Elevator doors dinged off the fortieth floor, numbers bleeding down above Zander’s head as he tracked his own reflection. One teenager in denim sandwiched between a butler in black and a chef in also-black, the three of them lit gold under the ceiling lighting strip. Wellston’s handshake was still a phantom presence in his palm, the Harvard man having forced a smile as he tried to squeeze hard enough to make Zander regret the grip.Of course Zander hadn’t squeezed back.
He’d already done enough to ruin the man’s day and potentially his future mental health. Man's gonna lie awake three years out wondering how a teenager knew about a crash. Zander shook his head slow as the elevator sped down dozens of floors. Enjoy that, big dog. It was his own little punishment of three hours of sitting in that room. "Three hours." Cooler bag slung over one shoulder, Alexis held that with more grace than the scowl the blonde woman had been marinating since hour one-and-a-half. "And not one plate of food offered. Very shoddy service.”“Not a restaurant, Lex.” And it wasn’t like regular food was going to do much for him, anyway.“It’s the principle of the thing, Master.” The woman huffed, chest straining against the buttons of her white shirt. “Went lookin' on the wee break. They've a kitchen on that floor the size of my first flat and there's nothin' in it but sparklin' water and a bowl of pears.""So eat a pear.""Can’t eat wax, dear Master." She leaned down into his eyeline, green eyes shining with her own smile. "Rich men with fake fruit. That's a symptom, that is.” The elevator doors dinged open and Alexis stood straight, the drudge following him and Walter out as she kept on talking. “Tells ye everything about a man, what he keeps in his kitchen."
"The pears were not the purpose of the visit." Walter held the lobby door, one glove flat against the glass. “And you know that, Miss Armstrong.”
“And three hours wasn’t the time frame either, old man.”She wasn’t wrong there, Zander had to admit that. It was supposed to be half that.Unfortunately, all his points had turned into bigger questions that led into more explanations and even more questions.So a roughly one hour session had turned into three hours of frustrated “yes, sirs”, six suits nodding along to a kid with a juice box because the kid had the money. Granted, the money was the entire point because it was really the only language that the room — and really, the whole building — spoke. It was also just his luck that almost every meeting room the place had came with a goddamn view, his head still throbbing where the sun had been working on it through all that glass. Thankfully, the slow throb behind his eyeline had started to fade in the elevator and, by the time they’d stepped out into the parking structure’s concrete shade, Zander had known the first honest relief of the whole afternoon. The hired Mercedes sat where Walter had left it, the butler holding the door open for Zander to enter. "Airport, sir?" The question came as the back seat swallowed him, the rental-car smell of somebody else’s air freshener fighting with cool leather. Walter folded himself behind the wheel as Alexis dropped in beside the man, cooler bag between her legs.
"Airport, Walter."
Zander tipped his head back against the leather as the Mercedes pulled out of the structure and the glass canyon started sliding past. As expected, the sun came back like a debt collector. Truthfully, the Seattle sun was nowhere as bad as the one in Arizona or Miami; an anemic cousin really. All glare and no teeth.
Still rude enough to make him wince behind the lenses.Alexis, without even a word, dug in the cooler bag by her feet and came up with another juice box, seal already popped, straw already bent his way. "Thank you, Lex."
"Drink your juice, ya wee tyrant."He didn’t waste a second in doing just that, the throb behind his eye dying just a little as the first taste of tomato-flavored blood hit home."So." The chef tilted her head back towards him. "Ye going to tell me why you sold all the houses, or is that another one of your wee moods?""Seventy percent of the houses."
"Aye, seventy percent of the houses, terribly sorry. Ye ken what my mam would've done for one house?” The blonde scoffed. “One."
"Lex.” Zed raised an eyebrow. “You want a house?"
That stopped her for a second, the woman actually seeming to chew on the thought. "...No. Not sure what’d I do with one. But it's the principle."
"Master Cray's holdings are his affairs." Still driving, Walter spoke to the windshield, tone mild as milk. “Not ours to question, Miss Armstrong.”"Oh, listen to him. Master Cray's affair. Ye were pullin' the same lemon face as the suits when he said dump 'em, don't think I didnae see it, ye dusty old—”Zander let the two of them run their usual back-and-forth, head back against the seat and a bendy straw parked in the corner of his mouth. This was the actual return on the Kingsley estate, all the money and houses aside. He’d gone into the dying man’s mansion looking for some cash and came out with actual company that money couldn’t buy.Well, okay… Money had literally bought it.Money and about a tablespoon worth of blood a month, but there was a point in there somewhere.Walter got them pointed south out of the glass canyon, aiming toward the airport, and that was when the phone started up with a hum against his thigh.
He pulled out his new phone, a blue Blackberry and stared at the screen as he opened his messages.
