Losing Balance
by Lionel

chapter 29

By the time Alexis and Lorenzo reached the parking lot and her car, Alexis was fuming. Mindful of Helena's prying eyes, she had tried to keep her temper in check on the walk from the playground, but the effort of holding her tongue had only increased her agitation. Standing in front of her car, she fumbled for her keys, alternately glaring at Lorenzo and looking through her purse. Finally she found the keys and focused the full intensity of her anger on him. With one hand on her hip, she stared at him, mouth open in disbelief, searching for the words to unleash the tirade that was brewing.

Lorenzo put one hand on her arm and tried to steer Alexis away from her car and toward a black limousine parked nearby. "We should take my car," he said.

Alexis jerked her arm away from Lorenzo. "I can drive myself."

Lorenzo sighed with exaggerated patience. "I know you can, Alexis, but it makes more sense to take the limousine. We're going to a business meeting together. And if my men go with you in your car, Helena will realize that they're protecting you." Before he had finished speaking, Alexis had already turned away from him and started walking toward his limousine, acceding to his logic but no less annoyed. "And this way you can concentrate on yelling at me," Lorenzo added with a smirk, following after her.

Once they were seated in the back of the limousine, Alexis crossed her arms and stared out the window, shaking her head slightly. Periodically she looked over at Lorenzo, her eyes narrowed in appalled disbelief, and shook her head more vigorously. When the car began to move, she ran her tongue over her lips and opened her mouth as if finally ready to articulate her anger, but still no words came out.

Lorenzo watched with a mix of amusement and nervous anticipation. "If you're not going to yell at me, maybe you should look over these papers," he ventured, a slight smile tugging at his lips despite his efforts. Lorenzo held out a three-inch stack of folders. "These are the materials for the board meeting. I'm planning to bid on some assets ELQ is divesting."

Alexis took the papers he held out and weighed them in her hand. Then she threw them as hard as she could onto Lorenzo's lap. "I've already seen them, thanks. Jax asked me to review them for him. Which is just one of the reasons why I'm conflicted out of this."

Lorenzo winced slightly and moved the papers off his lap. "I'm sure Jax won't mind once you explain about Helena. He can waive the conflict of interest, right?"

"Sure, Jax can. But I don't think the rest of the board will be so accommodating. I've represented most of them - and ELQ -- at one time or another." Alexis sighed wearily and shook her head. "This is really not amusing, Lorenzo. I can't be your lawyer. I can't afford to be associated with you. I've explained this over and over."

"I know." Lorenzo erased all traces of the smirk from his face and took her hand in a gesture of conciliation. "But I don't know what other choice we have if we don't want Helena to know we're working together yet."

"I know, I know. I understand that, Lorenzo. I really don't like it, but I understand it. But ELQ? ELQ?" Her voice rose and she pulled her hand away from Lorenzo's and threw it down. "Do you understand what kind of position you're putting me in?"

"Helena heard you mention Corinthos," Lorenzo said patiently. "The last thing you need is Helena wondering about your involvement with him."

"Couldn't you come up with something else? Wasn't there anything else you could have been working on with Sonny?"

Lorenzo shrugged. "This had the truth in its favor, Alexis. The fact is that I am planning to go to the ELQ meeting and Sonny is not only on the board but likely to be interested in the same assets I am. And I didn't want to leave you alone with Helena. I'm sorry if this meeting is going to make you uncomfortable, but I don't know what other choice we had."

Alexis rubbed her face in frustration. "It's not about being uncomfortable, Lorenzo. Do you understand who will be there? I cannot walk in there as your attorney."

Lorenzo frowned slightly. Alexis was obviously distressed, but her concerns seemed overblown to him. "Is it possible that you're being overly sensitive about this, Alexis?" he asked carefully. "Nothing much is going to happen at this meeting. ELQ will give a boring presentation to all the bidders about the assets it's selling, there will be a basic Q&A, and that's about it. You don't have to say a word. You can be just another lawyer fading into the background."

Alexis looked at him in disbelief. "You don't know these people, Lorenzo. I have a bit of personal history here. Edward and Ned and Skye have already tried to take Kristina away from me. I can only imagine what Sonny would do if he knew. I can't give them this kind of ammunition."

The genuine fear on her face touched Lorenzo and forced him to concede. "Okay," he said quietly. Her arm rested on her lap, and Lorenzo touched the back of her forearm gently in a gesture of understanding. His hand slipped around her wrist and their hands clasped together of their own accord. "Then how do you want to handle it? Should I go to the meeting alone? I can tell Helena that you had something else to attend to."

