Page 2 of Ashes of Us
When his mother had her first stroke, it was touch and go for several weeks, with the doctors not sure if she would recover or get worse, and both Alex and Craig had come home to say their goodbyes and help with things. Both of them had been shocked to find out Danica was handling everything while their father remained at their mother’s side. Alex stepped in torun the hotel and had been furious about the amount of control she had, especially when they found out Cassandra was out of the woods but would never fully recover and would need round-the-clock care. Alex completely lost his mind when Alexander gave his credit card to Danica and told to arrange everything so Cassandra could spend her remaining time in the home she loved.
When Alex confronted his father about it, he accused them of having an affair, which resulted in an epic fight that only ended when his father threatened to disown him and cut him out of his will if he didn't sincerely apologize to him, his mother and Danica. Alex begrudgingly made his “sincere” apology, but she never fully forgave him for thinking so little of her, and she firmly believed he only dropped it because he didn’t have the proof to back up his accusation and didn’t want to lose the hotel chain.
Thirty-four-year-old Craig had been living in Las Vegas “running” the Rose Gold Hotel and Casino on the Strip for the last twelve years - if running meant throwing lavish parties, gambling, doing drugs and drinking himself stupid. He truly lived his best life in the penthouse of the hotel, drawing a salary, while Danica ensured the hotel and casino were profitable. She didn't have a lot of interaction with Craig since his mother died, his father wrote him off after he failed out of three different universities because he was partying too much to go to class and only kept him on salary because Cassandra made him promise not to cut their younger son out. She sat in on the bi-weekly meetings between him and his father, but because of his contentious relationships with his father and brother, he hadn't been home in four years.
Danica finished booking the flights and hotel rooms for Nigel and her in their respective cities and had just hung up thephone with her husband when he walked in with the police and paramedics in tow. She directed them to the bedroom and sat with Nigel to come up with a story to tell the staff. She knew it would get out, but she wanted to keep things minimized as much as possible. The next few weeks were going to be rough as they navigated Alexander’s death and the transition to Alex as CEO. As they waited for the body removal service to come and take Alexander’s body to the Medical Examiner's Office, she focused on her breathing to keep herself together, knowing there was a very good chance she would be unemployed when she got back from London.
Chapter Two: London
The next few hours passed very quickly. The paramedics confirmed Alexander was dead and left. The police explained that because he had died alone and it was unexpected, he had to go to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy. They asked Danica a number of questions about Alexander’s routines and his emotional state the day before, and watched the security tapes, which showed Danica leaving just before six the previous evening. They then asked her why she was there. She explained that Alexander usually finished his day around three, but she didn’t usually leave until after five. She brought him several documents that required his signature before she left for the weekend, and they discussed their weekend plans and chatted a little about a few issues that had come up before she went home.
The only other movement outside the penthouse was when room service brought up Alexander's meal at seven. No one else entered or left the penthouse until six-thirty the following morning, when the concierge knocked on the door after he didn't answer his wake-up calls, and then Danica let herself in at seven twenty-five. The police asked why she had a key while the staff didn’t, and she explained that when Alexander moved into the penthouse four years previously, theyhad changed the locks because it was now considered a private residence, and Alexander didn’t want the staff to have access to it. Housekeeping was allowed once a week, but otherwise, she was the only one with access, and she was only to use her key in case of an emergency.
When the body removal service arrived with the medical examiner and took Alexander away to the morgue, they also took the remains of his dinner for testing just in case something weird showed up on his autopsy, but the ME assured her there were no outward signs of poisoning or violence on his body, so she was pretty sure it was most likely natural causes and gave Danica her card so she could get in touch when Alex and Craig had decided on a funeral home. Somehow, Danica managed to hold it together as they wheeled Alexander’s body out of the room, even though she felt like her heart was breaking. The police allowed them to leave at ten, reminding them not to touch the room or its contents until they had received the ME’s report and were certain his death was due to natural causes. Danica then went home to pack an overnight bag for the trip to London.
“So, what happens now?” Jasper sat on the edge of the bed and watched as she threw a change of clothes and one of his old T-shirts, which she used as a nightdress, into the bag.
“I'm not sure.” Danica shrugged. She was too busy trying to hold herself together to worry about what was going to happen next. “Hope Alex doesn't fire me?”
Jasper leaned his shoulder against the headboard and folded his arms. “Maybe he'll just make you the manager of the Boston Hotel and decide to move headquarters to New York. That wouldn't be so bad.” Danica had to bite her tongue so she wouldn’t react to his casual attitude about Alexander’s death. He had given her a brief hug when she got home, but that wasas far as his sympathy went when it came to the Wests and her relationship with them.
“I really doubt he'll move headquarters to New York.” Danica shook her head as she went to the bathroom to pack her toiletries bag. “He's a Boston Boy through and through.” She heard Jasper snort from the other room and braced herself on the sink with her head down as she waited for the inevitable snarky response.
“Like he would know anything about being a Boston Boy.” She walked back into the bedroom to see him rolling his eyes, a slight sneer on his face. She didn't know why Jasper had such an issue with Alex, who had never said anything rude or mean to him the few times they met. Since Jasper’s answer was “I just don't like the guy” when she asked what his problem was, she could only assume it was jealousy or insecurity on her husband's part.
“You do realize someone doesn't have to grow up as a latch-key poor kid in East Boston to be from here, right?” She responded dryly, tossing the toiletry bag in her overnight bag as she walked by and pulling her phone and tablet chargers from the outlet next to her nightstand. He reached out and caught her hand, tugging her back so she was standing between his knees. She automatically placed her hands on his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her, his large hands gripping her ass and squeezing gently.
