The following morning alexander went thru his routine of whining and complaining before grabbing his sunglasses and a dark cup of coffee in the salon adding to the suspiciously similar coffee cup shaped rings on the dark rich wood of the coffee table between us; despite the rings covering one side it still complemented the bright autumn colors of our chairs and the surrounding room.

  Between my side of the table and Alexander's rings was a black smart phone with no discernable branding and a single unnamed number in its contacts.

  “So, can you handle it this time? I'm not really in the best condition to deal with her.” Alexander said before taking a lazy sip of his coffee.

  I can't tell if he's being serious or if this is some sort of apology; But in the long run I don't suppose it matters. “As long as you give me permission to act in your place that won't be a problem.”

  He waved swatting the air and in turn giving me permission to act.

  So with a tightening of my weave I picked up the phone and dialed it's only contact.

  click , “Hello, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to this wondrous morning.” she seemed to be in a good mood but then again she was a professional.

  “Good morning miss blackwood, this is Alastor calling on behalf of my client.”

  “Oh Alastor! While it is always a pleasure to speak with you, I do wish you were calling me for yourself; After all my new offer would blow anything grip was able to offer you out of the water, taking your new found status into consideration of course.”

  Again with this. “While I am flattered, Miss Blackwood, you know I am not suited for the kind of work such an arrangement would require of”  – “I hate to interrupt but by any chance do you know where the clone who delivered my package to you went off to.”

  My weave tightened the individual strands going taught the shape within my gloves flexing as the phone nearly fell from my hand. “I don't know where he went after leaving but i can check with Mr. Evercrest if you would like.”

  For a moment she was silent before the tone of someone who had grasped a victory only they understood filled the line. “No, there's no need to bother Alex; I was merely hoping to meet the man who caught a member of my private security so deftly as to leave no trace of his death or clean up. After all, a man like that is one you want on your payroll, even if just to keep him off others.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  There was a sharpness in those last words, but as quickly as it came it disappeared, dissolving into the false joy that typically filled her words. “But enough about that, after all I assume you had different reasons for using my little gift so soon.”

  My grip on the phone recovered as my weave loosened to a tolerable level. “Yes miss blackwood, my client is interested in the opportunity for a ‘job’ as mentioned by the clone who delivered the case to us.”

  “That's wonderful to hear Alastor, but I should let you know that the offer wasn't ready for Alex; But if you want to bring him along on your job I wouldn't be opposed.”

  I need to meet her somewhere in the middle if I'm going to get anything done. “Is there any way I could take a contract and outsource its completion to another party.”

  “I'm afraid that's not possible, when i assign someone a job or sign a contract I expect the party I'm dealing with to personally handle whatever is agreed upon; And I know you don't want to get your hands dirty Alasor, but what if I offered let's say four hundred thousand dollar sign on bonus with a year to finish your current assignment then transition from grips employment to my own where you would have some choice in the jobs you take for me and double your current salary plus commission on jobs completed.”

  Her voice could almost be considered sultry as she finished speaking and the amount she was offering was staggering, double my salary would already make me a very very wealthy man and I know the commissions of the work she handles will be more than most high end dealerships salesmen make in a good year pulse she has the power and pull I could get papers without actually going in or examination. “Alasor, you are still on the phone.”

  I must have been thinking for longer than I believed as Alexander had set his cup down and was leaning forward speaking quietly whether it was due to his headache or the less likely reason, consideration for my current call.

  “I am flattered, miss Blackwood but it would be unprofessional to abandon this case before it is finished and I cannot guarantee meeting the required time frame of the proposed contract.”

  The line buzzed with the static of whatever was happening in the background… “That is a pity Alastor; I'll give you a day to think about it but if you still refuse my generosity then I'm afraid I cannot help you.”

  The line went dead

  My weave seemed to writhe and tighten all at once blackwood's tone in those last few words haunting every strand of smog as the phone found its own way back to the table in front of me my hand feeling as though I was merely following along behind it.

  “So, bad news then.” Alexander's tone was less lilted then I assumed it would have been sounding almost relieved.

  “Miss Blackwood, has decided that she cannot help us without me signing a contract that was, less than ideal.” my voice wavered reacting to the strange state of my weave, luckily Alexander didn't seem to notice.

  “So we won't, be working for her anymore?”

  “I'm afraid not Alex.”

  Alexand just leaned back in his chair a small slightly painful smile on his face “Didn't like her very much anyway.”

  That was, not what I had expected from him; well the lazy and slightly inebriated part was right on que but the light joy that showed on his face from learning our main way to get the four hundred thousand dollars we needed to meet our deadline with summit was, unexpected to say the least.

  “Is there something I am unaware of Alex.”

  His grin grew a little wider. “I got us an appointment with an old friend of the family, I was gonna ask if we could try them out no matter what but this way makes this good news rather than annoying news of me going behind your back to get some new options.”

  His small grin stretched as far as he could handle in his current state.