Can't handle it

"I'm paying you for your troubles," Alexander said.

"Oh, wow," she scoffed and moved away from him. "Jeff is going to hear of this. Can't have you insulting me that way."

Alexander pocketed the money. While she continued to ramble on, he stepped out of the door. He met Olly carrying a tray of his "shakes" stopping only for Alexander to pass.

 Robert called immediately Alexander got into his car. Without any preamble, Alexander narrated everything that happened, and Robert let out a low whistle when he was done.

"A setup?" Robert asked.

"Exactly what Jeff needs to explain," Alexander said as he drove. His shirt was smelling of a strange perfume, Cupcake's perfume. He can't figure out why a single memory of last night didn't come through to him.

"Do you want me to come help you beat him up?" Robert suggested. "Say the word, and I'll have Max come along for backup."

"I'll handle it myself, talk to you later," Alexander said.

He reached the Sterling Mansion in about an hour. He barely glanced at any of the workers as he made his way up the stairs. An older housekeeper jumped out of his way when he got to the landing.

"Jeffery?" Alexander asked him. The housekeeper pointed in the direction of his room. Alexander kept walking and barged into Jeffery's room without knocking.

Jeffery was asleep, and his eyes flew open when he saw his brother.

"Alex?" He groaned and sat up. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"You set me up last night," Alexander drove right to the matter at hand.

"Set you up?" Jeffery rubbed his eyes to ward off the sleep. "Now I'm confused. What did I do?"

"You told Olly to spike my drink, and I ended up spending the night there," Alexander said.

"I didn't tell Olly to do anything, Olly does what Olly wants. How's that my fault?" Jeffery defended himself. He tossed the duvet off his body, and rose to his feet, clad in nothing but his boxers. "Look, I just wanted to hang out with you. Must you think the worst of it? And here I was thinking you'll thank me for having a good time with Cupcake. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is," Alexander moved so he was standing directly in front of Jeffery. "I was drugged. At a party, you invited me to. I swear if anything happens to me, you're taking the blame."

Jeffrey's lips lifted in an amused smile. "Relax Alex. It's just drugs, not poison. This is how you freak out when you don't have fun in your teens. Always studying."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Alexander asked.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Jeffery said, smile gone. "I'll warn Olly against it next time."

"Don't bother," Alexander walked out of the room. "There's never going to be a next time."

He marched down the stairs, and much to his dismay, at the bottom, Abigail was standing, hands resting above the banister and face holding a blank expression. She looked to be waiting for him, and as Alexander neared, she stood in his path.

"I heard you were around," she said. "Come, you and I need to talk. In private."

She led the way, her heels clacking against the floor. Alexander followed until they reached one of the smaller living rooms, one she had furnished lavishly that looked like a tight-packed luxury showroom rather than a homey one.

She took her seat on one of the plush leather chairs, and Alexander took the one opposite her.

"I heard you met with Ethan," she said. Alexander waited for her to continue. "I heard you refused to work for Sterling Corporation."

"Yes," he replied.

"Good, you should know your place," she narrowed her eyes at him. "Was that why you were here to see Jeff? Have you changed your mind?"

"My answer has been given long ago," Alexander said. "Jeff is more than capable of running the company."

"Huh," Abigail clucked her tongue. "You're being sarcastic with me."

"Have you no belief in him?" Alexander asked instead. He was still angry, and his head was still pounding.

Abigail's eyes flashed. "I know he's capable, but I need you out of the way so he'd be able to show Ethan just how much."

"Which he's already been doing from the start," Alexander said.

Abigail shot to her feet. "Don't get snarky with me."

"I'm not," Alexander simply said. "You and I both know the truth. Jeff cannot handle Sterling Corporation."

"And you can?"

"He needs to start taking responsibility of his actions", Alexander said. "Learn, achieve things then earn his promotion. It's the only way you can help him, or anyone else who cares for him can." Alexander stood. "Excuse me, but I've got a business I have to get to."

"Good," Abigail said. "Stick your nose in your business, and we'll stick ours in our business."

Alexander left after that. In the car, his phone rang again, and this time it was Williams.

He ignored it as he zoomed out of the compound. The rings came the second time around, and only then did he pick it.

"Hey," Williams sounded excited. "Hey, man. What's going on? Rob told me what happened."

"I didn't ask him to," Alexander said.

"I mean, I was like…the universe also agreed with us!" Williams gave a hearty laugh. "You got a girl right after. How's that a coincidence?"

Alexander's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "This isn't one of your jokes, Will. This is serious. And I'm in no mood to talk."

"But…"

Alexander ended the call right before Williams said anything else. He looked at himself in the rearview mirror and realised that he looked as terrible as he felt. He would never understand the enjoyment of the hookup lifestyle. As he drove, he tried to remember what had happened the night before, but his memories were blank. He touched his head with his left hand, the headache he had felt when he woke up was back again, but this time it was accompanied with a feeling of nausea.

He really needed a hangover tea and an aspirin. He decided to put all that had transpired the night before at the back of his mind as he drove in search of a pharmacy to get drugs for his headache.