In out and back in love with you.

14. Unplanned Jealousy

When Cassandra and Erik left the office, Monica had the opportunity to talk.

- So, what’s with the face? - she asked directly.

- What do you mean? - Alexander was not about to admit anything

- I mean they just gave us good news, found evidence of the scam and those involved. I don't love there’s a traitor in my area, but it's better to know and cut the rotten root, right? You should be happy we have at least an advance, but it looks like you just swallowed a lemon. - Monica said referring to his frown.

- Is not like that, I just hope that trail is "as hot as her," and they can follow it - Alexander said making quotation marks in the air with his hands.

- Ahhh, there it is, are you jealous of Erik? - Now Monica was smiling.

- Jealous? Me? Why would I be jealous, the way her employees address Miss Donovan is none of my business- Alexander replied defensively, of course he was jealous, but he was not going to admit it.

- You know my dear cousin, your mother called me this morning to tell me you are about to get a divorce, and Cassie widowed over a year ago, so, I say, why not? - Monica raised the idea carefully.

- Because my life is a disaster Mon!! I have a traitor as a business partner, two children who will suffer from heartbreak when they learn about the divorce, and a soon-to-be ex-wife who has been with me for years over comfort and money!!!! Be realistic now, Cassie is a successful and accomplished woman, she is CEO in her own firm and is even more beautiful than 10 years ago, what could I offer her? - Alexander exclaimed exasperated.

- 20 years ago, you had nothing, and as I remember it, Cassie was madly in love with you, why don't you offer her the same thing you had 20 years ago? Your love. - Monica wanted to make her cousin see that he was worth it, and not just for any woman, but for the one who was always his first true love.

- Let me remind you, 10 years ago I f****d up… Cassie has no feelings for me anymore, besides I wouldn’t get close to her now, I'm still married, and I respect her too much for that! I couldn't make her a mistress for Christ’s sake. - Alexander told the truth but he was also afraid, he had disappointed the woman he loved, and now although he didn't want to admit it, his love for her came back with full force, but Narcy's words weighed on his head, his bruised ego playing against him.

- If she has feelings for you or not, you don't know that. And I agree you should divorce but Alex, your marriage was over long ago, so if Cassie is your chance to be happy don't ruin it. Make it happen. You already f****d up ten years ago, don't do it again- After saying this Monica left his office leaving a storm in the CEO's head.

After a while Alexander was convinced he did not need to solve everything immediately, he could take a few days to organize his thoughts, however, he should start by taking action on what was clear to him, so he called his lawyer and asked him to file for divorce and elaborate a solid agreement for custody of his children; he informed him about the prenuptial agreement and set a date with him for a review of the whole matter on the next day. When he hung up the call, he felt a little lighter, this wouldn’t solve everything, but it was a start.

Before the end of the day, Alexander was pleasantly surprised, Cassie visited the CEO's office with her apprentice Anthony, they wanted to report the computer firewalls they had secured during the day and ask for his help. They knocked on the door and the dominant man said the usual:

- Come in.- As it happened to him lately, he felt her before he sees her and when the door opened, he could see Cassandra's long legs going through the door, today she was wearing an A dress that reached just above her knee. It took him a moment to realize that there was someone else standing next to her.

- Mr. McIntyre, good afternoon, we wanted a word with you. -Cassie said in her professional tone.

- Miss Donovan, what a pleasant surprise, please come in- Alexander's tone was amused, at first Cassie's attitude bothered him, but now he began to entice the little game of Mr. and Miss, it was kind of exciting, like a play roll! Down boy! He reminded his c**k.

- This is Anthony, he is my chameleon, and we want to let you know...-Cassi began but was interrupted.

- A chameleon? What is that? - Alexander asked intrigued.

- Anthony has been trained for a few years in different areas of specialty, and can act as a support for different positions, I trained him myself. - Cassie explained.

- Oh ok, continue. - The CEO allowed, and he found it brilliant, to have someone to back up all positions.

- I wanted to inform you, I have verified the specific IP from where the transfers were made, and all were tracked to a common use laptop in the company's rest area.- Anthony explained and Alexander knew what area he was talking about, a few years ago the company kept growing and so did the amount of personal they hired, so Monica decided to make a space inside the company where employees could relax, have a coffee break and such so they settle several laptops in the area for those who would like to work from there or check their emails. It seems like a good idea at the time.

- Everyone has access to that area, so it could be anyone- Said the businessman with a gloomy expression.

