Xander never wanted to have this party, but his father insisted. Lauren knew the young man enough to understand he wasn’t the kind to brag or gloat. One benefit of there being a small party at the house was that Lauren would get a chance to hang out with Xander and help him get over the horror of the last few weeks. She was wearing a nice dress that Mrs. Hopkins picked out herself, and even gave her an elegant pearl necklace to go with it. Lauren wasn’t too nervous as the crowd gathered was rather small and most people kept to themselves. She was soothing her nerves with a glass of wine when a familiar face finally showed up. Xander was looking rather nice in his custom-made suit, and Lauren was eager to run over and greet him. He strolled over to where she was standing the moment he laid eyes on her, excited to see the young woman as well.
“You look amazing,” Xander said, eager to pay her a compliment.
“Your mother was very kind to help me get ready,” Lauren said, “This suit looks amazing on you? Where did you get it?”
“I had it ordered custom,” Xander replied, “Was saving it for a special occasion. Winning my freedom seemed like a pretty decent excuse to me.”
“Sounds like a good one to me,” Lauren agreed, “I’m just glad it’s over.”
“That makes two of us,” Xander said, sighing deeply. “I was sure this was going to be one of those drawn-out cases that went on for months, maybe a year. The kind that would take my PR people years to fight just to help the company recover. Russell truly worked miracles here.”
“I can tell you who I’ll be hiring if I ever get into trouble,” Lauren said, as she was also impressed with how amazing the lawyer was.
“Let’s hope it never comes to that,” Xander said, “I wouldn’t wish what happened on my worst enemy.”
“Do you even have a worst enemy?” Lauran asked, slightly curious.
“I don’t think so,” Xander said, “Despite what a tyrant CEOs might look like to the public, I try to do well by the people I work with. Let’s not dwell on that and enjoy the night as it’s in celebration of a win for the good guys.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Lauren said, even raising her glass a bit.
Xander smiled as he was please that Lauren was enjoying herself, and he was even more relieved that Russell did such a great job defending him that there was little doubt regarding his innocence. To get the judge to toss it out before the hearing was even finished was better than the result he was hoping for. He thought this was going to lead to a trial, with a jury and the whole nine yards. While he liked his odds with Russell in his corner, he didn’t blame his lawyer for getting the win anyway he could. There was no point taking a risk with the jury if there was a way to win before the game even started, and Russell took his shot and hit nothing but net. The trial ending so quick also caused his company’s stock to rise and end quite well when the bell sounded at the end of the day. Things really were looking up for him but seeing that smile on Lauren’s face was better than all of it combined. The fact that she believed in him and now knew he was innocent was more than he could hope for. Yet as he took a quick glance around, he saw the man who made it all possible.
“Hey… there’s Russell,” Xander said, smiling. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing,” Lauren said, as she used the moment to refill her wine and even grab a few puffy like pastries that looked to have crab in them.
Lauren was patiently waiting because she assumed Xander and Russell would come into the room to join everyone and take victory lap, but that never happened. When she looked over to check on them, Russell and Xander were talking about something and both men appeared to be serious about their discussion. Lauren didn’t like that look on his lawyer’s face, so she tried to walk over to get an idea of what was going on. Lauren was about halfway across the room when someone grabbed her arm and stopper her from getting any closer.
“Trust me, dear,” the woman whispered, “You don’t want to know what they’re talking about.”
“What,” Lauren said, as she didn’t recognize the woman. “Who are you?”
“My name is Mac,” the woman replied, “And despite how awesome I look tonight, I am actually an investigator that works for Mr. Benson. We discovered something pretty bad regarding his case. So, I think it might be best for you to hang back and be here for the young man in case he need support later on.”
“What kind of discovery are we talking about?” Lauren asked.
“About the person that was behind it all,” Mac replied, “And let me tell you this is more outrageous than what you’d expect from an over-the-top horror film. There’s a good chance this news is going to devastate him.”
“Then I definitely want to be there for him,” Lauren said, as she tried to break free, but the investigator was surprisingly strong.
“I admire your eagerness to stand by your man,” Mac admitted, “But this isn’t when he’s going to need you. Right now, here’s firing on all cylinders but it’s just adrenaline. He’s going to crash later tonight when the actual weight of it hits him, and that’s when Xander is going to need someone.”
“So, we just wait here for what?” Lauren inquired.
“We should probably go wait by the main door,” Mac suggested, “Because if they are confronting to I think they are, we’ll be making a quick exit very soon.”
