Page 7 of Ashes of Us
They reached the house fifteen minutes later. When they got out of the car and walked up to the front door, an armed security guard stopped them. Alex showed him his ID, explained who he was, and after a short conversation with his boss, the security guard stepped aside and let them through. Alex unlocked the door with what Danica recognized as his father's keys and figured he must have gotten them out of his desk. He nodded at her phone, and she quickly opened the camera app and began filming. They walked into the front entrance, and Danica couldn't help the gasp that left her lips. When Alexander had moved out, he'd left everything behind, just paid to have someone come in and cover things. It looked like a tornado had gone through the place. Art had been pulled down and was leaning against the walls in stacks five and six deep; dishes were sitting in boxes haphazardly, furniture had been moved, and everything had post it notes with prices on them.
Shaking his head and letting out a low grumble of disgust, Alex headed to the stairs. Danica could hear thumps and thuds overhead and quickly followed him. “If he starts to get aggressive, leave and call the cops.” Alex's voice was firm as he climbed the stairs. Danica smirked. She could handle herself. Growing up as a foster child in a relatively low-income area of Boston meant she learned to defend herself at a young ageand had gotten a blue belt in Krav Maga in university, but she murmured a low sound of agreement to keep him happy.
She followed him down the hall toward the noises. Filming inside each of the rooms they passed, all of them showing signs of having been rifled through. In the second last room, they found Craig going through the closet, pulling things out, looking them over and muttering to himself before tossing them aside. Alex stepped in, and Danica lowered the phone as she stood in the doorway, keeping the camera pointed toward Craig, but trying not to make it look obvious that she was filming. Craig looked up, and she saw a flicker of fear cross his face when he saw his older brother watching him with his arms folded and a disapproving frown on his face.
Alex and Craig looked like one another enough that you could mistake them for twins, despite being four years apart. They both had their father's curly black hair and their mother's grey eyes, and they had less than an inch of difference in height, around six feet tall, but Craig had let himself go in a rather spectacular manner. Where Alex was still slender and muscular at forty, Craig was soft and... poofy. Danica didn't know how else to describe it. Her husband was a bigger guy, but he wasn't soft; he was a muscular man who enjoyed his food more than he enjoyed working out. Craig looked like a partially deflated balloon.
“Looking for something in particular?” Alex asked, his voice dry and disgusted, which made Danica wince a little inside. It was almost like Alex wanted a fight, and sure enough, she saw Craig's fear immediately morph into defensiveness and what she thought might have been a hint of shame. Alex didn't let him respond, though, and kept talking. 'You can't be here. We have to have someone come in and make an inventory of everything so it can be divided properly.”
Craig's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he let out a sarcastic laugh. “Yes, because I'm sure dear old dad has divided things equally between the two of us.” He dropped what he was holding and folded his arms across his chest, puffing it up in a poor attempt to look intimidating. “You get the hotels, it's only fair that I get the house.”
Alex shrugged. “Unfortunately, Dad's will has specific instructions about how everything will be handled, which I'm happy to go over with you after his memorial. Until then, you need to behave.” He paused, and Danica watched as he gave Craig a once-over. “And be as sober as possible for a few days.” She looked him over too and saw he was starting to show signs of coming down off something. His eyes were darting around, and there was an obvious sheen of sweat on his forehead and upper lip. Craig let out a huff and rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by the sober comment, but made no move to leave, instead it seemed like he was going to dig in his heels and tell Alex to go fuck himself.
“Okay, here's the deal.” Alex had clearly run out of his limited patience with Craig. His voice was hard and cold, and he was standing stiffly. “There is a suite waiting for you at the hotel, and Danica will call a car to take you there, or I will call the cops and have you forcibly removed from the property and charged with attempted theft.”
Craig seemed to notice Danica was standing behind Alex for the first time, and he blinked in surprise. “Danica?” He squinted as Alex shifted slightly, allowing Craig to see her fully. To her surprise, he looked completely disappointed in her. “You're seriously on his side with this? You know he still thinks you were fucking Daddy Dearest, right?”
