CHAPTER SEVEN
PIERCE
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“We have breaking news this hour. Kyra Fox, daughter of finance tycoon, Derek Fox, has gone missing.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
“Hasn’t she recently become engaged to Pierce Sterling?” The redheaded cohost asks.
They share a look as I sneer at the large TV screen on the wall.
“Yes. She did.” Redhead says. “Quite the age gap. Ms. Fox is only twenty-two, but I suppose the heart knows what it wants...”
There’s an awkward silence while I mentally roll my eyes.
Everyone knows we haven’t fallen in love, but I do not expect the media—who I donate a lot of fucking money to—to be hinting with no subtlety that Kyra has done a runner.
“Yes, well, I’m sure her family is very worried about her. But it is worth asking if there’s some kind of connection here.”
“And Mr. Sterling.”
They both nod at each other, barely containing their judgments, as fury rolls through my body.
I click the remote and turn the TV off. Then throw it across the room.
This is absolutely humiliating!
And unacceptable.
“Pierce.” Derek holds up his hands.
“Where the fuck is she?” I demand.
This is a goddamn PR disaster. I’m not listening to any more of their snide little comments. Announcing our engagement attracted enough of them, but that was before Kyra disappeared.
She’s making me look like a fool. Something no one—and I mean no fucking one—gets to do.
Kyra didn’t help with her pathetic half smile in the PR photos we had taken, but I let it go, dropping an anonymous tip that she was a virgin.
That circulated on social media and shut everyone up.
I half expected her to comment, but she didn’t, proving she’s as obedient as I need.
Until now.
“I’m sure Kyra will return soon. We’ve left messages, but her phone is in her bedroom.” Derek runs a hand over his short dark hair, frowning. “There is, and don’t freak out just yet, a chance she was...taken.”
I rip off my tie and roll up my sleeves.
What rubbish. He’s making excuses.
“Who the hell would want to take your daughter? No offense, Derek, but she’s not the brightest crayon in the packet, nor is she that pretty.”
Fuckable.
But not pretty.
“Offense taken. My daughter is smart enough—we restricted her education so she was prepped to marry into the right family.” Derek props his hands on his hips.
I tug open my top drawer and pull out a cigarette. I rarely smoke these days, but having my reputation challenged is certainly a good enough reason to suck some nicotine into my aging lungs.
“Well, she’s not marrying anyone if she doesn’t get her ass back here now.” I blow out the smoke and glare at him. “And if you let that happen, we both know it won’t be good for you.”
If he’s right and someone has taken her, why would they? Kyra doesn’t work at Fox & Co., and while she’s the sole heir to their fortune—soon to be mine—he hasn’t mentioned a ransom note.
Yet.
“Listen, Sterling. We both have enemies. It could be anyone. Who would want to stop you marrying my daughter?”
Nice try, Derek. Deflecting blame is so boring.
But he’s not wrong.
“I’m sure there are at least over a hundred young men who’d love to”— fuck her hot pussy— “become your son-in-law, Fox. Who has been sniffing around?” I demand.
He crosses his arms defensively.
“Have you had a ransom call yet?” I continue.
“No.”
“Then, clearly, she’s done a runner. Get her back here and make sure she’s at the church to say her vows.” I draw in another lungful of poison. “I want your PR team to fix this. Fast.”
Derek curses. “And say what? Sally rang the police when she couldn’t find her—she’s certain Kyra had been kidnapped. Something about her clothes still being there.”
“Jesus, Fox. Sort your women out. Are you a man or a pussy?”
He should have been on it and controlling his wife immediately. He knows the impact to business when things like this happen. We are both listed on the stock market.
Idiot.
“Fuck you, Sterling!” He points a finger in my direction. “You blackmailed me into this, and now my daughter is missing. If she is dead, I will fucking gut you.”
Like he really cares about Kyra.
I wriggle my jaw, then smile. “Try it. I will release the compromising photo of you and young Maria. Or was it Mark? I forget.”
His dark glare meets mine.
I know this wasn’t his plan. He wanted to marry Kyra off to someone influential and more her age who would contribute to Fox & Co. then take over the business. That’s not my problem. Derek shouldn’t have attended my private event and sucked some underage pussy.
I could swear it was a delicate little cock.
