One by one, the Joes had filed into the posh penthouse office. Warren stood beside the door allowing them inside before the door clicked shut behind them. Suddenly, Kate became very aware that she was alone in a room with this man with him standing between her and the only means of escape. As the sound of the door shutting reached their ears, the other members of the Alpha Team reacted the same, their gazes snapping to look at the CEO. Midnight's Shadow noticed Heavy Duty casually placing himself between her and Warren LeMonferet, for which she was grateful.
The business man turned around with a flourish to have his eyes land on her. "You're alive," he breathed. He stood a few rapid steps forward, heedless of the hulking man in between them. "I can't believe you're alive."
Kate Moon felt like there was stone in her throat, preventing her from speaking. Her mouth gaped and closed a plethora of questions tried to force their way out all at once. Finally, one shoved its way to the forefront. "How did you know it was me?" she asked, less confidently than she probably should have.
A small smile crossed the other man's face. "You look so much like your mother, Lenore. And not to mention that…unruly black hair. That is Edward for sure." He laughed a little as memories swirled behind his eyes.
Self-consciously, Kate tucked one of the aforementioned strands behind her ear. She glanced uncomfortably at Scarlett who stood closely to her right before returning her gaze to him. "You knew my parents well then?" she broached carefully. Kate needed to ask her questions without making it obvious that she was having trouble with her memory. The last thing they needed was him getting suspicious.
Warren LeMonferet cocked his head to the side, his neatly gelled back hair never moving. "Of course! I worked closely with Edward. I was by his side when he started this company. He invited me over for dinner more than once. Surely you remember?"
Midnight's Shadow felt a moment of panic, her blue eyes widening ever so slightly. Right off the bat, she had asked the wrong question. What was she supposed to do now? Just laugh it off and say "of course she did?" If she couldn't get the most basic question answered how was she going to make it through this? Was she just going to be nodding along with everything he said now, pretending to know what he was talking about? What if he asked her a specific question? What was she supposed to do then?
These thoughts swarmed her mind for an instant before she saw the CEO shrug his shoulders. "Ah. What am I saying? You were so young. Of course you wouldn't," he spoke with that winning smile of his.
Slowly, Kate Moon released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. She could feel the tension in the air from her teammates release as well.
Warren made his way past Heavy Duty, making his way over to his massive desk. "Come," he gestured, beckoning them to follow him. "Come and sit."
With wary glances, the Joes complied with his request and made their way over to the two expensive looking armchairs positioned in front of the desk. Kate and Scarlett claimed the chairs, their weight sinking comfortably into the plush fabric. Breaker took up a position behind her while Heavy decided to stand behind Scarlett, his hard eyes never leaving the other man.
The tension was palpable in the room but Warren hardly seemed to notice. If he did, he was certainly not addressing it. His pearly white smile on his face, he took a seat in his large leather office chair. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips as his eyes shifted to lock onto Midnight's Shadow's face. "I have to admit, the secrecy with which Hawk set up the meeting had me curious. Now I feel like I see why," he stated in a thoughtful tone. His face softened, his hands knitting together on his cherry wood desk. "Where have you been Kate? Where is your father?"
There was the loaded question. She could hear a sharp intake of breath from Breaker behind her. Kate glanced at Scarlett and Heavy. The large man flicked his eyes over to her before looking at Warren once more, clearly not trusting him for a second. Scarlett's face was blank, giving nothing away like the professional she was. They couldn't give her any advice now without him getting suspicious. She was on her own now and needed to make her own executive decisions. Kate just hoped that they were the right ones.
She reminded herself what they had discussed in the lobby. Don't reveal her name. That was obviously out the window at this point. They don't know what Warren knows or if he is involved somehow. She couldn't risk giving too much information for him to use. He had already been leading this meeting by asking all of the questions. She needed to turn this around and play her hand carefully. Kate had her next move ready.
As if she had been in this office a million times before, Kate Moon leaned casually back in her seat. Her arms came up to rest on the arm rests, her posture open and welcoming, displaying that she had nothing to hide. "Unfortunately, I can't answer either of those questions for you," she said very simply. Kate could hear Breaker shifting on his feet nervously. The dark haired woman could feel Scarlett looking at her out of the corner of her eye, wondering what she was doing. For effect, Midnight's Shadow leaned forward in her chair, clasping her hands in front of her and her eyes locked on the man before her. "You see, I have lost my memory. So I don't remember anything."
The CEO looked at her, perplexed. "Amnesia?" he inquired, the incredulity not masking in his voice.
Midnight's Shadow nodded. "Hence the meeting. We're trying to retrace my steps. Since this was the last trace of me, we thought we'd start with my parents and the company my father started. This was my hometown after all. Perhaps you could shed some insight since you were so close with us," she said, a sweet smile on her face, almost daring him to lie to her. She could feel the other Joe's attention riveted on her as the kept their gaze focused forward, wondering why Kate had just revealed her biggest secret. But the dark haired woman kept her attention focused on the man before her: Warren LeMonferet.
