“What are you saying, Stacey?”
“I’m done with you and everyone in this place. I quit!” Stacey stormed out of Alison’s office, slamming the door. She might have been shocked by her own boldness to quit her job on the spot, but she was too furious to scold herself. Alison putting the blame all on her was the last straw. Not once had she even blamed Jax for the betrayal. She would rather hold Stacey entirely responsible for the whole company’s outcome when she hadn’t even done anything wrong. No, Stacey decided. She’d rather be on the streets with no job than to work with a boss like Alison.
Chapter 9
Stacey had no clue how she got home after leaving the office. Everything was an angry blur of tears until she rushed up the stairs to her apartment. She was distraught and utterly humiliated, and all she could think of was getting out of there as fast as she could. She got out her suitcase and started to pack as many clothes as she could fit in it. She came to a decision that she was going to leave town. She didn’t know where she was going and right now she didn’t care. All she knew was that she had to leave and quick, before anyone recognized her as Jax’s woman on the side. She couldn’t even imagine what she would do if that happened.
Two packed suitcases; that was all she was going to bring on her trip. Everything else she left the way it was in the apartment. Having no intention of ever coming back, she didn’t care what happened to her possessions. She was going to have a new chapter of her life wherever she decided to go.
Stacey remembered she promised to call Morgan when she got the chance. She didn’t want anyone to know her plan of running away from her problems, but Morgan? Stacey couldn’t lie to her.
“Stacey,” Morgan’s voice answered after the first ring. “I’ve been so worried, waiting for your call. How are you doing?”
“I’ve been better,” Stacey answered flatly. “But my boss found out about the tabloids and blamed me for bringing a scandal to the office.”
“Did you explain to her that those photos were old and at the time you didn’t know he was married? Because Stacey, none of this is your fault.”
Stacey let out a frustrated sigh. “I tried to tell her, but all she cared about was the reputation of the office. I walked out Morgan. Right out of the job and I’m never going back. I don’t want to work for someone who thinks that I’m the type who would willingly date a married man.”
“Stacey, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe she wouldn’t listen to you. Doesn’t she realize she just lost the best social worker’s assistant she had in the office? What are you going to do now?”
“I’m going away, Morgan. I don’t know where to yet, but I want to get away from here. Away from everything that’s happened, and most importantly I want to get away from Jax. He’s the reason all of this is happening, and he should have known that reporters would’ve been all over him going out with a woman who wasn’t his wife. He’s the one who’s ruined my life!”
“I know I’m not the biggest fan of Jax, but I think you should talk to him first before you make any rash decisions.”
“Morgan, I know what I’m doing. Don’t you understand? My reputation is ruined! You had to see the looks I was getting while on the subway.”
“I’m sure you’re just being paranoid. How could they possibly know it’s you who was in those pictures? Not everyone in the city reads the tabloids.”
“Jax is a millionaire who many people admire, even if he’s rarely in the public eye,” Stacey said, pacing about the apartment. “And someone leaked my name to one of the reporters, so they know my name. These people now think of me as the woman who stole Jax away from his wife. I can’t stay here. Not anymore.”
“Alright, so take some time off for yourself and you can come back after everything’s died now. You know this news won’t last for long.” Morgan sounded sad, as though she were losing her best friend.
“Morgan, the damage is done. Look, you have the key to my apartment. Feel free to take whatever you want from my stuff. I’m done with this city and everything involved with it. You’re the only one I’ll keep in touch with.” Stacey hung up the phone before Morgan could say anything else.
Stacey grabbed her suitcases and put them near the door. The phone rang again with Morgan’s name flashing on the screen but she didn’t answer it. Right now, she had to find a place to go. The sooner she left the city, the better.
*****
Stacey took a seat by the window on the plane. Watching the scenery pass by helped calm her down. While some would think she’d avoid going back to the place where she’d reconnected with Jax, she saw it differently. Florida was the last place she was where she was truly happy. Not long ago she was with Jax, enjoying herself at her best friend’s wedding. In a twisted sort of way, she felt it made sense to start there. Try to remember the happiness she’d felt there and figure out how to use that while planning for a new direction to take. Not with a boyfriend this time, but on her own. She knew she could count on herself better than any man. She just needed to clear her head and come up with new options.
Her phone rang again, interrupting her daydream. It was Morgan. She’d been trying to reach Stacey for the past hour but Stacey kept sending her to voicemail. Right now, she didn’t want to talk to anyone who would try to change her mind.
This was the best for everyone, she tried to remind herself. Stacey had nothing with her to remind her of her life in New York City. She’d overcome so much to become the strong woman she was today, and she wasn’t going to let one mistake she made ruin all the work she put into overcoming the obstacles in her life. Morgan had to understand where she was coming from, she knew Stacey when she was at her worst. And that was a path that Stacey never wanted to travel down again.
