Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(90)
She stared at her tea cup. “I don’t know if it’s enough.”
He took a sip from his now cold tea, feeling guilty that he hoped desperately it was not.
Chapter 27
Lionel snuffed out the cigarette he was smoking with his left foot as he looked at the time on his watch again. Nine twenty-two. Nathaniel was making him wait yet again. He hated it when he did that. He stared at his boss’s office door impatiently, debating on what the ramifications would be if he just strolled in there alone and waited for him on the leather couch. After a few moments, he quickly decided not to press his luck. Nathaniel was already going to be unhappy with his report and Lionel did not need to piss him off any further than was necessary tonight.
He heard a pair of loud footsteps coming down the hall. Nathaniel came walking in with his assistant Kayla. It was silent, but he was obviously discussing serious matters telepathically with her. Nathaniel just nodded his head in greeting to Lionel as he brushed past him and walked straight into his office. He followed suit, sneaking in behind him before the door slammed shut.
Lionel took his normal seat in the ergonomic chair that was on the other side of a large mahogany desk and looked at his boss appraisingly. Nathaniel looked to be in a serious mood, but that was par for the course with him in private. It was rare when something made him truly happy. Yet, Lionel, playing the lapdog to Nathaniel for years, was very rarely on the receiving end of his anger. Lionel wanted to keep it that way, but he feared that tonight, that would not be the case.
He sat there for another twenty minutes while Nathaniel finished up business with his assistant. When their work was complete, she silently took a confidential folder in her hands and got up to leave. Kayla glowered at him as she exited the room as silently as they entered. They were never really on the best of terms. Kayla desperately sought the respect that Nathaniel gave Lionel and was continually frustrated when Nathaniel showed his preference time and again for him. Once the door was shut, Nathaniel leaned back in his chair, placing his sole attention on Lionel.
“What news do you have for me, Lionel?”
“I made contact with your son as you requested.”
Nathaniel looked eagerly at him. Nathaniel was a larger than life persona. His good looks and charisma made him a leader that people in the Cine Tofa eagerly followed. It was almost cult like in his opinion. Nathaniel spoke, people listened. Nathaniel ordered, people obeyed. His boss loved running the show, loved people loving him.
His public persona was affable and kind. It was what drew people naturally to him. People wanted a person who took charge, and Nathaniel was more than happy to take on that role for them. Although he would never admit this to a soul, Lionel personally thought that he was smarter than his boss and more fit for the role, but he knew people found his persona quirky and often times intimidating. It did not help his case that Nathaniel was naturally a stronger Actual.
Nathaniel had it all. He got whatever it was he wanted. Money, Power, and women all were part of the package deal of being head of the Cine Tofa. It wasn’t unusual for his friend to be off with one of his many mistresses that he kept around to keep him distracted. People gave money to him willingly and if Nathaniel got his way, in only a few short years after the Inception, he would have all the power he could ever dream of. Nathaniel had it all. Well, had it all, almost.
His chief had plans for his heir to take over the family business. Garrett was his only child and was just as charming and motivating as his father. If his mother had not had a change of heart and moved over to the Trust, Garrett would be second in command right this moment, ready to take over the reins any second that was needed.
Instead, his mother had fled with Garrett in the middle of the night when Garrett was six years old. They moved to Colorado, which at that time was a safe zone to Trust members as deemed by an old treaty agreement. At that point, the Trust was stronger than the Cine Tofa and had larger numbers so the father could not go after the son. Nathaniel was furious at his heir being taken away and as the years neglected to produce another child, Nathaniel became more and more desperate for his only son to be back in his clutches. It was then that Lionel, who was already living a double life, was asked to further infiltrate the Trust and keep tabs on the prodigal son.
His mother had changed Garrett’s last name to her maiden name, Stevens. She did not lie to him about who his father was, but was not forthcoming either. Very few people in the Trust know the truth about Garrett’s identity. When Mary Livingston came to Jonathan McPherson, her friend since childhood, begging him to let her son and her live on Trust land, outside of the persecution of the Cine Tofa, Jonathan, being the conscious person he is, agreed. The only concession he made is that their true identities remain a secret for their safety within the Trust. Mary readily agreed.