“Well tough shit. I wanted you to see what I was capable of. I wanted to prove to you that I could do this, and I have.”
“What, by not following orders? Putting yourself in danger? For purposely doing something you knew you weren’t allowed to? Is that what you’re capable of?” he snaps, taking in a deep breath. “My God, Hayden, you could have been hurt or worse. Do you not see that?”
“No, I wanted to show you that I’m more than some advice host. I’ve done everything! Everything your father and this job has asked of me. I’ve earned this position. If your company won’t sponsor a new blog, then I’ll go rogue and do it myself. I’m sure someone else will see my potential and hire me.”
“That is not the point and we both know it. Do you not care about your safety at all?” he roars. “People have died. A reporter died looking into this story.”
“I was perfectly safe,” I scream back. “I can do this.”
“And what about Love Loop Live? Did you consider what this would do to the segment?”
“Is that all you fucking care about?” I snap, shoving away from the table and moving around the desk, my breathing laboured.
“No, and you know it isn’t.”
“No, I don’t know it. I don’t fucking care about any of it anymore. I work hours I’m not paid for to make sure it’s all taken care of, earning just a little over minimum wage, while Tim on floor one has worked here for a shorter time and already has a sports column.
“So why should it be different for me, Clayton? Why? I like this job, but I don’t love it. Your father told me every time I went to him with the proposal that he would look into it. And guess what, it never happened. I’m not even asking to do one or the other—I’m happy to do both and leave Nightingales—but no one will meet me halfway.”
My nails cut into my palms as I stand there, clenching my hands.
“I’m not my father. And he is no longer your boss. I am. And I specifically asked you not to put yourself in harm’s way.”
“That isn’t up to you,” I scream, throwing my hands up. “I made the choice. Me. I made it. You could make one too. I had hoped when you took over that modern updates would be made.”
“Now you’re telling me how to run my company?” he grits out. “I’m the boss here, not you.”
I shake my head, taking another step back. “No, because that isn’t my place, just like yours isn’t telling me what to do,” I spit out, turning to leave.
“I am not finished talking to you!”
I spin around, my eyes squeezed into thin slits. “Well I am. I’m so fucking finished.”
“You’ve still got emails to go through,” he reminds me, his voice hard.
“And I’ll do them. I just don’t have to listen to you anymore. You’ve made your point very clear.”
“Hayden—”
“No, I don’t want to hear it. I’m going for some fresh air. I’ll be back to finish my work after.”
“Hayden,” he breathes out, his shoulders sagging.
I stop with my hand on the door handle, ducking my head. I can’t face him. Not without breaking down.
Maybe he was right about relationships not working in a workplace. Because right now, it’s him I want to go to, him I want to tell about my shit day, yet he’s the reason my night was shit.
“I just need five minutes,” I explain, forcing my voice to remain calm, when inside I’m fuming.
“Don’t leave. We need to talk about this,” he pleads, his voice a mixture of anger and calm.
I pull open the door, taking a step out, but pause in the doorway, glancing over my shoulder.
“Clayton?”
“Yes?”
“Boss or not, if you ever yell at me like that again, I will knee you in the fucking balls.”
I don’t wait around for a reply, or another lecture for talking back at my ‘boss’. I’m done.
I head down the corridor towards the staff lift that goes down to the back entrance, where the staff car park is.
“Hayden?” Leana yells, startling me.
After pressing the call button for the lift, I turn to face her. “Yeah?”
She takes a staggering step backwards, her jaw dropping. “Wow! Do you need an alibi, because I’ll give you one, I swear.”
“Huh?”
She stops fidgeting, tilting her head. “You look like you just murdered someone.”
I force a laugh. “Yeah,” I murmur, spotting the bag in her hand. “Is that mine?”
She jumps, looking down at the bag before handing it over. “Yes, you left it in the studio.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be back up in a minute. I need to finish going over messages and emails.”
“You aren’t going home? Me and Chrissy can do that.”
“No, it’s fine. There’s a few things I really need to finish up anyway,” I explain, stepping into the lift. “See you in five minutes.”
She shoves her hands into her pockets, taking a step back.
I close my eyes as the door shuts; mine and Clayton’s argument playing on a loop in my head.
Can’t he see that what I’m doing is for good?
Bailey has designed me a kick ass website that’s set to launch once I have Clayton’s approval, since I added Cross Global as partner, which could link to Love Loop Live. The title for the blog is a work-in-progress, so it’s Carter News until I can come up with something better.
I’d put weeks’ worth of work into making sure it looked good for when I was ready to reveal it to him, and he didn’t even give me chance to explain, let alone show him. Not that I had the opening to tell him.
Angrily, I push open the exit door, causing it to slam against the metal bar outside.
Rain splatters across my face when I step out.
“Hayden, I’ve been waiting for you,” a familiar voice says, his tone low as he steps out of the shadows, uniform present.
My pulse races. “What are you doing here?” I ask, taking a step back.
His smile is taunting. “Because you asked me to come get you.”
His sickly-sweet voice couldn’t be any more fake. “It’s you,” I breathe, his lie rolling over me, causing a shiver of goose bumps to break out over my skin.