She leaned back in her seat with an exhausted sigh. By this time tomorrow, she would be in Florida, starting the next journey in her life. She had made enough money at her job that she could get a room at one of the smaller hotels in the area until she could find herself a permanent home.
*****
Jax threw his phone on the couch as he attempted to call Stacey. A friend let him know about the tabloid articles and he worried that she would find out. He had no idea who took the photos or how they got her name, but it made him furious. He’d tried so hard to fix things with the woman he loved and as soon as he’d gotten her back, this whole mess happens. He wanted to protect her and he failed. What was worrying him even more was the fact that her phone kept going straight to voicemail. What if Stacey found out and now she’s too upset to even talk to me? Jax had to get a hold of her and if he couldn’t reach her by phone, he figured talking to her in person would be better. He could tell her about the articles and how he would make it his primary mission to find out who had leaked the photos.
Halfway to Stacey’s apartment, Two of Jax’s work associates got ahold of him by phone. It seems his mission had been taken care of for him. The team responsible for Jax’s public relations at the company found out that one of the recently fired members of their team was set on revenge. A rumor had spread through the team that it might happen, but no one had anticipated this. Well, how could they? Jax wondered to himself. He had always kept his private life separated from work. As far as P.R. knew, Abbie had been the only woman in his life. Jax thanked his associates, who promised too everything they could to find a way to sort out the mess, and hung up. His brain went to Abbie, thinking again about their arrangement. How if hadn’t needed to… No, that was a terrible thing for him to think. It wasn’t Abbie’s fault that she was sick, or that she needed help. It wasn’t her who had suggested the arrangement, and it wasn’t her who had gone out in public with a different partner. He had created this mess all himself. And worse, it had brought Stacey right into the middle of it.
Jax considered how he might be able to convince the press that his marriage wasn’t really sabotaged or made unfaithful by his actions. But a marriage of convenience would come across as much too convenient in their view,
regardless of truth. He turned onto the next street and called his publicist.
Chapter 10
Jax arrived at Stacey’s apartment in time to see Morgan opening the door.
“Is Stacey home?” he asked hurriedly.
Morgan looked at him and realized Stacey hadn’t told him anything about her plan. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what? About those tabloids? I’m getting that taken care of. My publicist is doing damage control and he’ll get the truth out there. Why, does Stacey know about them?”
“She does, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Didn’t she call you earlier?”
“No,” Jax glanced toward the door. “I’ve been in meetings all day, then I found out about this mess and I’ve been busy with that ever since. What happened, Morgan? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’m not sure if Stacey even wants me to tell you her plan.”
“What plan? What is she planning to do?” Jax asked. “Those pictures are old. I’m not married anymore and those pictures are from three years ago. It’s all been twisted to make a scandal.”
“I know, Stacey explained everything to me about the pictures,” Morgan said, trying to calm him. “And I believe she does love you, but she doesn’t want anyone to know her plan. I figured you would’ve been the only other person she’d tell, but I guess not.”
“Which is why you need to tell me what is going on, Morgan. So that we can both figure out what to do and find a way to help Stacey. Now forget what she told you, and tell me what she’s planning.” Jax was worried. Just how upset was Stacey over the tabloids leaking out?
Morgan sighed and spilled it, “Alright, alright. Stacey called me earlier saying that she was packing her bags and taking off. She didn’t tell me where she was going. But she did tell me to come here and take whatever I wanted from her apartment, like she was up and leaving everything behind. I came here hoping that maybe she was just talking crazy and I’ll find her sitting watching television.”
“You’re saying she ran away?” Jax said.
Morgan shrugged. “I was just about to go in and see. Come on, maybe she wasn’t thinking clearly and changed her mind since she called me.”
Jax felt the panic as he thought of all the possibilities of what Stacey could’ve done. The worst case scenarios came to his mind at once. He tried to shut them down, to convince himself that what Morgan said was true. Surely Stacey was just talking out of anger or fear before and she really hadn’t one anything rash. He wanted to believe it, wanted to will it into existence with all his might. But he knew Stacey wouldn’t be on the other side of the door.
“Stacey?” Morgan called into the dark apartment. “Are you here? Jax’s here with me and he’s taking care of everything.” She turned to Jax. “This isn’t looking good. She’s not here.”
Jax felt something fall in the pit of his stomach. Slowly, he entered the apartment and turned on the light. “She just left everything untouched,” he said, looking around.
Morgan went to Stacey’s bedroom and opened the closets. “She took all of her clothes. And her suitcases are gone.” She ran back to the living room. “Jax, what are we going to do?”
“Stay calm,” he said, as much to himself as to her. Panicked thinking wasn’t going to help them bring Stacey back home any time soon. “First we have to think of places she may have gone. Do you see anything that may indicate where she went?”
“I mean,” Moran gestured hopelessly to their surroundings. “I don’t see her computer anywhere. That would’ve shown us if she bought a ticket to some place.”