Danica managed to keep her face blank, despite the disappointment that welled up inside her. She had suspected asmuch, especially after the comment on the plane, but having it confirmed hurt her more than she wanted to admit. “His opinion on my relationship with your father means nothing to me.” She somehow kept her voice firm and calm. “I know what it was and what it wasn't, and right now, that's besides the point because he is right, Craig, you can't be here. When your father died, his estate went into probate, and until that is settled, no one can do anything with his belongings.” She noted that Alex didn't deny what his brother said and filed that away to deal with later.
Craig slowly nodded, his eyes flicking back and forth between her and Alex before coming to rest on his brother. A satisfied smirk crossed his face. Danica couldn't see Alex's expression, but Craig seemed to enjoy the fact that he had just sown some discord into his brother's life. “Call me that car, please.”
Chapter Six: New Plan
After Danica called the car for Craig, and Alex made sure he wasn't trying to make off with anything in his pockets or suitcase, they got him out of the house. Alex called for a locksmith to change the locks the next day and let the security guard know no one else was allowed in the house, and to call him immediately if someone tried. Danica waited, leaning against her car as Alex read Craig the riot act and told him he expected him to be on his best behaviour until they got through the memorial and publicity that would surround Alexander's death. She couldn't hear everything, but she made out some threats about dragging out the probate period as long as he could.
When the car arrived and took Craig away, she got in the driver's seat and seriously considered quitting on the spot. She knew Jasper would support that decision one hundred percent, and if she told him why, he would probably hunt down Alex and punch him in the face. He was very protective of her and would want to defend her honour the only way he knew how, by getting violent. The thought did give her a bit of a warm feeling, but she knew Alex wouldn't hesitate to have Jasper arrested. By the time Alex got in the car, she had dismissed those thoughts. She couldn't bring herself to quit without having something else lined up first. Besides, her loyalty to Alexander and Cassandramade her want to see things through until his memorial was over and the two of them were together again.
She started the car without a word and began the drive to the Seaport District. She drove automatically, ignoring the man beside her. She felt a small measure of guilt for wanting to leave the hotel but reminded herself that she owed Alex nothing and good executive assistants were a dime a dozen, he'd find someone to replace her very easily. Alex didn't try to speak to her either, though she could see him glancing at her. It was a short drive, and the only conversation was her politely asking him which condo building, and his rather terse response. She pulled up in front of the building and got out, rolling back the tonneau cover while he went inside and got a trolley for his luggage. When he came back, she had moved all the luggage to the end of the pan and was jumping over the side to the sidewalk. She helped him load up the trolley and closed the tailgate a little harder than she meant to.
“Do you want me to arrange a car to pick you up tomorrow?” She didn't look at him as she rolled the tonneau cover back into place and secured it, trying to make it clear she didn't intend to become his chauffeur as well as his executive assistant.
“For seven-thirty. Please.” She nodded at his response, noting he tacked on the please after a slight pause, and moved to get back in her car, he reached out and caught her arm gently as she passed and it took everything in her not to grab his hand and flip him onto his back in the middle of the entrance way to his fancy condo building. “Look, about what Craig said,” His voice was low and almost apologetic, but Danica still couldn't bring herself to look at him.
“Like I said, I don't care.” She shrugged him off and opened the door. “Have a nice evening, Mr. West.” She got inand closed the door firmly, not in the mood to listen to his excuses or reasoning since she doubted it would come with any sort of apology, sincere or otherwise. Putting the car in gear, she checked her blind spot and merged into traffic. The drive to her home in East Boston was spent alternating between hurt, disappointment, and anger. She didn't want to care about what Alex thought of her, but she did, which added to her anger. She hated the thought that he believed she had an affair with his father while his mother was recovering from her stroke and that it continued after Cassandra's death, mostly because it invalidated all the hard work she had put in over the years and her marriage to Jasper.
