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T
he Üstrel Corporation offices towered over the large park that stood in the centre of the city. The building was relatively new, part of the revitalisation of the downtown core that the city had undertaken in the last fifteen years. Üstrel Corporation had been a large force behind that, owning both the construction company contracted to do so and several of the state-of-the-art skyscrapers that now sat in the central business district. That alone could keep the corporation running with considerable profit, but Üstrel Corporation also owned twelve blocks of residential and retail space, several high-end restaurants, a dingy bar, a nightclub, and the controlling share of the research and teaching hospital and adjoined university.
Most of these now had no manager, with the entirety of House Üstrel destroyed by hunters.
Aleksandar had his work cut out for him when he arrived. The offices were understaffed and the administration assistants, petrified of losing their jobs due to the change in management, scurried around, trying to look desperately busy. They stopped in their tracks when Aleksandar Svetoslav walked through the doors. He ignored them, making his way to the elevator and riding up to the 24th floor with Stoyan standing stoically at his left shoulder.
The entire top floor was once an obscenely lavishly decorated office. It was now destroyed, looking more like the bedroom of a temper-tantrum throwing teenager than an office. A blackened splash of blood marked one wall and police tape, now torn and dusty, still blocked one of the two elevators.
“Rich,” Stoyan said, sounding as if he did not quite approve.
“Garish,” Aleksandar replied. He spent a few moments exploring the office, noting the fully stocked bar, smashed pool table, golf practice tee and screen, and stock of obnoxiously bright modern cubist paintings. “This all has to go,” he growled.
Stoyan looked at him.
“Except the bar,” he added. “That can stay.”
“It will look empty if everything goes.”
“We can put a glass partition here for an assistant’s desk. And the same over there for a boardroom.”
“A boardroom?”
“No company can function without meetings, Stoyan.”
Stoyan grunted.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” a young feminine voice said from the elevator. Stoyan and Aleksandar turned in surprise. A mousy young woman stood before the elevator doors in a pale pink cardigan and dark blue poodle skirt. Her brown hair was tied up in an uninspired ponytail. She looked exhausted and nervous, declining to look Aleksandar in the eyes as she spoke, shifting her gaze anywhere else as she explained the condition of the office.
“After the gang attack, the police wouldn’t let us clean up while they were investigating. And then when we found out that the whole family had been killed, and no one knew if there was even going to be a company anymore, we all just kind of ... well... And we didn’t know you were coming in so soon after arriving in town.”
“It’s all right,” Aleksandar said. He walked forward and extended his hand. “I am Aleksandar Svetoslav. You are?”
The girl could no longer avoid Aleksandar’s gaze. She took his hand and looked up, her grey eyes widening when they met Aleksandar’s dark stare. Her face went slack briefly before she spoke.
“Meaghan. Uh... Meaghan Shea.”
“A pleasure, Ms. Shea. This is Stoyan. He’s my bodyguard... and friend.”
“Hello,” Stoyan said brightly, offering a smile to the trembling girl. Meaghan offered a small smile back. She dropped her hand and her gaze, staring resolutely down at the floor.
“And what is your position here?”
“I’m... well... I was Mr. Üstrel’s assistant.”
Aleksandar examined her carefully, noting three pairs of almost invisible puncture marks on her right forearm. He scowled.
“Meaghan, you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to, but did Mr. Üstrel hurt you?”
She looked up sharply at Aleksandar, her hand instinctively clamping down on her forearm. Tears welled in her eyes, but she silently shook her head. Aleksandar nodded, his features softening.
“Well, Meaghan, I find myself in need of both an assistant and an office. If you think you can stand it, I would like to offer you your old position.”
“Thank you, Mr. Svetoslav,” Meaghan said quietly. “If you think I am suitable, of course I will take the job.”
“Good. First thing is first. I will need a place from which to work today, and I would like to have a clean up arranged for the office. The desk, bookcase and bar can stay. The rest needs to go. Whatever is not destroyed can be auctioned off and the proceeds given to charity.”
Meaghan looked up with a confused frown. She stared, briefly mute, before asking, “Which charity?”
Aleksandar shrugged. “I’m not terribly familiar with the charities here,” he admitted. “I trust you to find something appropriate. Only one stipulation, though.”
“Yes?”
“It must be local.”
“A local charity, got it.”
“Good. I did not know the Üstrels all that well, but I’m getting the sense that they were not especially good people.”
“Aren’t you a cousin of the family?” Meaghan ventured boldly before realising her brashness and collapsing back in on herself.
“A very distant cousin,” Aleksandar replied. “Now, is there a space where I can set up a temporary office?”
“More than enough. Almost all the higher positions were held by members of the family. They’re all vacant now that... well... now that they’re all dead. But if you prefer something less personalised, there is a boardroom on the 20th floor.”
“Thank you. I will use that. You’ve enough to be getting on with now, I think.”
“Yes, Mr. Svetoslav. Right away.”
“Oh, and Meaghan?”
