“Yeah,” Alex confirms something he’s told me about ten minutes ago, but which I still can’t quite grasp.
Michael Morris is the head and CEO of Duna Corp, our most fierce competitor. Apart from a few supervised meetings, I can’t say that I’ve met the man privately or spoken to him. With that in mind, his disappearance strikes me as something strange, but at the same time, something that could happen to any of us… even me.
“And they have no idea where he is?” I ask. “Maybe he’s just decided to treat his newest mistress to a night out of town, and that night prolonged into a whole week.”
“I doubt his wife would agree with that version,” Alex tells me.
I sigh, turning around and walking over to my desk. There isn’t a single thing on it, apart from my Mac, which lies open, untouched, ever since Alex came here to tell me this.
Alex has been with the company basically from day one. He’s my right-hand man. If he thinks this is important for me to know, then it must be important, although I can’t really guess why. Not like I had anything to do with Morris’ disappearance.
“I’m sure he’s just blowing off some steam somewhere,” I shrug.
Alex still doesn’t seem convinced. He wants to tell me something, but I see he’s hesitant.
“What is it?” I ask.
His usually pale face is even paler now. His hair has grown thinner over the years, with a slight balding patch right in the middle of his head, which not many people can see because he’s quite a tall guy. His forehead lines have become more prominent. I guess it has something to do with his three kids, two of which are already in college.
“There’s talk of a kidnapping,” he says in a hushed tone of voice.
I frown. “Kidnapping?”
Although the moment I said it out loud, I realize it makes a shocking amount of sense.
“Has there been a ransom demand?” I look at Alex.
“No,” Alex shakes his head. “Not that I know of. It’s just… talk.”
“Well, let’s hope that’s all it is,” I say, not really surewhat to think.
It’s common knowledge that we stole one of his clients, and he stole two of ours. It’s just how it is in the competitive business world. There are no friends when you’re after the same thing, but I can’t say that I’ve ever had a falling out with him. We’ve always had a business relationship from afar, without too much personal involvement, apart from those few times during which we had meetings or stumbled onto each other at different events. All in all, ours was a normal rival relationship, where we silently hated but also respected each other.
“The whole city is on its feet,” Alex continues talking, bringing me back to the present moment.
“I bet they are,” I nod. “I know I’d want them to be if I were missing, but I guess that depends on whether or not I want to be found.”
“They say he just didn’t return home three nights ago.”
“They thought he just stayed longer at work?” I inquire.
“Probably,” Alex nods.
That man’s daily routine is more or less identicalto mine. At least, the work part. We come to work, and when we’re here, we’re so immersed in it that we barely notice what’s going on around us. Someone could approach us with a gun pointed straight to our forehead and we wouldn’t even see it.
The thought of a possible kidnapping crosses my mind, but Morris is too smart for that. He always has someone around him.
“He’s probably just off somewhere and he doesn’t want to be found,” I conclude, deciding against the kidnapping theory.
“The police are going around, talking to his family and friends,” Alex adds.
“They’re doing their jobs then,” I say.
“You know they might come here as well,” he reveals, a little apprehensively.
I stare straight at him. He seems a bit confused, but not more than me.
“Why?” I frown. “We’re not family or friends. We’re business rivals.”