Interesting. All of it, interesting. Nicholas closed the door behind him, and Alex went to his desk. His phone was still resting heavily in his pants pocket. He pulled it out and sent Zoey a quick text. Princess, can you add Shoichrio Akimoto and Shiaqiao Zhu to your list of things to research? I’ll call at lunch. He thought for a moment about adding a heart at the end of the message, but his cheeks grew hot at just the consideration. He told himself that it was both too soon and too school girl. But he was tempted all the same.
She didn’t respond right away, and as Brianna tapped on his door and entered the office, he slipped his phone into his desk drawer. Brianna picked up the coffee cups that had been left on the table. “Mr. Khordorkovsky wonders if you’re available this morning.” The woman’s talent with languages never failed to impress him.
“For Leo? Always. And can you call IT about—”
“Mr. Blankenship’s files?” She grinned, and he took a moment to enjoy the familiarity the two had built over the past few months. “It is a day that ends in ‘y.’ Daniel would be disappointed, I think, if I didn’t call.”
“Don’t disappoint him,” Alex grinned back, “And send Leo in.”
Leonard Khordorkovsky was the son of a Russian diplomat assigned to the embassy in New York. He’d met Alex when they were both in high school, and while Philip had been basically straight edge outside of his taste in women, Leo had constant access to drugs, booze, and cars. The two of them had far too much fun, and Alex was only moderately sure that he remembered half of it. He had to smile when he remembered the wildness of those days. They’d calmed down more recently, as it seemed maturity kicked in. Leo’s father had moved back to Russia, and Leo had managed to stay and continue to work at a charity he’d created for queer homeless youth in the city. He’d never exactly come out, but he’d been very clear about what had driven much of his misspent youth.
He was a big bear of a man, with broad shoulders, tanned skin, and a beard that seemed wild and wiry even after he’d just trimmed it into submission. When he saw Alex, he let loose with a huge laugh that filled the room. Alex let the other man sweep him into the kind of hug that involved back pounding, and such tight squeezing that his eyes watered. “Jesus, Leo,” he wheezed, and Leo just laughed harder.
“The desk and the suit,” the Russian said. Like many American-educated diplomat’s children, he retained only the slightest trace of his original accent. “They look awful on you. What the hell are you doing, my friend?”
Alex joined him in laughter as Brianna closed the office door. “One of us had to grow up eventually, Leo.” He gestured back towards the more comfortable seating area, and Leo followed him, relaxing into the corner of the sofa as if he owned it. It was another of the man’s eerie talents; he could immediately make himself at home in any situation, and become the instantaneous best friend of anyone he ever met. It was because of Leo that they’d never gotten kicked out of prep school, and because of Leo that Alex was good friends with Luke Pyramus, the police commissioner. Leo had a special talent for finding the person from whose friendship he could most benefit in any given situation, and creating a solid bond with them. It wasn’t using people, not really; Leo was a stalwart friend and gave without concern for his own need. He didn’t ask for favors often, and they were never anything that Alex had been unable or unwilling to give. It was entirely possible that Leo’s family had amassed more wealth than Alex’s had. They’d never compared bank accounts, but Alex knew that Leo could easily keep pace with him on a night on the town, and Alex’s own lifestyle sometimes seemed monkish compared to Leo’s extravagance. Leo didn’t have to bend laws; laws stood up and shuffled quietly out of the way for him.
Leo raised one thick eyebrow. “Interesting you say so,” he said. “When were you going to tell me?”
Alex relaxed into the other side of the sofa. “Tell you what?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “After all this time, you still think I’ll tell the paparazzi what I know? Come on, Alex, you know me much better than that, I would hope.”
“Leo, I swear, there’s nothing I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Your sister’s phone number.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. “You’d only be calling her for fashion advice.”
Another burst of laughter from his friend, and a nod. “It’s true enough. But tell me now, Alex. Who is the new woman? This Zoey Gardener. How did you meet her?”
Alex’s heart stopped for a moment. His lungs labored to provide air, and his hands clenched on nothing. “What—how did you—”
Leo’s face grew serious. He reached into his pocket for his phone, tapped at the screen a few times, and then turned it so Alex could see. Filling the screen was a picture of him and Zoey, caught up in that heated liplock last night in front of the bar, while they waited for David to arrive. His brain shut off, choking on this new information. He found himself noting details of the composition. The shot looked like a cell phone, not a pro camera, but the composition was much better than your average fan pic. His profile was clearly recognizable. The pic had already been shared thousands of times on the social media account that Leo was logged into. There was no containing this. Not that there ever had been.
He passed the phone back to Leo and rubbed his face with his hand, trying to organize his thoughts.
“Alex?” He couldn’t bring himself to meet his friend’s eyes. “Tell me what’s happening, Alex, so we can figure out the next step. Was she a professional? Or someone from your club?”
“Neither,” Alex managed to say. “She’s a journalist. She was working on a profile of me, but obviously—things have been less than professional since. This may complicate things further.”
“Ah,” Leo said, with a sad sort of sigh. “You finally decided to find a woman with integrity.”
“I need to call her,” Alex said. “I need to warn her.”
Leo shook his head. “No point. I’m sure someone will have told her already. She was identified. Apparently whoever took the picture knew her and ID’d her with the initial release of the photo.”
“She should hear it from me.”
Leo nodded. “But first we need to talk about your company. What are you trying to do, Alex, destroy everything your father created?”
Alex found his fingers clenching again. “If what my father created is poisoning the world? Then you’re damn right I will.”
He expected Leo to argue with him. Leo had always come down on the side of family loyalty, as long as Alex had known him. The only time he had acted differently was when his father had ordered Leo back to Russia. Instead, Leo’s face expanded into his familiar broad grin again, the one that always said they were about to break something, and have fun doing it. “Excellent,” he said. “That is exactly what I hoped you’d say. It seems it’s time to scheme, then, yes? Like two old women.”
Alex cast one last glance at his phone, and then turned his attention back to Leo. He needed to know what his friend knew. He operated in the same social circles as Alex did, but he always had a completely different set of information. Between the two of them, he could pull together things that Zoey wouldn’t be able to dig up in a thousand years. “Tell me,” he said.