Call My Name

CHAPTER 1. Who’s the boss?

The night was cold. My Range Rover skidded to a halt in front of the East Valley Estate, sending a cloud of dust billowing in the stale August air. Alexei, a murderous look etched across his pallid face, slipped out of the car and into the foyer without a second look.

He’s clearly displeased with this new set up.

Twenty-eight security personnel are scattered all over the century old Gothic mansion, seven of which are my own personal men, and are doing a complete sweep around The Eve.

Although this mansion was everything a prince straight out of a fairytale book could ever wish, he’s never actually been fond of places like these. He has always thought of it as pretentious and overbearing.

But how his father had managed to convince this stuck-up gremlin to put up with all this and come back is beyond me.

He sure does seem to be very fond of his new penthouse suite.

“Sir Gideon,” Henry, Alexei’s butler, called, extending his hand out for a quick shake. “It’s been a while. How was Australia? I heard the beaches are excellent there.”

“Oh. It was great, yeah,” I absent-mindedly said as I shook his hand, keeping my eyes on Alexei’s retreating back.

The 16 year old kid I used to have a great time bullying was gone. He’s changed a lot since I last saw him. He’s still as irritating as ever, but unfortunately, he’s not much of a midget anymore. If anything, he’s now taller than me.

I don’t even know if I can still call him Goldilocks, you know? I mean, he’s not exactly blond anymore. His hair’s gone past platinum. It must be plutonium. I bet if I poked him with a matchstick he’d explode.

“Sir Gideon?” Henry called again, catching my attention fully this time. “If you would just follow me, sir. I will be leading you to your sleeping quarters.”

“Oh, about that—”

“No need to worry, sir. One of your men has already informed me of your concern, and so I took it upon myself to transfer your belongings on the room directly next to Master Alexei’s,” he answered before I could even finish my sentence. “A double door connects both rooms. A perfect convenience, don’t you think so, sir?”

I just gave him a small nod, showing that I understood, and muttered a silent thank you as I followed him up the grand staircase.

The room that greeted me when I opened the door flaunted a much different style than the rest of the mansion. It feels warmer in here — cozier.

It was well-lit with two chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling and a single fire crackling under an ornate mantelpiece. The marble floors were grey-ish, accentuating the almost modern look of the room.

“Admiring the view?” I heard Alexei ask and I turned to see him leaning against one of the pillars, tossing an apple in the air and catching it again as his eyes darted across the room to the glass windows.

How long has he been standing there?

Regaining my composure, I gave him a small smirk. “Oh, baby, I am the view.”

“Whatever you say,” he deadpanned, automatically dismissing my reply, and dropped down on my bed.

He didn’t say anything for a while. His stormy gray eyes were just focused on the most intoxicating view tonight, the full moon shining in all its glory at a star-filled sky.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping a safe distance from him as I leaned on the wall.

Alexei just gave me a blunt look. “This is my house. What are you doing here?”

“Keeping you safe?” I replied matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“What an odious thought.”

I almost chuckled.

When he didn’t say anything again, I ran a hand over my own hair, and opened the curtains wider. “Let me guess. You probably missed me that’s why you’re here?”

He took a short pause, clearly not expecting the question, and slowly met my gaze, his eyes blank. “You know it’s cute how you think everything’s about you.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Touché,” said Alexei, smiling crazily at me.

I suppressed a laugh from his reaction and gazed out the window, the missing hand of the ancient equestrian statue at the middle of the balcony garden immediately catching my attention. It stirred some memories in me and I smiled.

“Remember when we were kids?” I mused, deeply immersed in a thought. “We used to play here a lot. I used to sneak into your room while you were asleep and set one of your toys on fire.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed, taking a huge bite on his apple. “Remember when I pierced the shirt you were wearing with a throwing knife?”

“That was today.”

“You want me to do it again?”

I stared at him then laughed — the first real time in a long while. “How about the time you chased me around the mansion threatening to kill me with a fork after you fell off the staircase? Do you still remember that?” I chuckled. “That was how you got that scar on your left eyebrow. You were crazy as a kid.”

“I still am,” he muttered, tapping the tip of his shoes on the cold marble floor.

A small smile tugged on the corners of my mouth, and I cleared my throat, letting the silence drift in between us and settle like dust.

“You’re still annoying.”

“I know.”

The following morning, the sun had already materialized slowly from the distant horizon, showering the mansion with dull rays of reddish glow. I crossed my feet, sitting on the banister with my back against the column of my room’s balcony facing the garden below.

Last night was a total chaos. I woke up in the middle of the night only to find Alexei’s room empty. None of my men knew where he was and if it weren’t for Henry waking up from all the noise, we wouldn’t know that Alexei actually has an office inside his room.

The door was pretty obvious — a hard wood concealed behind a set of bookshelves inside his mini library. But I panicked.

Am I actually losing my grip or did I just underestimate his capacity in abolishing a completely foolproof plan?

After all, he’s a complete buffoon.

“Sir Gideon?”

Well, that’s my cue.

“Good morning, Henry. Is Alexei already awake?”

“Awake, sir?” He blinked, looking slightly uncomfortable as I stood waiting for his answer. “Well, Master Alexei is . . . I’m afraid he’s already on the driveway waiting for you, sir.”

“Driveway?” I asked, confused, and I glanced at my watch. “It’s still six.”

“Yes, sir. He claims to have an early appointment.”

An early appointment? His secretary didn’t say anything about an early appointment. I checked his schedule. His first meeting isn’t gonna start until nine-thirty.

“Tell him I’ll be down in a minute. Thank you, Henry.”

When Henry vanished around a corner, I immediately rushed inside the bathroom, taking whatever it is that I’ll be needing and just throwing in the nearest suit I could find.

I guess I’ll just have to shower in his office, then.

Four minutes later I was dashing down the staircase, taking two steps at a time. When I arrived at the driveway he was already there, waiting along with two other cars.

“Took you long enough,” he quipped, motioning for me to get in.

I didn’t know someone can be this talented at being annoying. Is he in the Guinness World Records for this?

I straightened my tie and checked myself in the mirror before opening the door to the driver’s seat. “Get out. I’m supposed to be driving you.”

He just gave me a bored look, refusing to get out of the car, and fastened his seatbelt. “No chance, Nosferatu, you’d kill us both.”

My forehead creased. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m actually an excellent driver. Can’t you just trust me? I’m—”

“No. I wouldn’t even trust you to sit the right way on a toilet seat.”

Seriously? At six in the morning this is how he treats me? Isn’t it exhausting to be a douche every single second? Did he miss his morning coffee or something?

“Get out.”

“I’m your boss—”

“No, no. You’re everything but that. You’re definitely not,” I cut him off. “I work for your father not you.”

“Then go drive him.”

The rest of my team were only looking at me from a safe distance away from the driveway, careful not to get in between whatever this nonsense may be, and wait for a direct command.

Oh, how I wish I can just tell them to throw this petulant wet sock over at the fountain so I can fly back to Australia and retire. I wanted to be professional with this, after all, they’re paying me by the hour. But this slimy git’s been making it so hard.

I’d rather get ran over by a thousand kangaroo than suffer to be with this leprechaun.

“If you’re just gonna stand there, we’re leaving without you.”

I hope they find the assassin already. Or at least, I hope the assassin finds him.