Chapter 126 This Is Between You and Me
Alexander had never wasted time pondering the idea of a soulmate until he met Courtney Hunter.
He had been the type to believe that a dog offered more reliable companionship than marriage ever could, and he had never been lonely in all the time he was single. In fact, he had enjoyed his bachelorhood very much. He had thought that Jordan was the only one capable of turning his life upside down, but then he met Courtney and realized he had been very wrong.
That said, the only difference between Jordan and Courtney had been the way in which they had shown up in Alexander’s life. Where Alexander had felt conflicted when he first met Jordan, he had felt the complete opposite with Courtney—if anything, his fondness and affection for her had only grown since their first meeting.
Presently, the sound of the door clicking shut seemed to reverberate throughout the suite, but it was soft enough to not stir Courtney from her slumber.
As Alexander emerged from the suite, Josh, who had been waiting by the door, greeted, “President Duncan.”
Alexander nodded in acknowledgement, then said, “Right. I need you to take care of the rumors that have been going around the hotel for the past couple of days. I don’t want to hear any more of these groundless accusations.”
He was getting irritated just talking about this. Everyone in the hotel was under the impression that Courtney was married, and instead of clarifying on this matter, she had chosen to keep her mouth shut for the sake of convenience. Now, Alexander was left with no choice but to resolve the issue himself.
“I’ll have it taken care of by tomorrow morning,” Josh promised. “By the way, I’ve looked into the incident with Louis; his neighbor said that a young man had dropped by Louis’s house before the fire broke out.”
At this, Alexander stopped in his tracks and raised a brow. “A young man?”
“Eye witnesses claimed that the young man was a college student who couldn’t be more than 20, and that he had delicate features. He was seen staying with Louis the last time he visited the old town, and half a month had passed before he dropped by again the other day. That same night, a fire broke out in Louis’ home. Here’s a picture of the young man in question.”
As he said this, Josh produced the said picture from the brown paper bag he was carrying and handed it over to Alexander. “The picture was drawn up on the spot based on the description given by the neighbor, but it should be pretty close to the real thing.”
Alexander held the picture between his long fingers. There was something familiar about the young man’s features, but Alexander couldn’t quite say what it was.
Just as Alexander was deep in thought, the sound of footsteps came from down the hallway, and the corridor lights cast a long shadow of an approaching figure who mused in a youthful baritone when he reached them, “Oh, you guys are here, too?”
Alexander lifted his head and shoved the picture back into the paper bag, frowning as he registered Oliver’s presence. “What are you doing here?”
Oliver was dressed casually in white, the very picture of athleisure-chic. “I’m here to see Courtney. I’ve recalled a couple of places in the past two days, and I think they may have something to do with my memory. I was hoping she could check them out with me.”
“She’s sleeping. I’m afraid she won’t have time for you, seeing as she’ll be kept on her feet for the next few days.” Alexander paused as he eyed Oliver with discreet wariness, then said tersely, “If you remember anything else, you can look for my assistant.”
Oliver crossed his arms as his gaze lingered briefly on Alexander. “I wouldn’t trouble you with it as this is between Courtney and me.”
Alexander’s expression darkened as he shot Oliver an icy look.
For the past couple of years, Alexander hadn’t met many who dared rebuke him, and this was not the first time he had felt Oliver’s immense hostility toward him.
“Sunhill Enterprise has taken responsibility for the accident, and from the very moment you were discharged from the hospital, there was no longer anything between you and Courtney,” Alexander countered, regarding Oliver with a withering gaze before he emphasized, “This is between you and me.”
A contemptuous smirk tugged at Oliver’s lips and he drawled, “Is that what you think?”
The air around them seemed to have gone very still.
Just then, the sound of a phone ringing cut through the rising tension that was threatening to freeze the hallway over, and Josh hastily answered the call. When he hung up, he turned to address Alexander. “President Duncan, the front desk says that Miss Price is here to see you. There’s something she would like to talk to you about.”
Alexander nodded curtly. “Let’s go.”
Oliver frowned, the scorn in his bright eyes ever-so-subtle as he watched Alexander leave.
Meanwhile, after bringing in the tea, the secretary sneaked a couple of curious glances at Britney Price before leaving the office.
The entire hotel was already buzzing with the announcement of Alexander and Courtney’s relationship, so what could have brought Britney here? The fact that the announcement was made was further proof that Britney’s previous engagement to Alexander had fallen through, but her presence here today could indicate that something dramatic was about to happen. After all, hell hath no fury like an ex-fiancée scorned.
Alexander wasted no time on small talk as he asked, “Josh told me that you’ve managed to get a hold of a doctor from Germany who specializes in child psychology. Is that true?”
Britney looked pleased at this and answered, “Yes. While I was in Germany, I got to know this professor whose work on child psychology is centralized on how childhood trauma caused by illnesses could lead to speech impediments and antisocial tendencies. I thought of Jordan immediately.”
“That’s nice of you,” Alexander said pensively with his brows drawn together.
“Of course. After all, I did watch Jordan grow up, and I want nothing more than to see him talk like how other children could. When you have the time, I’ll get in touch with the doctor and have him take a look at Jordan.”
Alexander nodded. “We’ll arrange a time for it—after the foreign guests leave, perhaps.”
Jordan’s speech impediment, or rather his refusal to speak, had been something that Alexander found difficult to deal with. There had been no breakthrough despite visiting countless doctors over the years. On the two occasions when Jordan did speak, he had called out for ‘Mommy’, which only made Alexander feel an insurmountable sense of guilt. He could not shake the thought that perhaps it was his failure in providing Jordan with a happy family that led to the boy’s current condition.
Britney bent her head as she took a sip of tea, effectively hiding the glee in her eyes.
She knew that the more time she spent with Alexander, the more likely she could get him back.
“I’ll probably get in touch with the doctor in the next few days to ask him about his schedule,” she said softly. As a sudden thought came over her, she mused with a self-deprecating smile, “Now that I think about it, I met this doctor while I was shooting a movie in Germany. I was picking up my wedding gown at the bridal shop, and he was there too.”
Alexander made no effort to respond to this. Instead, he kept his head down while going through the paperwork before him.
Seeing this, Britney clenched her fists and demanded, “Alexander, I know you don’t have the highest regard for actors, but you and I go way back—you know how I feel about you, but till now, you still haven’t given me a reason as to why you canceled our engagement.”
She had been on her way to attend an award show when Alexander’s assistant had called to inform her that the wedding was off. Britney had been infuriated that he had canceled the wedding—over the phone, no less—and because he had asked his assistant to do it, she hadn’t even been given the chance to retaliate.
“As compensation, President Duncan has contacted the Ivory Bear Awards committee, and they’ve agreed to let you win the award of Best Lead Actress,” the assistant had said briskly before hanging up the call, and Britney had watched as all her hard work was reduced to nothing. She hadn’t been able to live that down.
Now, upon hearing her questioning him, Alexander looked up slowly from his paperwork and regarded her impassively. His gaze was distant, almost apathetic, as he said, “I think I made myself very clear when I told you back then that I wasn’t getting married because I needed a wife, but because Jordan needed a mother.”