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Lauren said, as Mac started to drag her towards the main door. Part of her didn’t want to go and keep celebrating what was supposed to be a big win for the good guys. Yet as she was being dragged away from the main room, the reality of the situation finally started to become more real.
“I can’t get into the details, not here at least.” Mac continued, “But odds are Xander will tell you everything after we leave. He’ll need someone to talk to and I have a feeling you’ll be the one he wants to confide in.”
“Alright,” Lauren said, as she didn’t appear to have a choice in the matter. It wasn’t like she wouldn’t want to be there for Xander if he needed her love and support, but she never thought it would happen on this of all evenings.
“Look, there’s Xander!” Mac said, pointing at him. “And it looks like he’s making his way to the main doors as well… most likely on Russell’s orders.”
“I guess we’re leaving then,” Lauren said, a bit bummed out.
“Don’t take is personally,” Mac said, “If he was told what I think he was told, his current mood and hostility has nothing to do with you.”
“Good to know, I suppose.” Lauren said, as she never wanted to be the person that would cause Xander any pains. Yet she could tell there was a pained expression on his face as he walked over to where she and Mac were standing.
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“Are you alright, dear?” Mac asked the young man.
“Not exactly,” Xander answered, “I’m downright disgusted.”
“What happened?” Lauren asked.
“We’ll get into that soon,” Mac answered for him, “Where’s Russell?”
“He should be coming behind me shortly,” Xander answered.
As if he heard his name being called out, Russell emerged from the same area where Xander himself came from and was walking towards them all with a very dedicated stride. He was clearly in a hurry to leave the building as soon as he possible could. Russell waved to everyone as he was getting closer.
“I have a limo waiting outside,” the lawyer called out, “Not one word until from anyone until we’re in there and the hell out of here.”
Lauren did as she was told and followed the other tree out the door, as then went straight into the limo that Russell had waiting for them outside. Xander took a seat beside him, but still had a worried look on his face as he waited for Mac and Russell to get into the limo with them. Once they were inside and the car was slowly leaving the parking lot, Xander didn’t hesitate to speak up.
“You said you had video,” Xander said, “Let me see it.”
“Alright,” Russell said, as he took out his cell phone and started to play the video for all to see.
Lauren watched the video with Xander, and what she saw utter disgusted her. Watching Xander’s own father pay off some guy to create the false accusations was the last thing she expected to discover that night, but there it was for all to see. She could hardly believe that was the same man she had breakfast with, or who looked so supporting when Xander needed him most. It was all a lie, as it appears he was the man behind it the entire time. Once the video was over, Russell revealed to them both that this wasn’t the only video in his possession.
“Damn it,” Xander cussed under his breath.
“That’s awful,” Lauren said, as she could barely muster the words. If she could see the old man right now, she’d be tempted to give the bastard the stiffest slaps that she could muster. She was also glad that she never walked in on the men when they were making their confrontation, for she was unlikely to control her temper and give the old man a well-deserved slap.
They both sat there in the car and were rather silent for the rest of the ride back to the building where Xander’s condo was located. Once parked out front, Xander and Lauren stepped out of the car and quickly jogged into the building relatively unnoticed. Xander used a card keep to activate the elevator in the lobby and started to patiently wait for it to come to them. Another elevator door opened, and Lauren tugged at his coat for a moment.
“This elevator’s here,” Lauren said, “Why don’t we take that one?”
“That’s not my elevator,” Xander answered, “This one specifically accesses my condo directly. So, have to wait for this one.”
“Okay,” Lauren said, putting it all together. “A condo with its own private elevator… why am I not surprised?”
“I’m sorry,” Xander said, deeply sighing. “This was not the time or mood I wanted to be in when showing you my place for the first time.”
“Well, I can leave if you’re not ready,” Lauren suggested. She didn’t want to go, but the last thing she wanted to do was make him more uncomfortable than he already appeared to be.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Xander said, as the doors to the elevator he was waiting for finally opened, “I don’t want you to go.”
“That’s good, because I wasn’t going to listen to you anyway,” Lauren replied as she walked past him and onto the elevator.