- That's right, but that's why I installed a security measure on all the laptops there, when someone enters a banking application the camera will be activated, no one will notice but we will have it on video, and the laptop will also save a video of the user session. - Anthony reported.

- That's brilliant! - The CEO agreed

- I also want your help to set some traps, we notice a pattern in the transactions, they are usually done on Mondays every two weeks or so, and from the savings account, I want to put a bait of sorts, but I need your help for that....- While Cassie explained the trap to Alexander he could not help but contemplate her in utter admiration, she was still beautiful, that's for sure, but after so many years there’s something else, the maturity and professional experience she had acquired over the years definitely made her even more fascinating.

Alexander ended his day doing homework with his little ones and making popcorn for them to watch a movie, the Marvel mysteries seemed not to have gone out of style and the CEO was enjoying a relaxed moment with Alec and Kyle. His mother, Linda, went out to visit Alexander's grandmother who had been sick for the past few days. The CEO canceled his trips for the next two weeks, he wanted to have time to settle all his affairs. The sound of the phone interrupted him when he was about to go to bed.

- Hi mom! how’s grandma? - He asked with concern.

- Alex, your grandmother is not well, you know since your grandfather died, she’s been depressed, but I think it's getting worse. I'm thinking about taking her to live in Charlotte with me- his mother replied.

- Really? Well, it could be a good idea, mom. If that's what you decide, I'll help you. -Alexander would miss his grandmother, but maybe it was the best for the old woman.

- I've been thinking son... have you ever considered returning to North Carolina? - Linda tried to be subtle.

- Well, it has crossed my mind to put a branch of the company there, but with everything I've been through lately I hadn't given the idea another thought. -Alexander replied sincerely.

-It could be a good time, you know? Your brothers and sisters-in-law are there and so your father and I; we could help you more with the children if the headquarters of your company is closer, now more than ever You’ll need help raising them.

- I'll think about it, I must solve the matter of my divorce and adjust some things in the company, but it could be a new beginning for the children and myself, so is not a bad idea. - Alexander replied thoughtfully.

After hanging up the phone Alexander went to sleep feeling excited for the first time in a long time. The CEO arrived early at his office on Wednesday and began his day on the appointment with his lawyer, the legal professional assured him that with the prenup everything would be easier and the main risk would be the custody of his children, if Narcy wanted to fight for them the whole thing could get extended, although considering the carelessness towards the little ones there was no way for the interested woman to win the trial, when the clock struck 12:45 Monica entered his office:

- Good morning, Alex! How did it go with the purchase at "Happy Costumes.com"? - Monica asked about the site she recommended the day before.

- Pretty good actually, I found Kyle's costume and should be delivered on Friday!! Where did you get such a brilliant idea? - He questioned her.

- The same place I get all my brilliant ideas lately! Cassandra Donovan- Monica replied winking at him.

- Figures…speaking of Cassie, where is she today? I haven't seen her all day.

- She asked for a couple of personal hours, so I lent her my office. - she said.

- Personal hours? - Alexander asked intrigued, why Cassie would want free time? what if she felt sick? What If something happened to her? Or worse... the image of Erik came to Alexander's head... what if she’s with him? She wouldn’t do something inappropriate, the simple idea was ridiculous, but…unplanned jealousy got the best of him…before Monica could say anything, the CEO ran downstairs to her office, when he arrived a thousand images in his head threatened him with the worst scenarios. He opened the door and step in without even knocking and heard the voice of a little girl:

- D- I- F-I-C-U-L-T-Y. "difficulty." - Alexander understood immediately, Cassie was on a video call watching her daughter's spelling contest on Monica's computer.

- And with this excellent participation Chelsea Williams has moved to the state competition. - They heard on the other side.

-Yeeeessss!!!!- Cassie shouted excitedly.

The little girl ran to her grandfather and took the phone, she said excitedly

- Mommy!!! I won mommy!!- Chelsea said.

- I saw baby!! I'm so proud of you Chels!!…

Something clicked in Alexander's head when he saw Cassie tenderly congratulating her daughter... Suddenly it was crystal clear: Narcy's words had hurt him from his own insecurities, the fear of being a lousy husband and father, but Narcy was the one not able to take a second of her sociable day to take care of their children, it was Narcy who had failed, she hurt his male ego, but she was the one who failed. And now something else was clear, he was crazy about the woman sitting in front of him! He wanted her, he loved her and now he just had to think about how he would manage to make her his.

- Mommy, who’s the man behind you? - Oops, they catch him standing there, how was he going to explain?