Page 5 of Ashes of Us
“Right, you're still married to the mechanic.” He didn't say mechanic in a derogatory sense, Danica noticed; it was more like he couldn't remember her husband's name but knew what he did for a living, so he used that to refer to him. She watched as Alex pursed his lips for a moment, studying her face intently, and she could see he was debating whether to tell her to suck it up or give in. “Spread them out,” he said finally. “But we're doing the ones in Texas and the ones in California in one trip each.”
She nodded, chewing her lip. That was better; she could arrange it so it was a week home and a week away. However, spending three weeks in Texas and another three weeks in California with Alex was not going to go over well with Jasper. “What about the Canadian Hotels?”
“They're on the list too, but right now, I'm concerned with the American ones.” He leaned back and looked out the window. “Specifically, the Vegas Hotel and Casino, but I can't very well make it look like I'm targeting it, now can I?”
Danica sighed as she understood that he wanted to get rid of Craig. From what she knew, they had never been close; their personalities were just too different. “Your father promised your mother...” She began, trailing off as he held up his hand.
“But I didn't.” He said firmly. “The hotel and casino should have the most profits. Instead, it's sitting dead last across the board. You know as well as I do that Craig treats the casino income like his personal bank account. If we get audited we're screwed, it has to stop.” Danica nodded unenthusiastically. He was right, of course, and she probably would have done the same if she had been left in charge, but it felt like they were disregarding Cassandra’s final wish, and that didn’t sit right with her.
Chapter Four: The Plan
After they had written the statements for the staff and press and discussed preliminary plans for Alexander’s memorial service, they divided up the tasks between them. Since Alex was the next of kin and executor of his father’s estate, he would handle any official or legal matters. Danica would organize the memorial and arrange the schedule so that the staff could all have time to pay their respects while still keeping the hotel running. She was also responsible for arranging a mandatory video conference for the managers of the other hotels, so that Alex could inform them of his father's passing simultaneously.
When all the logistics had been discussed, Alex pulled out his laptop and stopped talking. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he was done, Danica got up and moved to another seat, opening her laptop to work on setting up the video conference. There were nineteen hotels in the States, four in Canada, and five in Europe, with two more scheduled to open within the next three years, mainly in part due to Alex’s hard work over the last decade, so it was a bit of a struggle to arrange it given the conflicting time zones. Still, she finally worked it out by just scheduling two. One for European Hotels at 9:00 a.m. and one for North American hotels at noon the next day.
She sent the meeting requests to him, and he didn’t say a word, just accepted them. Since she didn’t have anything else to do, and it was clear Alex wasn’t going to talk to her, she made herself comfortable and closed her eyes.
The next thing she knew, she was being nudged awake and looked up to see Alex standing next to her, looking amused. “We’re about to land, so pack away your things.” He informed her. Nodding, Danica stretched and began packing up her stuff, but Alex didn’t move, just stood there, watching her with the same amused look on his face.
“What?” She asked, suddenly very self-conscious that she had drooled on herself or farted loudly in her sleep. She reached up and rubbed her eyes and wiped along the edge of her lips. No drool or sleep in the corner of her eyes. She didn’t think she had been asleep for more than an hour anyway. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You talk in your sleep.” He grinned and headed back to his seat as Danica felt her cheeks burn. She knew she did, but it was usually when she was heavily asleep and dreaming, but she couldn’t remember the dream, so she had no idea what she had said.
“I did?” she swallowed nervously, watching as he folded himself into the chair and put on his seatbelt. “I mean, yeah, I do, but I did?” She quickly finished putting her laptop away and straightened up the chair before doing up her own seatbelt as he chuckled softly.
“Yes. You did.” He said simply, and she saw he was actually giving her a warm and genuine smile. “I had no idea.”
“No idea about what?” Danica didn’t know what she said but she really hoped it hadn’t been about him. “What did I say?” He just laughed again and shook his head.
“You know what? I think I’m going to keep that to myself.
Danica let out a low growl of frustration and shook her head as she braced herself for landing. She tried to remember the dream she had but just got a few blurry glimpses of vague figures, nothing that was of any use as to what the dream was actually about.
