Alex Reid (Rich & Single #1) (8 page)

“It sounds like an interesting life.”

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything else, I’ll tell you that much. And not only because I think an office job would kill me. Although at this point, I wouldn’t need one. I could probably retire on my savings and live happily for the rest of my life, but I like what I do.” He shrugged again, then looked at Alex. “I’m done here, if you need to get back to work.”

“I always need to get back to work,” Alex said in answer, and Parker huffed a wry, agreeing laugh.

Alex turned, and started back up the hall they’d come down, Parker’s footsteps echoing his own. Would he trade his job for anything else? He considered the question for a long moment as they moved toward center of the house and the main door. No, he decided, as he’d known he would before he even asked himself the question. He wouldn’t trade the job for anything. It might be frustrating some days, but it was worth all the work. He also liked what he did.

“We’ll get back to you within a day or two with an estimate,” Parker said at the door. “I’m sure it won’t be anything that will phase your bank account. I’ll keep you updated on the lists of equipment we’re looking at, too, just in case you decide you want a say when you see what we’re lining up.”

“Sounds good,” Alex said. He opened the door and stepped aside. “Have a nice day.”

“And you.”

They shook hands and then Parker stepped out, and Alex shut the door behind him. A moment later, he heard the sound of the man’s car starting, and he leaned back against the wall with a sigh of relief. It had been a long day.

A long day that wasn’t over. Alex straightened up again, and went to make himself another cup of coffee before he went back to the office.

Chapter 9

Mark started calling again on Monday.
Must be back from his honeymoon, then
. Alex looked down at his brother’s name on the missed call list and briefly considered changing his number. What could his brother possibly want this time? He’d sent them their wedding gift already; the company had assured him that the tickets for the cruise set next year on Mark’s anniversary had arrived.

It was possible his brother was calling to thank him. But Alex was sure that would come with a lecture about how he shouldn’t send gifts like that without even speaking to the person he was sending them to, and Mark would undoubtedly ask again why he hadn’t been at the wedding. That was probably it, actually. Mark just wanted to know why he hadn’t come to the wedding, and why Alex had hung up on him after he’d told him he wouldn’t be there. If he asked where Alex had been that weekend, Alex couldn’t exactly say he’d been out of town, because his office would know he hadn’t, and Mark had the number. Telling his brother that he’d been busy having sex with a really hot girl all weekend probably wouldn’t go over well, though Alex considered it, just because hearing Mark go completely speechless before he wound himself up to another yelling match would be almost funny enough to be worth it.

In the end, Alex didn’t answer the phone, and he didn’t call Mark back. They’d gone without talking for months at a time before; they could do it again. Personally, he wouldn’t have a problem if the next time he heard from his brother was Mark’s divorce, which was bound to happen sooner rather than later if Alex was any good at probabilities, and he was.

There was something he was supposed to remember, Alex thought as he settled into the chair at his desk. He swiped a finger across his phone screen, waking it, and opened the calendar. Meetings. Regular work issues. Ah. There it was. He had that charity gala for the Feed the Hungry society coming up in a little more than a week. Such functions were far from Alex’s favorite, but not attending them wasn’t an option. Wealthy people loved charities. Or rather, they loved throwing money at charities. Actually working in them was far beneath their well-manicured hands. But what it meant, much to Alex’s chagrin, was that anyone who moved in those circles had to attend at least one or two charity events a year or people would start talking about their lack of devotion to the state of the world.

He sighed… Just one more thing to add to the list of never-ending work.

Parker had sent the estimate for the gym set-up on Friday. Alex’s bank account had handled it just fine. The trainer had also sent a number of ideas for machines. Alex had approved them all; he didn’t have any particular interest in taking time out of his already-busy day to research gym machines. Whatever Parker chose would, he was sure, be more than adequate. Still, he appreciated the attention to detail.

