Page 114 of Heart of Stone

I was surprised to see a message from an old friend from college. I hadn’t spoken to him in a few months, but the title of the email had me arching my eyebrows in curiosity.

TO: Alexander Stone

FROM: Burke Dalton

SUBJECT: Desperate

Alex,

I’m in charge of a convention for Boston Lifestyle and Investments. Our keynote speaker canceled on me at the last minute and I’m in a bind. You would be a perfect fill in. It’s a two-day event, this week Thursday and Friday. I know that this is last minute, but I’ll owe you big if you can make it happen. See what you can do. Your help is much appreciated.

Regards,

Burke

The last thing I wanted to do is go Boston this week, and I wasn’t sure if I could squeeze it in. I quickly forwarded the email to Laura to see if she could make it work. The woman had the ability to make miracles happen, but I didn’t want to confirm anything with Burke until I got with her on it.

Once that was sent, I went on to read Laura’s daily correspondence, the one that summarized my schedule for the day. I smiled when I saw that I had a fairly light agenda planned. All in all, the day was already shaping up to be a successful one, even if I did have a potential monkey wrench for later in the week.

I glanced down at Krystina, who was still sound asleep beside me.

When was the last time I took a morning off?

Today’s schedule would allow me to go into the office a little later than normal, and the idea of spending the morning with Krystina was appealing. On impulse, I sent Laura a very uncharacteristic message.

TO: Laura Kaufman

FROM: Alexander Stone

SUBJECT: Re: Today’s Schedule

Laura,

I’ll be in the office a later than normal today. You can expect me in by 11 a.m. However, I’ll need an immediate response regarding Boston. Let me know as soon as you have it figured out.

Also, I need you to get in touch with Vivian ASAP. She will need to pick up breakfast fixings before she gets here (she’ll know what to buy).

Alexander Stone

CEO, Stone Enterprise

I hit the send button and climbed out of bed. After allowing myself a good stretch, I threw on jogging pants and a t-shirt. The next order of business was a note for Vivian. I retrieved a notepad and a pen from my study and made my way to the kitchen. I jotted a quick note outlining my requests for the day, and placed it on the counter for her to see when she arrived.

I really wish that woman would stop being so resistant to technology and get a cell phone.

However, I easily dismissed the passing thought since she was so good at her job. I could rely on Vivian for almost anything, and had made the commitment to concede this one thing for the housekeeper long ago. There would be no changing it now.

Can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

I headed back into the bedroom to grab my sneakers and to check on Krystina. She was still sleeping like a baby, with her arms curled around a pillow and her mass of curls fanned out behind her head. The sun was just beginning to lighten the night sky, casting a luminous glow over her skin.

I moved to lower the darkening screen in the room so that the light from the pending sunrise wouldn’t wake her. Satisfied that she would stay asleep for a while longer, I left her alone so that I could grab a quick workout in my personal gym.

****

A rustling sound caused my eyes to flutter open. At first, I was disoriented, my surroundings unfamiliar. It took me a good thirty seconds to realize that I was in the penthouse. In Alexander’s bed. The sunlight that was peeking out from behind the window shade told me that I had been here all night.

Shit!

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