Alex was already home when the call came in.
The mansion felt too quiet for his liking.He had loosened his tie, jacket discarded somewhere he couldn't remember leaving it, and he stood by the glass doors that overlooked the pool, staring at water that hadn't been disturbed all day.
His phone buzzed on the counter.
Nicole.
He frowned slightly before answering. "Hey."
"Hey," she said, but her voice wasn't casual. It never was when she opened like that. "I stopped by earlier."
He straightened without meaning to. "Stopped by where?"
"The house," she said. "This house. You weren't around."
"I was out."
"I figured," she replied. "But you weren't at the office either."
He walked away from the glass, picked up the phone properly this time. "I didn't go in today."
"I know," she said. "I checked."
That made him pause. He leaned against the counter, suddenly aware of how carefully she was speaking.
"And," she continued, "I called your dad. He didn't know where you were."