The next thing to do was decide if he wanted to put the apartment in at the end of the house. He could have the contractors who were working on the gym do it while they were already working for him. He was sure they wouldn’t mind. Most people didn’t; he paid well.

But that was a problem for later.

The problem currently at hand was a big investor’s sudden withdrawal from the company. Frankly, Alex didn’t understand. Daniel Prescott had been with them almost since Reid Enterprises had begun. What would cause him to take back his business? The question hadn’t been answered, and he was starting to get frustrated. They’d gone through all the regular channels; Alex was going to give Prescott a call himself and see what the problem was.

“Mr. Reid?”

Alex, phone in hand, pressed the intercom button.

“Yes, Ms. Campbell.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I have a question here from one of the financial strategists and he says it can’t wait.”

“Put it through.”

Alex waited until he’d released the intercom button to let the sigh welling in his throat escape.

“Reid,” he said when he picked up the phone.

“Mr. Reid,” the voice at the other end replied. “Joseph Driver. Sorry to bother you right now, but I’ve got a couple of clients asking about Prescott. No idea how they heard. What should I tell them?”

Asking about Prescott. Already?

“Tell them that it’s a matter of customer privacy and that we can’t share any information about Prescott’s business with us. If they want to know, they’ll have to go directly to him. Though don’t suggest that. I’m calling Prescott myself as we speak, and with any luck we’ll have his problem solved before anyone else hears he left.”

“Understood, sir.”

“And Driver? Don’t call me again about questions like this. You should know the answer.” Alex hung up, raising a hand to his temple and rubbing slow circles against the ache that was forming there. Obviously he needed to give further consideration to the issue of a personal assistant. At least then he would only have to answer one person’s inane questions. The rest of them could go through the PA before they landed on his desk. He hit the intercom button again.

“Ms. Campbell, if anyone else calls asking what to say about Prescott tell them to say that we can’t share any details of Mr. Prescott’s account with us. I don’t want to hear that question again from anyone today.”

“Yes, sir.”

He leaned back in his seat with a sigh, and reached again for the phone just as it rang.

What now?

The number that flashed across the screen was Mark’s, and Alex began to wonder if his secretary kept Excedrin in her desk drawer, because he was desperately starting to need one. His brother knew better than to call him during work hours. Really should know better than to call him at all.

“What is it you want, Mark? This had better be quick and it had better be good.”

“Is that any way to talk to your brother, Alex, really?”

“It’s a perfectly acceptable way to speak to a brother who has called me four times in the last two days and just called me during work hours when I’m already swamped. Start talking.”

He heard Mark sigh on the other end of the line, and hoped he was getting a headache as well.

“Okay. Fine. What is the deal with the gift you sent? I mean, really, Alex? Cruise tickets without so much as a note?”

And there, exactly, was the lecture he had imagined.

“I didn’t send a note because I didn’t have anything to say. I thought you might like a getaway for your anniversary. If you would prefer me to have the tickets refunded and send you a fruit basket instead, I’m more than happy to do that for you.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an arrogant dick?”

“I’m sure someone has. You’ve told me so yourself on more than one occasion. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do and no one else to do it for me. Have a good night. Enjoy your wife. Enjoy your cruise.” He hit the button that would end the call.

Could this day get any more ridiculous, truly?

Alex gave himself a moment to sit in the silence of his office. Beyond the window, the city was going about its business, and he turned for a moment in his chair to look out past the skyline to the actual sky. Watching the clouds move past was more relaxing than he might have expected, actually. He let himself do so for about thirty seconds, and then he turned back to the desk and work.

This time, he managed to dial Mr. Prescott’s number without any further interruption.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Prescott. This is Alex Reid over at Reid Enterprises. Just wanted to see if you might have a minute to talk.”

“I have more than a minute, Mr. Reid. What is it you want to talk about?”

Alex tipped his head back against the cushion of his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Your withdrawal from our company came as something of a surprise, Mr. Prescott. I was hoping that you might be able to explain what prompted you to leave and if there’s anything I can do to change your mind.”