“Yes?”
“Please have someone from IT come up to the boardroom to set up my computer.”
“Of course, Mr. Svetoslav.” With that, Meaghan turned and entered the elevator. She offered one last small smile before the doors closed.
“Is it just me,” Stoyan asked, “or was she terrified?”
“It wasn’t just you,” Aleksandar replied. He scowled as he looked at his friend. “I believe Boyko Üstrel made Ms. Shea a Thrall.”
Hissing angrily, Stoyan straightened his shoulders. “The more I hear of what they did here, the less I grieve their demise,” he growled. “The Covenant exists for a reason!”
“And their flagrant disobedience has put us all in danger,” Aleksandar replied in agreement. “I have no doubt we are being watched closely. The hunters will suspect, we mustn’t give them any confirmation.” Aleksandar rubbed his forehead with the heel of his palm. “Come on. Let’s find this boardroom. I have no doubt the Üstrels left quite a mess to clean up after.”
Silently, Stoyan resumed his position at Aleksandar’s left shoulder and the pair rode the elevator down to the 20th floor, where someone from the IT department was already waiting for them. It took only a few minutes, and then Aleksandar and Stoyan were left alone. Aleksandar spent most of that morning poring over the papers the Üstrel family’s legal counsel had left him. They explained in obnoxious detail all of Aleksandar’s inheritance, and how financial matters stood. Things looked bleak.
There were numerous instances where Aleksandar could tell the numbers had been falsified, and almost all the employees of the research hospital no longer had the pensions that had been promised in their contracts. The requisite amount of money required for maintenance of the retail and residential properties owned by the Üstrel family was entirely absent, drained to feed a lifestyle better suited to emperors than businessmen.
It all made Aleksandar’s eyes hurt and, after several hours of reading and heavy sighing, he pushed the papers away in disgust. He rubbed his face. “They couldn’t even run a business,” he grumbled.
Stoyan, who had remained in the room, leaning up against the wall in a misleading repose of rest, opened his eyes. He checked his watch. “You have been working for six hours without rest,” he said disapprovingly. “You should take a break.”
“I can’t,” Aleksandar replied, pulling the papers back towards him.
Stoyan placed a hand firmly on the papers and looked his prince in the eye. “Take a break.”
“It’s a mess Stoyan. It needs to be fixed.”
“And it will, but it will go a lot slower if you exhaust yourself too soon.”
Aleksandar stretched his neck, trying to wring the stiffness from it. Stoyan resolutely refused to remove his hand from the paper, so Aleksandar stood and rolled his shoulders back. “If Boyko were alive, I’d hunt him down myself,” he growled.
Raising one eyebrow, Stoyan simply waited.
“All the worst mistakes of our past have been repeated,” Aleksandar said. “Only this time the Opyri were wearing suits instead of crowns.”
“Ah. It’s fairly regular practice for all businessmen, if the news is to be believed.”
“I don’t like it.”
Stoyan chuckled softly.
“What?” Aleksandar demanded.
Smiling, Stoyan declined to answer. Instead he said, “You have not eaten lunch today. I will go and get you some.”
“I don’t need lunch.”
“Nonsense,” Stoyan said, levelling Aleksandar with a firm gaze. “Everyone needs to eat. You’re only human after all.”
Understanding, Aleksandar nodded. “Fine.”
“What would you like?”
“Surprise me.”
With a shrug, Stoyan straightened and left the boardroom. “Ms. Shea,” he greeted Aleksandar’s personal assistant who had taken the nearest desk to work. The girl jumped.
“Yes, Mr...?”
“Just call me Stoyan. I’m going to get Mr. Svetoslav something to eat. Is there anything you can recommend?”
Meaghan blinked stupidly a moment, prompting Stoyan to frown. “I’m... I’m sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I didn’t even think of it. Mr. Üstrel never ate.” When Stoyan’s eyebrows shot up in what Meaghan assumed was surprised disbelief, she hurriedly added, “While working. I’m sorry. I’ll remember to ask next time.”
“Do not concern yourself,” Stoyan replied, an easy smile returning to his face. “I could use the exercise. Watching Mr. Svetoslav read is dull.”
“Well, if he likes spicy food, there’s an excellent Szechuan place three blocks north. Or Bombay Colours, which has really good Indian food. That’s across the road. There’s also The Swedish Deli, four odd blocks west if he’s looking for something a little plainer.”
“I will go there, I think. Thank you, Ms. Shea.”
“Meaghan. Meaghan is fine.”
“Very well, Meaghan.” Stoyan observed her for a moment. “You are pale. Have you eaten? Would you like me to get you something as well?”
At the unexpected question, Meaghan relaxed into a genuine smile. “Oh... Well, that’s very kind of you. I’ve brought food, actually. I just haven’t had time to eat yet. Work, you know.”
Stoyan grinned and nodded. “As you like. If Mr. Svetoslav is looking for me, I won’t be long.”
