by Sandi Lynn
“Lorelei. It’s cold out and you’re not taking the subway.” He bent down and spoke to Hope. “Would you rather ride the subway or in that black car across the street?” He pointed.
“Is that your car?” she asked.
“Yes. That is my car.”
“Your car is better than the subway.” She giggled.
He stood up and looked at me. “It’s settled. Tony will drive you home.”
I rolled my eyes and took hold of Hope’s hand as we crossed the street and climbed into the limo with Hope sitting in between me and Jack.
****
Jack
I looked down and noticed a pair of blue eyes staring up at me.
“What?”
“Did you have a good day?” she asked.
Lorelei glanced over at me.
“Yes. Did you?”
“Yes. I got an A on my math test. I was the only one in the class who got all the problems right.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. You remind me of Prince Charming from Cinderella.” She smiled.
Was this little girl for real? I couldn’t believe she just said that. I heard Tony snicker.
“I can assure you a Prince Charming I am not.”
“You can say that again,” Lorelei mumbled and I shot her a look.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why aren’t you a Prince Charming?”
Lorelei began to cough uncontrollably. “You really should go see a doctor about that cough.”
“If it doesn’t clear up in a couple of days, I will,” she spoke.
Tony pulled up to Lorelei’s apartment building and I let out a sigh of relief. How was I supposed to answer Hope’s question? How would I explain to a seven-year-old that I was far from ever being a Prince Charming?
“Thank you for the ride.” Lorelei gave a small smile.
“Thank you, Mr. Sutton. It was fun talking to you.” Hope placed her small hand on mine and Lorelei looked at me with fear in her eyes.
“It was nice talking to you, Hope, and you’re welcome.”
I watched out the window as the two of them walked hand in hand up the steps of the apartment building.
“She’s an adorable little girl,” Tony said.
“She’s okay.”
Chapter Thirty
Jack
The next morning, I had a phone conversation with the private investigator regarding Bradley. He had a lead as of his whereabouts and he was going to call me back later. I looked at the clock. It was ten minutes after eight. I opened my office door and noticed Lorelei wasn’t at her desk. I walked down to Coco’s office and asked Franny if she’d heard from her.
“No, Mr. Sutton. She hasn’t called?”
“No. She hasn’t and this isn’t like her to be late.”
I walked to my office and pulled my phone from my pocket. I dialed the business phone I gave her. No answer. I called down to Garrett.
“What’s up, Jack?”
“Do you have Lorelei’s cell phone number? She hasn’t shown up for work and she hasn’t called. I tried calling the business phone I gave her and she didn’t answer.”
“That’s odd. Hold on; let me pull her file.”
A few moments later, he rattled off her number as I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I dialed it.
“Hello,” a soft voice answered.
“Lorelei?”
“No. This is Hope.”
“Hope. It’s Mr. Sutton. Where’s your mom?”
“She’s sleeping. When I went into her room, she was lying on the floor, so I helped her back to bed. She’s really sick, Mr. Sutton.”
Suddenly, a wave of fear overtook me.
“Hope, I’m on my way over. So when you hear a knock at the door, you ask who it is first. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mr. Sutton.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I grabbed my suitcoat and flew out of the building. Tony was already waiting for me.
“We need to get to Lorelei’s apartment fast.”
“I’ll do my best, Jack, but it’s rush hour.”
“I don’t give a damn whether it’s rush hour or not, get to Lorelei’s as fast as you can.”
Despite the traffic, Tony got me to Lorelei’s in a decent amount of time. Shit. I forgot about the security door. I pushed the button to Lorelei’s apartment. The door buzzed and I pulled it open, flying up the steps to Lorelei’s apartment.
“Hope, it’s Mr. Sutton.” I knocked.
She unlocked the door and let me in.
“Can you show me where your mom’s bedroom is?”
I followed her down the hallway, and when I reached Lorelei’s room, I ran to her side and placed my hand on her forehead.
“Oh my God, you’re burning up.”
Lorelei slowly opened her eyes. “Jack?” she whispered.
“Shh. You’re going to be okay. I’m taking you the hospital. Hope, go get dressed. We’re going to take your mom to the hospital so the doctors can check her out.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes. She’s going to be fine. Go get dressed and hurry up.”
I placed my arms underneath her and picked her up from the bed. She laid her head against my chest.
“Hope, are you ready?”
“Yes.” She came running into the living room.
As I was on my way out the door, I noticed Lorelei’s keys sitting on the table. I grabbed them, and as soon as we stepped out of the apartment, I had Hope lock the door. By the time I got down to the limo, Tony was standing there with the passenger door opened.
“Hope, I need you to sit up front with Mr. Tony. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Tony helped me place Lorelei in the back seat and I climbed in next to her as she laid her head in my lap.
“I told you to go to the doctor. Now look at you.”
She moaned. “Hope.”
“She’s with us. She’s up front with Tony.” I stroked her hair.