Jax shook his head as he sat down on the couch. He couldn’t believe what was happening. Three years ago he was in this very room and it didn’t end well with Stacey once she found out he was married and kicked him out. Now here he was again and the news wasn’t looking good for their new future.
Morgan looked over at Jax as he sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He was mumbling to himself, “All my fault. This is all my fault,” over and over again.
“What was that?” Morgan asked.
“This,” he said more clearly. “Everything that has happened, it’s all my fault. If I had just told her the truth three years ago, we never would’ve dated and those tabloids wouldn’t have been printed.” Guilt was overtaking Jax as he spoke. “Morgan, I never wanted Stacey to get hurt. And I hate myself for how I lied, I’ve kicked myself for it every day. But you have to know how much I loved her. How much I still love her. I never wanted anything like this to happen to her and I’m sorry.”
Morgan stared at Jax as he kept talking and repeating that he was to be blamed for what happened to Stacey. She walked towards the couch and hesitated. If she spoke honestly without thinking first, she’d undoubtedly say something she’d regret later.
It was true that she blamed Jax for Stacey leaving the city. And he was right, if he hadn’t started to date Stacey three years ago, they wouldn’t be in this predicament now. Stacey would be home in the very apartment they were in now, and she would still be working at her job. But they had started dating, it did all happen and now Stacey was nowhere to be found. Morgan couldn’t stand not knowing where her best friend had gone off to, and the man sitting across from where she was standing was responsible for Stacey’s life going in a downward spiral.
“Jax,” Morgan began, ready to give him a piece of her mind. Jax looked up at her, a deep sadness in his eyes, and Morgan felt bad. She could see he really was affected by all of this too. Maybe he really did love Stacey. Deeply, even.
“What is it?” he asked. “You know where she might be?”
“I wish I did, but no, I have no idea where she could be.” She went to sit next to Jax. “But … everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”
“I don’t know anymore. I really don’t know what to believe now.” His voice broke as he spoke.
Morgan lightly rubbed his back, hoping to calm him down. “I do believe everything will be fine. And you know why? Because I’m going to help you find Stacey. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure my best friend gets back here safe.”
“You’re going to help me? I thought you hated me.”
“I did,” she with a shrug, “when you showed up at my wedding. I admit it. And I still didn’t trust you after you hurt Stacey. You can’t blame me for that. But I also never saw her as happy as she was when she was with you. And even now I can tell you’re torn up over all this. I think that says how much you love her, otherwise you wouldn’t be this upset.”
A sense of ease moved through him for a moment.
“And I even put my honeymoon on hold until everything is settled.” Morgan added. “Jax, we will find her. Have faith that we will.”
Jax smiled with appreciation. The help of Stacey’s best friend certainly improved his chances of finding her. And now the tension between Morgan and himself seemed to have dissipate some; that would help them both to think more clearly. But he still had no idea where to even begin looking for Stacey. And Morgan didn’t know where she would have run off to on such short notice.
“But in all honesty, Jax, I don’t know where to start looking. I mean, I can’t remember her ever mentioning a place she would want to go to. Coming down to Florida was the first time she got away in years.”
“I have an idea, Morgan. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. Working at the family’s pharmaceutical firm, I’ve had to deal with private investigators before to handle problems I’ve had in the office. There is always someone trying to sell a proprietary formula. I’ll ask our top detective to look into where Stacey ran off. Trust me, he’ll find where she went in a matter of days.”
Morgan nodded, “Alright.” Her brain felt lost in such a fog, she couldn’t come up with any plan of her own at all. “I just want to have my best friend back.”
“Like you said, she’ll be found. And I’ll make sure of it. No cost is too much for me to put into the investigation. I’ll call him now, the
n he can start working on the case immediately.” Jax walked out of the living room to make the call.
Morgan texted Ivan about what was going on while she waited for Jax to come back. She hoped his investigator would take this case, although she wasn’t sure what would dictate one’s decision whether to accept a job or not. Jax had money at least. If he really meant what he said about sparing no cost, surely he’d be successfully persuasive.
Jax returned, slipping his phone back inside his pocket. “Good news. The private investigator is going to come here to talk to us and take a look around. He’ll see if he can find anything. Don’t worry Morgan, he’s going to do whatever he can to find out where she is.”
Chapter 11
A heavy air of silence hung between them as they waited for Jax’s man to arrive. Finally, there was a knock on the door and Jax jumped up to open it. Morgan took a deep breath and sat up straight.
“Nick,” Jax gestured the man inside and shook his hand. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. I just want to find my girlfriend as quickly as possible.”
“It’s no problem, Jax.” The man was the same height as his employer, and had an off-hand, no-nonsense demeanor about him. “Like I told you on the phone, I am going to do whatever I can to bring her back home.”
Jax brought him into the living room. “Nick, this is Morgan. She’s Stacey’s best friend.”
Nick shook Morgan’s hand. “I’m actually glad that both of you are here. The more clues I can get about Stacey, the better chance I have of finding where she is. Which one of you was the last to hear from her?”
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