Page 56 of Alpha Bait

My brother seemed incapable of understanding my reticence. Either that, or he simply refused to understand it. Indie had let him into our secret and I'd forbidden him to speak of it out loud.

Indie refused to talk about her family, I told him. My brother seemed to be deciding whether or not to believe me. It didn't matter -- I wasn't lying.

Since Selena had passed, tensions had grown worse and worse. I couldn't blame him for wanting me to press Indie. Selena's other brother, not Harvard Business but a Swiss banker, had flown in from Switzerland and his mind had been preoccupied with a, unlike anything I had ever seen.

Keeping the peace was my second job.

Back in New York, my brother came to my apartment and we discussed work on the pending legal case until the wee hours of the morning. I'd had enough Jim Beam to get me properly drunk and the next morning I had no idea how I would make it to the office on time, much less get any work done.

Nevertheless, I persisted and I canceled my ride from my driver, opting to walk the thirty blocks to work instead. Duty called and a little fresh air works wonders on a hangover.

I walked into the office, my lids and legs heavy with drink and marched to my office, slamming the door shut behind me. I breathe a sigh of relief that my secretary and my employees had been around to bother me. Even somewhat drunk, I was the first one in the building.

I slipped into a deep state of focus. I manipulated charts, tested hypothesis and analyzed the markets until my eyes burned red. We'd have a chance that disaster might not be imminent. Working that out had sapped most of my energy. The muscles holding my eyes up burned and twitched.

I reached into my top drawer for my emergency flask and took a swig. Far too early, but I needed something to get my blood pumping this early.

When my secretary arrived, she brewed up a strong espresso for me, and that kept me going until the afternoon.

A mid-afternoon phone call shattered my mid-morning mood boost.

"He's getting off."

"What do you mean?" I growled at my brother.

I already knew what my brother meant. I was simply in denial and unable to admit it to myself.

What he meant was obvious. Donnie wouldn't see a moment of prison time for Selena's murder.

"They settled?"

Fury bubbled beneath the surface as I realize that our lawyers have screwed us.

Ames attempted to calm me down.

"They had no choice."

I growled, "there's always a choice."

"Not this time."

"What the hell happened?"

Ames paused. His silence sent jolts of discomfort spurting through my body.

"Your fight with Jamal. They threatened to sue."

I slammed my fist onto the desk. When my clenched fist landed, a booming noise echoed through the office. I knocked a picture frame off the edge of my desk, a picture frame that held the photograph of my brother, Selena and myself. We had taken the photo a decade early out on Martha's Vineyard.

"I know you're upset," my brother muttered.

"Haverford should have let them sue."

"Rich, we can't afford to lose you right now."

"So Selena will get no justice because the company needs me?"

My voice trembled with rage. How could my brother defend their position?

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