I spin around, ready to run back inside to safety, but he grabs me from behind, pulling me against his chest.
“Me!” he breathes low against my ear.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CLAYTON
Sometimes I need a little guidance, and today is that day. Hayden is a complicated woman. She’s tough, fiery and speaks her mind, but she has never reacted this angrily before tonight.
I’m angry at myself for overreacting. I knew I was then, but I couldn’t stop it spewing from my lips. I was just so goddamn mad at her for putting herself at risk.
But I’m madder at myself for making her believe she isn’t worth it. I crushed her dream. Her dream. And I’m punishing myself for it now. That was never my intention.
She didn’t think I was listening to her, but all I had done was listen. Her idea held merit, and I do believe it would be good for Cross Global.
The only person who can help with my dilemma is my dad.
I’ve just finished running through everything that happened between me and Hayden, and her proposal.
“So, what should I do, Dad?”
He lets out a wheezy cough. “Son, why are you telling me all of this?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. I thought it would have been obvious to him. “I don’t want to let you down or do something you wouldn’t approve of,” I explain.
“What do you think about it?” he asks, sounding tired.
“I think the girl I’ve come to care about just stormed out of my office because I yelled at her for putting her life at risk. Her proposal is a good one, brilliant in fact, and it would stop her chasing after dangerous stories if she got to do what she wanted. This article she wants to write, a reporter has already died looking into it.�
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I exhale a breath, falling back in my chair. It feels good to get it off my chest.
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen up, son.” He clears his throat before continuing. “The business is yours now. Not mine. You don’t need my permission to move forward on other projects. That said, I’ve been putting Hayden off since she first came to me with the proposal. I wanted you to be the one to launch it. You deserved to have something that was yours, something you helped build so you felt like you achieved Cross Global.”
I grip my forehead, pinching the skin. “Jesus, I’m such a fucking idiot.”
“Well, yes, but Hayden’s not. In all my life I’ve never met anyone as complex as her. She fought her way through her job and even set fire to pervy Barry’s car. I’ve got a recording saved in the office somewhere. She’s a keeper. Now go tell her the good news and leave me alone. You won’t have me to hold your hand forever, son.”
The thought twists my stomach. “I know, Dad. I just want to make you proud.”
“I am proud. Of both of my children. Now go, I want to finish playing checkers with Linny.”
“Linny?” I squeak. “Isn’t that the lady who streaks up and down the halls at least once a day?”
“She’s clothed now, so go.”
“Speak to you tomorrow. Night, Dad.”
“Please do. I can’t wait to hear how Hayden kicked your arse.”
I laugh, ending the call. Getting up, I exit the office, running into Chrissy and Leana.
“Hey, have you seen Hayden?”
“No,” Chrissy replies. “We were actually just coming to see if she was with you.”
“Yeah, she went down in the lift about fifteen minutes ago and said she’d be back in five, but we’ve not seen her.”
My brows draw together as I give them a nod. “Thank you. I’ll go check outside.”
I race down the hall, pressing the button for the lift, not wanting to miss her if I take the stairs. There’s no way Hayden would take the stairs.
Seconds later, I’m stepping on, pressing the button to the ground floor.
All I have to do is explain why I was mad, tell her I’m sorry, and then tell her the good news. She can be reasonable.
Stepping into the empty lobby, I call out, “Hayden?” receiving no answer.
I push through the doors leading outside, shivering when the cold wind hits me, along with droplets of rain.
I duck my head, catching sight of Hayden’s bag and phone left abandoned on the floor.
My breath hitches as I race over, picking it up off the floor.
“Hayden?” I yell, searching the car park for any signs of her. “Hayden!”
Her phone vibrates in my hand, and a sliver of fear has me answering. “Beau, what is going on? Is Hayden with you?”
“Clayton?” he asks, sounding confused.
“Yes, is Hayden with you?” I yell, my gut clenching as I take a look behind the bins.
“No, she’s not with me. I thought she was with you.”
I run a hand through my hair, spinning in a circle as I look around the car park. “We had an argument. She walked out for some fresh air about fifteen minutes ago. I came out to look for her and found her phone and bag on the floor. What is going on, Beau? Does this have anything to do with the story she was working on?”
“You knew?” he asks, surprised.
“That’s what our argument was over. Where is she?” I plead, kicking a post.
“Where are you?” Beau asks in a tight voice.
“Outside work. I’m in the staff car park, which is at the back of the building,” I tell him, taking a breath. “They’ve taken her, haven’t they?”
“I’m not sure,” he tells me, but I can hear the lie. “I’m on my way. Stay there.”
“Should I call the police?”
“No! Whatever you do, do not trust any officer right now. I’m coming.”
“What the fuck should I do then?” I roar, worried for her safety.
“Call her dad. I’ll call Maverick. Tell him to meet you there,” he orders, before ending the call.
“Mr Cross, is everything okay?”
I turn to face Chrissy, forcing a smile. “Could you get my coat from the back of the door in my office and tell security to meet me here?”
“Where’s Hayden? Is everything okay?”
