Chapter 30: Lucas

Two days, two fucking days and not a sign of him. We’ve been getting updates from Detective Edwards daily, but so far nothing. Alaina seems to get more and more on edge every day, and I’m at a loss as to how to help her. She’s hasn’t heard any more from Brian, which seems to set her more on edge with each passing hour. Stephan takes us and picks us up from work, and Alaina keeps her word and doesn’t leave the office building. She now orders in her lunch and mine daily. The only upside to this situation is that Alaina is still living at my place. It’s an unexpected twist. For the past few years I’ve always enjoyed my solitude at home, but I love having her here; the place feels more alive, more like a home that it ever has before. I love seeing her clothes in the closet next to mine, or listening to her sing when she’s cooking. It’s been the best week of my life, stalker aside.

‘Dad will be here soon,’ Alaina announces, poking her head around my office door with a large smile. We left the office early today so she could cook for her dad coming, so I’m in my home office answering some emails. I had offered to get something sent over for dinner, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

She’s the happiest that she’s been all week, so what my girl wants, my girl gets, and I follow after her with a smile.

As I enter the kitchen I look over and see she’s gone all out for dinner. The table is set with an ivory linen table cloth; there are two tall, silver pillar candle sticks lit in the centre. A small vase, of what looks like wildflowers also decorates the centre of the table. The silver wear is laid out, and she’s folded the napkins into elaborate roses, it looks stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone for dinner here.

‘Sweetheart, this looks incredible,’ I tell her truthfully, and she beams with pride. She’s recently showered and dried her hair so that it falls in soft waves down her back. She’s put on a little make up, not that she needs it, and is wearing skin tight dark denim jeans that hug all her curves, and make my thoughts completely inappropriate when I’m about to meet her father for the first time, an ivory silk blouse and flats. It’s casual but she looks sensational.

‘Anything I can help you with?’ I ask her, not that I know the first thing about cooking. She arches an eyebrow, like she knows exactly what I was thinking.

‘No, I’m all set I think,’ she tells me as she grabs two glasses and starts to pour us wine. As she hands me a glass, the doorbell rings, and she makes to run and get it, but I tell her that I’ll go. She looks at me for a second, smiles, then nods. I’ve never really cared what people thought of me; my line of work doesn’t always make me a lot of friends. In the short time I’ve known Alaina, I’ve realised that her father and her best friend mean everything to her, so it’s important that I make a good impression on her father.

I open the door and extend my hand, which he shakes firmly, ‘Mr Winters, I’m Lucas. Please, come in,’ I say, and take a step back to let him into the house.

‘Please, I told you on the phone, call me Jake,’ he says taking off his coat.

I nod, ‘Jake’.

‘You have a wonderful home, Lucas,’ he says looking around.

‘Thank you.’

‘Alaina’s in the kitchen. Please come through, and we’ll get you set up with a drink,’ I say, leading him through the house.

‘Dad,’ Alaina calls out when she sees him; she moves swiftly around the kitchen island and hugs him tightly.

Jake Winters isn’t what I expected him to be. He’s in his late fifties but he could pass for someone at thirty five. He’s tanned and dark haired like his daughter, tall and muscular. He obviously keeps himself in good shape, no doubt on account of his job.

‘Hey, Lainey,’ he says, enveloping her in a hug. I assume Lainey is a pet name he uses for her.

While they greet each other, I grab another wine glass and pour Jake a drink and hand it to him.

‘Cheers,’ he says holding up his glass, and both Alaina and I do the same.

‘So Lucas…,’ Jake starts. Here we go.

‘Tell me about yourself. You are young to be the owner of such a large company?’ Jake asks So I tell him about my bank loan to start my first company, then, when that turned profit in its first year, I used that to buy the second, and so on until five years later, Frost Enterprises is the company that it is today.

‘Do you have a board within your company?’ he asks and seems genuinely interested.

‘No, there is no board. I own my company in its entirety. However, that also means that any mistakes or loss of profit falls at my feet,’ I say with a slight shrug; I’m used to the pressure and responsibility that comes with being the boss.

‘There are over 1500 employees in our New York office alone. I take my job seriously, because if I don’t then those people could lose their jobs.’

‘I like that you think that way about the people that you are responsible for, rather than about yourself or profit,’ he says nodding his approval.

‘I have to think about it all to some degree, but I employee good people and that in turn makes my job easier.’

I look over to Alaina and see that she is listening to me with rapt attention; it just adds to the things that I already love about her. She’s never asked what I have or how much money I make. Instead, she listens to me talk about how I treat the people that I am directly responsible for. I smile at her and turn my attention back to my drink.

‘OK, guys, let’s eat,’ she announces and ushers us over to the table.

The food is delicious; she has made fillet steak with green vegetables and Crème Brulee for dessert. The conversation continues to flow freely, and I find Jake to be easy company with a good sense of humour. He tells me more about his job, and I have an increased respect for this man and what he faces on a daily basis. I see his eyes glaze with love and pain when talking about Alaina’s mother, and I pray in that moment to never know that kind of pain; losing her would be unbearable.

Alaina makes us coffee after dinner. The evening has been a success, and I find that I’ve actually enjoyed myself. As we sip our coffee, I feel a sudden draught and I shiver. Strange, the windows are closed. I turn in my chair to find the source and I freeze. There’s a man standing in the entranceway to the kitchen and he’s pointing a gun straight at Alaina.

Brian.