Chapter 93: She Called?

Xavier was in the campus library the next afternoon when his phone rang.

Not a message. An actual call. From a number he recognised. Hale & Associates main line.

He stepped outside before answering. The courtyard was doing its ordinary afternoon thing around him. Students crossing between buildings, the cafeteria smell reaching him before he’d decided where to stand.

"Xavier Cole," he said.

"It’s Selene." A brief pause. "Selene Adler. From Hale & Associates."

She called, he thought. From the office line. Not her personal number. The office line gives her cover. Professional reason, professional channel. He kept his expression neutral even though nobody was watching. Smart.

"Selene," he said. Like he’d been expecting it.

"There’s a document from the Gerald Obi ownership transfer that Patricia’s office flagged," she said. "A minor discrepancy in the registration filing. It doesn’t affect the acquisition but it needs a signature correction before the end of the week." A pause. "Mr. Hale asked me to reach out directly since it’s time sensitive."

Vincent asked her, Xavier thought. Or she volunteered and attributed it to Vincent. He thought about the man’s quiet smile across the desk on Monday. Either way. She’s on the phone. That’s what matters.

"I can come in tomorrow morning," he said.

"Actually.." another pause, smaller than the first "The document just needs a signature. It doesn’t require a full meeting." A moment that was slightly longer than necessary. "I could bring it to you if that’s easier. I have a site visit in your area tomorrow afternoon."

She’s coming to me, Xavier thought. She found a reason to come to me.

"That works," he said. "2PM. Text me when you’re close."

"Okay," she said. "See you then."

She hung up.

Xavier stood outside the library for a moment with his phone in his hand.

She called from the office line, he thought. Professional cover. Site visit in my area. Convenient timing. He looked at the courtyard. Vincent’s words sitting in the back of everything. Up your game. She doesn’t respond to the standard approach. Might this just be it.

She’s making the first move, he thought. And doing it in a way that gives her complete deniability if she needs it.

Smart, he thought. Very smart.

He went back inside and sat at his table and opened his books and didn’t read a single word of them for the next twenty minutes.

She texted from a different number, he noted still thinking. Not the Hale & Associates line she called from earlier . He checked the contact. Personal number. She added my number to her personal phone.

Interesting, he thought. Very interesting. Make things much easier.

Selene texted a few hours later at 1:47PM.

Selene: nearby. Still okay for 2?

Xavier looked at the message from his corner table in the library.

She wants to come to my home, he thought. The hostel. Which tells her something about where I live that the Hale & Associates environment hadn’t.

He looked around the library. A few students scattered across the long tables. The particular quiet of a space that took reading seriously.

I should leave now, he thought. Go tidy up a bit before she gets there.

He packed his books quietly and stood up.

Xavier: Yes. I’ll send the address. Give me thirty minutes.

Selene: okay.

He sent the hostel address and closed the library app on his phone. Packed his bag and headed for the car park.

The Panamera started with its usual low sound. He pulled out of the campus car park and into the afternoon traffic.

Thirty minutes, he thought..Enough time to get back and make the place presentable. But I need to stop to get gas first.

He pulled into a fuel station two blocks from the hostel. Got out. Started filling the tank.

[ REBATE SYSTEM ]

Transaction Detected: $85 spent on fuel

Base Multiplier (Tier 2): 2x

Total Return: $170

[ Net Balance: $4,438,929.00 → $4,439,099.00 ]

He replaced the nozzle and got back in.

Even fuel pays me back, he thought. Every single time.

He pulled up outside the hostel two minutes later. Locked the car. Took the stairs quickly.

Inside the apartment he looked around properly. Desk already clean. MacBook closed. Speaker in the corner. The Panamera keys he dropped on the side table where he always left them.

Not bad, he thought. Straighten the chair. Move the empty water bottle off the desk. That’s about all it needs.

He did both in under a minute.

Let her see it as it is, he decided. No performance. Just the space.

He sat at the desk and waited.

The knock came at 2:03PM.

He opened the door.

Selene Adler was standing in his corridor in a different blazer from the ones he’d seen at the office. Burgundy this time, less formal than her boardroom presentation, the kind of thing someone wore to a site visit. Hair down today which changed the whole architecture of how she looked. The same sharp eyes. A slim folder in one hand.

She looked at him. Then past him at the room behind him.

He stepped aside. She came in.

She looked around the apartment with the quiet inventory she brought to everything. The desk, the MacBook, the speaker, the Panamera keys on the side table. Taking it in without performing the fact that she was taking it in.

She’s recalibrating, he thought. The suit and the car and the Hale & Associates environment built one picture. This room is adding to it.

"Nice space," she said. Neutrally. Not a compliment. An observation.

"It works," he said.

She opened the folder on the desk. The document was exactly what she’d described. A single page, one signature line, ten seconds of actual work.

She pointed to the relevant line. He signed.

She closed the folder.

Neither of them moved toward the door.

She’s not leaving, he noted. Document done. Door right there. She’s not moving toward it.

"You drove here," he said.

"Site visit two blocks over," she said. "I walked from there."

"I’ll drive you back," he said.