“God damn it,” I mumbled and immediately headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Melissa asked as she followed me out of the office to where Andi was sitting.
“Have we received any more notes?” I asked a flustered Andi.
She nodded, “Yes, I've been giving them to Mr. Cipriani as instructed.”
I took a steady breath. From time to time, I had suspected my dad was the source of the notes, but never had definitive proof. Knowing he wanted me out of this job enough to threaten me was infuriating.
“Andi, give me my purse,” I commanded.
She listened, handing me the black bag. I was on a war path, and my destination was to ream out my father and give him a goddamned piece of my mind. He was either at his apartment or shacked up with whoever his latest girlfriend was.
“Where are you going?” Melissa asked as I waltzed to the elevator.
“I’m going to put a stop to my dad and his little rumors. It’s about time he got his ass served to him,” I seethed. “Does he really think he can threatenmeand get away with it?”
Both Andi and Melissa stared at me with shock. Which honestly made sense. I was known for being calm and controlled.
But I wasdone.
Completely done with his antics. My dad was putting the company he built and his daughter at risk for no good reason. I was sick and tired of these old men ruling my life. I had more money and power than all of them, and it was time I stopped bowing down to them.
Melissa stared a moment more before looking over her shoulder. “Rome!” She yelled across the office.
He came running out of his office, his suit jacket slung over one arm. “What the hell is going on?” he asked as he approached us with a worried look.
“Keep Bec from killing her father,” Melissa instructed. “Capiche?”
He nodded in confusion and turned to me, just as the elevator door opened. “Want to explain what’s going on here?” He asked as he stood by my side while the elevator began its descent.
I explained to him Melissa’s comments on the rumors my dad was spreading. It was too much of a coincidence that I was receiving these notes, while my dad just so happened to claim that I was being threatened. He had to know about them in some capacity. He was either sending them himself or, at the very least, knew who was.
Rome patiently listened as I spoke, nodding periodically in acknowledgment. He didn’t interrupt me as I explained.
When I had finally finished, the elevator doors opened once again, and we made our way toward the front door of the building.
“These people you have on the notes,” I began, “have they made any headway on what they mean? Or is it just gibberish with the intent to freak me out?”
“There are definitive patterns throughout them that I doubt are coincidental, but I’ll follow up with them to see if they’ve made any more headway,” he explained.
I nodded, grateful he had found a team of people to look into these for me. I should have involved him earlier, but as I was learning, my control issues were really getting in my own way.
I finally stopped on the sidewalk outside the office. I looked around, realizing that I had beaten the car here, and I also had no idea where I was going. I was acting a bit more rash than usual. I turned to Rome to ask his opinion on where we should start searching for my dad, but his dark eyes were trained on the approaching car. Every muscle in his body was taut, a vein in his neck pulsing.
“What?” I asked as it parked on the street as usual, waiting for us to enter.
“Something’s different,” he mumbled, on full alert. I made my way over to the car, giving him time to figure out whatever the hell was up his ass today, but his voice stopped me in my tracks. “Bec, wait!” He shouted as he tried to get between me and the car.
It was too late. I was too close to the car… too far away from Rome.
The doors flew open once I was within arm’s reach of the back door, and I was pulled into the car by a masked man.
“Bec!” Rome yelled as the door slammed shut, cutting off my access to him, and they pulled out into traffic immediately. His eyes were wide with unrestrained panic, his hands balled into fists. He ran into the center of the street, watching the car drive away, his desperation evident.
Shit, shit,shit.
It felt like a vise was closing around my heart. The panic was rising, but I couldn’t let it. I was alone, being taken by strangers to who knows where. Shit.
