Call My Name

CHAPTER 3. Who are you?

It’s only been a few hours since he met the kid, but, apparently, we’re now sitting in a board meeting with Hiro fast asleep on top of his chest.

They look adorable, don’t get me wrong. But the thought that a six year old kid actually trusts Satan’s spawn? It is scaring the living hell out of me.

And besides, I didn’t even know Alexei’s fond of kids.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep the factory, sir. It’s beyond repair. What we can do, however, is sell it to the highest bidder. I think there are a few things—”

“No,” Alexei interjected, his hand playing with a pen. “Hundreds of workers would lose their job in this.”

“Yes, but even after all the changes we made for the last couple months to the factory, it still wasn’t able to give us the profit that we need. We’re giving too much with so little in return.”

“Give it to the workers, then.”

“Pardon me?”

“You heard me, Collins. This discussion is over.”

Whisperings and mutterings erupted, filling the room with sudden noise. Alexei, with Hiro safely asleep in his arms, stood up and walked out of the room leaving the confused directors.

When we arrived at the office, he placed Hiro on the couch and sat on the stool directly next to it, his face contorted in deep concentration.

“Hey, Alexei,” I called as I sat next to him, my eyes intent on catching his gaze but he didn’t even bother acknowledging my presence so I just continued. “Aren’t the Board of Directors supposed to be more powerful than you? Don’t you have to answer to them?”

“I own this company. They answer to me.”

Dinner with Alexei was as chaotic as I imagined it would be. He usually eats alone inside the office in his room, but for some reason, and I suspect it to be Hiro, he’s eating with us in the dining room like an actual . . . well, certainly not a human being.

I mean, that thing in front of him he desperately calls a plate is as big as a satellite dish. Has no one been feeding him this whole time? Isn’t he supposed to be a billionaire or something?

“You’ve got the appetite of an elephant,” I commented, looking at him finish the last of his food.

“Yeah, and you’ve got the face of one.”

But before I can even react, a disembodied voice called out his name from the direction of the drawing room and a girl, with shoulder length black hair and a fringe, came prancing down the aisle, a smile fixed on her small face.

And who the hell is this?

“Are you done with dinner? Let’s go by the lake after. I’ve got lots of things to tell you. You wouldn’t believe what I was doing last night.”

“Dying, I hope,” I whispered, taking the last bite off of my éclair and stood up, desperate for escape.

Why are girls always around him? It’s not as if he’s hotter than me or something.

Alexei chuckled at my words but Dora, who had latched herself onto him, didn’t seem to notice as she flung her hands all over the place telling him how nice the weather was at Hawaii.

She should’ve been a weather forecaster, might make her a tad useful.

“So, who’s this hot stuff?”

Oh, great, she saw me.

“This hot stuff’s name is Gideon,” I casually said and extended a hand for a shake.

She quickly accepted my hand, covering her mouth as she giggled.

Hell, her giggle was a thousand times more annoying than the girl back at the pizza parlor. Alexei really has a strange fascination for giggling girls. I mean, he keeps two.

“Gotta go,” Alexei said and kissed the top of Hiro’s head who only looked up at him and continued eating his nuggets.

“Wait for me,” I called out to Alexei but the girl had already dragged me the opposite way, saying that if Alexei wouldn’t hang out with her, I should.

Well, that’s just not fair. And how the hell did she even get in here without my prior knowledge? Aren’t my men supposed to report all these to me?

“Hey, Savannah. Go easy on Gideon,” Ezekiel shouted over to us as we turned a corner, a huge grin etched on his face.

Being annoying sure does run in the family.

The wind was cold. Showers of white and silver light shone with sharp elegance over the calm waters of the huge lake, its surface reflecting the moon.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” the girl — Savannah — started as she looked up at the moon, breathing in the cold breeze. “Alexei used to come out here a lot. At least before he became the CEO, you know. He’s always so busy nowadays. If he had extra time he’s probably just reading some boring book about business.”

I stopped the urge to smile. “Yeah, he’s boring.”

“No, he’s not,” she said and nudged me in the side with her elbow. “He’s just taking responsibility. After all, he’s gonna be the next chairman.”

“He’s boring.”

“Did you know that he and Leo used to race a lot? They were even caught twice by the chairman’s men at an illegal drag race.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief, my eyebrows furrowed. “No way. If that was the case it would’ve already been on the news.”

“It was. I’m surprised you didn’t see it, Mr. Executive Protection Agent.”

I just shook my head, still deeply in denial about that. Leo, his best friend for like — what, six years? — is a very different person compared to him.

How do you put it?

Well, for one, he’s fun. I wouldn’t be surprised about something like what Savannah said if it didn’t involve Alexei joining an actual race. I just can’t imagine him being fun. He’s always been boring and prince-like to me.

Sure, he can be real immature. But other than that he has the personality of a cabbage. The only way he’d be in any way interesting is when he becomes a pug. And that’s saying a lot.

Has she actually even met him?

“He wasn’t always like this, Gideon. You just don’t know him well that’s why.”

To be fair, I’d rather shoot myself in the face than read about his biography. That would probably be the most boring thing next to listening to a politician.

“I know him since we were kids,” I replied, barely masking the offense in my voice. “I think I know him well.”

“Knowing him for a long time doesn’t really mean knowing a lot about him.”

I nodded, half-heartedly agreeing. “Test me, then.”

“What’s his favorite food?”

“That’s easy. White spaghetti.”

She just gave me a look of pure incredulity and laughed, clutching her stomach as her voice rang through the empty gardens.

“It’s called Carbonara, genius. Where the hell did you grow up? In a cave?”

I just dismissed her with a look and sat next to her on the ground, keeping my eyes steady on the water.

“Next,” she said again. “Who is his idol?”

“Probably someone boring. Is it Lincoln?”

She just rolled her eyes at me and laughed again, the sound of her voice slightly creating echoes around the surrounding clump of trees.

“No, silly. He’s an actor.”

“I don’t even know he watches movies.”

“Oh my God, you really are clueless.” She fixed her hair and hugged her knees closer to her chest. “He loves action movies. Especially ones with Vin Diesel in it. He also loves Rowan Atkinson, Ryan Reynolds, and Johnny Depp.”

If my eyebrows could stitch as one, it probably would’ve already done so. She talks about him like he’s the most normal person on earth. Am I missing something here? Is he actually normal?

But no way. I mean, him? Seriously? He’s a billionaire at just the age of nineteen. And he didn’t even have to inherit that much from his father. At the age of twenty-two, he’s running a monopoly.

It would’ve been alright if it was a board game.