by Jenni James
He held his hands out. “Um, no. Yes . . . er . . . no.”
“Right.” That helped so much.
Will turned toward the door. “Look, I should probably go. I just—I just wanted you to know that I won’t be in for a few days and I need you to sort of cover for me, okay?”
“Wait. Why?”
He gave her a vulnerable look, as if to say, I’m barely hanging on here. Please don’t ask me anything else.
That was it. Eliza snapped. They might not be the best of friends, but by golly, these last ten months, they’d at least been through enough to help when help was needed. He came to her for a reason, and she wasn’t going to let him chicken out now. She marched to the door and shut it, then turned around with her arms folded. “You’re not leaving this place until you speak actual words that make sense.” She walked toward him and pointed to the chair. “Now sit. Spill. It’ll be good for you to get off your shoulders.”
He shook his head. “I really can’t. I’m not much good at talking anyway, I’m just not, and now, so soon after finding out everything—I just can’t.”
She cleared her throat and leaned her hip against the mahogany desk. “You came into my office to tell me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I came here instinctively, but you and I aren’t…” He finally sat down and put his elbows on his knees, his hands once again going through his hair. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Just start at the beginning.” Eliza sat in a chair next to his. “What is this about? Is it an emergency?”
“Not what—who.”
“Okay. Who is this about?”
“My sister.”
“Your—you have a sister?” How did she not know he had a sister?
“Yes.”
Eliza decided to remain silent, waiting for him to come to terms and share. After a minute or so, Will began to talk.
“She—well, my old business partner…” He trailed off.
“Yes. She was your business partner?”
“No.” He sighed and straightened up. “Have you ever heard me talk about George Wickham? We called him Joe—an old football joke. Anyway, maybe you’ve heard me mention Joe?”
“Um, a little. Sure. So, he was your business partner?”
“Yes.”
Even after being here for months she didn’t know that.
“It was a long time ago—we’re talking like, maybe ten years ago—back when I’d finally broken off from my dad’s company and started bringing this division where it is now.” He crossed his foot over a knee and stared out toward the mountain view. “Anyway, Joe was more interested in the ladies than working. Particularly ladies he could convince to give him money that he’d use on heroin, cocaine—anything he could get his hands on. I didn’t realize he was a total scam artist straight away. I knew he’d get involved with stupid things—he was always excited about some shady investment or another—but I really didn’t think he was bad. Not that bad. Even the drugs—I don’t know, maybe there were signs. I just didn’t see them. You know?”
When she didn’t say anything, he went on. “And yeah, it wasn’t good when everything came to light. I paid off somewhere like $185,000 or more in scams involving our female employees. Then, instead of going public, I paid them quietly and sent him to Spain to cool it and stave off any scandal that might get picked up by the news. We were a new company, and I couldn’t handle the investment scandal it would’ve caused. Joe was also given explicit orders never to return to Revolutionary Innovations, or Utah, again.”
“And he came back?”
Will stood up and pushed his chair in. “He didn’t just come back. He somehow found my little sister—we’re talking my eighteen-year-old sister!—and convinced her to elope with him.”
“What?” Eliza stood up too. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. They went to Vegas, apparently, but I know he’s not reckless. I know he didn’t marry her—he’s such a perverted monster. He probably got what he wanted out of her and then left. Or worse, got her involved in drugs and the kind of people I really don’t want her around.”
“How did you find out? Did she text you?”
“I haven’t heard one word from her. I think he took her phone. I tried calling, and it went straight to voicemail.
“When she didn’t show up Friday night, I got a little worried. By Saturday, I notified the police, but because she’s eighteen, there’s nothing they can do. She’s an adult, and unless there’s evidence of foul play, they’re assuming she just took off.” He sighed. “I spent the whole weekend going backwards, scouring for clues, trying to find her. When I went to her work, her boss said she’d given her two weeks’ notice already and had left. So this was something that had obviously been planned and kept hidden from me for weeks!”
“I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “Not as sorry as Joe’s going to be.”
“How did you find out she went to Vegas?”
“Oh, I found a tablet at the house this morning, under an armchair, where she was still signed into Facebook. The private messages floored me. I want to kill Joe. She’s so naïve and has no idea about the world or men like him. None.”
“When do you leave?”
“My flight leaves at one. I guess my dad had the jet in Arizona this week, so they’re bringing it up here. Look, just hold down the fort until I get back, okay? I trust you. Despite everything else that went on this weekend, I just trust you. I’m not leaving Vegas until I find her. And I will find her.” He fiddled with the back of the chair. “I worry most about Wickham’s connections. When all the evidence was put against him last time, he had friends who dealt with sex trafficking.”
She gasped. This couldn’t be happening. “No!”
“Yeah, I gotta clear my head. I can’t think of stuff like that. Honestly, he probably just wants in on the company—she’s an heiress. At least, he thinks she is. What he doesn’t know is that she can’t even touch a fraction of it until she’s twenty-one. And then the real stuff doesn’t hit her account until she’s thirty. I’m not positive he’s the type of man to hang around that long—at least credibly.”
“He might force her to stay with him.”
“Not helping.”