It also sullied how much Alexander had loved his wife, whom he did everything in his power to make comfortable in her last year, hiring round-the-clock care so she could be happy and live in the house she loved until the second massive stroke took her a year later. Alexander had been devastated when she died and fell into a deep depression that he never recovered from. Of course, neither of his sons really saw that. Craig had attended his mother's funeral, hung around until he got his inheritance and then went back to Vegas. Alex had stayed around longer, hoping his father would announce his retirement, and when it was made clear that Alexander wasn't going to, he had gone back to London in a huff. Alexander, for his part, felt that both his sons only saw him for what he could give them, not as a father, and just stopped trying to have a relationship with them.
She had to admit to herself that she had hoped that she could come to have a relationship with Alex like she had with his parents. With both Alexander and Cassandra gone, she felt like she had lost her family for a second time, like she was eighteen and being told she was no longer welcome in their home and needed to leave all over again. By the time she pulled into thedriveway and parked to one side, she was in tears. She got out and headed toward the garage. The light was on, and she could hear her husband's heavy metal music faintly, so she knew he was in there. Opening the door, she saw he was working on their latest project, a 1969 Dodge Charger they planned to fix up to sell. He had the engine on the hoist and was looking it over critically. He looked up and saw her, his face brightening happily before he noticed the tears, and then he started toward her.
“Ziggy, off.' He called over the music, and the sudden silence that filled the garage when the home assistant stopped playing was almost jarring. He immediately cupped her cheeks in his large hands and made her look up at him, leaving what Danica was sure were greasy fingerprints on her face. “What happened? Are you okay?” She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in, needing a hug.
“It's been a very long, rough two days,” she murmured as he let go of her face and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She pressed her face into his chest and inhaled the familiar scent of grease and Old Spice. “I'm tired and hungry.” She needed to eat, and they needed to talk, because as much as he wanted her to quit working as Alexander's executive assistant and dreading her working for Alex, she knew he wouldn't be happy if her leaving meant they had to cut down on things he enjoyed.
“Alright.” He rubbed her back, letting her have her moment of comfort. “Let's order pizza and talk.”
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An hour later, they were showered, changed into more comfortable clothes, and eating pizza on the couch. When Danica finished her second slice, she leaned back on the couch and watched as Jasper devoured his fourth piece. She wished he would cut back on the amount of takeout he consumed, but besides being a little pudgy around his middle, which Danicaactually kind of liked because it was like hugging a cuddly teddy bear; he was healthy and in shape. Seeing her watching him, he sheepishly shrugged and wiped his mouth. “I forgot to eat today.” Danica shook her head and chuckled. He had raging ADHD, and if she didn't remind him to eat when he was focused on something, he would go until he was faint from hunger. “So? What happened?”
Danica blew out a frustrated breath and then began to tell him about the last two days. She started with how she found Alexander, how she found out Marcy was spying for Alex, Alex's remarks on the plane and finished with what Craig said before they got him out of the house. Jasper listened quietly, occasionally asking a question for clarification or muttering out a few choice swear words. When she finished, he looked outraged on her behalf but quickly hid it when he saw how upset she was. He was quiet for a few minutes, just holding her and running his fingers through her hair while she sniffled, then he pulled back and looked down at her. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to quit.” She responded quietly. “I obviously need to see things through with Alexander's memorial service and making sure his wishes are carried out regarding his remains, but after that, I want to start looking for a new job.”
“Okay.” Jasper nodded, but she could see he was steeling himself to say something and tensed a little. “How long do you think you can suffer it out?” Danica raised her eyebrow. She had been expecting him to stand up and dance in excitement, not ask her to stay there.
“I'm not sure, why?” she looked at him curiously, wondering what his thought process was.
“Mom and Dad told me they're on a list for a senior’s community and offered to give us their property.” He explained, watching her carefully. His parents owned a two-acre piece ofland in Dedham that they had bought cheaply when the bank foreclosed on the original owners. His father ran his garage out there, and Jasper worked for him. “I figure if you can wait until they get a place, we can sell our place, move out there mortgage-free, and actually start our rebuild company like we talked about.”