When they landed, Danica collected her overnight and laptop bags and went to bring her car into the hanger so they could load up Alex’s luggage in the pan. Alex stopped short when she pulled up beside him, his eyes widening in surprise. Danica couldn’t help the proud grin that crossed her face. Part of the reason her and Jasper started dating was their love of cars, but while he liked the sleeker, newer sports cars, Danica was all about classic cars and owned three, an electric blue 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, a black 1967 Chevy Impala, and this one, a dark green 1971 Chevy El Camino Super Sport. All three had been bought in various states of disrepair and had been restored by her, with Jasper’s help. It was actually how she met him, she posted on a social media group asking questions about parts and he answered, they started talking and he offered to come help with a repair, when he was finished she tried to offer him cash for his work, but he had waved her off with a confident smile.“Let me take you out for dinner and we’ll call it even.”They had been pretty much inseparable ever since, moving in together after a year of dating and getting married a year after that in a simple ceremony that Alex and Craig hadn’t attended.
She had driven her favourite, the dark green Chevy El Camino Super Sport, to the hanger. The El Camino had the front end of a Chevelle coupe with the pan of pickup truck so it was ideal for carrying lots of luggage or boxes which she had assumed correctly that Alex would have. Getting out of the vehicle, she rolled up the tonneau cover, dropped the tailgate forhim and climbed up into it to move the suitcases to the front and arrange them so the tonneau cover would cover everything and keep everything secure while she drove him… Wherever he was going.
Despite his initial surprise, by the time he laid the first suitcase in the pan, his expression had gone back to his usual expressionless mask, and he didn’t comment on the car. When they had everything loaded, Danica jumped down, closed everything up and climbed in the driver’s seat, When Alex was inside and buckled up, she started the engine and looked at him expectantly. “Where do you want to go?” She realized she hadn’t asked him what his plan was while he was here. His parent’s house was available, but it had been closed up and unused for four years and the staff were going to have to do a complete deep clean of the penthouse, including removing the bed and replacing it before it could be used again.
“Straight to the hotel,” He buckled his seatbelt, looking over the interior with vague interest. “We’ll get that out of the way first.”
Danica nodded and started the drive. “Did you want me to organize cleaners to go into your parents’ house and get it ready for you? Or will you be staying at the hotel?” She didn’t want to push too hard, but these were things she needed to know so she could have it ready for him, like a good executive assistant. He seemed to realize she didn’t know where he intended to stay because his face lit up with understanding.
“Oh, yes, have a cleaner go to the house and give a thorough deep clean, but then contact a real estate agent to come in and do an appraisal, fix any issues they find and then put it on the market.” He said as he looked out the window, watching the city pass by with a smile on his face. Danica had to admit, he was clearly excited to be back in Boston, she could practically feel hisenergy radiating from his body. “I have a condo in the Seaport District.”
Danica blinked in surprise, not because he had a condo in one of the more upscale and modern areas of Boston, but because he was planning to sell his parent’s house, but she quickly schooled her expression and nodded. “Yes, sir.” She murmured, shifting gears as she merged onto the I93 to get to Essex Street.
“We aren’t in public, Dani, you can call me Alex.” Alex’s voice was dry, and she saw him give her a faintly annoyed look out of the corner of her eye. “I expect professionalism in front of employees, investors and business partners, but when it’s just us you don’t have to be so formal.” Danica made a noncommittal noise in her throat and kept driving. She wasn’t exactly sure where she stood with Alex, she didn’t want to push things until she got a little more comfortable with him.
The rest of the drive was quiet and when she pulled into her parking space in the underground parking, she looked round and didn’t see Nigel’s Honda anywhere. “I don’t think Nigel and Craig are here yet, do you want to wait for them or have me call an emergency staff meeting immediately?’
“Craig doesn’t have to be here for it and Nigel already knows.” Alex shrugged dismissively as he got out of the car and stretched. Danica leaned over and locked his door before following him. “Didn’t take you for a classic car girl.”
The sudden change in subject threw her off and she had to remind herself that she really had very few interactions with Alex in the last ten years, so he wouldn’t know anything about her. “No?” She quickly ran her fingers through her hair, combing it out and then pulling it up into a more professional bun. “I have a ‘78 Firebird and ‘67 Impala, too. Rebuilt them myself”
“Really?” Alex’s eyebrows went up and she could see he was impressed behind his surprise. “No help from the mechanic husband?”
“Jasper.” Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, she started toward the elevator. “He helps, mostly with sourcing affordable parts for me and welding, but otherwise I do it myself.”