Surprise was evident on his features as he looked at her. He searched her face, though she wasn't sure what for. To see if Kate was joking perhaps? To see if she was an imposter and he was mistaken? After a moment he pushed away from his desk and rose to his full height. His hand rubbed her forehead, clearly still trying to process and he walked around the side of his desk slowly, heading for a wet bar kept along the wall. "You'll understand if I find this hard to believe," he said over his shoulder. He reached the bar and grabbed a crystal decanter. A small scotch glass was placed in front of him with a barely audible clack. Gripping the container, he began to gingerly pour it into the cup. When he was about two fingers deep, he set the decanter back down, replaced the cap, and took a small sip of his drink. Kate couldn't remember tasting scotch before but something inside her cringed just seeing him drink it. Warren turned around after being lost in thought for a moment, remembering that they were still there. He gestured with his glass to the group in front of him. "Can I interest you in any of my stock?" he offered. Collectively, the Alpha Team shook their heads. "Shame. More for me then," he smiled before he took another long sip of his drink before heading back to his chair.
Midnight's Shadow eyed him warily. This was a change in demeanor from his earlier behavior had her thrown a little bit. He was no longer the photo ready CEO of a multimillion dollar company. Now, he seemed distant and thoughtful, his smile no longer reaching his eyes. If this was some new tactic on his part, Kate refused to play his game.
Finally, after one more sip, Warren set his glass on the desk. Leaning forward in his chair, the older man folded his hands together and looked Kate square in the eye. "What would you like to know?"
Shadow was taken a bit aback, though she hid surprise. It was going to be that easy? She could just ask and he would answer? There had to be some catch – some hidden angle he had yet to play. After all the build up to this meeting that she had, Kate could actually get some answers from someone who knew her?
She carefully considered her questions, placing them neatly in the order she wanted to ask them. "Tell me about my father. How long have you know him?"
Warren sighed as he leaned back in his chair, taking his scotch with him. He sipped it thoughtfully, looking out the windows to his right over the city of London. "I met Edward in college. We attended University together. He was brilliant – top of his class in everything he did. It all seemed to come naturally. Tried his hands at sports – was the best at rugby. He had a gift with knowing just how to take down an opponent." Another sip of scotch. "I wasn't as gifted as he was – mostly riding on his coattails. We graduated together and began searching for work which wasn't hard to find. Engineers." Warren scoffed a little at that. "Edward didn't like the work we were doing. Found it too easy – boring. He needed a challenge. Some riddle to solve. Well, he had ideas of his own."
Warren turned his attention back to Kate as he set his glass onto his desk once more. "Edward wanted to start his own company, developing new technology. He wanted to be at the 'forefront of the new future we would make,' he would say. He wanted me to work with him. I have no idea where he found the funds – he was charismatic I suppose – but he did it. Within a few years, Moon Industries had taken off and already had more than a few high profile clients."
"I bet something like that earned him a few enemies," Breaker commented, speaking up for the first time.
"Nothing more than you would expect. Sure, there was the hate mail and threats that came in daily. Not everyone approved of the future," Warren stated bluntly. His eyes seemed to be a bit glazed over. Kate wondered if it was because he was reliving memories or because the alcohol was getting to him.
Scarlett was the next one to ask a question. "Why was he receiving threats?"
"Change is difficult for everyone to accept. Not everyone can understand how a newly developed gun and innovate how wars are fought and won. And how they can save lives." He seemed to dodge the question, not wanting to answer it directly. Maybe it was as simple as needing to protect company interests and projects still under development. Then again, maybe it wasn't.
"What about my mother?" Kate asked next, her knuckles turning white. "What can you tell me about her?"
As he had before, the CEO let out a long sigh. "Ah, Len. Your father met her at a pub. We had gone out for a few pints and the old klutz turned and spilled his beer all over her. She turned and walloped him right on the nose." This elicited a chuckle from Warren. "Unlucky for your father, she had been on date and he wasn't so forgiving. Threatened to take it out in the street. Ed refused and tried to buy him a beer to calm him down. Didn't work but it was worth a shot. Bloody idiot got beaten half to death before we could pry the other man off of him. Now, as you can imagine, after that display, Lenore was none too pleased with her beau. We learned later it was their first date! Can you imagine?" he laughed. "Your father was taken to the hospital and received a few stitches. Your mother went to visit him to apologize and the rest is history. Ed still has a scar right above his right eyebrow from that night." Warren gestured to his own eyebrow to demonstrate. "He said it was his most prized possession."
