(BL)Alpha Made-Chapter 291: A leader who looks after his people

"Can I offer you anything to drink? Water? Coffee? Tea? Whiskey?" Mr. Kensington wasn’t going to let anyone say he was a bad host. Andrew let out a light laugh.

"Water works perfectly fine. I have to get back to work after this. Thankfully, the rest of my department is okay with me being here, and are helping me out because this is a family emergency." Andrew said as the two men settled down in Mr. Kensington’s office.

It wasn’t a large space by any means, but it wasn’t small either. He had a few leather chairs, a small table, his desk and a few bookshelves in here as well. It wasn’t large by any means, but he certainly made it feel like home. A few photos decorated the walls. Degrees, the normal things, as well as a few photos of him with family, as well as a photo of what he assumed was his employees.

May was there, and she looked happy, content. Andrew smiled as he spotted that photo. It looked relatively recent, and Andrew was glad to see she was doing well.

His secretary came back with some drinks and Mr. Kensington noticed Andrew’s gaze.

"Ah. That’s from our manager’s retreat. I try to get a photo every year." He said fondly, leaning back in his chair and dropping some of the pretense. Andrew could feel the way the man was examining him, staring at him. "Dr. Knox, forgive the rudeness, but I was under the assumption that May had no other family to speak of outside of her children and husband?" Andrew felt his face heat.

He coughed, shifting in his seat to take a sip of his water to clear his throat.

"Yes. You would be correct. She has no other living relatives." Andrew confirmed and he nodded slowly.

"So you’ll understand why I’m a little cagey when a man suddenly shows up saying he’s speaking for her, correct?" Andrew nodded.

"Of course. I was honestly surprised you even decided to speak with me." Andrew told him. "I was prepared to wait until you realised May wasn’t coming in at all, and then call her, find her phone in her office, and then panic. Then you’d turn to the strange man in the lobby and see if he was speaking the truth." Andrew said and Mr. Kensington narrowed his gaze. "Before you go thinking I’m just some random guy, I would like to attempt to clear some of the suspicion you have of me." Andrew said.

He waited, seeing if the other man would protest, and when he did nothing but sat further back in his chair, Andrew let out a relieved sigh.

"I’m Andrew. I grew up next door to the Gates family. Richard and I are the same age, while Rose is older. I’ve known them pretty much my whole life. We lost contact after my Mom passed and it’s only recently that we’ve reconnected when I started working at the same company, in the same department as Richard, May’s son." Andrew told him and Mr. Kensington seemed to be listening. "Yesterday, something happened at work. I let Ford know right away, but..." Andrew scrunched up his face, unsure how much he could tell him. "It’s classified, so I’m hoping you won’t tell anyone, but Richard manifested yesterday." Mr. Kensington seemed shocked.

"What? Ricky did?" Andrew felt like he’d made the right call revealing that much information. Andrew nodded.

"Yes. You are aware of what kind of company we work for, yes?" Andrew asked and the other man nodded, shifting in his seat and the sudden news.

"I am aware. He works for a pharmaceutical company. My god. I can’t believe it. This late?" Andrew agreed. It was a late time to manifest. He could speak from personal experience.

"Yeah. This late. We’re all worried for him, and you can understand why May was a little out of sorts yesterday. So much so that she forgot her phone here. She won’t leave his side, and I can’t blame her. Rest assured, Richard is getting the best treatment out there, Mr. Beckett takes good care of his people. I too, recently manifested, and was taken care of by the Beckett family because of it." Andrew said, smiling, and that seemed to surprise Mr. Kensington.

"You? Recently manifested? But you’re..." He trailed off and Andrew let out a bark of laughter.

"Richard and I had more in common than you would think. We were both large betas, and that only made us grow closer as we grew up. Funnily enough, we both went into the sciences. Our backgrounds are a little different, and I am looking to expand my knowledge by going back to school, but yeah.

So, either way, I am here, if you’ll accept my words, to inform you that May is going to have to take an extended leave from work because of a family emergency. She felt terrible when she remembered she’d forgotten her phone, so if I could retrieve that for her as well, that would be delightful." Andrew told him, shifting in his seat, feeling all kinds of awkward as he felt the other man examine him. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

Andrew could feel that he hadn’t won the man over, not by a long shot. He was watching him, examining him, trying to see if there was a crack inside of him that he could exploit. This was one of the reasons why Andrew never went into sales. He didn’t have this side to him, and he didn’t like this kind of observation.