“Please!” I plead. “I’ll explain everything after. I promise.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I turn back to the car park, pulling her dad’s contact up in her phone.
Please be okay. Please, Hayden, be okay.
*** *** ***
“I don’t know who the fuck to call,” Beau growls, pacing back and forth, phone in hand.
“Call anyone,” I yell at him.
He glares up at me. “And tip them off that we know? No. I’m not putting her at risk.”
“So what the fuck should I do?”
“Let me think,” he snaps, closing his eyes. They fly open and he stares at me. “I’m going to call Leon. He was another officer brought in on the case last minute.”
“What the fuck has happened to my daughter?” Max roars, slamming his car door. Rain soaks him as he moves towards us under the shelter.
Beau steps back, talking on the phone, leaving me to deal with an angry father. “One of you aren’t there, Leon. Who is it? Who isn’t there?”
Maverick and a guy called Liam are still in the back of his van, doing God knows what with the computer equipment stored there.
When he doesn’t slow down as he approaches, I brace myself, ready for the shove he gives me.
“Stop,” I snap, pushing him back.
“This is your fault. Don’t think I don’t know you wouldn’t let her do the job she wanted. You let her fucking do this.”
“No, I didn’t,” I growl. “I found out tonight, and I’m less happy than you are right now. This is what I was fucking scared of.”
Beau curses, ending the call, and walks over to us. “What is fucking going on? Who has my daughter?”
“I don’t know. They’ve got their hands full trying to detain the group of teenagers that showed up. He can’t account for anyone missing, and everyone who is suspect isn’t in his line of vision right now.”
“You said that the cattle market was a ploy. If they knew, why would they send people there?” I ask, ducking further under the shelter when the rain begins to come down faster.
“I don’t give a fuck what was a ploy or what wasn’t. I give a fuck that my daughter isn’t here right now,” Max roars, his face paling as he struggles to catch his breath.
Beau launches through what has happened, what Hayden found out and about the night she went to him and Maverick. Another thing she hid from me.
Max turns to me, pointing at the building. “Check the CCTV footage. There has to be something on there,” he declares, his voice cracking.
I grimace, shoving my hands in my pockets. “The lines were cut at quarter past eight.”
His jaw clenches as he stares at Beau, a storm brewing in his eyes before he steps forward, knocking the wind out of him when he shoves him back.
“Why the fuck didn’t any of you protect her? You should have been watching her.”
“Max,” I call out, trying to pull him back, but he shoves me away, breathing hard as his face reddens.
“Don’t fucking touch me. How the fuck didn’t you notice she was gone? And why the fuck are you here?”
“Are you listening to yourself?”
“Calm down,” Beau warns, breaking us apart.
“He doesn’t need to be here,” Max snaps.
“Yes, I do,” I burst out, clenching my hands.
“Calm down,” Beau warns when Max takes a threatening step towards me.
“Calm down? Calm down? She’s my fucking daughter and she’s missing. I just had to lie to her fucking mother, so she didn’t worry herself sick again. Don’t tell me to calm the fuck down,”
he roars, letting the rain pour over him. “She didn’t fight as a premi to get fucking murdered by some corrupt pig. So get out of my way and tell me something useful,” he yells, before turning to me. “And get out of my face. She should have been safe here.”
“Yes, she should have. And I’ll blame myself for the rest of my life. I was the reason she came out for fresh air,” I tell him vehemently, letting him see the guilt and pain it has caused me. “But respectfully, I’m not going anywhere. Not until Hayden tells me otherwise.”
“You’re her boss. She doesn’t need a fucking paycheque right now.”
“I’m more than her boss and you know it,” I snap. “Now shut up and let’s figure out where she is.”
He snorts. “You’re too old for her.”
“I love her,” I burst out, surprising myself. “And there’s nothing you can do that will make me walk away, so don’t even fucking try it.”
‘Max!” Maverick calls, jumping out the back of the van he and Liam have been working in. He wanted to check the surveillance videos from other buildings.
“You fucking knew,” Max growls, his feet splashing up puddles as he races over, charging at his brother. He punches him the jaw, taking him to the ground.
“Max,” Beau yells, trying to pull him off.
“Calm the fuck down,” Maverick snaps, pushing him away and getting up.
Max follows, grinding his teeth together as he meets Maverick’s unrelenting glare. “You fucking knew.”
“Max, if I knew it was going to turn out like this, I would never have let her be involved,” he explains, wiping blood off his lip. “I would have told you. I swear to you.”
Max’s temples pulse as he drops his hands to his sides, clenching his fists. “No, you should have told me anyway. You watched what I went through in that hospital when we almost lost Landon. You saw what it did to me. How could you think this would be okay? Why, Mav? Why?” he asks, staring daggers into his brother. “If I lose my daughter, I’ll never forgive you. We will be done.”
Maverick staggers back, looking utterly wounded, like he’s just taken a knife to the stomach.
“Max, there was no way of talking her out of this. I tried,” Beau explains gently, bracing himself.
Hayden (A Next Generation Carter Brother Novel Book 4) Page 27
