CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
KYLE
Undercover Brothers
†
I WAS GRATEFUL THAT the auditorium, although not very large, was almost filled to capacity, which made sneaking in and remaining undetected so much easier. We made our way to the back aisle, sliding down in our chairs as an extra precaution to go unnoticed.
“Shit, bro. This feels all too familiar” Alex whispered, stifling a laugh and he shoved me with his shoulder.
“Keep it down. We don’t need to draw attention. But yes, it does,” I smiled as I elbowed him.
“Stop shoving me,” Alex grinned, elbowing me in return.
“Shut up, mister FBI. You’re going to blow our cover!” I pulled my cap down over my eyes, suppressing a laugh.
Here we were, two grown ass men behaving like college youngsters. I smiled, shaking my head. Alex was right. Memories of the two of us sneaking late into college classes because we pulled yet another all-nighter came flooding back. Some because we studied and some… well; let’s just chalk it up to long nights of ungodliness and debauchery. We were so full of energy and vision, and we lived life to the fullest.
“There she is,” Alex whispered, cocking his head to the side and motioning with his eyes toward the front left side of the auditorium.
God, she was breathtaking. Her blond hair was swept back into a sleek bun with a few tendrils gracefully falling about her face adding to her ethereal beauty. She was wearing a green-collared shirt, her cheeks a soft blush against it. I could just imagine the color of her eyes. She was fiddling with her earring and kept looking down, reading over her notes. I could see that she was nervous as she repeatedly closed her eyes and licked her lips, rehearsing her speech silently in her mind.
It took everything I had not to get up and walk over to where she was, take her into my arms and tell her that she was going to do just fine. She tucked at a wayward strand of hair and drew it back into her bun.
“Just breathe, sweetheart,” I whispered softly, sighing deeply.
“You okay?” Alex’s concerned voice interrupted my thoughts.
I nodded, flashing him a quick smile before looking over to where Eris was sitting.
The image of her standing in front of me a couple of days ago, tears rolling down her face and those beautiful green eyes soaked with pain, was fucking gut wrenching. If only she hadn’t walked in mid-conversation she would’ve heard the truth about my feelings for her.
I remembered everything so clearly.
God, I can still hear the sound of the door slamming shut when she left. Alex and I stood there like two fools, stunned – staring at the door as if we expected her to walk through it at any moment as if nothing had happened.
Alex was first to break the silence. “Think I’ll take that coffee now… and best make it a Hammerhead.”
Without replying, I started towards the kitchen and switched on the Keurig as I needed the caffeine more than he did.
“She’s right, Kyle. I’ve been behaving like a goddamn idiot.”
“Yes… you and me both.” I agreed before turning to face him. “Despite everything being so fucked up… it’s really good to see you again brother.”
His expression softened and his lips twisted into a friendly smile. “Yes, it is. Can we start this all over again?” he asked, extending his hand towards me.
I moved forward, grabbed hold of his hand and tugged to pull him into a welcoming hug.
“Damn, I’ve missed you,” I sighed, glad that my old friend I knew and loved was standing before me again.
A long night of hard conversations followed, both of us committed to seeing it through no matter how uncomfortable it got. We had the same goal in mind and she was what mattered most to the both of us.
Alex shoving me with his shoulder jolted me from my thoughts.
“She’s up,” he whispered, shifting back in his seat. The lights dimmed throughout the auditorium as the LCD projector threw her presentation onto the white screen at the front of the classroom. I was so deep in thought I hadn’t even noticed when Professor Dalton entered through the side door before calling her to the front.
As she took her place, she paused for a second and gazed into the group of onlookers, narrowing her eyes as she looked directly in our direction. I held my breath for a second and was almost sure Alex did the same. The last thing we wanted to happen today was to unnerve her in any way. This was too important to her.
Nevertheless, hellfire couldn’t keep me away. I wanted… no needed to be here for her whether she knew I was there or not. Alex was all in as soon as I told him of her presentation and all the work she’d put in. I didn’t even attempt to dissuade him as I knew he wanted to be there for her as much as I did.
Having an FBI agent as a best friend proved advantageous, Alex jumped at the opportunity to make sure that we would go unnoticed. It took little effort to find out which classroom was assigned to Dalton and to our relief; it was one of the smaller theatre styled auditoriums that didn’t have that much of an upward slope. The class would mainly consist of presentations that meant that lights would be dimmed, adding to our attempt to go undetected. All that was left was to make sure that Eris was seated before we were.
My fears were allayed when she looked down at the laptop in front of her and started talking.
“When you walk up to opportunities’ door, don’t knock. Kick that bitch in, smile and introduce yourself.” The auditorium burst out into a roar of laughter as Eris stood smiling, waiting for them to quiet down before continuing.
“In today’s market, you need to adopt that exact approach. You need to remain proactive rather than reactive. Companies cannot merely watch and wait to see what happens before deciding on a course of action. Business today requires visionary leadership. Someone who has a canny sense of the unknown, who understands what potential customers are looking for and what the hidden trends in the market or industry are in which they operate. A leader who doesn’t wait for opportunity but creates it.”
She paused for a moment, dropping her gaze and closing her eyes for a split second before looking up again.
“One such man is Kyle Hampton. A man that took a medium-sized publishing company and grew it into a business that made its competitors sit up and take notice.”