“Whatever.” He looked up at her, giving her his charming, slightly lopsided smile that melted her heart every time. “At least this means you won't be travelling all over the country every other month.”
Danica linked her fingers behind his neck and leaned down to kiss him. “Let's just focus on hoping he doesn't fire me.” She murmured against his lips. They had been together sevenyears and married for five, and he still gave her butterflies. They had very different personalities, with Danica being a workaholic and much more financially mindful, and Jasper having the mindset that all work and no play made Jack a dull boy. Their relationship was mutually respectful, and they were both very loving and supportive of each other, even when they disagreed about something.
“You'll find a job at another hotel.” Jasper squeezed her ass again as she pulled back, holding her firmly in place. “It's no big deal.” Danica shook her head. They had this conversation a dozen times before, always with the same outcome. She was paid way more working for Alexander then she would at another hotel thanks to the massive ten dollar an hour raise he gave her after Alex accused them of having an affair both as a thank you for everything she was doing and as a bit of a “fuck you” to his oldest son.
“Except I will probably take a major pay cut, and then you'll have to work more hours.” She kissed him again and stepped out of his arms, reminding him of their precarious financial situation as she put the chargers in her purse and mentally went through her checklist to ensure she had everything she needed.
“We'll make it work.” He shrugged and fell backwards on the bed. “If he lets you go, he'll have to give you severance, and that's the only reason I'm not telling you to quit.” Danica choked as she inhaled while swallowing. Coughing, she glared at him.
“I'm NOT quitting.” She told him sharply when she was finally able to talk again. “We've talked about this multiple times. You need to get over this weird jealousy you have with the Wests; they're as much my family as you are.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jasper waved his hand dismissively as he propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her, poutingslightly. “Except I'm your husband, and there's a legal document saying I'm your family.”
Danica just shook her head, irritated by his callousness and casual attitude about Alexander’s death. “I have to go.” She zipped her overnight bag closed, picked it and her purse up, then kissed him goodbye. “When I get back, you better be a lot more sympathetic to the fact that I just lost the man who was my father figure for thirteen years, or we’re going to have a problem.”
Her irritation increased when Jasper grunted in reply and headed to the garage instead of walking her to her car, and the half-hour drive to the Rose Gold Hanger at the Hanscom Airfield was spent stewing over her husband's attitude. Jasper, who was usually very loving, caring and sweet, inevitably became a complete asshole whenever anything about the Wests came up and “disrupted” their lives. He hated that she insisted on staying and working for them, especially after the timeframe she had signed the contract for had passed two years prior. They had come closest they’d ever come to divorcing because he felt her loyalty should be to him, not them and it was only after she sat him down and went over the money with him, explaining that she wouldn't get paid half of what she was making now if she left and went to a different hotel and pointed out that they wouldn't be able to afford both the mortgage and the payments on his beloved Dodge Challenger if she quit that he’d finally dropped it. However, he still became testy and moody when she told him she had to travel or work on the weekends.
By the time she got on the plane and they were in the air, Danica had let go of her anger with her husband and finally allowed herself to feel her grief about Alexander’s passing. She cried until she couldn’t anymore and then spent the rest of the flight remembering both Alexander and Cassandra, specificallyhow much he loved his wife and how much his health declined in the four years since her death. She had wanted him to get therapy and see a doctor for his weight loss, but he waved her off, telling her he was fine. She eventually managed to convince him to join a support group, but he’d stopped going after a few meetings and gently told her she needed to let him grieve in his way.
His relationship with his sons deteriorated shockingly quickly, making Danica realize that Cassandra had been the glue holding their family together. If Danica didn’t put it in his schedule, he often went weeks without calling Alex or Craig, unless it was related to work. He stopped celebrating the holidays and gradually began delegating more of the hotel chain's everyday operations to her. She had to admit she had enabled him quite a bit; she did a lot of what he asked without questions or pushback, partially because she was enjoying the work and partially because no matter what she said about his noticeable decline in his mental and physical health, he dismissed her. When she’d finally gotten up the courage to suggest calling Alex home, he had raised his voice at her for the first and only time.
“No! No, you won't call Alex, Craig, or anyone else! Just do as I ask and stop your goddamn fussing!”
Shocked and hurt by his outburst, she left him to cool down for two days before he called and apologized for yelling at her but insisted that she leave well enough alone and let him handle things his way. Not wanting to upset him again, she went along with him but still occasionally tried to quietly suggest a doctor or therapy, which he refused each time, telling her he was fine and to stop fussing over him.
The pilot came over to the speaker and told her to prepare for landing. She quickly buckled her seatbelt and put away herlaptop, which she had opened and not touched, and braced herself to land. When they taxied into the hangar and came to a stop, she gathered her belongings and instructed the pilot to be ready to leave by eight the next morning. As she walked out to where the car she had arranged was waiting to take her to Alex's penthouse, she pulled out her phone and called him to make sure he was home.
“Did you forget about the time difference, Dani?”Alex's sleepy, irate voice came over the phone, and she closed her eyes briefly in annoyance.“It's after ten.”
“I just landed; I'm on my way to your place.” She told him, trying to keep the slight waver out of her voice; she knew he went to bed reasonably early and was in his office at seven every morning to accommodate the time differences he had to work around, but since it was Saturday, she hadn’t expected him to be in bed so early.
