Hiding

Chapter four

Don't ignore him, but don't flirt with him either. Be polite and treat him as a coworker. Be friendly but stay at a safe distance. You'll be fine.

Jace's words still echoes through Alec's head as he rides the elevator to the top floor. He spent the night in Clary and Jace's spare room. He didn't have the energy to go home after talking to Jace most of the night. Clary had kept to herself. She still seemed to be affected by his yelling at her the other day. Which is completely fair. He knows he shouldn't have yelled. Alec has no excuse for it. And he hasn't even apologized yet. Somehow, he needed to make it up to her again. Possibly when he has his own shit under control again.

Alec takes a deep breath just as the doors open and reveals the top floor. He steps out and make his way towards his own office. Hoping he is early enough to be here before his father.

"Alexander!" Magnus' voice echoes through the nearly empty room. Alec sighs and turns towards the direction of the voice. "Mr. Lightwood wants to see you."

Shit...

Alec vaguely remembers that his father had ordered him to finish all the work from the folder he gave him yesterday, and he did almost finish before he fled the building. Almost being the keyword.

"I'll be right there. I just have o go get the folder." Alec responds hoping he magically can finish the last of the work within the few minutes before his father will come looking for him.

"No need. He already has the folder."

"Oh..." Alec doesn't know what to say. This is it; he guesses. He will get fired now. With heavy feet Alec drags himself towards his father's office. As he grabs the handle, Magnus stops him.

"Wait right there for a second." Magnus says and walks around the desk to stand in front of Alec. "Your tie is crocket."

Alec furrows his brow. What is he talking about? Magnus reaches out and starts fiddling with his tie. With a very soft whisper, nearly impossible to hear, Magnus explains.

"I finished it for you and put it on his desk. Go take credit for it." Raising his voice again, Magnus says loudly, "Much better," and pats Alec's tie "couldn't let you go into Mr. Lightwoods office with a crocket tie." Then he winks at Alec and goes back to his desk. Stunned, Alec walks inside still processing what just happened.

"Great work, Alec. Seems like you really took my warning to heart. Keep this up, and you might be a good CEO one day."

"Thank you..." Alec mumbles as his father puts a hand on his back and guides him back out of the office.

"I've left a couple of folders on Mr. Banes desk. Take a look at them and tell me what you think. We are going to acquire at least one of those businesses, and based on your work yesterday, I want your opinion on it too. Have a pitch ready by noon."

When the door closes behind him, Alec still struggles with grasping what the hell just happened.

"Here are the folders." Magnus says and places five big folders in his arms.

"What just happened..." Alec mutters and Magnus shushes him.

"Let me help you duplicate the important documents." Magnus says loudly and pushes Alecs towards the copy room. Once inside he closes the door behind them. "You need to get a grip!" Magnus says and rips the folders from Alecs arms and puts them down at the table next to the copier. "Or he will realize you had help."

"But... how?" Alec gestures towards Magnus "how did you do my work? Actually, forget the how... why?"

"I did it because I heard him threaten to fire you and I didn't want you to lose your job. And regarding the how... you did most of the work, I just read through your notes and finished the conclusion. That's it. it was practically all your doing."

"When did you have time for that?"

"When you ran away from me." Magnus says.

"I didn't run away... I..."

"Ran away."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. In a full-blown panic attack."

"that's not true!"

"Fine! You didn't run away, you just walked away very fast because you suddenly remembered that you had left your cat in the stove."

"I... Wait, what?" Alec glares at Magnus in confusion. "Are you mentally unstable?"

"Sometimes..." Magnus grins. "Especially when I don't get any sleep."

"You are really strange; you know that right?"

"Yes. And you are uptight and scared, do you know that?"

"I..." Alec lets out a huff of breath. He doesn't know how to respond. "I need to get to work." He says instead and grabs the folders before rushing out of the room.

"See? Running away. Scared!" Magnus shouts after him.

¤¤¤¤¤

As noon approaches fast and Alec is no closer to a decision, he concludes that he has to talk to his father. Even though that means getting near Magnus again. He has successfully been hiding in his office ever since the conversation in the copy room this morning. Trying to ignore the fact that all he has done since then. Is proving Magnus right. He is running away from him, and he is scared. Terrified, actually.

"Well, there's no other way..." Alec mumbles for himself as he gathers the papers he has scattered over the desk. With the folders in his arms, he heads straight for his father's office.

"I need to talk to him." Alec declares as he approaches Magnus' desk.

"Is your pitch ready?" Magnus asks.

"Can I just please talk to him?" Alec raises his voice slightly.

"I'm sorry. He has asked not to be disturbed."

"It's important."

Magnus tilts his head slightly and watches Alec for a moment. And Alec can feel how his body starts to sweat under the scrutiny.

"Alright, let me talk to him." As Magnus walks close by to get to the door, Alec can smell the very expensive cologne he has on, and it makes him wonder why he hasn't noticed it before.

Within a few seconds, Magnus reappears.

"he'll see you now."

"Thank you."

With one hand on the door, Alec takes a deep calming breath before entering.

"Father," he says while hoping he sounds as confident as he wishes he is, "I can't make a proper decision based on these folders."

"Is that so?" Robert folds his arms across his chest.

"Yes. I feel like there is missing something. Something more personal." Alec steps closer. "If we are to acquire one of these businesses, we need to make sure that it fits. And we can't be sure based on numbers and spreadsheets. I need to meet the people behind the numbers." Alec places the folders on the desk and looks directly into his father's eyes. "I want to visit every single one before I can make a valid decision. "

For what seems to be forever, his father doesn't say anything, nor does he move his gaze away from Alec. Finally, he nods sternly.

"You get one week. Only one week." Alec lights olio in a bright smile. "And take my assistant with you."

Oh fuck...