A Storm Is Coming Read online

  Her stride spoke volumes. They were purposeful, determined, and Alex thought that he’d probably made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

  Chapter 15

  Braylee didn’t get much sleep after Alex dropped her off at home. She’d tossed and turned for several hours before finally getting up and doing what had always helped her deal with life’s problems…work.

  She’d already been in her office for a couple of hours when Nate arrived. Her head was glued to her computer trying to make heads or tails of the information they’d received from Detective Jones. She’d taken a massive amount of notes.

  Speaking to herself, “I’ll need to call Gail Hindz.” She was the best crisis manager in the business.

  Nate wasn’t surprised to see Braylee in the office this early. He’d known her long enough to know she was probably trying to work something out in her mind and more than likely that something was Alexandro Manchetti. Any fool could see the chemistry between them.

  Considering he wasn’t a morning person, Nate wasn’t about to go into Braylee’s office unarmed. She was probably cross as a bear. So, he went into the break room to make himself a cup of coffee and her a cup of tea.

  Once he’d took a sip and had Braylee’s tea in hand, he was ready. Nate poked his head into her office, “How was your day off?”

  Braylee didn’t even look up. She used the nothing to see here voice, bland…even, “Fine.”

  “Well, I brought you a cup of tea.”

  “Thanks, just sit it on the desk.”

  He sat the cup down, but he also sat down too. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Was it that good or that bad?”

  “Don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Interesting. Is Mr. Manchetti coming into the office with his legal team today?”

  “Not sure.”

  “You were just with him yesterday, I just thought you would know.”

  “Don’t want to talk about it, Nate.”

  “It’s not healthy for you to do what your doing?”

  Braylee finally looked up and her restless night was clearly evident. Her usual bright eyes were red and puffy. She sighed, “And what is that? Making sure we can pay the bills around here?”

  “That’s always a good thing. I like being able to pay my mortgage. But, no. That’s not what I’m referring to, and you know it. You can’t keep all of your feeling bottled up the way you do. Eventually, it will come out.”

  “And…that is why I pay a shrink.”

  “How’s that been working out for you? You’ve been seeing Dr. Jorgensen for several years now, and I haven’t seen a whole lot of progress given all the money you’ve spent. I’m a hell of a lot cheaper and more convenient.”

  Braylee gazed deeply at Nate as if contemplating what if anything she wanted to say. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it as she rested her chin in her hand. Since there was no one else in the office all you could hear was the tap tap tap of the pen against the desk as Braylee twiddled her pen in between her fingers.

  When she stopped twiddling, she spoke softly, “I’m never going to have a great love, get married and have children.”

  Nate spoke slowly, “And…you figured that out yesterday?”

  Braylee looked away, “I’ve known for a long time. I guess…I just…yesterday confirmed it is all.”

  “I didn’t know that was something you wanted. Braylee, don’t take this the wrong way but does this have anything to do with your sister getting married?”

  “If I’m honest, maybe a little. I don’t know.” She put up her hands as if surrendering. “I know you and Lisa think I’m foolish for spending all of this money on Stephanie’s dream wedding but…it just might be the closest I’ll ever get to my own. I want her to have everything her heart desires.”

  “Hmm…but she’s marrying a lazy jerk.”

  “Be that as it may…this might be her only wedding. He’s her choice, and whether I like it or not, I’ve got to support her decision.”

  Well, if it’s not really about the wedding…it must be about Mr. Manchetti. What happened yesterday?”

  Silence.

  More silence.

  And, just when Nate didn’t think she was going to answer she did, “Everything and nothing.”

  Nate sighed, “I’m a man. I’m going to need you to spell it out a little bit more for me. Speaking in code has never been something I’ve been very good at.”

  “This goes no further than you and me.”

  “That goes without saying.”

  “I’m still deciding how to handle this with our staff, but yesterday, Alexandro and I met with Detective Jones. We were given information that points to the possibility that Luciano was murdered.”

  He sat up straighter in his chair, “Seriously?”

  Braylee dropped the pen and put both elbows on top of her desk. She took her fingers and began to rub her temples. A massive headache was forming, “Yes. And…that’s not the worst part. The worst part is there might be a massive cover-up. I haven’t had a chance to verify anything yet but if what I have in my possession is accurate, the cover-up goes through the Mayor’s office. Maybe even higher. Alex also thinks there might be a mole in his inner circle so under no circumstances are they to know about this.”

  Reaching into her desk, Braylee pulled out a couple of aspirins, popped them in her mouth and took a swallow of her tea before continuing. “Needless to say, Alex was thrown for a loop. He seemed to be barely keeping it together. So, I wanted to stay with him to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. But, I also wanted to stay with him because…I just wanted to be with him. However, the only person who did something stupid was me.”

  Nate understood more than Braylee realized. He nodded, “And…thus the admission that maybe you want more out of life than what you currently have?”

  The smile she wanted to give just didn’t materialize, “Silly right?”

  “No…human. Braylee, I’ve known you a while now, and one thing I know is that if you want something…you go after it with a vengeance. In most cases, you’re successful. So, if you want the great love and house full of babies…then go after it.”