Tony pulled up to the doors of the emergency room. I climbed out and went inside, telling them I needed help. Two nurses brought out a stretcher as I picked up Lorelei and laid her down.
“What’s going on with her?” one of the nurses asked.
“She’s been coughing really bad the past couple of days and not feeling well. She’s burning up.”
“Are you her husband?”
“No. I’m her boss. This is her daughter.”
They wheeled her inside and down the hall. One of the nurses told me and Hope to have a seat in the waiting room and that they’d be out shortly. Hope wrapped her small hand around mine and when I looked at her, all I could see were eyes filled with fear. I led her over to the chairs in the waiting room.
“She’s going to be just fine, Hope. I don’t want you to worry. The doctors will take good care of her and get her better.”
“I want my grandma and grandpa.”
“I can call them. Do you by chance have their number?”
“No, you can’t. They’re on a cruise.”
“Oh. Okay. Is there anyone else I can call?”
“My Auntie Stella is out of town visiting her boyfriend’s father who’s really sick.”
“Okay. What about your other grandparents?”
“I don’t have any other grandparents.”
I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket. It was Coco.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Jack, where the hell are you?”
“At the hospital. I had to bring Lorelei in. She’s very sick.”
“Oh no. What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll call you when I know more.”
“Okay.” Click.
I put my phone in my pocket and looked over at Hope.
“Are you hungry or thirsty?” I asked.
“Kind of. I didn’t eat breakfast.”
I looked around and saw a vending machine. “Let
’s go see what they have in the machine.”
We stood in front of it and Hope looked through the glass.
“There’s Pop Tarts.”
“I only like strawberry. Those are blueberry.”
“How about a granola bar?”
“Ew. Those are gross.”
“Okay. How about those little muffins? They look good,” I lied.
“Sure. I like chocolate chip muffins.” She smiled.
I reached inside my pocket and pulled out my wallet, taking out two one-dollar bills and putting them in the machine.
“Press the buttons for the muffins,” I told her.
She did and reached inside and grabbed them.
“How about a drink? There’s orange juice over here in this machine.”
“I want apple.”
“They don’t have apple. How about some cranberry juice?”
“Yuck.” She made a face at me and I smiled.
“Go sit down. I’ll track down some apple juice.”
I walked over to the nurses’ station. “Excuse me, but I need someone to go find me some apple juice for that little girl over there.”
“We have apple juice in the cafeteria,” one of the nurses spoke.
“Well, I can’t very well leave at the moment.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Whoever goes and gets that little girl some apple juice can keep the change.”
The nurse named Samantha took the twenty from my hand. “I’ll go get some apple juice for you.”
“Thank you.” I smiled.
I took a seat next to Hope as she sat there and ate her muffins.
“Your apple juice is on its way.”
“Want one?” she asked as she held the mini muffin up to my face.
“Umm. No thanks.”
“Just try it. They’re good. I know you’ll like it.”
“No. No.” I waved my hand. “You eat them all.”
“Please, Mr. Sutton,” she whined. “Just taste it.”
I sighed as I took the muffin from her hand and put it in my mouth. God that was the worst thing I ever tasted. Hope watched me eat it.
“You like it, don’t you?” She giggled.
I nodded my head. “Yes,” I lied.
The nurse came back and handed Hope her bottle of apple juice. A few moments later, a man in blue scrubs came into the waiting room.
“For Lorelei Flynn?” He looked around.
“Yes.” I stood up.
“Lorelei has pneumonia, and a pretty serious case of it. We have stabilized her and we’re trying to get her fever down. She’s very weak and dehydrated. It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did. I’m going to admit her. She will be here the next few days.”
“May we see her? This is her daughter.”
“You can visit with her but only for a few minutes. She needs total rest.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
“Follow me. I’ll take you to her.”
Hope once again wrapped her hand around mine as we followed the doctor down the hall and to the room where Lorelei was. When we walked in, she opened her eyes and tried to smile when Hope ran up to her.
“You’re in a good place, Mommy. They’re going to make you all better.”
I stood in the doorway and stared at Lorelei lying in that hospital bed. My heart ached seeing her like that. Then I thought of something else. If she was being admitted to the hospital, who was going to look after Hope? Shit.
Walking over to Lorelei’s bed, I placed my hand on her arm.
“I want to go,” she whispered in a weak voice.
“You need to get better first.”
“Hope.”
“Don’t worry about Hope. I’m going to see that she’s taken care of while you’re here.”
Lorelei shook her head no at me. I was offended.
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave now. Our patient needs her rest,” the nurse spoke.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay,” Hope spoke as she laid her head on Lorelei’s arm. “Get better, Mommy.”
A tear ran down Lorelei’s cheek. I pulled a dollar from my pocket and handed it to the nurse. “Could you take Hope to the vending machine and buy her a candy bar?”
“Sure, thing.” She smiled.
When they walked out, I placed my hand on Lorelei’s head and leaned closer to her, wiping the tear from her cheek.