Jessica – 2:14: hiii babe, missed u at lunchJessica – 2:47: wen r u getting bck?Jessica – 3:25: srsly its been a weekJessica – 4:13: ZANDER.
That last one almost had him snort. He caught himself, a two hour escalation wave from hey babe to ALL CAPS. In all fairness, though, he had kept her waiting for four days so that was a little unfair.
"Master Cray." Walter's eyes stayed on the road, hands at ten and two. "Am I to assume Miss Stanley still remains troubled by your extended absence?"
"She worries too much." His thumb was already moving with a response. Back tonite, had bzns in Seattle. Tell u whole thing ltr. Send. Dropping his phone at his side, Zander turned back to all the projections spread across his lap — Google, Amazon, and a certain major fruit company; all of it money that hadn’t figured out it was gonna be money yet. He’d already changed his plans halfway during the meeting, something that had given the advisors more of a headache, but it wasn’t like he had a perfect memory. Facebook’s pretty much a no-go till 2010, I think. That was just the way it was when a company wasn’t public yet. And not sure how I can find existing shareholders past big Zuck himself. Not to mention how he had almost forgotten that Google bought Youtube next year anyway. Better to just buy into Google anyway.
Getting into Marvel and Disney was another option but he wasn’t sure how long he’d have to sit on it or even if all of those movies would still be popular for all that long after. I mean, I guess the Winter Soldier movie proved they can keep it going. He didn’t have much faith in them lasting long, though, considering he heard Civil War was coming up soon after and he wasn’t sure how they were supposed to have a Civil War movie with a cast that small at all.
Netflix, though. That was a guaranteed winner. Mastercard and Visa too. Everyone buys shit online.And speaking of winners…League of Legends and Minecraft. Gotta keep an eye on those when they pop. Zander clicked his tongue as he turned his attention back to Walter. "Girl'd worry a sunny day into a funeral."
"Perhaps." The old man let it breathe, and that little pocket of quiet was how Zander always knew the next part was gonna be the part. "Though relationships, sir, require a certain maintenance. Not unlike a portfolio. Neglected, they tend toward... depreciation."
"Walter…” Zander's thumb stopped on the page, attention frozen on the pale slice of the butler’s eyes in the rearview. “...you just compare my girl to a… stock?"
"Simply giving you the observations of an aged man who has watched what misplaced priorities tend to cost." The wheel turned a slow degree under his gloves, the car headed towards an on-ramp. "Nothing more."
"Old man’s not wrong." Alexis didn't even look up from the cooler bag, the woman digging for something. "Lass texts you four times in two hours and you don’t reach out? My da did that to my mam with the fishing. D'ye know where my da lives now, master?"
"...where?"
"With the fish."Blue eyes blinked behind his teashades. “She killed him.”“No. He sleeps on his boat most nights.”
…alright. Zander shook his head, half a laugh already spilling out. Before he could say anything back, the phone went off in his hand — the whole face of it lighting up, JESS across the little screen with the heart he'd put next to her name.
It only rang twice before he brought it to his ear.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Where have you been?" Relief and heat both wound together tight as Jessica burst from the speakers at full volume. "It's been almost a whole week."
"Had to run down to Mexico and then up to Seattle for a bunch of meetings. Usual business stuff, babe." He slid lower into the leather, phone warm against his ear. "My bad on the no-warning again. I left you a voicemail."
"It's… no, it's fine, I just…" Jessica let out a long sigh into the phone. "Don’t get mad at me because I got worried again, okay? You keep doing these little mystery trips off to who-knows-where, and I'm just…"“I know, babe.” He slapped a smile on, wide enough for her to hear it in his voice as Jessica trailed off. “But your parents said no vacations with me until graduation.”“I knoooooow, but like what do they think is even gonna happen that couldn’t happen at your place anyway?” She scoffed loud. “Besides, I just wanna see what you get up to while you’re on these trips anyway.”
"Building our empire, baby. Gotta swing while it's swinging."
"...Our empire?"
His eyes slid shut for a moment, the smile spreading into something more natural. Easy. She was always so easy to distract, and he hated a little how cute it was. "I mean, assuming you tryna be rich and terrifying alongside me, but I guess not…”"Oh my God, you're so—" The laugh came bright and a little too loud, the real one, not the cafeteria model. "Okay. Okay, I'll consider it. Maybe. But next time there's a heads-up rule. Like just tell me in person. In person, Zander, before you evaporate."
"Done deal, baby.”
"Tell her I said hullo!" Alexis pitched straight at the phone, voice high and light.
"Wait, who-” All the laughter left the girl’s voice in a split second. “Is that a woman?"
His eyes almost rolled out of his skull. "That's my chef, Jess."
"...wait, Miss Armstrong?
“Yeah, and Walter’s here too.”
"Indeed I am, Miss Stanley," Walter offered, loud enough to carry.
"Oh my God, hi Walter!"