  “Hmm…easy for you to say. You have the great love of your life. How long have you two been together…eight-nine years?”

  “Not easy at all. We’ve both made mistakes but have worked hard for this relationship, and because we have, we’ll be celebrating nine years in a couple of months.”

  “But, you haven’t married. Why?”

  “We don’t need it. We’re committed to each other. What we have works for us. Who knows maybe at some point, however unlike you…we don’t want any children, what we have is perfect.”

  “Nate, I’m terrible at dating. My instincts suck. All the men I’ve dated have never been able to accept all of me. And, it takes a toll. I start to feel inadequate when the relationship doesn’t work.”

  He took another drink of his coffee, “You want something different…try something different. What about Dr. Jorgensen? He’s the one that sent you all of those damn flowers.”

  Braylee rolled her eyes, “I don’t know. Don’t you think that was kind of cliché? He’s my therapist for goodness sake. He of all people should understand my aversion to flowers and plants.”

  “Maybe, but you shot him down without even giving him a chance. If you went out on an actual date and stopped trying to fix broken people, you might find something interesting about him.”

  The phone rang interrupting their conversation. Nate stood, “I better get that. And…for the record, I think you’re instincts are better than you give yourself credit. But, like anything else a relationship requires work too.”

  He turned and walked out of her office.

  Braylee smirked and shook her head. Wondering how she could have such great instincts in her career but when it came to men be so inept. Maybe Nate was right. At the very least he gave her something to think about.r />
  But now wasn’t the time to think about her love life, or lack thereof. She jumped right back into pouring through all the information from Detective Jones. Time seemed to pass quickly because the next thing Braylee knew Nate was bringing her lunch.

  Alexandro’s legal team showed up just after that. But, he wasn’t with them. No one knew if he was going to be coming into the office or not. However, after a couple of hours Braylee stopped looking through the glass door every time the elevator opened. Shortly after that, she received a message that Alex wasn’t going to be in the office at all.

  Chapter 16

  Alex took the elevator up to Braylee’s office. He hadn’t seen or talked to her since he’d dropped her off a couple of nights ago. He needed that time to get his head together. It was just too much to absorb all at once. Alex still didn’t quite know exactly how he was going to say it, but he knew what needed to be said.

  The best thing for both of them would be to focus on his case. He hoped it wouldn’t be difficult since they’d broken the cardinal rule of mixing business with pleasure.

  In his experience, even ridiculously smart women had a hard time separating their personal from their private lives. If he and Braylee could just get through this first meeting without a confrontation, he’d consider this a successful day. But, if Braylee couldn’t get past it and he lost her as his lawyer, it would be his damn fault.

  Maybe once things weren’t so complicated they could take some time to really get to know each other. Alex had to admit there was no denying they had some serious chemistry between them...and it wasn’t purely physical. Although, thinking about their night together made other parts of him and not just the hairs on his body stand up.

  The elevator doors opened, and Alex stepped off onto the office suites of Hinsdale and Associates confident in his decision.

  The office was buzzing with activity. Nate was sitting at his desk engrossed with something on his monitor.

  He looked up just as Alex walked to his desk. He kept his demeanor cool and professional, “Mr. Manchetti.”

  “Nate. Is everyone here?”

  “Yes. They’ve been here for several hours. Please go on in.”

  Alex wasn’t sure if it was guilt gnawing at his self-conscience, but Nate seemed somewhat aloof.

  “Thanks.”

  Not knowing quite what to expect, Alexandro walked to the door, turned the knob, and walked inside.

  Braylee was holding court. Everyone was focused on whatever it was she was reviewing on the whiteboard.

  She looked up and her demeanor never changed. Her eyes were cool, calm, and collected, “Mr. Manchetti, we’re glad you could join us today.”

  His eyes locked with hers, “Please, don’t stop on my account…continue.”

  And stop she wouldn’t. It didn’t matter that her hands were clammy or that her heart rate accelerated the moment he walked into the room. But, Braylee would go to her grave before she let him know that he had that kind of effect on her. She had a job to do and she was going to do it.

  The next several hours were spent laying out phase one of Braylee’s initial plan. Luckily, both plan A and B overlapped. Everyone had their assignment along with her expectations.

  Clapping her hands, Braylee dismissed both legal teams, “Okay people, I think that is all for today. Now that we know our assignments, we’ll meet back up same time next week to review our progress. However, if you run into roadblocks, don’t hesitate to call me.”

  Alex sat towards the back of the room watching everything and everyone. Braylee had total command. She was more and more impressive every time he’d seen her in action. And, apparently, she wasn’t planning to abandoned ship.

  There were just a few lawyers still lingering around, Giovanni and Marcus being some of them.

  Giovanni spoke first, “Alexandro, I’m glad you were able to make it today. I have some concerns about Ms. Hinsdale’s approach. You, me and Marcus should get together to discuss it at our offices.”

  “Gio…I can’t imagine what those concerns would be? But, we can certainly discuss them. Although I have to tell you…I have complete faith in Ms. Hinsdale.”

