Mr. Big Deal (Mr. Big 4)

I wentto the apartment and had a drink of water before going to bed to help dilute the alcohol I’d consumed over the course of the evening — far more than I usually would drink when I was with Alexa or my own friends and family. I fell asleep quickly and when the phone rang in the middle of the night, the first thing I thought of was that something happened to either Leif or Alexa. I jerked awake and grabbed my cell.

It was Gord from the security service.

“Gord, what is it?”

“Sorry to wake you, Sir, but I thought you’d want to know. We had an intruder on the property, but I was able to chase him off before he was able to break in or do any damage. I called police and they are looking for him and will canvass the area in the morning to check on any security cam footage that might help identify him.”

“Thanks for calling. How is Mrs. Marshall?”

“She’s fine. A bit shaken, as you can understand, but she has her friends with her right now and seems fine.”

“Good. I’ll be on my way home in five. And Gord? Thanks for looking after my family.”

“No thanks required, Sir. This is my job.”

“Still, I’m glad we had you there. Who knows what might have happened if they were alone?”

“I’m glad I was here,” Gord said and ended the call.

I called Alexa right away, wanting to connect with her, see how she was doing and let her know I was on my way. Of course, she protested that I should stay at the apartment and sleep in, but there was no way I could expect to fall back asleep at that point. I would rather take the limo service home and be with her and Leif than stay in the city.

After I convinced her that it was my choice and I was on my way, and that she should just go to bed and not wait for me to return, I had a quick shower, dressed and then packed up my possessions. I went down to the parking garage where the limo was waiting. I sent a text to our hopeful angel investor, Tom Ellis of Ellis Investments, and his assistant, so they wouldn’t be surprised when they realized I’d left the city early and wouldn’t be meeting them for breakfast as we planned. We had discussed meeting in the morning, but surely an investor would understand.

As the limo drove off, I sent Adam an email explaining what happened and why I had to leave the city early.

I was sure he’d understand.