Page 59 of Axel

“He is so frustrating.”

“That he is.” Ellie wrapped her fingers around the cup.

“Are you staying?” She asked anxiously.

“I am.” Ellie sent her a whimsical smile. “Axel is…,” she searched for the appropriate word and could not seem to find one. “He is cautious.”

“But you love him.” She nodded in understanding. “He loves you too, but he does not know how to say the words.” She sighed sadly. “Do you know how long he is staying?”

Ellie shook her head. “He has not said anything to me.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I did cancel my trip to Europe.”

Caitlin sighed again. “I just hope he knows what he is doing.”

*****

He paced the length of the carpeted floor as he listened to the litany of complaints from his CFO. “I am telling you straight Axel, the project is a disaster, and the banks are murmuring about tax brackets and the viability of funding something that is going to take years to see any kind of returns.”

“You crunched the figures?”

“We did and does look bleak, but bankers have no imagination and are not willing to look at the long run.”

He stopped at the Louis V desk and rubbed his palm over the glossy surface, a frown on his forehead. He had his hands in many pies and sometimes it seemed as if he was constantly working. He had more money than he could ever spend in several lifetimes. He had it all, or so he would like to believe.

“Axel?”

“Yeah?”

“What would you like me to do?”

“Hold off on the financing for a bit. I need to think if I really want to go through with it. The board has been making some noises about overextending and I want to look into that.”

“When are you coming back?”

He pondered that for a minute and stared out the doorway in the direction of the sitting room where his mother had served breakfast.

“I am not certain. I will continue to monitor my mother’s progress from here and have a firsthand look at what’s happening with the renovations going on. I will let you know.” He hung up before the man could respond. Sitting on the edge of the desk, he rubbed the back of his neck slowly.

He was about to make another call when his phone rang again. Picking it up, he stared at the familiar number and contemplated not answering.

Pressing the green icon, he put it on speaker. “Serena.”

“Hi. I just heard about your mom and wanted to know how she is doing.”

He did not bother asking how she heard, because it had been leaked to the press. “She is doing better. Thanks for asking.”

“No problem.” She paused. “Axel, can we meet? I am free for several weeks, and really need to speak with you.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Please. I really want to clear the air.”

“I think we already did that.”

“Axel, I am asking you to meet with me and hear me out.”