  Giovanni didn’t like that response. He didn’t like it one bit. “I’ll see you at the office then?”

  “Yes. I’ll be returning when I leave here.”

  That seemed to be enough to appease them for now. They nodded and left.

  The room was almost completely empty. Alex was waiting for the one remaining lawyer to finish his conversation with Braylee.

  Braylee felt him watching her. It was driving her crazy. He was driving her crazy. She was only half listening to Roger.

  “Yes, right. That would be fine.” She would have to call Roger later because she had absolutely no idea what she’d just agreed to.

  Finally, he’d gone, and Braylee was left alone with Alexandro.

  “May I have a word with you Braylee?”

  “She looked at her watch…of course. I have a few minutes.”

  “I just wanted to clear the air about the other night. I’m hoping what happened between us doesn’t interfere with our working relationship.”

  Braylee tilted her head to the side and blinked a couple of times. Was he serious? Anger was starting to bubble up inside of her.

  Alex couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Her face was a blank. “Braylee, you’re doing a fantastic job so far. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re paying me for Mr. Manchetti?”

  He rubbed his eyebrow, “So, we’re back to our formal names? Okay…I’ll play along Ms. Hinsdale. Like I said, I’m just hoping we can still work together.”

  Braylee dropped the documents she held in her hands on the conference table and looked him directly in his eyes, “Why wouldn’t we?”

  Alex stood erect with one hand in his suit pant pocket. He wanted to appear firm to ensure Braylee understood he needed her as his lawyer and nothing else…for now. “It was my mistake mixing business with pleasure and that has never been a good idea. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay to continue working with me.”

  What he hoped looked firm came across as arrogant to Braylee. She let out a frustrated laugh, “Unbelievable.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She narrowed her eyes, “Un-Freakin’-Believable is what I said. Why is it that men can screw the help all they want and their professionalism is never questioned? Unlike you…I’ve shown up to work these last couple of days and have busted my ass. I would never allow my personal life to interfere with my professional one. If that’s been your experience with other mealy minded women then let me make it clear…I’m not one of them. So, if you were expecting some sort of an emotional breakdown…” Braylee rolled her eyes, “or for me to wallow in what could have been…get over yourself. It ain’t happening.”

  Alex didn’t know what he expected, but that certainly wasn’t it. However, he’d be damned if he’d let her know that she had gotten under his skin. “Good, then…I’m glad we understand each other.”

  Braylee raised an eyebrow, “Yes, we understand each other perfectly, Mr. Manchetti. You hired me to do a job, and I accepted. So, regardless of our reckless behavior I’ve already moved on and so should you.”

  She handed him a portfolio of information. “Now that that nasty business is out of the way…I’ll need you to review the information in this packet and we’ll need to schedule a meeting with Gail Hindz.”

  He wondered if she had time to rehearse those lines. No matter, he needed to focus. “Gail Hindz?”

  “She’s the best media crisis manager in the business.”

  “And…why would I need her? I have a public relations person.”

  “Mr. Manchetti…your company is worth billions and there appears to be a massive cover-up of a murder that runs at least through the Mayor’s office. You’re going to need a crisis manager and an entire media team working twenty-four hours a day. We’ll make sure you’re prepared b
ut I need to know you understand…this is not going to be easy. It’s going to be long and get very ugly. You’ll need a crisis manager who has deep ties to not only local media but has political officials on speed dial. Believe me your PR person is going to hate you for the next year or so with the hours she’s going to log. If we can get Gail…Everything will need to run through her.”

  Alex listened intently. However, there were moments where her lips were moving and all he could think about was how they’d felt when she’d kissed, nipped, and licked him all over his body. He cleared his throat as he zoned back into what she was saying.

  “I’m going to have to call in favors that I’ve kept in my back-pocket for years. Understand this…they’re going to try to destroy you and your reputation. Every salacious detail about Luciano and your lives since you were both in diapers will be aired-out. So, before we move forward…maybe you should take a day or two to decide if this is really the direction you want to go.”

  “There’s only one direction for me. My brother was killed, and I need the bastards who did it to pay.”

  Braylee nodded, “But what about Cecily? She’s only fourteen. Will she feel the same way? There will be enormous pressure on her.”

  She noticed that his eyes softened for the first time when she brought her up, “I’ll have to talk to her but she’s a strong girl; she’s a Manchetti. Cecily would be angrier if I did nothing.”

  “Well, listen to not just what she says but her body language. Make sure she can handle the strain of this case. You lost a brother, but she lost her only parent. Please understand right now is the calm before the storm but know this…one hell of a storm is coming.”

  Alex nodded, “Duly noted. My niece is my responsibility…you just handle my case.”

  “Fine by me.” She quickly finished briefing him on a few other matters. Shortly thereafter, Braylee and Alex emerged from her office.

  As they stood outside of her door, Alex rubbed the back of his neck, “You’ve covered a lot of ground over the last couple of days. Thank you.”

  Braylee extended her hand, “Just doing my job Mr. Manchetti. If you have any further questions regarding the information I gave you, please feel free to contact me. In the meantime, I’ll call you when we’ve set the meeting up with Gail.”