Xander smiled a little for the first time since they left the mansion and walked into the elevator and swiped his card again once inside the elevator. Lauren had noticed that there were only a few buttons in there, and they were listed only as the ground floor and parking lots below. So, in order to use this elevator at all you needed the card to activate it and also to swipe again to authorize it to go up at all. Once the doors were closed, it took the elevator only seconds to reach the floor they were traveling to, and as the doors opened Lauren couldn’t believe what was waiting on the other side. There was no hallway, no doors, as the elevator opened directly into Xander’s apartment. As they departed the elevator, she was amazing by how high the ceilings were at they had to be at least twelve feet high. As they strolled into the massively open space, the living room, a dining area and even the kitchen were all visible. There was also a staircase that led to another level, meaning that Xander’s condo took up two floors. The outer walls were mostly glass that went from floor to ceiling, and the view of the city was astonishing from either side as they had traveled rather high for the length of time they were in the elevator. Xander noticed the wide eyes, and he grabbed her hand to gain her attention.
“Hey, are you alright?” he softly asked her.
“This place is amazing!” Lauren said, a little too stunned for words.
“It’s not that exciting,” Xander replied, almost enjoying the distraction. “It’s just a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen. You’ll find all this in any other house, this just happens to be located somewhere else.”
“Wait,” Lauren interrupted, pointing at something hanging on the wall. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes, it is.” Xander said, “I also bought that several years ago at a private auction. It almost cost about half as much as the piece I donated to the museum.”
Xander left Lauren alone to wander about and check things out while he walked to the kitchen to get something to eat. There were two massive fridges in there, and while of them was a little slim since he hadn’t been living there the last while, he was more than relieved to see the other was fully stocked. Lauren slowly strolled made her want to join him in the kitchen after wandering around and gawking at other things around. She noticed he was taking food out of the fridge and tossing it into the oven. \
“What is that?” she asked him.
“I have a personal chef,” Xander explained as he put a few containers on top the oven. “She always keeps the second fridge stocked with meals that are not only tasty, but rather healthy for us too. So, if I ever come home from a hard day at work, I can just take something out and all I have to do is reheat it. If I don’t use the food within a few days, she’ll donate it all to a local food bank and refresh it. So, no matter where I am or what I’m doing she’ll come in once every few days and take care of the food.”
“Okay, that’s rather convenient,” Lauren said as she walked over and opened the fridge to check for herself. Inside it was over a dozen containers, several that were full courses, and half a dozen varied salads to go on the side.
“I think we’ll have this with it,” Xander said, grabbing a premade Caesar salad.
“What are we having with it?” Lauren asked.
“Chicken Parmesan,” Xander answered, “Are you okay with that?”
“I am,” Lauren said as she walked around an island that was in the middle of the kitchen and sat down on one of it’s stools like she was going to a bar.
“What is it?” Xander asked, sensing her mood.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” she replied, “I’m just at a loss for words. This party was supposed to be a happy occasion, but instead you took an epic kick right in the gnats.”
“Yeah, that shindig wasn’t as fun as I hoped it would be.” Xander concurred, “How are you feeling?”
“Forget about me,” Lauren countered, “Are you alright?”
“I will be,” Xander said, taking a deep breath. “This isn’t the first time my father and I had a falling out. You should have seen the one we had when I told him I wasn’t going to the university of his choice. He got so mad, that he threatened to cut me off and force me to make it on my own.”
“Holy crap,” Lauren said, “I’d just be happy my kid got into any university!”
“You’d think that would be enough,” Xander agreed, “But he’s a stubborn man that loses his cool when people refuse to do his bidding. I’m used to locking horns with my old man, and while this one hurts a lot more than it usually does, I have a feeling this too will pass.”
“It may pass like a damn kidney stone,” Lauren added, touching his cheek with her hand, “But it will eventually pass. All things do.”
“I have a feeling this will be a little easier,” Xander said, as he took her hand and kissed it gently.
“I’d suggest watching something on TV, but I don’t see one.” Lauren started, “Where do you watch the game, or your favorite shows?”
“Oh, in the living room.” Xander said, as he grabbed a remote that was laying on the island in the kitchen. When he hit the button, the wall above the fake fireplace started to open to reveal that a massive seventy-inch screen was hidden in there. Once the wall was opened the big screen turned and a baseball game was already on. Lauren turned back to look at Xander with a stunned face.
“Get out of here!” she called out.
Xander had another smile on his face, as he watched Lauren run into the living room and inspect the massive screen and where it just emerged. While she was marveling at it, he took the food out of the oven and transferred it to a plate with some salad on the side and walked both plates into the living room on a tray, complimented with a few cans of soda. As he walked into the living room to join her, Xander could tell that living moving forward was going to be alright, with or without be piece of shit father and his scheming ways. The future was right before him, and it was making all the hell he went through the last few weeks slide right off his back. With that woman here, the condo feeling like home for the first time and Xander was totally digging it. He could get used to having her around.