Chapter Twenty-Four Connor #2
“Aye,” George agreed, securing the vote of the majority. I couldn’t hide my smile as Petra beamed.
“Aye,” Bruce added, making four of five to confirm her.
“No.” Dennis swallowed. “I vote no.”
“Your vote is noted for the record, but the motion has passed. Petra will be named the new chief operating officer in four months’ time, giving Connor enough time to prepare her replacement,” Margaret said.
“Thank you, all. I won’t let this opportunity go to waste. Let me prepare the next agenda item.”
While Petra switched over the slides, I pulled out my phone to see a text and a few missed calls from Laney. My stomach tightened, fearing the worst. The voicemail-to-text feature popped up.
Hey, Connor, this is Matt. I’m with your wife, and she can’t even stand up straight. She’s swaying, said she hasn’t eaten or drank in a day. I’m going to try to find her mom to take her to the ER here, but I’ll take her if I have to. Get your ass back here.
“What?”
My body didn’t feel like my own. My skin prickled. She wasn’t well. Matt was gonna take her to the ER, not me.
I’d missed the call. What if she’d tried calling me? Fuck. Fuck.
This had been her entire point. Work always came first. Oh my God.
“Petra, I have to go.”
“Right now?” Her eyes widened.
“Laney… ER…” I couldn’t breathe. “I need to—”
“Go right now.” She swallowed and faced the board. “I’ll handle the next part without Connor.”
“We’re gonna vote on your job, and you’re running? Are you fucking serious?” Dennis laughed. “Oh, this is so much easier.”
“My wife is in the ER right now, an hour away. That is where I should be. Not here, defending my work to you of all people. I do a great job, but I don’t care—remove me. Petra can run this place.” I didn’t even wait for a reply before running out the door with my phone to my ear.
It rang and rang and rang, but Laney didn’t pick up. Fuck. I punched the elevator button, but it took too damn long. I needed to go, right now. I barged through the stairwell doors and took them two at a time as my mind raced.
Did she pass out? Was she with her mom? I didn’t know. My ears rang, and my throat closed up to the point I couldn’t breathe.
She was with Matt, of all people.
“Connor, wait!” Petra had her heels in one hand as she darted down the stairs toward me. “I’ll drive you!”
“What about the thing?” Two more steps each second. One more floor to go.
“Fuck that. If they can’t see that family matters more, then I don’t want to work here. Plus, didn’t want to get you all pissed, but if they let you go, I’m leaving too.”
“Petra,” I scolded, but almost laughed, “admirable, but you don’t have to do that.”
“Where did you park?”
“Floor A in the garage.”
We ran together, and she hopped in the front seat, giving me the passenger so I could call everyone. I tried Laney again, and my stomach soured. I traced her location, which showed her at the hospital.
“Fuck. She’s at the ER and not answering.”
“She could not have her phone with her.”
“Matt took her. Her fucking high school ex.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. My jealousy was overshadowing my concern. “I need to try her mom.”
“Good idea.” She swallowed as she pulled onto the road that led to the interstate. It was late, so there wasn’t as much traffic, but it was still too much. “Ugh, shitty drivers.”
The phone rang in my ear as I dialed her mom. It rang without an answer.
“Why is no one answering their fucking phones?”
“You could try Matt.”
“I don’t have his fucking number.”
“Uh, well, see… I do?” She cleared her throat, her voice shaking a little toward the end. If I wasn’t freaking the hell out about Laney, I’d want to dive into that, but it was not the time.
She tossed me her phone and I scrolled for Matt, then dialed his number. He answered on the second ring.
“Petra?”
“Is Laney okay? What’s wrong? Where is she?”
I heard a beeping sound. Was that from a machine? Was he at the hospital? I loosened my tie since each breath took effort.
“She’s okay, yeah.” Matt sighed before a muffled voice neared him. “I’m gonna step out for a minute.”
“Are you speaking to Laney? Put my wife on the phone.”
“Connor.” Matt spoke softly but firmly. “That was the nurse. Laney is doing fine. She passed out due to dehydration, so they have her hooked up to some IVs and are monitoring her. They want to check… make sure she is good.” He cleared his throat and hesitated. “Are—are you en route?”
“Yes. I’m en route. Now can I speak to her?”
“She’s sleeping. She’s safe. We’re on the second floor of the hospital. They’ll buzz you up.”
There was something about his tone that had me on edge. He was hiding something. I could smell the lie through the phone, and I gripped the car’s grab handles so hard that my knuckles whitened.
“Why aren’t you letting me talk to her?” I barked out.
“Because she’s resting. Because you’re really emotional right now and won’t help her. Let her feel better before you barge in here. She needs you calm.”
“Are you Laney’s husband?” A kind, authoritative voice spoke to Matt, which carried through the phone.
My vision blurred. I saw red.
“Connor, I’m going to try to see if the doctor will give me any information. Her parents are on their way. Just take some deep breaths and get here. You acting frantic won’t help her at all.”
Then he hung up.
My pulse skipped a beat, the pressure in my chest tightening and doubling with each breath. Placing a hand on my chest, I pushed into it, hoping that would ease the pain.
“Breathe in slowly, Connor. Count to seven, then exhale. We’ll get there, okay? It sounds like she’s okay.”
“They asked if Matt was her husband.”
She sucked in a breath. “You should be thankful he helped her. He’s not the issue.”
“I know he’s not the fucking issue. If I wasn’t obsessed with the board meeting, I could’ve answered the first call.” My eyes stung, and my throat closed. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You breathe. You calm the hell down. Call her mom or dad, talk to them.”
“Yeah, okay.” I dialed her dad. No answer.
Forty-seven minutes until we arrived at the hospital.
Forty-six.
Forty-five.
Each minute passed excruciatingly slowly, and each second, I vowed to never let this happen again. Whatever it took, I’d put Laney first.
If she’d still have me after this.