Alexis closed her eyes and felt the heat from Lorenzo's hand rush through her. She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and looked out the window. "I wonder why Helena is going to be at ELQ."

"She's probably interested in something that ELQ is selling," Lorenzo said in a neutral tone.

Still looking out the window, Alexis's shoulders dropped in resignation. "We'd better find out what that is." After another minute Alexis turned back to Lorenzo, and then her eyes fell to their joined hands. "I need to call Jax and warn him that I'll be at the meeting."

Alexis freed her hand from Lorenzo's grasp and took out her phone. She dialed Jax's cell, but there was no answer. "Jax, it's Alexis," she began when his voicemail picked up. She squeezed her eyes closed as if that might deflect some of the awkwardness she felt. "Um, I'm going to be at the ELQ meeting today as Lorenzo's lawyer. It's a long story, but Helena will be there and she needs to think that I'm working for Lorenzo. I didn't want this to catch you by surprise. It could get pretty ugly, and I don't think I can take it if you're mad at me, too. I hope you get this. Bye."

Alexis closed her cell phone and put it back in her purse, then leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes. Lorenzo watched in silence. The intimacy and affection between Jax and Alexis, obvious even in a one-sided phone message, left him jealous and uneasy. A part of him wanted to fight it, to find some way to undercut Jax or sully him in Alexis's eyes. A part of him wanted to abandon any pretense of gentlemanly restraint and just kiss her right there, to catch her by surprise, to pull her to him and unleash the full force of his passion. He was almost certain that Alexis wouldn't be able to - wouldn't want to -- turn back. They could cut this agonizing mating dance short and deal with the consequences later. But he wanted more than her body, he wanted all of her, and a voice somewhere told him that he needed to do this the right way.

Alexis's eyes opened and she startled slightly at the intensity and tumult on Lorenzo's face as he watched her. Caught off guard, Lorenzo quickly looked away. "You should probably tell me a little bit about your business with ELQ," Alexis said, her voice cracking slightly. "Which assets you're interested in, what sort of terms you're looking for, what corporate entity will be the buyer. I assume you have clean companies you use for this sort of thing." Alexis gritted her teeth. She had hoped to be finished with clients who raised these sorts of questions.

Lorenzo nodded. "Of course." For the next ten minutes they talked business, until the limousine pulled up at the main entrance to ELQ headquarters and they stepped out.

Alexis and Lorenzo checked in at the main security desk and rode in the elevator alone to the top floor, where the executive conference rooms were. Just before the elevator reached their stop, Lorenzo leaned forward and pressed the emergency stop button. The elevator jerked to a halt, and Alexis had to grab Lorenzo's arm to steady herself. Once she had regained her balance, she quickly pulled her hand away and eyed him warily. Being alone in an elevator with Lorenzo made her very, very uncomfortable.

"Why did you do that?" she asked nervously.

"Because I'm not ready," Lorenzo said, his jaw tight and his voice low. "When we go in there, I'm supposed to hate you. I'm supposed to be using you. It's hard for me to find those feelings when all I want to do is kiss you."

Alexis swallowed hard. "Would it help if I slap you or something?"

"No. Just promise me that you'll remember that it's just pretend. No matter how cold or cruel I am in there. Can you do that?" Lorenzo struggled to contain himself. He wanted to touch her cheek, her hand, anywhere, to kiss her, to do something that would leave a trace, leave a sense memory of his heat that would stay with her, but he didn't dare. He wasn't at all certain that they could conceal their attraction in front of these people.

Alexis nodded. "I'll remember."

Lorenzo released the stop button and the elevator moved again. When the doors opened on the top floor, they stepped out into a well-appointed reception area. Lorenzo approached the desk and announced them to the receptionist. "I'm Lorenzo Alcazar and this is my attorney, Alexis Davis. I believe I'm expected." His manner was cool and intimidating.

"Yes, Mr. Alcazar. Right this way." The woman barely looked at Alexis. "The board has finished its private meetings and the rest of the participants are already here, so the presentation should begin shortly." She led them down a hallway that was surprisingly unchanged from the last time Alexis had been there. The furnishings were beginning to look a little worn, Alexis thought.

When they reached the large conference room at the end of the hallway, the receptionist stepped inside the open door. "Mr. Alcazar and his counsel have arrived," she announced. Lorenzo stood back politely to allow Alexis to enter first. Alexis took a deep breath and walked in the room, her eyes purposefully avoiding the surprised gaze of the people gathered at the conference table. She stopped, waiting for Lorenzo to enter, and then followed him to the table and sat down.

chapter 30