Unless it was for testing purposes. It felt like in a scientific setting it was a bit more honest.

"So, you’re the long lost almost second son of the Gates family?" Mr. Kensington asked and Andrew hesitated, before he nodded.

"I wouldn’t refer to myself that way, only because I don’t think May or Ford would do so. More like a first cousin." Andrew said in response and Mr. Kensington stared at him for a moment longer.

"Does Ford have his phone on him?" Andrew nodded, but raised his hands to halt him from that line of thinking.

"He does, but I would please ask that you don’t call them right now. They only recently fell asleep out of pure exhaustion, and I would like to let them rest a little longer. If you don’t want to trust my words completely, I have no right to complain. I can ask Ford to call you when he wakes up. How does that sound?" Andrew asked and Mr. Kensington’s lips turned up slightly.

"Alright, Dr. Knox, that sounds fairly agreeable. The company seems to be going out of their way quite a bit if they sent you to come here and inform us." Mr. Kensington said and Andrew felt his face warm slightly.

"Ah, well, it is a bit of a special situation. Richard is a family friend, and given that I know what it’s like to go through something like this I just...there were some exceptions made. Especially since Richard is good at his job. We, collectively, wouldn’t like anything to happen to his family because of something that was out of everyone’s control. It’s part of the mission statement of the company." Andrew said. He did know that was the case, but he felt a little strange saying it.

He didn’t want to reveal who he was in relation to everything, and he also didn’t think that it would be a good idea to let them know that May was now heavily related to a powerful family. Two, technically.

He didn’t want his life to affect May, especially without her knowledge. He didn’t think that was fair, and he didn’t want to interrupt her life that way. She was close to retirement here and he didn’t want to be the reason it got fucked up.

Mr. Kensington chuckled, shifting in his seat, staring at Andrew like he was looking right through him. Andrew shifted uncomfortably. He really didn’t deal with these types well. Probably why Maxwell had gotten to him so well once they met and Maxwell decided that they were going to be a thing.

"I see." That was all he said. The air hung with it, and Andrew shifted uncomfortably. He knew this was a power move done by him, but that didn’t mean he liked it. The silence dragged on for far too long until Andrew could pick up what sounded like another loud, booming voice and Mr. Kensington sighed. "We’ll have to cut this short unfortunately, Dr. Knox. My next appointment has arrived. I will wait for that call from Ford, and despite the strangeness of this situation, I am glad that I got to speak with you. Don’t be a stranger, and come over again sometime soon." Mr. Kensington said, getting to his feet.

Andrew followed him, taking the other man’s hand when he offered it and smiling with relief.

"Thank you for at least listening to me. I’ll get Ford to call you as soon as he can." Andrew confirmed and Mr. Kensington nodded.

"Do you have a business card?" He asked and Andrew froze. He didn’t. Shit. He hadn’t even considered that. Mr. Kensington laughed loudly at the shade Andrew turned and clapped Andrew on the shoulder. "It’s alright if you don’t. I was just curious." He said and Andrew swallowed as he nodded.

"It’s...I used to have them at my old company, I just haven’t gotten around to it with my new one. Apologies." Andrew muttered lamely as they headed for the door. Mr. Kensington opened it for him with a smile. It wasn’t a cold smile, but it certainly wasn’t an open one either. It kind of felt like he found Andrew amusing, like a cat would find a mouse.

Well, whatever made it easier for him to accept that he was speaking for May. Andrew didn’t care as long as that happened.

Andrew stepped out into the hallway, Mr. Kensington behind him and a loud voice spoke up, nearly startling Andrew out of his skin.

"Oh! It’s you!" The voice boomed, and Andrew turned, partially ready for the large man who hugged him nearly to death. Andrew wasn’t sure he’d met this man until he was able to get a good look at his face, and then a small little light lit up.

This was one of the men who Kim had introduced him to at Ben and Amir’s wedding. It was a bit of a blur, but he was one of the original investors to his Mom’s idea, her big plan. He remained on the board as a silent investor, but Kim had wanted Andrew to meet him. He was one of the few people who had sounded sincere when he told Andrew that he was sorry about his loss.

Andrew smiled, shaking the hand that was offered to him easily, while he could feel the stares of Mr. Kensington and the others who were in this office look at him. Andrew almost started sweating with the way that Mr. Kensington’s gaze drilled through him.

Well, a cat was going to be out of the bag. He hoped this didn’t affect May too badly.