"He says hi back." The lie slid out easy as anything. "How was school, then? Anything pop off?"
“I mean, actually? Like, actually-actually?” “Yes, jaybird.” Zander bit back a sigh. “Actually-actually.”“Wellll… apart from the usual, I guess…” Jessica clicked her tongue. “Something did happen a little bit but it was mostly just Bella being really weird today. Like, weirder-than-her weird, and that's a whole bar to clear."
He set down the wind-farm numbers, digits dancing in his head. "Weird how?"
"Well... you know the Cullens left town, right?"
“I… I didn’t know that actually.” The numbers stopped meaning anything all of a sudden as Zander blinked slow. Left town? Why… why did that sound familiar?
"Yeah, Doctor Cullen got a great new job offer somewhere and the whole family packed up all of a sudden. Ever since then, Bella's not talking. Like, at all. I didn't even hear about the woods thing until Wednesday-"
“Woods thing?” Seriously, why did all that sound so familiar? “What woods thing are we talking about?”
"Oh my God, I forgot you don’t knooooow.” The words immediately started tripping on their way out of her mouth, each one trying to be the front of the pack. “So, so, so listen, Bella went missing Tuesday night. Like, actually missing for hours so her dad— you know her dad’s Chief of Police, right?”“...yes, Jess. I know that.”“Just making sure.” She took a breath. “Her dad had everybody out looking for her— well, okay, not everybody, alright? Mostly police and some people from La Push and stuff. My mom heard it from Mrs. Newton, because somehow Mike’s dad knew, and Mike told me one of the La Push boys found her?”Is… is that a question? “Found her where?”
"In the woods. Waaayyyy out in the woods. And Lauren said the guy had to carry her back, but Mike said she wasn't hurt, and nobody even knows if she passed out or just couldn't walk or what.” She sighed out loud as if disappointed she didn’t have more details to offer. “Nobody's saying anything, babe."
Zander blinked at the seat-back in front of him.
“And today back in school — oh my God, babe, she looked terrible.”"Terrible how?"
"Just... blank. I asked her if she was okay and she said yes, but like I don’t even think she heard me. On top of that, she just stared at her food all lunch and Mike kept trying to talk to her, which was honestly making it worse…”“Mm.”"Doesn't help that Bella won't explain it. She just keeps saying she got lost."
The Cullen table last week… Had he even looked at them at all before he went snack-hunting for sicarios? Sure, he’d clocked golden eyes across the cafeteria at some point but a week of Mexico in his mouth and a whole coven had packed up, ghosting out from under his nose. But why?
“Huh.”"What's wrong, babe?"
"Nothing..." Zander licked his lips as he lied, the taste of old blood sitting fresh again as one fang eased down a little too far past the gumline. A thought slid into his mind, a fragment of something he didn’t bother reading and a movie he’d skipped. "Just... do you know when Bella's birthday was?"
"Course I do, she's my friend, silly."
"Uh-huh." He breathed in slow, just for the habit. "And when is it?"
"It was Tuesday, babe. You didn't even get her a gift."
Something in the back of his skull kept reaching for an old memory — a party? Something about a party. Something stupid. Paper? — and coming back with nothing useful. Who moves seven vampires out of town over paper?
"...probably just boy stuff. She'll live."
"Maybe." She didn't buy it and he could hear the not-buying. "It just felt… y’know, bigger than that? Like she was actually hurting hurting."
"Swan’s tougher than she looks." Low bar, but still. "She'll shake it off. So, how’s your book report going?”
"Ugh, don't even." Jessica let out a groan loud and long. "How ‘bout you tell me stuff, like about this empire, since you’re richer than God?” “Richer than God is craaa~aazy.”“Zander, you have a butler and a private jet, just…” A sigh slid through the speakers. “Just walk me through it. Small words. I have a C in econ.""Small words." He tipped his head back against the seat, shades sliding down his nose as the sun dropped down over the horizon and the road ahead began clotting up thick with airport traffic. "A’ight. You know how everybody's got a phone that's just a phone?”From the pause, he could tell he’d already lost her with the nonsense question. "...yeah?"
"They not gonna be just phones."
"...you lost me."
"That's the empire, Jess." He grinned into the dark of the car now as Alexis mouthed something into the rearview that looked a lot like wee tyrant again. "And it all starts with a website full of cat videos."
"...shut up."
"Jess. Baby. I'm serious as the grave."
“Okay, you know what, no. You're gonna explain the cat thing when you're back, in person, per the rule.”“Per the rule.”
He let her run after that, the fast river of her convo carrying the whole car for a while, Zander mm-hmming into the right gaps as Walter merged them onto the path to King County International.
No Cullens at school. Bella staring through people. A birthday he'd missed and a boring book he skipped.
The second book. What even happened in that one, man?
He really should've done the reading.