Page 52 of Marcellus: House of Drakos
And in that instant he made a decision. A monumental decision that in many ways was more impactful than grounding their planes.
He left the room. Savannah hurried behind him.
“There goes Tonto,” Savannah heard Natalia say, and then Peggy laughing, but she didn’t give a shit. She felt her place, in this hour of his greatest need, was at Marcellus’s side.
When they got on the elevator that would take them to the top floor, Marcellus looked at her. She’d never know how much he needed her. “Pack a bag.”
“May I ask why?”
“We’re going to Florida.”
“Florida? Who’s in Florida?”
The elevator door opened. Marcellus hesitated before getting off. “My brothers,” he said, and then stepped off.
Brothers?What brothers? He never mentioned any brothers, Savannah thought, as she stepped off too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Alex Drakos ran an empire second to none in size and scope, with subsidiaries that stretched from the contiguous United States to Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and even The Peoples Republic of China. His main office was at his corporate headquarters in New York, but he was spending more time at his hotel in Florida for family reasons: He and his wife had things to iron out. And they were just scratching the surface.
But the Talent Director for The Drakos Hotel and Casino was upset again. She needed to vent again. And despite his heavy work load as evidenced by the stack of files on his desk, she asked if he had a moment. He didn’t, but he knew what she was going through. She vented to him numerous times before. He allowed her into his office, leaned back in his swivel chair, and let her have the floor.
It was the same series of issues: Her teenage son was on the wrong track and her husband was useless. Alex had a teenager son as well: his wife’s biological son that he adopted. He knew how he would feel if his beloved Jordan ever lost his way.
After roaming around the office, Emily Ratcliffe finally walked around her boss’s desk, leaned her butt against the front of his desk next to his chair. With her legs outstretched she folded her arms. When she flipped her long blonde hair back with a coquettish jerk of her head, it was only then did Alex realize she had tears in her eyes. “We had to get an attorney,” she said to him.
Which surprised him. “He’s been arrested?”
“No, but it’s headed in that direction. He won’t go into rehab. He steals everything that isn’t bolted down every time he’s home, so Stan locked him out of the house. Which means he’s getting his drug money in other places.”
She leaned her head back and shook it. “I can’t do it anymore, Alex.” Then she looked at him. “We’ve considered putting him in a treatment facility against his will, under the Baker Act, but we were told they won’t do it for drug addicts. It has to be a mental cause. I say drug addiction is all mental, but they don’t look at it like that.”
“He could fall under the Marchman Act,” said Alex, “but you have to demonstrate that he’s a harm to himself as well as others. And they don’t mean because he steals things. They mean physical harm. Has he shown any violent tendencies?”
She shook her head. “No. He just wants to get high and stay high. But eventually it’ll come to that if he can’t get those drugs any other way. And Stan is . . .” She shook her head again. “Stan’s staying out later and later. Sometimes he doesn’t come home at all. He’s of no use to me whatsoever anymore.” Then she looked at Alex and smiled. “Why can’t he be like you? You’re perfect.”
“Like hell I am,” Alex said with a snort, and she laughed too.
Then her look turned serious. “Compared to any man I’ve ever known,” she said, “you are perfect, Alexio. Maybe sometimes we can do something together. I have this cabin in the woods. Really quaint, peaceful place. Away from all our problems. Maybe we can go one weekend and just get away from it all.”
Alex knew where that was headed. Women came on to him all the time. It was a constant situation. Which was why he and Kari kept going through the ringer. “That’s not going to happen, Emily,” he said to her bluntly. Then he looked her hardin the eyes. “You have a great position here. You manage every A-list talent that comes through these doors to put on a show, and you do it well. Don’t jeopardize that with bullshit.”
“Or you could go alone,” she quickly interjected. “I didn’t mean to imply that you and I. . . Of course not! Please don’t think such a thing. I was just speaking friend to friend. That’s all.”
Then the office door opened without any knocking, which was reserved for only one person in this world, and that one person walked in.
When Emily glanced back and saw that Kari Grant-Drakos had entered the office, she quickly stood erect from the desk as if she’d be caught red-handed, and walked behind Alex to look out through his floor-to-ceiling window.
She might have been fast, but not fast enough for Kari’s eyes. “You didn’t have to stand on my account,” she said as she walked toward her husband’s desk.
Emily put on her best smile as she turned around. “Oh hey, Kari. How are you?”
Kari could see that she’d been crying, so she didn’t press her displeasure. But she was very displeased. “I’m fine. And you?”
Emily nodded her head as if her eyes weren’t tear-filled. “I’m good.”
Kari wondered if those tears were real or fake, or, even worse, if she was crying because she knew she couldn’t have Alex. It was no secret she wanted him. And she wasn’t the only one. Kari was getting tired of it.
