Chapter Four
The muscles in Trey’s neck and upper back were so tight and knotted that he wasn’t sure he’d ever get relief. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen, feeling years older than twenty-six.
He blamed it on Alexis. Until he saw her last week, he’d never suffered such pains from stress. Not even after dealing with his father all these years. Well, maybe he’d had a few tension headaches he could credit to his father, but he knew what to expect from him.
Alexis. She was a different story.
She’d always had an uncanny ability to keep him on his toes. They’d grown up together in a sense, had been in almost all the same classes, though they rarely saw each other outside of school. They’d been rivals, until they’d been friends. Then it was over as quickly as it had begun.
If there was any way he could avoid tonight’s meeting, he’d gladly take the out, but he had to prove his worth to the council members, show them he intended to pull his weight. Even if that wasn’t enough of a reason to show up, Gil would be there as his guest to join the conversation about a traffic light.
Maybe he’d get lucky, and Alexis wouldn’t be there. Yeah right. He knew the director was expected to attend most board meetings, especially ones of this nature. Alexis liked rules, thrived on them, and there was no way she wouldn’t be there.
He was half-surprised she hadn’t chased him out the door again and insist they do the tour. It probably ate at her that she hadn’t followed through on a task, but she only had herself to blame. He’d tried to be kind and hospitable.
A strong effort? Perhaps not. But more of an effort than she’d made.
Still not a fair comparison.
He’d hurt her. Badly. Intentionally, but not really. He’d never meant to, but she’d become collateral damage in a battle he hadn’t wished to wage. He banged his head against the back of his chair. This had to stop. He didn’t have time to let Alexis get into his head.
Using every bit of willpower in him, he returned his focus to the work at hand. He emailed a note to his assistant for her to check on zoning regulations at several possible locations in Ohio, then called the real estate lawyer to clarify several issues about a property in Virginia. The call ran longer than he expected, and when it was over, he had to rush out the door if he wasn’t going to be late to Hope House.
Despite traffic being a beast and hitting a red light at every intersection, he made it to the shelter with five minutes to spare. He found his way to the conference room in the education center, thanks to Carl, the head of security, and no thanks to Alexis who had never given him the tour.
The four other members sat around a table, along with Gil who had made it there before him. He shook his old friend’s hand and greeted the board. “I’m sorry for pushing the time so close.”
“We’re still waiting on Alexis,” Mrs. Guillory said. “She had a last-minute intake today who she is finishing with.”
I could have run home and let Truffles out,he thought as the minutes ticked by. His yellow lab was his best friend, and he usually went home at some point during the day to let her out and take her for a walk. Some days, she even came to the office with him, and she had gone with him on several business trips. Her obedience training had paid off well.
He discreetly checked his watch. A half hour had passed, but no one seemed to mind. He tried not to be annoyed. Schedules got disrupted, and he’d learned to go with the flow. What bothered him was knowing he wouldn’t be shown the same consideration if he were the one late. He had an uphill battle to earn the respect of his co-board members.
Finally, Alexis appeared. She rushed into the room with a notepad and folder in hand. “I’m so sorry for holding up the meeting.”
“Don’t worry about that. Is the new resident all taken care of?” Mr. Wilson gave her an assuring smile.
It was clear the entire board was enchanted with Alexis. He was happy for her, if not a tad jealous. His feelings for Alexis were complicated. He envied her natural charm and how people gravitated toward her, simply for who she was.
People liked to be around him. They tried to ingratiate themselves toward him. Too often though, he discovered they had ulterior motives—the downfall to being heir of a Fortune 500 company. There were days he’d throw it all away just to have genuine relationships in his life.
Alexis had been a genuine relationship. She didn’t care about his father’s money, at least she hadn’t. Even now, she cared in a different way than others. Didn’t want anything to do with Kaplan Enterprises.
He understood. Yet, last Friday when she’d made her comments, it had stung. He knew he had more advantages than many people, but few realized the strings that came with those benefits. It also didn’t mean he was lazy. He’d told the truth when he told Alexis that he’d worked hard for his position. More often than not, he put in sixty-plus hour weeks. Even throughout college, he’d worked thirty hours a week while carrying a full course load.
Mrs. Guillory called the meeting to order, breaking Trey’s train of thought. He focused on the issue at hand and listened to Gil detail the steps needed to get a traffic light. There would have to be a petition, and then they’d have to take it to the city council. The council would then decide if they would pursue it.
If so, the process had only just begun. They would have to survey the area, and then base the decision off that data. Finally, if that was approved, the work would begin. Mr. Randolph called for a vote, and it was unanimously decided to officially petition the city.
Gil excused himself, having another meeting to attend. The discussion moved to the logistics of carrying out their goal.
“I’d be happy to compose the petition and get signatures from the surrounding establishments,” Trey volunteered.
He didn’t miss the surprised glances.
“I’ll mark you down for that.” Mr. Wilson, acting as secretary wrote a note on his yellow legal pad.
“How soon can you have it ready?” Alexis asked.
