Ch 544 – Rejecting Fame

As Lord of the Moon Palace, Alex was on an equal footing with Spencer. But he liked the other man, so he didn't refuse the position of envoy Spencer had thrust upon him. After all, Spencer had been very generous with him, and Alex appreciated him promoting Will.

"Alex, you prefer to live a life of ease. Am I right?" Spencer asked, walking around.

Alex shrugged. He decided this was as good a time as any to ask the question that had been on his mind since the battle at the arena. "Why did you attack all those men at Canfield arena?"

Spencer turned around and smiled at him. "Alex, I understand if you think what I did was cruel, but my actions were calculated. Fear is what protects you from revenge. People will always underestimate your skills because those skills are beyond their comprehension. But seeing brutality with their own eyes will put the fear of God in them." He shook his head. "Sometimes you have to display your strength to prevent future attacks. Do you understand?"

Alex sighed. "Yes."

"I'll be leaving Baltimore later," Spencer told him, sitting down. "It'll be six months until we meet again."

"Are you going far?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I'm going home." Spencer's voice grew wistful. "I need to visit an old friend whom I haven't heard from in many years."

Spencer left, and Alex spent the rest of the day listening to music and getting drunk.

He eventually made it back to the Fairfax compound. Debbie had returned from the Appalachian Alliance, and she made chicken noodle soup and placed it on the table for him. Alex washed his hands, and then he turned to Debbie and asked, "Should we build a house? I'd like to have a fixed place to come home to." Then he picked up his spoon and began slurping the warm soup.

"Well, I don't have any money, so it's up to you," she replied, winking at him.

**

The next day, after Debbie had returned to the Appalachian Alliance, Alex went for a walk along the streets. His phone rang, and he fumbled to retrieve it from his pocket, noticing Will was the one calling him.

"Hi, Alex," Will said. "Where are you?"

Alex told him what cross-section he could find him on.

"Okay, I'll pick you up," Will said. "I want to talk to you about something."

After hanging up the phone, Alex glanced at a man walking in his direction, wearing cheap sunglasses and an ill-fitted gray suit, and he was surprised when the man handed him a flyer.

"Hello, sir," the man said. "Have you heard of Woodville Complex? It's an upscale community with unique homes. Are you in the market for a house?"

"Cole, you idiot," his sales director said, walking up behind him. "This guy looks like he can't afford a haircut, let alone a house. Don't waste your time."

The salesman beside him looked clean-cut and young, and he was sweating very little despite the hot and humid weather.

The sales director pointed at Alex and said, "How many times do I have to tell you? Only hand flyers to people who can pay the bills. Look at his clothes and his age. Does he look like a man who can afford to buy a house?"

Cole couldn't argue with his boss, but he didn't want to offend Alex any further. This was his first day at work, and he couldn't afford to be fired. Before getting this job, he had been looking for work for months and he had already run through all his savings.

"You thought he could afford a house?" the sales director asked Cole, shaking his head. "The key to knowing whether a man has money is to look at his shoes. Did you look at his shoes? Do they look expensive? Go and find somebody else to sell houses to!"

Cole smiled at Alex politely and then slowly backed away.

"Give that back to me," the sales director said, snatching the flyer out of Alex's hand. "That's not for someone like you. We both know you can't afford one of our houses."

Alex wasn't angry, even though he was in the market to buy a house. He simply ignored the sales director and walked into a café.

He wasn't hungry, but he bought a croissant anyway, killing time before Will came to pick him up. So he sat in the café, picked at his food, and waited.

"I'm sorry for what my boss said. I hope he didn't offend you."

Alex turned around to see Cole standing behind him with a sympathetic look.

"He shouldn't have talked to you like that," Cole said, sounding sincere.

Alex smiled. "I'm curious. Why did you give me a flyer if you knew I wasn't a good target?"

"Well, a man's clothing doesn't always show the whole picture," Cole replied. "After all, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.