[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.I’m humbled by it and grateful for it, as I’m sure his son is.Please continue to remember Audric with kindness, meaning, and sensitivity.As the scope of his philanthropy becomes public, you will soon see that he deserves it.Some of you might be curious enough to dig into his life on your own, and to see exactly the kind of impact he had here in Manhattan and around the world.If you do that, I think that you’ll be stunned.That’s all for today.Thank you very much for listening.”“Mr.Wenn,” somebody called.But Alex was finished, so, with a slight tug on my hand, we started to move toward the car that was waiting for us at the curbside.Cutter led the way and Tank took up the rear.Usually, the press crushed us when Alex spoke publicly.Perhaps out of respect for what Alex had just said, they seemed to be hanging back, which wasn’t at all like them.Usually, they rushed forward.But this time, they didn’t.As we moved forward, I became aware of two things—some were taking photographs of us as we got into the limousine, but others were turning to photograph the reporter from the Post.He looked even smaller to me than he had last night, and his face had gone pale in the presence of the truth.Cutter stayed behind for crowd control.Tank moved forward and held open our door, and eventually all of us got inside without incident.The moment Tank shut his door, everything went silent and the car sped into traffic.I moved closer to Alex and put my hand on his thigh.I gave him time to let his anger subside as we moved down Fifth toward the Wenn Enterprises Building.“I’ve never seen you like that before,” I said.Alex didn’t turn to me when he spoke.Instead, he just kept looking straight ahead when he answered.“That’s because you’ve never seen me deal with the death and betrayal of a loved one.But now you have.Now you know what I’m like when I’m crossed on that level.” He looked at me, and there was something in his piercing blue eyes that suggested that he’d just seen a terrible darkness before sharply pulling away from it.“It’s probably for the best that you haven’t seen me that aggressive.I’m sorry if I went too far.”“I thought that you were magnificent.”“It was Audric who was magnificent.”I didn’t respond.Ahead of us, the Wenn Enterprises Building loomed into sight.CHAPTER SIXTEENWhen we arrived at Wenn, we entered the building and crossed the lobby to the bank of elevators at the opposite end.Alex pressed the call button, we waited a moment for the doors to open, and when they did, we stepped inside.“I received a text from Ann before we left,” he said.“Something about Singapore.I need to see her.”I shot him a look, but I didn’t say what I was thinking, if only because of what he’d just gone through.Our SlimPhone was manufactured in Singapore.“Do you need me to come with you?”“I know you plan on seeing Blackwell.If I need you, I’ll call you on your cell as soon as I do.I don’t know what this is about.It might be nothing.Go and see Barbara—she’s a cauldron of information, and will already have an idea of how people are responding to the Post story.Would you mind having flowers sent to Henri? White roses—many of them.I’ll write a personal note to him, and you can do the same if you want.”“Of course I will.”He shook his head and took a breath.“I’m sorry if I’m tense, Jennifer.”“You have every reason to be,” I said.“Just know that I’m here for you.Last night was too much for anyone to absorb.Alex, if you need the day to yourself, just say it.I understand.You need to absorb this.I can disappear until later tonight if you need to spend the day with work and with your own thoughts.Someone once said to me that our work saves us.You might just need to work.”“Why would I refuse you when I need you most?”“Then I’m here for you—whenever you need me.”With one fluid motion, he turned to me, held my face in his hands, and kissed me with such meaning, I could feel all of his frustration, loss, disappointment, and anger course through my body, only it was filtered through me with love.Our kiss lingered, and what passed between us were all the feelings one would only share with a lover.The kiss was that raw.The palms of his hands were that hot.I gave myself over to him and tried to absorb of much of his pain and his anger as I could, if only to take it all away from him so he wouldn’t hurt any longer—even though I knew that was impossible.“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said in my ear.“I’d be lost without you today.And so many other days.You’re my anchor.If you weren’t at my side today, I probably would have punched that reporter in the face.And where would that have gotten me?”“In jail,” I said, trying me best to lift the moment if only to bring the best of him back to me.“Where would I have found the spare change to bail you out? Do they take a credit card at the police department?”He managed to smile at that, and then he moved in for another kiss.I closed my eyes when our lips met—more tenderly this time—and I could feel that he wasn’t quite here with me even though he was trying to be.He was that overwhelmed.That shaken and that sad.I didn’t know what to do other than to be there for him, but increasingly, it felt as if he just needed some time alone, which I understood.The elevator started to slow as it reached the forty-seventh floor.When the door slid open, Alex only gave me a promise that he’d see me soon before he stepped out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]