Whatever, I’ll dig out the photos later.
If those photos got out, he’d be destroyed. His stock prices would plummet, his wife would leave him, and his daughter would never be able to look him in the eye.
Instead, Kyra gets to spend her life with her legs apart and my cock inside her.
Lucky her.
I feel said appendage awaken at the thought, reminding me how impatient I am to fuck her.
Derek’s glare continues, but we both know I have him over the barrel. He’s fucked no matter what he does.
I glance over at the black screen.
“If I see my name mentioned in relation to this one more time, and Kyra is not at the church, every media channel in the United States is going to see what the chief executive officer of Fox & Co. does in his spare time.”
More glaring.
“Your time will come, Pierce,” he threatens.
I laugh. “You’re not the first person to say that to me.” I widen my arms out in front of me. “Yet here I am.”
“You’re an asshole.”
I sit down in my black leather executive chair and lift an ashtray out of the drawer, flicking the ash off the end. Then take another puff and blow it out.
I stopped caring what people thought about me when I made my first million. Now my net worth is over a billion and I’m immune to others’ judgment. It just bounces off me.
“Why didn’t you just phone me?” I ask curiously. “Did you think she ran away and came here?”
While I’d like to think Kyra’s panties were moist and her little cunt open and craving my cock after our encounter, I'm not arrogant enough to believe that’s the case.
Or perhaps I am.
She’s never admit it if I had turned her on. They never do.
But I know how the human body works. It would’ve had a visceral reaction, even if she was mildly repulsed. I’m looking forward to finding out when she returns.
“Do you not have a tracker on her phone? Her bag?” I demand.
Derek’s head pulls back in response.
So that’s a no then.
“There’s never been a need to track her. Kyra has been a compliant child all her life,” he says firmly.
“She is not a child, Derek. She is going to be my wife.” Not that I would be opposed to marrying her if she was even younger, but that’s no excuse for keeping tabs on her as an asset.
He’s been negligent in our agreement.
His dark glare meets mine but I’m over this conversation. I push my chair back, slide open the bottom drawer and pull out the black and teal business card.
I toss it onto the far side of my desk.
“If she’s been taken”—which I strongly suspect she hasn’t—“call these men. They’ll find her.”
Derek picks up the card and reads it, glancing back at me.
“Barrett Security,” he finally says.
“Expect to open your wallet, they’re not cheap. Next week, I’ll be standing in front of the altar waiting for your daughter. Then I’ll take her home and consummate it.” I snarl, letting that sink in.
Surely, he has to care about his daughter a small amount. I think about my son from time to time, and regardless of what he may think, I love him.
Although, what is love?
An emotion that gets in the way of critical thinking, if you want my opinion.
“Now get out of my office and sort out this goddamn mess.”
Fox crushes the card in his hand and takes a step closer. My personal security, Frank, does the same, stopping him from doing anything stupid.
“You fucking drugged us all, you piece of shit.”
I laugh.
“I didn’t make you eat that child’s pussy. That was all on you, Fox. Now get the fuck out of my office.” I growl.
I nod at Frank.
“Let’s go, Mr. Fox.”
“Close the door.” I call after them and then sit back and smirk.
Idiot.
They all are. I’ve watched enough men with a little liquid courage do things they regret for the rest of their lives.
Mostly thanks to me.
Or maybe they enjoy it and don’t have as many regrets as I think. Either way, one thing remains true: they all remain emboldened to me for the rest of their lives. It’s made me an immensely powerful man. The best part is they can’t even discuss it with one another.
Actually, that’s a lie.
The best part is that I get to watch them destroy their lives. Nothing makes me come harder than a grown man with an innocent, knowing he just made himself my bitch.
I slide my hand under my desk and unzip my fly. Tugging out my cock, I let out a moan as my hand wraps around it.
My eyes press closed as a memory flashes before me. A small body, soft new skin, and a tight hole.
Fuck.
It’s the little sounds that tips me over the edge every time.
“God.” I grunt as my hand speeds up and imagine Kyra on her knees sucking my cock.
She’s young enough to appeal to my desires, and submissive enough to never ask what I’m fantasizing about when she finally figures out that she alone is not enough to fulfill me.
And also, how demented my tastes are.