"What do you want from me?" Alfred demanded warily.
"Not much," the other replied smoothly. "Just 75 million dollars to keep him safe and another 25 million to keep the press from discovering that your pretty girlfriend is actually a boyfriend."
Alfred jumped to his feet.
"I know that my family name is associated with a great deal of money but even I do not have that much available to give to you!"
The man smirked at him.
"That is not a problem. You have just inherited an incredibly profitable company. You can just skim a little out of the books and no one will notice. CEOs have done it for years. The amount is such a small percentage it would not even be noticed."
Gaping at him, Alfred replied, "How could I do that? That would require me to steal wages from people who worked harder than most of my colleagues for it and need it to provide for their families." Shaking his head, he dropped into his chair and put his face into his hands. "I refuse to do something like that. Get out of my office."
With a spin on his heel, the man sent one last remark over his shoulder.
"You may come to regret that."
The first thing Alfred did when he arrived at work the next day was head to the security office. He had the men on duty review the tapes from the previous evening but they weren't able to learn anything about the man's identity. The microphones were not working properly so a technician was sent down to fix them and he had used the dim lighting to hide from the cameras.
The security guards had asked Alfred why he was curious about the tapes and audio but he had brushed it off with a simple answer about falling asleep and possibly dreaming up an intruder. The fact that the man couldn't be confirmed as being in the room didn't settle Alfred's nerves and it made it difficult for him to focus to his work the whole day. No less than four different senior officers came up to him to complain about his change in attitude so he tried to buckle down for the rest of the day.
As the day wound down, he was still worried about Francis so he messaged the man to see if he was available for the evening. When he replied that he would be, Alfred felt an immense weight lift from his chest. Francis was still okay. He was safe. And if he was with him that evening, he would be safe then too. Right?
He hoped so.
Those thoughts propelled him through the last few hours until he was gathering his things and walking down to meet his driver, Bruce.
"Are we picking up, Monsieur Bonnefoy tonight?" the man asked, peering at him through the rear-view mirror.
Getting comfortable against the leather seats, Alfred affirmed that they were. Silence filled the car as it drove towards the added destination that was common for both occupants. Looking out the window as they neared, Alfred could see the Frenchman locking up the little bakery he had purchased a few years ago. He finished and turned just as they parked so he let himself into the car. The car slid away from the curb moments later and Francis leaned against the other's side, smiling softly.
"This was a nice surprise, darling. I thought you were going to be busy for the next few days?"
Curling his arm around Francis' shoulders, Alfred pulled him close.
"I was going to be but I wanted to take the evening off to see you. I haven't seen you in days, doll. Tell me how things are going are at the bakery."
The smile on Francis' face widened instantly, he adored talking about his bakery and he loved when Alfred asked about it. Alfred let him talk, listening partially but mostly paying attention to see if there were any signs that his beloved had been hurt in any way. He looked for anything from the smallest cut to emotional distress but, thankfully, found none. He had feared all day that the unknown man had somehow gotten to the other and hurt him because he had not paid him the previous evening. It seemed as though his fears were, so far, unfounded.
"And she was able to get us a lot of business which helped our profits," the other was saying. "I've been saving up for a while and hopefully soon I'll finally be able to afford that expansion!"
"Francis, you could have gotten that expansion a long time ago if you had just let me pay for it," Alfred said without thinking. He was still not paying close attention to the other's words, but when his face suddenly became stony he knew he had said something wrong. Pausing, he quickly tried to remember what he had just said and instantly regretted his actions. He knew just how hard Francis had worked to open his own bakery and get it off the ground. Now he had been saving up for an expansion, which Alfred had supported, and Alfred had just verbally stomped on his progress. "Oh, Francis I didn't mean that! I promise! I really am proud of how much you've accomplished!"
The other pulled away from him, eyes full of hurt.
"Not all of us are born wealthy, Alfred. It's difficult to make your way in the world without it."
"I know, Francis. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it." Reaching out, Alfred gently stroked his arm. "Please don't be upset. I misspoke."
With a sigh, the younger decided to forgive him and moved back over to resume the embrace.
Changing the topic, he asked, "Do you have a plan for the evening or did you just want to see me?"
"I just wanted to see you," Alfred answered. "We will see if the evening goes anywhere."
"Other than the usual?" Francis replied with a small laugh.