at least once a week, most of the employees didn’t see him often. He was greeted with a chorus of “Hello, Mr. Alexander” and “Good morning, sir.”
He nodded hello to everyone he passed but sped up so no one would try to talk to him. It was still a bit surreal to think that he was leading this diverse group of people. He’d started the company in the midst of personal crisis. It had been a lifeline when he was drowning. Carly probably thought it was an excuse, but he did like to look over every case personally. It was his way of saying thank you. His way of giving back to the company that had saved him.
He grabbed a client file he’d left on his desk and then walked to the elevators. Another pang shot him right between the eyes and he grimaced. It was going to take more than a few aspirin to get rid of this headache, especially since he was sure Carly was going to bring him more paperwork to look over later.
He stabbed the Down button several times impatiently. The woman waiting there gave him a sideways glance and moved over slightly. He sighed.
Now he was scaring his employees.
After a long day, Eli was always happy to go home, but never more so than the days he spent at headquarters handling administrative work. Although home was a relative term for him as he rarely spent the night in the same location more than two days in a row.
His company maintained several houses and condos in the Washington D.C. area, which they used to keep clients safe. He usually crashed at one of them or in his office. However, he had to admit to harboring a particular affection for the little house he kept in the suburbs. It was the only one he didn’t allow clients to use.
He guessed that made it as close to a home as he’d had in the past decade.
He rode the elevator down to the first parking level and managed to avoid seeing anyone on the way. He threw the client file on the passenger seat of his truck and then pulled out of the garage and onto the bustling streets of Fairfax.
Today what he needed was a beer and some peace and quiet. Carly kept the different houses stocked with the basics, so he figured he could take a load off and maybe order in. When his cell phone rang as soon as he pulled up to his Springfield house, he figured the second part of the equation would have to wait.
“Hi, Mom. How are things going back home?” Eli locked his truck with the remote on his keychain as he walked up to the house and opened the door.
“Oh, I’m just fine, honey. I saw the news. It looks like you have your hands full.”
“I do, but you don’t need to worry. People are riled up right now. But once congress has voted on the bill, things will slow down some. Tensions are always high this time of year.” He kicked the door shut behind him and flipped the deadbolt.
She sighed, the sound coming over the phone and directly into his ear. “I know you’ve always had things well in hand; I just get worried about you, that’s all. You work too much.”
“I like working—you know that. Besides, I’ll be home in a few weeks anyway.”