Midnight's Shadow listened intently, soaking up each word as gospel. Her eyes were alight as she imagined the scene, a small smile playing on her lips. "But what was she like?" the dark haired woman inquired further, her face expectant.
"Well, if I had one thing to say about her it would be how fierce she was. Lenore didn't take crap from anyone, as you probably surmised from the story of how they met. But she was also very kind. The woman couldn't cook to save her life but her fingers flew on the ivory keys of a piano like they were always meant to be there. She was always more musically inclined, that one." He nodded towards Kate. "If I remember right, she was teaching you to play piano before she…" He trailed off, clearly thinking about the accident.
"Is there anything you can tell us about the accident?" Scarlett prodded. "Was there anything going on in the days leading up to the accident?
Warren LeMonferet shook his head, his expression somber. He took another long sip of his scotch. "I've reviewed it so many times in my head since then. I never saw anything. Ed came into work as usual. We were working on a new project together when he got the call. He raced to the hospital but it was too late. She died moments before he got there." Another long sip of scotch. "From what I understand, another driver was so pumped full of alcohol at 3 in the afternoon that they couldn't see straight. They turned the wrong way down a street and hit Lenore's car at 65 miles per hour. There was nothing left of either car. The other driver was killed as well." He pursed his lips before continuing. "Your father didn't take that well, as you can understand."
"When we looked at the story online, it said something about Edward becoming unhinged – thinking someone was after him," Heavy said in his deep baritone.
"He wasn't unhinged!" Warrant declared immediately, his tone defensive. "The man was grieving. He needed someone to blame and they were no longer there." He sighed. "I tried to talk to him but he just pulled away after that day. He didn't interact with anyone. And then, a few months after Lenore died, I find out that he had sold the company to an anonymous party and put me in charge of the company. Then, without a word, he took you and vanished. I haven't heard from or seen you since."
"If it was just a matter of them getting up and moving away, why were you surprised to see Kate? Why were you surprised to see her alive?" Heavy Duty asked.
Warren raked his hands through his hair. "At first, I thought it was Edward just wanted a change of scenery – to get away from the memory of Lenore. But his ravings started to get to me. What if someone was after him? What if he hadn't been leaving by choice and someone else had set this up? They had left the resignation letter and sold the company in his name. Maybe they made him sell it to themselves. Maybe they're the mysterious buyer."
"Do you have any proof to back this theory up? I mean, you're in charge of this company right? You should know who owns it?" Breaker asked.
"Unfortunately, being CEO doesn't give you access to all the secrets. And that one remains hidden, even from me," Warren said, his face contorting in frustration at the memory.
"But you tried," Scarlett asked further.
"Of course I did! I wasn't going to let some stranger take over to company without knowing who it was," the older man exclaimed. "But after all my digging, I came up empty handed. Whoever owns the company is a ghost."
Midnight's Shadow remained quiet as she pondered the information she had received. It was so much to take in at once. Her blue eyes were downcast to her clasped hands and she struggled to process the influx of information as it came. The other Joes continued to ask probing questions to the CEO but she couldn't even focus anymore.
After about another 10 minutes of back and forth, the Alpha seemed to be satisfied that they had gleaned all the information they could from the CEO of Moon Industries. Scarlett rose to her feet, Midnight's Shadow mechanically mimicking her movement and standing as well. "Thank you for your assistance but I think that will be all for today. We will be taking our leave now." The red head reached a hand over and put it on Kate's back and began to turn her to head out the door, the others following suit.
"Kate?"
Midnight's Shadow stopped and looked over at the CEO, still sitting in his desk. He seemed smaller to her now than he did before when he walked up to them so confidently in the lobby. The smile was gone and replaced with scotch. Warren seemed to be slumped forward in his seat, looking mildly defeated – or so it seemed to her. It could always be an act or simply the alcohol.
"I…," he trailed off for a moment, his eyes glazing over for a moment. "I wish you all the best in your search."
Kate could only manage a stiff nod before she turned and disappeared through the door. Scarlett stayed close to her side as they reached the elevator, her hand still firmly on her back in a comforting gesture. "What do you think?" she asked quietly, not looking at her.
"I don't trust him."
A/N: Another chapter done! I'd be interested to hear what your thoughts are on this meeting. Do you think Warren is simply the mourning friend who was left behind? Or do you think that he is involved somehow? Is he hiding something?
I'd love to hear what you think! Please leave a review with any theories or comments you have. They are immensely appreciated!
FYI: I think I'm going to start having posting days. It'll make it easier for guest readers to keep track of updates and it'll also give me a goal to work towards. I'm thinking that I'll have Sundays be my posting day after this update. I may not have anything done by this weekend because I'm trying to work on the other fanfics I neglected during my unintentional hiatus but I should by next week. Feel free to annoy me with PMs or reviews if I'm not true to my word!
Thank you to all my loyal followers and favorites! See you next week!