“Just don’t go to jail, okay?”
He smirked. “Come on—are you sure you don’t want to rethink that? I’d be out of your hair. Think of the peace and quiet.”
She walked toward him. “It is tempting. But the thought of stopping a man like that is much more appealing. I don’t think I’d be able to hold back. I’d murder him.” Unconsciously, she adjusted his tie and brushed at his shoulder, straightening his suit, then realized what she had done and stopped. Shocked, her gaze met his—there was so much anger, hurt, disbelief, fear etched in him, it nearly broke her. For a few seconds, she wished they were a couple, because then she’d stand up on tiptoe and kiss some of that away and whisper the things he needed to hear. But they weren’t, and she couldn’t. “I’m sorry. I really, really am.”
Will continued to stare right at her. Didn’t he feel the tension mounting? She should totally look away, but she couldn’t.
“Forgive me for this.” He bent down and kissed her instead of walking away like he should, those soft lips claiming what wasn’t his to claim.
When he pulled back, she was a bit breathless. My word! The man could kiss. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to grab him and kiss him again.
“Thank you for your help,” he said a bit tersely as he turned away and headed toward the door. “See you at eleven.”
Her trembling fingers found her mouth, and she stared at the closed door. What in the world had just happened? And why was she seeing him at eleven?
CHAPTER FOUR:
Will booked it out of Eliza’s office and ducked into his, shutting the door quickly and locking it. Then he stood there, frozen, gazing blindly at his room. What was that? Seriously. What. Was. That? He cringed and closed his eyes. Any minute now, he was g
oing to wake up and see that this whole weekend had been one long nightmare.
Starting with that stupid proposal.
He banged the back of his head lightly against the door. Just shoot me now. Put me out of my misery. What guy is lame enough to get up the nerve to propose to a woman who hates him and then attempt to forget about her rejection, only to kiss her the next time they meet?
Yeah, because that’s exactly how to control yourself. That’s how you win the girl. You scare the living daylights out of her. Wait. What? Was he trying to win the girl? No. Of course not. Never. Ugh.
He pushed away from the door and plopped onto his soft leather couch. One of these days, he was going to actually consider himself intelligent. Today wasn’t that day, but eventually. Maybe. If he’d stick with what he had to do—finding his sister.
He leaned over and placed his elbows on his knees, sinking his face in his hands. Why would Georgia do this? Why would she risk everything and fall for a scam artist? At eighteen years old! That was the worst part. Sure, everyone makes mistakes . . . yadda, yadda, yadda… but not like this. Not at eighteen. And not with the worst type of cons there are!
He blamed himself completely. There was no one else, not since their mom died. Ever since then, his dad had been so busy losing himself to grief that all the responsibility of raising Georgia had fallen to Will. Not that he’d minded—he’d always loved his baby sister, and he thought they had an incredibly fun older brother/younger sister relationship. Completely open and trusting—until now. He sighed.
Since Will never spoke of the guy, Georgia had no idea Joe was such a loser. How would she know? How could she know? The man was his age, yet looked like he was in his early twenties, and was incredibly charming. Will had been too dang busy running this business and falling head over heels for the wrong woman to actually spend quality time with Georgia lately, to find out who she’d been dating.
His heart clenched in worry and fear—for the hundredth time since that morning, he felt that unfamiliar frightening pain. Was she okay? Was she safe? What had Joe done to her?
Will had been there for every special dance—helping her choose the perfect dress, taking her to whatever frivolous beauty salon she had chosen to have her makeup, nails, and hair done. And then he had rushed home from work to be there when that date arrived to guarantee this young man would treat her with respect.
She was such an incredible girl—er, young woman. Excellent grades, very musically talented, very culturally aware. She loved all forms of the arts—dancing, painting, theater, symphonies, and she was so adorably shy and sweet and kind and…
Fear became replaced with rage. It took a lot to upset Will, but Joe had certainly destroyed whatever kindness he had left. Will picked up the nearest thing he could find—some sort of ornamental piece on the coffee table—and hurled it across the room.
He jumped guiltily as it smashed into an expensive framed watercolor and broke the glass. Dang. Someone must have heard that. He quickly brushed at his hair and suit, and sure enough, his secretary knocked on his door.
“Mr. Darcy, are you all right?” she asked on the other side.
“Yes, Amy. Thank you.”
“Did something break?”
“Er, yes. But it’s fine. Give me a minute and I’ll be out.” He glanced at his watch. “On second thought, start rounding everyone up for the meeting. I’ll be in the conference room in ten minutes.”
As he sat back down on the couch, his fingers began to shake. Emotion so raw, so unexpected, boiled to the surface. All his life, he’d prided himself on remaining cool during any situation, not breaking, just staying firm and allowing silence to reign.
As an introvert, it was easiest not to explode in a knee-jerk reaction without first thinking everything over. He had found that his best decisions were made after spending hours away from the situation. Many business men had attempted to get him to make hasty decisions right then—and he never would. He needed time.
And he had time. Plenty of time to process how low Joe had sunk. How dare he take Will’s sister! How dare he come back to Utah at all! He should be in jail, exposed for the man he was.
