CALLA

25: Provocation and Anger

By lunchtime I was ready to make my escape. Even if it's for an hour or 2, I needed some fresh air or I won't make it for the rest of the day.

"Where are you going?"

I was almost to the door when Eli Frye voice stopped me. Confused, I turned and wondered if he was talking to me. 

"To lunch" I felt like a little girl asking for permission to leave.

"Lunch is on its way" He said with his unreadable expression.

"Ok" I made a face. "You guys can enjoy your lunch here, I'll be back after I have mine"

"Time is limited" His tone did not change as he continues. "We will continue to review as we eat"

He has got to be joking with me. Before I get to say anything else, the receptionist walked in with Alexander Locke behind him. Seeing the pretty man in his 3 piece suit holding a thick file in one hand and a brown bag in the other, I knew my escape was futile. Shoulders slumped; I went back to my chair, set my Chanel purse on the table, and buried my face down into my folded arms.

"What are you doing here?"

I was surprised to hear the irritation in Eli Frye voice as he spoke to Alex. Looking up, I wondered what I missed. Alex didn't seem to be bothered by Eli's cold attitude. Instead, he ignored Eli and set the binder on top of my head.

"You need to review these"

Groaning, I buried my head back in my arms.

"I brought you lunch"

I peeked out of my arm to see the brown bag.

"It's sushi"

Smiling, I sat up and looked inside the bag to see my favorite sushi rolls and pieces. While I was getting out the sushi box, Alex sat down beside me.

"We are in a middle of a meeting" Eli Frye voice was like the calm before the storm.

"Last I check, Calla has free time for lunch" Alex ignored him as he opened the file in his hand.

If it was any normal person, they would have been afraid of Eli Frye's fierce violet eyes but Alexander Locke wasn't - by any means - a normal person.

"Alex" I sense Eli's growing anger with Alex's provocation.

"This shouldn't take long"

I felt stuck and gave the Aion guys a pleading look.

"Eli, we need a break. Let's take 30 minutes"

I was relieved when the guys all pulled their grumpy leader out of the conference room.

"Pay attention" Alex smirked at me.

I had no choice but to look at what he's showing me. Usually, I would meet with Alex every other week to go over investments progress – but I've been busy at Aion that Alex had to come to me. Flipping through the file, I gave Alex my yays or nays while he separate the documents accordingly.

"Umm" I was savoring a tuna sushi while studying the current document.

"Their stocks are rapidly declining these last few days" Alex noticed my eyes locked on a certain investment. "What do you want to do?"

He was asking because it had been one of my pet investments that he had been against since the beginning. It had cost Allac a fortune and for months now it hasn't shown any sign of profit.