“Ah, that. Well, Mr. Reid, I assure you that I don’t have any complaints with your company. It’s served me quite well over the last few years. But I wanted to try my hand at being more involved in my own finances and where they’re going. I’m sure you understand.”

No. He really didn’t understand. Businesses like his existed precisely so that people like Mr. Prescott didn’t have to worry about where to invest their own finances. Their whole job was to take care of that worry. And if the reports about Mr. Prescott’s financial requests were accurate – and Alex had no reason to doubt that they were – he was very sure that Mr. Prescott, of all people, was one of the last who should be wanting to withdraw from the protection and advice of Reid Enterprises.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, Mr. Prescott, deciding how and where to invest is more of a headache than you might think. Reid Enterprises is here to help you set up something you don’t have to worry about. You’ve been with us for years; you know that we’ll help you make money stress-free. So why put yourself through that kind of thing when you don’t have to?”

The older man was silent for a moment, like he was thinking about how to answer. Alex sat upright again and glanced at the clock: 3:35. Nowhere near time to pack up and head home unless he started pulling lazy boss privileges… which was, unfortunately, never going to be his style.

“To be honest with you, Mr. Reid,” Prescott said finally. “I’m finding that I’m not very fond of retirement. There’s just not enough to do. Oh, sure, I can go play a game of golf, or go out to dinner, or what have you, but none of it really matters in the long run. That’s why I’m taking control of my own investments.”

And when he ran his financials into the ground, what then? Alex supposed it wouldn’t be any problem of his. Reid Enterprises wasn’t so desperate for finances that they couldn’t survive without the account, no matter how large it was. And yet he felt like he had a responsibility to someone who had been part of his company for so long. He couldn’t imagine retiring. What was he supposed to say to a man who was likely having the same reaction to inactivity that he would?

“We’re happy to give you a more hands-on position in your finances here at Reid Enterprises, if that’s what you’d like to do. You can do the research yourself, and we’ll find investment opportunities that match what you’re looking for. It’s better insurance if the market suddenly takes a dive.”

“You really want me back that badly, huh?”

Alex felt his cheeks heating. Blushing was an incredibly rare occurrence for him, but it had been a long time since anyone insinuated that he or his company needed them. He was glad he was on the phone and not sitting in front of the man.

“You’ve been a loyal client. We’d hate to lose you over something like this. And even more than that, I want to make sure that you don’t make a choice you would regret. I’m sure that we can work out a compromise to your satisfaction.”

The silence on the other end made Alex wonder for a moment if he’d made a misstep. Maybe implying that Mr. Prescott could do anything wrong with his own finances had been a bad move.

“My wife, I know, would prefer if I did come back to Reid Enterprises.”

His wife was a smart woman. Alex smiled, let it be heard in his voice. “Well, you know what they say about disagreeing with your wife. It’s not bad advice, Mr. Prescott.”

“You’ll be willing to give me a little more of a free hand? The team will listen to my suggestions?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Prescott. You have my word on it.”

“I’ll consider coming back. Give me another day to think it over, and I’ll let you know.”

“Of course. We’re not going anywhere.”

He heard the older man laugh softly under his breath.

“You know, when I picked up the phone I was determined not to listen to you.”

“I’m good at what I do.”

“You are that. Have a good night, Mr. Reid.”

“You, too, Mr. Prescott. Give your wife my regards.”

Well that
, Alex thought with some relief as he hung up the phone,
was one obstacle out of the way for the day.
He was confident that when Prescott called back he would have changed his mind. If nothing else, thinking it over for the night would give him a chance to talk to his wife about it again, and she would give him the last nudge he needed in the right direction.

Of course, there was still enough left to do that he doubted he would be getting out of the building any time soon. Alex considered the pile of paperwork in front of him and the pages opened on the laptop screen, and decided that he needed to go back over the personal assistant applicants he’d bookmarked. This time, he would actually make the calls.