Heart of Stone

His Office

Alexander had been sitting in his office when his secretary rang his desk. She had told him the owner of Field & Florals was on the line and wanted to know if he was available. He had only been replying to emails, so he told her to patch the call through. He had found it odd, however. Why would LouLou be calling him?

When he had answered and heard the tremor in her voice, he knew something was wrong. She had always been light-hearted and professional since they'd run into each other in their everyday lives. Even that one night they'd shared, she had been warm and inviting. He'd never heard her sound like that before and it sent a note of concern through his chest, which he immediately shoved down.

When she had asked about Julian Styles, anger had simmered in his stomach. She was calling him out of the blue, sounding like that, clearly frightened and shaken up by something, and she was asking about Julian. He had tried to warn her, but perhaps his warning had come too late.

It would have been inappropriate for him to do much, and he shouldn't have even wanted to, so he immediately invited her to come to his office. At the very least, they could talk privately about Julian, and she had somewhere to go where he couldn't reach her. Not to mention, she now had an appointment to keep should anything still be amiss.

His dark eyes simmered as he waited for her in his leather office chair. He had more wealth than Julian, more connections, and therefore more power. If he had done something already, he would make him regret it.

Staring at the corporate building before her, Eloise didn't even pay attention to how different she must have seemed to everyone around her. They all wore suits and dress shoes, the women in expensive skirts and heels with diamonds sparkling in their earlobes, necks, and wrists. The uneasiness still spurned her forward. She had to know what Alexander knew about this man if he was going to randomly show up on her property while she was there alone. As it was, she was unsure if she would even be able to return to her apartment after leaving here.

Stepping into the building, she ignored all of the looks and glances thrown her way, and simply followed Alexander's instructions. He had told her to get a visitor's pass from the front desk and take the elevator up to the top floor. As she approached the desk, she found she was unsure what to say.

"Can I help you, miss?" The security guard asked.

"Um, yes. I was told to get a visitor's pass?" She questioned.

"Can I have your name, please?" He asked.

"LouLou." She responded simply. "From Field & Florals." She added at the guard's expectant look.

She realized she'd never given Alexander her last name. Hopefully the man wouldn't give her trouble without one. Surprisingly, he handed her a laminated visitor's pass and gave her a kind smile.

"Enjoy." He said.

"Thanks." She responded, giving a small smile in return.

The fear had left her feeling tired and shaken, but she made her way to the elevators anyway. There were surprisingly very little people walking about and she was relieved to find herself the only one in the elevator. Looking at the number of floors, she pressed the button for the top floor. The number 23 glowed white and the elevator doors closed smoothly. She held on to the rail tightly as she waited for the elevator to jolt, but to her surprise it slid upward gently, then she remembered the type of money the people who owned and managed this building had. Of course, everything would be high quality and brand new.

She took a deep breath and tried to count out her exhales a few times to calm her nerves as she watched the numbers steadily climb. Perhaps she had overreacted. Perhaps she shouldn't have called Alexander. Maybe this was all a mistake, and she was making herself look like a fool. Fear had taken over her thoughts and actions and the only thing she knew was that she had to get out of there. Alexander had seemed the most logical person to call at the time.