Chapter 52 The Gold-Plated Cage
Richard was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in Alex’s new office when he walked in, and the older man turned around with a bright smile that didn't reach his eyes, gesturing to the massive black marble desk and the three assistants standing in a row by the door.
"You look like you belong here, Alex, the suit fits you perfectly and the staff is already talking about how much you look like your grandfather," Richard said, walking over to pat Alex on the shoulder, but Alex just moved away and sat down in the heavy leather chair.
"I came here because you promised to fix the mess with Sarah’s firm, so I want to see the paperwork for the audit cancellation now," Alex said, his voice sounding deeper and harder than it did when he was at Sarah's house, and Richard just chuckled and waved his hand at the assistants, who immediately left the room and closed the doors behind them.
"Patience is a virtue in this business, son, and the paperwork is being processed as we speak, so why don't you try to enjoy the view and the power I’ve given you, because you have three of the best analysts in the city waiting for your command and a budget that most men would kill for," Richard told him, leaning against the edge of the desk.
"I don't want the analysts and I don't care about the budget, I just want the press to stop hounding Sarah and I want her accounts unfrozen by the end of the day," Alex snapped.
"Everything in its time, Alex, you are doing a great job so far, and the city is already starting to forget the scandal because they see you sitting in this office where you belong, so don't ruin the progress by being impulsive," Richard said, and he patted Alex’s hand once before walking out of the room, leaving Alex alone in the extremely large office.
Sarah arrived at the building two hours later, and she felt her heart racing as she stood in the lobby.
When the doors opened on the top floor, she walked toward the desk where a woman with perfect hair looked at her with a blank expression.
"I'm here to see Alex, I'm Sarah Hayes," she said, and her voice sounded thin and shaky in the vast hallway.
"Mr. Harrington is in a meeting, but he left instructions to let you through immediately," the woman said, and she pushed a button that opened the heavy doors, and Sarah stepped inside, stopping short when she saw Alex sitting behind the massive desk.
He looked like a stranger, his hair was pushed back perfectly and the suit made him look broader and older, and he didn't look up right away because he was signing a stack of papers with a gold pen, and Sarah just stood there by the door with her bag clutched against her stomach.
"Alex?" she whispered, and he looked up instantly, his eyes softening the moment he saw her, and he pushed the chair back and stood up, walking around the desk to pull her into his arms.
"You’re here, I was just about to call you, I’ve been stuck in meetings with the legal team all morning," Alex said, and he tucked her head under his chin and held her tight, and Sarah closed her eyes and tried to find the boy she knew in the scent of his expensive cologne, but the suit felt like a wall between them.
"This place is incredible, Alex, I’ve never seen an office like this, it’s like a different world up here," Sarah said, pulling back to look at him, and she saw the tiredness in his eyes and the way his shoulders were held tight with a stress he wasn't admitting to.
"It’s just a gold-plated cage, Sarah, and I hate every minute I spend in it, but I’m making progress, I’ve already pressured the board to release the hold on your corporate accounts," Alex told her, leading her over to the leather sofa and sitting her down, but he stayed standing, pacing back and forth in front of her.
"The reporters were outside my house again this morning, and Stacy says two more clients called to say they are going with a different firm because they don't want the drama, so I don't know if unfrozen accounts will matter if I don't have any work left," Sarah said, her voice trembling, and she looked up at him and felt a surge of doubt, because he looked like he was thriving in the middle of the chaos while she was falling apart.
"They’ll come back once the news cycles move on, and I’m going to make sure the Harrington Group puts out a statement saying your firm is our preferred partner for all future developments," Alex said, and he knelt down in front of her, putting his hands on her knees and looking at her with an intensity that was starting to feel a little too much like his father’s possessiveness.
"I don't want to be a preferred partner just because I’m having an affair with the heir, Alex, I want my reputation back because of my work," she argued, but Alex just shook his head and squeezed her knees gently.
"Right now we just need to survive, and if that means using the Harrington name to keep you afloat, then that’s what we are going to do, so stop worrying about the logic and just let me take care of the details," he said, and he leaned in to kiss her, a deep and demanding kiss that made her head swim, and for a few seconds she let herself forget about the office and the reporters and the money.
The intercom buzzed again, and Alex cursed under his breath as he stood up to answer it, and Sarah watched him walk back to the desk, seeing the way he moved with a new kind of authority that made her feel even smaller.
"I told you no interruptions, Elena," Alex snapped into the speaker.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Harrington, but your father needs you in the boardroom for the final vote on the a budget, he says it can't wait," the assistant replied, and Alex looked at Sarah with a look of apology.
"I have to go, it will only take twenty minutes, just stay here and wait for me, there’s water in the fridge and you can use the guest computer if you need to check your emails," Alex told her, and he grabbed his jacket and kissed her forehead before rushing out the door.
She sat on the sofa for a few minutes, looking at the city through the glass, and then she stood up and walked over to his desk, curious about the life he was living when she wasn't around. She saw a thick blue folder sitting right in the middle of the blotter, and she didn't mean to be nosy, but her own name was written on the tab in bold letters, and her heart started to thud as she reached out and opened it.
The first page was a contract titled "Project Phoenix," and as she read the lines, she felt the blood drain from her face, because it was a detailed plan to buy Sarah’s Interior Decor for a flat fee and turn it into an internal design department for the Harrington Group, and at the bottom of the page, there was a note in Alex’s handwriting that said,
"Consolidate all assets by Friday, remove Sarah as primary lead to minimize public fallout, ensure she retains a salary but no executive power."
Sarah felt like she couldn't breathe, and she gripped the edge of the desk so hard her nails left marks in the wood, because the man who had just promised to save her was secretly planning to take her business away from her without ever asking for her permission.