that, I’ll do whatever it takes.
The mansion feels quiet without Alexis and Harry in it. I thought I would get used to the sensation, but it has lingered. Even here in my office, where I would normally never be able to overhear them, I can somehow still sense their absence. The house feels hollow. Vacant.
I minimize the document on my screen and open up the security footage from inside Alexis’ apartment. I know I shouldn’t. I tell myself that I am simply looking in on my son, but if that’s the case, then why do my eyes leave the crib, where Harry is wiggling around in his pajamas, to follow Alexis around the nursery?
I cannot see the features of her face clearly, but they are forever imprinted in my mind—her cupid’s bow lips, the graceful line of her nose, the round cheeks full of laughter, those sparkling blue eyes. The camera picks up the sensual flare of her hips, and her high, round tits. I’ve never seen a creature more perfect. She is built for seduction, and I have fallen victim to that honey pot time and time again.
I watch as she grabs a book from the shelf in the corner and brings it over to the crib.
“What about this one?” she asks.
“Ya!” Harry replies happily.
Alexis reads the book slowly, flipping the pages and showing Harry the pictures. When she’s finished, she tucks him under the blanket and flicks the light off, but doesn’t leave. Instead, she stands over his crib, watching as he drifts off to sleep. We used to do that together sometimes. I would rest my hand on her waist. She would lean against my chest.
My hand reaches for my phone, and before I even realize what I’m doing, I dial the number for the apartment’s landline. It rings, and Alexis straightens and looks over her shoulder.
She tiptoes out of Harry’s room and closes the door behind her. The phone keeps ringing, and I start to wonder if I’m actually going to talk to her. Alexis enters the frame on the kitchen camera and reaches for the phone on the counter.
My heart gives a dull thud. I hang up.
Alexis answers, and I can see her confusion as she realizes there is nobody there. She hangs up and sets the phone on the counter, staring at it like it’s going to start ringing again any second now.
I feel guilty somehow. Like I disturbed a perfect moment between mother and son for nothing. Like I got Alexis’ hope up that something exciting was about to happen. Like I nearly started to mend the bridge between us.
Another impulse strikes me, and I reach for my phone again. This time I don’t call the apartment, but Angelo, one of the guards waiting outside of it. I deliver his orders and then sit back and wait, watching as Alexis fills the dishwasher and wipes down the countertops. Afterward she walks around the apartment, picking up toys, rearranging pillows, and tidying up stacks of books and papers. She is putting a new garbage bag in the bin when her buzzer sounds.
I sit forward in the chair and select the camera in the front hallway. Alexis walks to the door and opens it, her eyes widening with shock as Angelo hands her a large bunch of roses. I don’t know where he found them at this hour, but I make a mental note to reward him for his quick work.
Angelo leaves as quickly as he came—none of the guards are supposed to speak with her. Alexis carries the flowers into the apartment, and as she enters the view of the camera in the kitchen, I can see that she is grinning from ear to ear. She looks utterly delighted.
My lips turn up into a smile as I watch her sniff the roses.
One second lurches into the next, and I realize what a fucking idiot I am. I slam the lid of my laptop closed, disgusted at myself. How could I let myself be drawn in by her so easily? I haven’t spoken to Alexis in over a month, yet in a moment of weakness, I’m suddenly buying her flowers?
I need to get a grip. Alexis is my kryptonite, and right now, I need to stay as strong as possible. I check my watch, realizing that I have wasted an hour watching Alexis, and I now only have one hour to prepare for my meeting.
Time flies when you’re busy being a lovesick fool.
I vow that