Page 22 of Marcellus: House of Drakos
“Excuse me?”
“Which one are you here to see? Mr. Olivier Drakos, Mr. Fredrick Drakos, or Mr. Scotford Drakos?”
“Oh. No. Not his siblings. I’m here to see Mr. Marcellus Drakos. Their father.”
The receptionist was about to press a button that would transfer her call to one of the three brothers’ secretaries. But when Savannah said that name, she stopped on the spot and looked at her. “Mr.MarcellusDrakos?”
Savannah knew then that it was a fool’s errand. “Yes. His father. I need to see his father.”
The receptionist hung back up her desk phone. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but I have to see him.”
“Why would you have to see him?”
She didn’t want to be so melodramatic, but she knew she had to be to stand any chance of getting any audience with the man. “I think his son is in grave danger.”
When she said those words, the woman stared at her as if she was wondering if this was some kind of hoax. “Why would you think he’s in danger?”
“I’m his secretary and I haven’t heard from him in weeks. I know it’s going to sound crazy, but I know in my gut something is terribly wrong. Please let me at least notify his father. I don’t think he even knows he’s missing.”
Savannah apparently had enough concern and sincerity in her eyes that the receptionist took her seriously. “I don’t have the authority to contact even his secretary directly, but I can contact one of his brothers’ secretaries as I was about to do.”
It wasn’t what Savannah wanted to hear, and she knew Olivier would dismiss her again. “Could you contact Miss Kalayna Drakos’s secretary then?” Savannah knew she was a black woman too. Maybe she wouldn’t be as dismissive as Olivier had been with her. Maybe she would actually give her achance. Besides, Niko always said she was their father’s favorite. Perhaps he would be more inclined to take it seriously if it came from Kalayna.
Savannah could tell that the receptionist viewed Kalayna Drakos as an odd choice, since she was the Chief Financial Officer of the company and not directly involved in the day to day the way Olivier as CEO, and Fredrick as COO, would have been. But to Savannah’s relief, she picked up the phone again and pressed the button to the office of Kalayna Drakos’s secretary. She didn’t hesitate.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Marcellus entered his suite of offices, an office he only visited once per month, and didn’t bother to speak to any of his staff as he whiffed right past them. Not that they wanted his attention. They didn’t. They were terrified of him. They all stood up when he first walked in, and they all tried not to give him any eye contact to avoid getting fired on the spot.
But he didn’t even look their way. Because as soon as he opened the double doors that led to the suite just outside of his office, his inner sanctum, he slowed his walk. A group of men were standing on the side of his office door. Olivier and Freddy hurried around their father.
“What’s this?” Marcellus asked them.
“These are the heads of our engineering and design departments,” Olivier said.
“This is our brain trust,” said Freddy. “These are our top engineers and design specialists ready to answer any questions you may have. They have been working tirelessly to get us some answers. I’m sure you know our father and the founder and chairman of this organization, Mr. Drakos.”
They all nodded or said that they did.
“Dad, this is Mike Edison, Lyle Bender, Zorbo Lay, Chuck McCalister, Bojangles Creed, and Arnold Rodrigo. They’re all legends in aviation and they all work for us.”
“What are they doing for us?” Marcellus asked.
“Everything we possibly can, sir,” said Chuck McCalister.
Marcellus looked hard at Chuck. “You think that’s going to satisfy me? Like hell,” Marcellus said and flung open his office doors and hurried into his office.
Olivier and Freddy looked at each other and, behind Kalayna, they hurried inside too.
“Close the door!” Marcellus barked out and Freddy quickly closed them inside their father’s office and the corporation’s technical brain trust outside. Those men, offended, looked at each other as if they couldn’t believe the disrespect, and then they headed back to their respective departments.
But inside the office, Marcellus sat behind his desk as Olivier, Freddy, and Kalayna stood in front of the desk. He leaned all the way back in his chair. He felt agitated, as if that Alex Drakos comment was still simmering beneath the surface. But his company’s problems were simmering more. “Is it the same mechanical failure on every plane that’s been involved in these crashes, yes or no?”
Freddy and Kalayna didn’t look at Olivier. They knew he was under enough pressure. But when he hesitated before answering, Freddy stepped in. “We don’t know that yet, sir. It’s still being investigated.”
“Still being investigated?” Marcellus yelled out. “By who? That so-called brain trust you and Ollie paraded in front of me?”