“I don’t want you to worry about anything. Hope is going to be well taken care of. I’ll see to that. You just focus on getting better. I need my personal assistant back in the office.” I smiled.
She slowly nodded her head and then closed her eyes. I pressed my lips against her forehead.
“We’ll be back to visit you as soon as they say we can.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Jack
I had Tony drive us back to Lorelei’s apartment. As soon as I unlocked the door, I told Hope to go and pack a bag.
“Where am I going?” she asked.
“You’re coming home with me for a few days since your grandparents and Stella are out of town.”
She went to her bedroom and I stood in the living room wondering if I had made the right decision. I had no choice, but I knew absolutely nothing about kids. I took in a deep breath. I couldn’t let Lorelei down. I cared about her and she needed my help regardless if she wanted it or not. I dialed Madeline.
“Hello.”
“Madeline, make sure the guest room is ready. We’re going to have a visitor for a few days.”
“Sure thing, Jack. I’ll see to it now.”
“Thank you. We’ll be arriving shortly.” Click.
“I’m all packed,” Hope said as she emerged from her room holding her pink bag and a rag doll.
I grabbed her bag and we went down to the limo. As we were on our way to my penthouse, I looked at Hope’s doll.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Luna. I’ve had her since I was a baby. My mommy said it was a gift from my daddy and that he’ll always be with me.”
“She’s a special doll.” I smiled and she hugged her.
When we arrived at the penthouse, Hope’s eye widened as soon as we stepped off the elevator. Madeline walked into the foyer and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Hope.
“Hope, this is my maid, Madeline. Madeline, this is our house guest, Hope. She’s Lorelei’s daughter.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Hope.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.” She giggled.
“Why don’t you show Hope to her room?”
They walked up the stairs and I poured myself a drink. Hope would be okay here with Madeline. She knew a thing or two about kids, so she’d be the perfect babysitter for her. As I walked into the kitchen, Madeline followed me in.
“She’s adorable. But I’m really confused, Jack.”
“Lorelei is in the hospital with pneumonia. She’ll be there for a few days, so I need you to look after Hope for me.”
“Umm. Have you forgotten that I’m leaving tomorrow morning to go visit my sister in New Orleans? I’ve had this vacation planned for two months, Jack.”
“For fuck sake. I did forget. Can’t you change it? Please, Madeline. I need you.”
“Sorry, but no. You know she’s not doing well. We talked about this and you said it was okay for me to go.”
“What the hell is with everyone not feeling well? I’m sorry, Madeline. You’re right. You go visit your sister. I’ll call Coco to help out.”
She laughed. “I’m not sure she’ll be any better than you. Listen, Jack, it’s instincts. You can do this. It’s not like she’s a baby. Hell, that little girl could probably take better care of you.”
“Very funny. Could you at least look after her while I go into the office for a couple of hours?”
“Of course.” She smiled.
Hope came into the kitchen and I knelt down in front of her.
“I have to go to work for a w
hile, but Madeline is going to look after you.”
“Okay. Will you be back later?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
Just as I was about to walk out of the kitchen, Hope called my name.
“Mr. Sutton?”
“Yes.” I turned and looked at her.
“I don’t think you’re mean at all.”
I gave her a small smile and left for the office.
****
I walked into Coco’s office and shut the door.
“Hey, how’s Lorelei?” she asked with concern.
“She has pneumonia. She’s going to be in the hospital for a few days.”
“She’s going to be okay, right?”
“Yeah. They’re taking good care of her. Listen, I need to talk to you about Bradley.”
“Has he been found?”
“No. Not yet. But Ron has a lead. Bradley wasn’t the one who was stealing the money from the company.”
She looked at me in confusion as she tilted her head to the side.
“He was putting it in offshore accounts for our mother.”
“What? That’s absurd.”
“I saw the accounts, Coco. They’re in her name.”
“Why would she have him do that?”
“I think she’s running this company into the ground for some reason.”
“Have you confronted her about this yet?”
“No. I’m waiting until Ron finds Bradley and we talk to him. I want you with me when I confront her.”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. But we’ll get to the bottom of it. On another matter, I have Lorelei’s daughter, Hope, staying with me while she’s in the hospital.”
Coco busted into laughter. “Yeah, right. You and a kid? I find that hard to believe.”
“I had no choice. Both of Lorelei’s parents and best friend are out of the state. There was nobody else to take care of her.”
“You don’t know how to take care of a kid, Jack. Shit. You hate kids.”
“I guess I’m going to have to wing it the next few days. Would you like to come over and help?” I grinned.
“Umm. No. I’m leaving for LA tomorrow. Did you forget?”
“Damn it. I did. What the hell is with everyone leaving town but me?”
She laughed again. “You can do it. How old is she again?”
“Seven.”
“She’s self-sufficient. You just need to keep an eye on her. She can keep herself entertained. We did it as kids.”
