Chapter Eleven

Zach

It was almost noon when he arrived at the underground garage of his apartment building in Rockdale. He took his suitcase from the trunk of his car and put it on the ground.

He picked up his briefcase and shut the trunk with a sigh. He’d just arrived, after dropping Ethan off at his destined’s place, and hated it already.

When he stepped into the elevator to go to his floor, his neighbor, whose name he’d forgotten, stepped in after him.

“Good morning, Mr. Hunter, back so soon? You normally aren’t here so often. What is the occasion?”

As the doors of the elevator closed, Zach said, “Good morning, Mister… Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

“Tillman.”

Zach smiled in a friendly way. “Well, Mr. Tillman, I am here to close some business deals. Nothing exciting, unfortunately.”

Meanwhile, the elevator arrived at their floor.

“Well, I hope your stay will be pleasant anyway,” Mr. Tillman said, as he stepped out of the elevator.

“Thank you, Mr. Tillman. I will see you around.” Zach headed to his door, unlocked it, and dumped his stuff in the hallway. He would see to unpacking later.

He took off the sweater he had on while driving and threw it over the couch. He jumped over the backrest of the couch and dropped down on it.

The last few days had been crazy, with the visit of his brother Adrian, the attack, the fact that he couldn’t seem to find his destined, and now the problems with Mr. Mercer of Mercer and Sons.

It was starting to weigh heavily on him.

He had left the family with a heavy heart; there was a high probability of an attack coming while he was gone. He really hadn’t wanted to leave his people on their own, especially because Ethan wasn’t there either.

But he had no other option; the deal with Mercer was way too important, and Ethan’s destined was important to Ethan.

He couldn’t forbid Ethan to help his destined out. If Ethan had to choose between his boss and his destined, he might freak out again, and then he’d have a much bigger problem.

His phone started buzzing, and when he picked it up, he saw it was Ethan. “Ethan, what’s up,” he said.

“Hey Zach, I just wanted to let you know that I have been invited over by some of Joanna’s friends and it could become a late night. Just so you know.”

“Okay, that’s fine, just be quiet when you come in, alright? You have the key and know your way around. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”

“Sure. You’re fine with it, right?” Ethan wanted to make sure Zach was fine.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

They end their conversation, and Zach decided to see what was in the fridge. He had a housekeeper who came every week to keep his apartment clean when he wasn’t there.

She also cooked for him and did his grocery shopping when he was in town. When he was done making some sandwiches, his phone started buzzing again.

He sighed; it was Mr. Saunders. “Christian.”

“Good day, Mr. Hunter. I know you will be in the office this afternoon, but since your schedule is full, I thought it would be better to inform you this way.

“Miss Veronica has resigned and is doing her last week, so I have some interviews today and tomorrow. Are you interested in attending those interviews?”

“Well, you have to work with the PA for most of the time. I will rely on your judgment to hire someone suitable.”

“Alright, Mr. Zachary, then I will see you at the meeting with Mr. Mercer this afternoon.”

“I’ll see you then, Christian.”

After having lunch, Zach changed his clothes. His work attire, meaning one of his suits, had to be put on again. He hated suits; he didn’t feel comfortable in them. They restricted his movements and they made him sweat.

When he was done changing, he headed out for the office. His afternoon full of appointments started.

At his office, everyone he came across greeted him with a slight bow of the head. They were all affected by his authoritative aura.

When he entered the meeting room where he had agreed to meet Mr. Mercer, he saw Christian was already there. “Saunders, how is your day going so far?” he asked, stepping over to Christian.

Christian turned around and shook his hand.

“Mr. Zachary, my day is like any other day, so I am fine. And how are you? How is it to be back here?” While Christian talked, Zach experienced an uneasy feeling in his gut. His instincts perked up.

A tall, muscled man dressed in an expensive suit stood tall in the doorway with a small woman behind him.

“Good day, gentlemen. My name is Sebastian Theodore Mercer the Third. This young lady behind me told me I have to be here for my appointment with a certain Mr. Hunter.”

The feeling got stronger with the arrival of Mr. Mercer.

Zach held out his hand to shake Mercer’s hand. “Then you are at the right place. I am Zachary Hunter, and this”—he pointed at Christian—“is my business representative Christian Saunders. Please take a seat.”

Zach looked at the small woman who came behind Mr. Mercer. “Veronica, can you get us some coffee, please, and then make sure no one disturbs this meeting?”

When they all had their coffee and had gotten acquainted, they started talking about the business deal. Zach couldn’t seem to keep his attention on the meeting.

The feeling was very overwhelming. He recognized the feeling—he had felt it before—but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He wondered what was causing it. It couldn’t be Mr. Mercer, could it?

It was late when he opened the sliding door to his balcony. He walked out with a glass of whiskey in his hand and a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He put the glass down on a side table and took a deep puff of his cigarette.

Sometimes a cigarette just tasted so good. He really needed some time to relax. It had been a stressful day, and he had worked late. Mr. Mercer, especially, had made it exceedingly difficult for him.

He really needed this deal, but Mercer wouldn’t give in. Mercer seemed to know how important this deal was for Zach and wanted to take advantage of it.

He had to figure out a way to make the deal profitable for him too—one that Mercer couldn’t resist.

He heard someone enter his apartment, and he tensed, listening to the noises that came from inside. When he recognized Ethan’s footsteps, he relaxed again. A few seconds later, he heard Ethan at the door to the balcony.

“You’re still awake,” he said.

“Yeah, had a busy day. I keep thinking about this deal with Mercer.”

“What’s wrong with the deal?”

“We need this deal. It would bring us a lot of new contacts and clients. But Mercer seems to know how badly we need it and tries to take advantage of it.

“But I don’t want to think about it right now. I am trying to relax,” Zach said, while Ethan sat down on one of the armchairs on the balcony. Ethan looked at him with understanding.

Zach took another glass and poured Ethan some whiskey, and Ethan stole a cigarette from Zach. Together they enjoyed the view, the lights from the city, and the sound of traffic on the street below.