Meaghan nodded and offered Stoyan another genuine smile. He waved casually as he left the floor. Meaghan’s phone rang back and before long she was comparing quotes for repair and interior design.
A knock at the boardroom door lifted Aleksandar’s head from the papers. He was scowling so hard that Meaghan took a step back from the doorway. He forced his features to relax.
“Come in, Meaghan,” he said softly. “Sorry. I wasn’t scowling at the interruption. It’s very welcome, actually.”
“Business is that bad, is it?” Meaghan asked, attempting humour to hide her discomfort in Aleksandar’s presence.
Aleksandar did not smile. His grimace confirmed her jest as fact and Meaghan forgot her discomfort momentarily. “Is it?” she asked.
Sighing, Aleksandar nodded. “It’s a mess, is what it is. They built an empire that was fifty years in the making, and then just let it all crumble. I don’t understand why they even bothered at all.”
“Money,” Meaghan said with a shrug. “Mother always said money was the greatest evil man ever invented. It turns good men into monsters.”
“In the right hands, money can do so much good,” Aleksandar replied softly.
“It’s going to take more than a couple of donations to fix this city,” Meaghan replied.
“Is it so very bad?”
“A bit better since... Well... since the Üstrels were killed. I mean, there are still some really bad areas... Most of the city, really... And there is still a huge issue with corruption. But there was talk that the Üstrels were a huge mob family; Russian mafia or something.”
Aleksandar nodded absently. “The family can be a bit like the mafia sometimes, I suppose. We are very... protective of each other.”
“I see.”
“In any case, it’s not something you need trouble yourself with. Why did you knock?”
“Oh, yes.” Meaghan held out a small pad with several different quotes from several different restoration and interior designing companies. “These are the estimates for the repair of your offices. Two of the contractors said that they’d need to see the place and look at your plans before they’d give us a quote, but the first of the two said he would be able to give you a quote, and would stick to that price.”
“That’s a sound way to do business. Set up a time for him to see it. Actually, do it for all of them and we’ll compare these numbers once we have all the information.” He handed the notepad back to Meaghan.
“Of course.”
“I need to set up a meeting with our accounting firm, if you could arrange that for me. Assume my schedule is free for the rest of the week. There are a lot of things that need discussing.”
“Of course. I’ll set that up right away.”
“As soon as possible, please.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Meaghan hesitated a moment. “Is there anything I can get you? A coffee or water?”
“No, thank you. Stoyan should be back with lunch soon.”
“Okay then.” Not wanting to waste any more of her employer’s time and suddenly uncomfortable again, she walked swiftly from the room, sliding past Stoyan at the door as he walked in. She marched to her desk and sat down, noticing only once she was settled that a large bar of Swiss chocolate had been placed on her keyboard. She picked it up in surprise, looked at the boardroom door and smiled.
“Here,” Stoyan said, pulling out two sandwiches and a salad.
“Thank you,” Aleksandar said, returning to his paperwork. Stoyan resumed his position, leaning against the wall. This time, however, he munched on his sandwich as he watched Aleksandar sort through the papers. The prince muttered curses darkly as he did so, in between shaking his head and sighing. On and on Aleksandar worked without cease until there was another knock at the door.
“Come in,” Aleksandar said without looking up.
Meaghan did not enter the boardroom, but stood at the door clutching her handbag, her coat slung over one arm. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Svetoslav,” she said. “I have all of the contractors coming in tomorrow morning, and the accountants haven’t gotten back to me.”
“Yes, fine,” Aleksandar replied distractedly.
“Um... it’s... well... it’s five.”
Aleksandar did look up at this. He blinked stupidly for a moment before looking at his watch. “And so it is,” he said. “I suppose you want to go home.”
“Yes, Mr. Svetoslav. I mean... well...”
“Of course,” Aleksandar said. “Go home.”
Meaghan nodded and turned to leave.
“And Meaghan?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for your help today.”
Meaghan smiled. “Of course, Mr. Svetoslav. That’s why I’m paid. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good evening.”
Meaghan left. Aleksandar Svetoslav appeared to be a decent man—as decent as a corporate businessman could be, in any case—but Meaghan could not shake the discomfort she felt whenever she was in his presence. She left her first day of working for the new CEO of Üstrel Incorporated feeling conflicted.
“She’s a nice girl,” Stoyan said before folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes again.
Aleksandar did not respond.
It was well past midnight before Stoyan managed to tear Aleksandar away from his work. Even then he had to hoist his prince bodily from the chair and drag him a few steps before Aleksandar finally agreed to leave on his own. They walked in silence to the car, Aleksandar lost in thought as to how to best repair the damage the Üstrels had done, and Stoyan ever alert to any possible danger directed at his prince.
He held the sedan door for Aleksandar, who was too tired to complain, before sliding into the driver’s seat and pulling away.
Standing quietly against a tree in a long tan coat, a blond haired man in sunglasses took a long, slow drag from a cigarette and watched as the dark car drove off into the night.