He shook his head and smiled as he was brought back to the present. She came to the funeral. She was there for him, and he loved her all the more for it. They were friends now, not as close, but still friendly enough. She would send him emails from school and he would write back talking about whatever was going on in their sleepy town of Dale City, Virginia, as well as what was happening to their friends and who was moving and who had come back. He enjoyed the way she would write about her classes, which ones were easy, and which were harder for her, and the way men seemed to always want to ask her out and not ask her opinions. She had gone off to New York after high school. She always dreamed of going there, and since her goal was Columbia Law, she thought her best option was doing her undergraduate work there as well. Brienne always worked hard to do well. Alex would frequently ask her if she needed anything and she always told him no. She was defiant and determined to succeed. He admired that in her. He went to college locally at Mary Washington and studied Business. He didn't have a clue what he wanted to do and his father told him it was a great backup for whenever he figured it out. Today, he was thankful for that. Seeing Brienne yesterday after such a long time felt good. Gone were the braids and freckles, and in their place, was a sophisticated woman. She was still as beautiful as the day he met her. He never even had a chance to speak with her though. She gave him a wave at one point, and he smiled back.
She was rarely in town, and when she was, he always tried to make time for her. They would usually eat Chinese take-out and laugh and listen to music from the year they graduated. The last time she visited was over two years ago. Even then, she hadn't strayed much from The Brienne of middle school. It was obvious something changed. Yesterday, he was surrounded by his parents' friends and business associates. By the time he was able to get a few moments alone, she disappeared. It would be easy to find her. Still in the same house, her father lived down the street. They lived in the cul-de-sac of the neighborhood off the loop that led to his house. Alex's parents were wealthy and enjoyed living in a mansion. They planned to have more children but it never came to pass. Brienne's house was part of the mill town and he knew he would find her there. He had every intention of going to see her tonight. After this meeting of course. He stood and grabbed his paperwork, took a deep breath, and headed down the corridor. He could do this. Two hours later, Alex pulled forcefully on the tie at his throat. What a mess. The merger was two days away when his parents were killed. He wanted to go home and grieve but this paperwork had to be done before something, or someone, showed up to rock the proverbial boat. He spent two hours being briefed about acquisitions and merger paperwork.
The logistics of operations and the appointing of officers to manage the foreign accounts was making his head spin, but he had to learn every detail of the business. The only person he trusted was Jameson, who was his father's trusted advisor and best friend. He was the one who prepped him for today and the one who would help him take the business to the next level. Alex would be fine, he had no other choice. Alex headed home to organize the pieces of his life he could still control and to change and relax before tackling the next big thing that would inevitably come up. The driver pulled up to the gate and they moved on until they rounded the front of the house. Not really one for the rules, Alex jumped out of the car as they stopped. He refused to wait for the chauffeur to open the door for him. He was capable and refused to follow all of the rules.