𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄

chapter twenty-seven

"What the hell-"Alex yelled as soon as she was greeted with a figure sprawled on her couch, upon entering her apartment. He nonchalantly removed his gaze from the television to give her a wide smile.

"Hey sis,"Jackson Cohen popped another cheeto into his mouth, causing anxiety to grow in his sister at the thought of him wiping his hands on her white, suede couch.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get in?"Alex sighed setting down her purse and removing the heels she'd worn to the party. After a heartbreaking separation with Clayton and the possible end to her friendship with Jesse, the last thing Alex wanted was to babysit her brother.

"The housekeeper let me in,"he responded sitting up so he could face Alexandra properly. Immediately she noted that he looked much better than the last time they were  at a healthy weight.

"Well remind me to fire her,"she responded sitting next to him. He looked so much like her father now, nearing his mid thirties. Alex smiled slightly thinking of the man Jackson would have become if he hadn't fallen into drugs.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"he questioned making a disgusted face.

Alex rolled her eyes,"How long are you staying?"

He shrugged,"As long as I need to. Maya told me there's a vacant condo just like this one, one floor up."

"Wow you're on a first name basis with my housekeeper. I wonder what other information....or bodily fluids you two have shared."

"Well at least someone finally had sex in this apartment,"he snickered.

Alex flushed and glared at her older brother,"You know Jack, you're supposed to be the mature, older sibling."

"Yeah well dad chose you to take over everything. Whatever money was left was used to further your education not mine-"

"You wanted to go to culinary school for Christ's sake!"

"And so? Just because I didn't want to become a stuck up robot in some office, it didn't mean my dream mattered any less."

Alex sighed and began walking away,"Look its been a long day and the last thing I want to do is fight about the same thing over and over again."

"You can sleep in the guest room but I'm sure Aya already showed it to you."

Jackson flipped her off multiple times once her bedroom door was shut. He was trying to show her that he had changed but instead they argued. Although he wanted to support himself and be successful, he also wanted to please his father. And Alex was a key factor in doing that.

-

"Do you really think right now is the right time for another one of your trips?"Johnathan quipped watching the brunette in front of him anxiously tap a pen on her desk.

"Well firstly it isn't any of your business,"Alex raised her brows,"And secondly I'm only going to visit my mother."

John sighed and rubbed his temples,"Fine Alex but you can't call yourself a CEO if you aren't actually doing anything."

His momentary response of brutal honesty was instantly regretted but Alex made no effort at any retaliation.

"I know I haven't been doing everything that I'm supposed to. And I know that you're under a lot of pressure,"she acknowledged calmly,"I just need a break. There's a lot going on and I need to get away for a while."

When Alex accidentally called him Clayton the day before, Johnathan was sure that she was unequivocally in love with the grey eyed man. His suspicion about them spending that weekend away together was further affirmed when her chauffeur spilled the beans once he was appropriately compensated. To say he was upset, would be an understatement.

To be fair, he had high expectations of Alex and hadn't openly admitted his feelings toward her. Despite that, he should have been an obvious choice as the only person who believed in her from the start and the person who was at her side every step of the way in her plan. And to think she wanted to throw it all away because of her target's son. It honestly disgusted him. He didn't despise many things in life but inconsistency was one of them.

A blur panned across his face and once his eyes focused, he realised Alex was waving her hand,"Hello? Did you even hear what I said?"

"N-No. What was that?"he cleared his throat and sipped his water.

"My brother is in town,"she repeated,"So maybe while I'm gone you could teach him the ropes or whatever. I really want to get him a stable job here where I can keep an eye on him."

"Whatever you want Alexandra."