Will shook his head. What a fool he’d been. All along, he was convinced Joe would change if he was given another chance. It’s why he kept his mouth shut and paid everyone off. But what did Joe do with that opportunity? A grown man of thirty-two targets an eighteen-year-old heiress.
Will shuddered. It was too gross even to contemplate. And was only just legal. The rage inside him boiled. Frankly, if he saw Joe right then, he would probably kill him and—
His phone rang. It was the private investigator he’d hired earlier.
“Yeah?” he asked as he got off the couch and headed toward the large window in his office.
“We’ve found out a bit. Not where they are yet, but it looks like we should be able to track him fairly easily just from his losing streak and the trail of casinos he’s left in his wake.”
Will’s stomach dropped. He didn’t have to look—he knew Georgia had cleaned out the family emergency money he’d placed in the safe at the house. And now it looked like Joe was having a heyday burning through that $500,000 as if it were chump change. Will didn’t want to imagine how much she had personally in her savings/college fund that Joe would be able to access.
“Have you found my sister?”
“No. My initial conversations with the casino security teams haven’t turned up anything so far. There are many beautiful girls in the casinos who match her description. I’ve sent over pictures of them both, and the casinos are scanning their high-tech recordings now. I ought to have more information for you when you land.”
Will nodded. “Okay. Thanks for the update. Do you have anything else?”
“I need permission to explore other avenues, if you will.”
“Anything you need to do—anything. I don’t care.”
The private investigator cleared his throat. “Well, this would be a bit shadier and it would cost more, but I’d like to get involved with the other side of town and start looking for her there as well.”
Will closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He really couldn’t handle this right now. “Do you think he’s left her on the streets? Or drugged her up and gotten her into something worse?”
“I—uh, I don’t know. But gauging by the couple hundred thousand he managed to blow over the weekend, this is a man who’s only thinking of himself. Hopefully she’s just tucked away in some hotel room somewhere—and not actually lost.”
Would Georgia know how to escape something evil like that? She was such a sweet girl, so naïve and eager to please. She could be scarred for life, especially after falling in love with him, running away to elope, and then left alone while he gambles her life away.
He never thought he’d say it, but, “Here’s to weddings and hoping Joe attempted to do one thing honestly. Just long enough for me to find her, and then guarantee they divorce.”
CHAPTER FIVE:
Perplexed, Eliza slowly walked over to her desk and sat down. She stared blindly out at the mountains and contemplated Will Darcy’s oddness. All this time, she’d felt like he was an irritating snob. Her boss. Someone to be tolerated. It was kind of odd to consider him a normal human being with feelings, craziness in his life, stress—everything.
And then when he kissed her, when she was just thinking about kissing him—it was unreal. For that small moment, they spoke the same language—they were on the same team. For that tiniest fraction, she understood him, and it was weird. Scary. Terrifying.
And kind of nice, too.
Eliza shook her head. She honestly had no idea what was happening to her. However, she did know that if her mother ever found out she and Will had kissed, she’d never hear the end of it. The woman would begin planning their wedding. Ugh. And that particular thought would get Eliza nowhere.
She opened her laptop and found the email Will had sent her Friday night. In all the cr
aziness about Will’s sister, she’d forgotten.
Elizabeth,
I’ve given it some thought, and I’d like to say you’re right. Don’t get me wrong—you’re not right about everything. You’re just right about a few things. Mainly my character. I was a jerk to you. I’ve treated you unkindly, and as I tried to explain earlier, unwisely. I felt from the beginning that having you come and help the company would look like I’d failed. How am I supposed to run such a large corporation when I’m not even qualified to know what’s best for it?
There you were, in all your five-foot-two no-nonsense glory, and I was mad, definitely not wanting to be in the situation I’d been forced into, and definitely not wanting to pretend to be nice to you. As far as I could tell, you were too young, too attractive, and too much trouble for your own good. You spoke out of turn, you had no concept of the way we ran things, and you continued to criticize everything that had been achieved and put into place before you came along.
“But that’s what I’m paid to do!” Eliza grumbled as she looked up from the email. Of course she was going to criticize his work—it was awful! Good grief. If he’d been a perfect businessman, he wouldn’t have needed an efficiency expert to begin with. In fact, most consultants were able to work part-time—but things were so bad here, she’d had to be given her own dang office!
Okay. So maybe that wasn’t completely fair. It was company policy to have all the employees working full-time. She shook her head. How many hours a day had she muttered over the absurdity of having to stay there all day long when she didn’t really need to? And she definitely didn’t need a posh office. She shrugged. Granted, when she joined, sales went up even higher than the billion-dollar company could’ve imagined. When you’re playing in the big leagues, a 22% increase is nothing to sneer at. In fact, Will was certain this increase happened because she was there all day long and could continually oversee each department.
Within six weeks, their offices had begun to see an improvement, and within six months, there was talk of keeping her on permanently. Ha! Wild hogs could fly to Britain, and she still wouldn’t stay here a second longer than her eighteen-month contract. However, that had nothing to do with Will’s odd confessional. Curious, Eliza slipped off her heels, leaned back, and began to read again.
