Well, I've been having a bad day so I thought I'd just indulge in some Merlin and post a short chapter. Thanks to those who have been reviewing so far. You guys are awesome!
Chapter Six
Back in the office, Owen and Colin were having a very heated argument. Owen had given Colin his invitation, which had the effect of inciting anger again in the latter, though he let his anger simmer under the surface. What really caused the explosion was when Owen informed him that I had been invited as well.
The two men adjourned into their private room and proceeded to have a shouting match. From what I could hear, their disagreement was as Owen had told me earlier – whether or not I should be brought into the loop. The name Alex James was also brought up several times, with Colin arguing more vehemently against my involvement and insisting that I be let go before it was too late every time.
Rather than sit and listen awkwardly to their arguing over me and my fate, I took out my laptop and typed "Alex James" into the Google search engine.
It was ridiculously easy to find him. There were tons of hits. I clicked the Wikipedia link – nothing wrong with wanting a general, easy to read overview; I was not looking for hard facts so I was willing to live with Wikipedia's infamous inaccuracies.
Alex James, 42, ran an international conglomerate called Eceline. It was set up in the 90s as a small-time shipping business and rapidly grew and expanded until it became the giant it was now. Alex James had his finger in practically every pie imaginable – from shipping and freight to retail, media, pharmaceuticals, education, manufacturing and real estate. A quote from a newspaper report profiling the company claimed that if you "dig deep enough… you'll find Eceline and James' names connected to practically all the companies on the FTSE 100 Index".
As for the man himself, there was extensive detail about his life and doings. Son of a stock broking father and public relations mother, he was born in Wales but his family moved to London when he was a boy. He studied at Westminster School then University of St Andrews where he graduated with a degree in Economics and the highest honours. He was just 23 when he began the business that would later become Ecceline.
His personal life was never a secret. His parents were both killed in a tragic car accident when he was 24. He had a string of alleged lovers – both men and women. No one was ever officially connected to him romantically, though with his boyish looks and head of curly dark hair, he had no lack of admirers. He also had a penchant for fine wines and rare art, and was a patron of several arts societies and charities.
He was described as a gentleman – charming, dashing and jovial – in terms of his manner and bearing, though it was noted that he was a very tough businessman who would plough ahead and not let anything stop him when he was determined. He was said to enjoy sports – football, golf and shooting – and hunted on occasion at a lodge he owned in the country. He owned several other properties, both for investment purposes and holiday homes, around Britain and the world.
In short, there was nothing I could see that would warrant such a strong reaction from both Colin and Owen. This Alex James seemed like nothing more than a wealthy, successful businessman. It did not explain why he would invite me to a party but I had helped organise plenty of parties where we would invite everybody and the gardener, just to have more warm bodies in the room. I assumed this was the case here.
The two men were still arguing, though they seemed to have reached some compromise, as their voices were no longer raised. I thought about interrupting them by knocking on the door but did not want to spark another round of confrontation between them and be directly drawn into it in the process. I stood outside their door, considering and re-considering, trying to hear if I could find some good point to interrupt when Owen pulled the door open.
"Are you sure you don't make it a habit of lurking behind closed doors, love?" Owen asked, a small smile on his face – a good sign, surely. Colin nudged Owen out of the way and marched right out of the office – definitely a bad sign. It looked like he had gotten the short end of the stick in their compromise.
"Well? What's the decision?" I asked. "And, by the way, just to let you know, I looked up Alex James on the Internet. I don't think there's anything sinister about him. So I'm going to attend the party, meet him, mix around and build contacts. I'm not asking you; I'm telling you."
Owen listened to all I had to say then led me to a chair and sat both of us down. "You know we've been working on this project for a long time and we've made enemies along the way. Alex James is one of them and the most cunning opponent we have ever encountered."
"All the more I think I should meet him," I said. "You've said it yourself, this is just a temporary job. I could learn a lot from working for him. I'm not going to jump ship. I just think it would be an incredible opportunity to meet such a successful businessman."
Owen shook his head. "You don't get it, Danae," he said. "This is not a corporate game we're playing. This goes way back. Alex James is ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Murder isn't above him. He is a dangerous enemy to have. Col and I, we really would prefer if you did not attend the party. We don't know what he has planned and we don't want you to get hurt for something that you have no involvement in."
"Are you saying I'm forbidden to go? And you still can't tell me what your top secret project is about?"
"We haven't reached a conclusion on that yet. But as to the party, no, you're not forbidden. You're a grown woman, Danae, well capable of making your own decisions. You just need to know that there are risks before you make the decision. Your life could be in danger if you cross paths with this man. I can't guarantee your safety."
"Owen, why did you even hire me? All you give me are dire warnings. It's getting old. And Colin seems angry every time I see him," I complained.
"My reasons don't matter. The point is, you're here now and you've attracted Alex James' attention. That worries me."
"If he's really that good and your 'mortal enemy', him finding out about me was bound to happen sooner or later," I pointed out. "I know you're trying to be kind and to keep me safe but I think this is something I need to do and find out for myself. I don't think he'll try anything at a public party, so I'm safe at least for that night."
Owen did not look happy about this at all. But, true to their word, neither he nor Colin actively stopped me from attending the party, though Owen constantly dropped more dark hints about it being a dangerous enterprise and kept trying to talk me out of it. I spent most of the next day looking through reports the two men had compiled on Alex James over the years.
Apart from the corporate profiling that I had already seen on the Internet, the rest of it all sounded like conspiracy theories – the way they attempted to trace things such as the failed Copenhagen climate talks in 2009 back to his behind the scenes pulling of strings. He was also allegedly linked to the 2000 Millennium Bug scare and the 2009 Wall Street crash. These were supposedly part of his plot to weaken and distract world governments from a larger threat. He reportedly also had links to both above ground and underground networks in the Middle East and Asia.
Exactly what threat he posed was not clearly stated in any of the reports. When I asked Owen, all he would say was that Alex James was one of those men who was power hungry and had the tendency to have more sinister motives behind everything he did. Constant surveillance was needed to make sure he did not cross the line between normal ambition and megalomania. He would turn into Lex Luthor if he had the chance and destroy the world. The hint Owen dropped was that in trying to save the world, Alex James would be our adversary.
I was left wondering if I should look up at what point simple wariness crossed the threshold into serious paranoia.