Chapter Eighteen
BEC
“You’re smiling, it’s weird,” Andi remarked as we made our way towards my office.
I could hear Rome stifle his laugh next to me as he peeled off to his own office. After what could only be described as the greatest kiss in history, I made us talk. Really talk about how this was going to work—because I wanted it to. I wanted him.
While we were officially together, as it was so new, he agreed we wouldn’t inform everyone just yet.
Which was complicated, as we were now in a fake relationship for the media, but also a real relationship that we were keeping hidden.
It may have been unnecessary, but it made me feel more in control.
I was beginning to realize I had a real issue with control.
“I smile,” I argued as we wandered into my office, where Melissa was sitting… waiting for me.
“No, you don’t,” Melissa retorted.
“Thank you,” Andi sing-songed.
I rolled my eyes and took my seat, “I do, in fact, smile… when there’s a justifiable reason. There usually isn’t one. Now, can we get to work… you know, that thing I pay you two to do?”
They both nodded as Andi handed me my mail, took my purse as usual, and left.
“What’s the word on the board?” I asked Melissa as I sorted through the stack of envelopes in front of me.
She sighed and leaned back, “Good and bad.” I looked at her in surprise. “Mostly good,” she placated.
“What’s the bad?” I asked.
“Aren’t I supposed to start with the good, soften the blow of the bad to come?”
I quirked a brow, “Have you ever needed to soften the blow when it came to me?”
She laughed lightly, “Valid. Okay… so, the bad news is that your dad is doing his own work on the board's perception of you. Having Will attend the last board meeting worked in your favor by showing the members who wanted him in your position that you had his support. However, I think it lit a fire under your dad’s ass.”
I rolled my eyes, because, of course it did. “What’s he doing?”
“He seems to be asking strategic questions in regards to your competence. He first was hinting that your new boyfriend is distracting you, but with most of the board fawning over Rome, that isn’t working,” she explained. “He’s now pivoted to what can only be described as wack-ass ideas.”
I laughed in shock, “Wack-ass?”
Melissa nodded, her expression serious. “It’s the most apt description. He is claiming that you’re being threatened, and it’s not only pulling your attention but also putting the company at a security risk, and risk of instability. Like I said… wack-ass.”
“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 threaten me and 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 was done.
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.
I took a deep breath… and another. I was just trying to make sense of my surroundings and calm my racing heart… but it was completely impossible.
One of the benefits of growing up the way I did, was that I was trained on how to handle a kidnapping well before middle school.
“I can do this,” I mumbled under my breath, bracing my hands on either side of me.
We were in one of the Bly Enterprises vehicles.
It was a standard sedan with armored windows and an expansive moonroof on top.
It was both good and bad that we were in a company vehicle.
They were always gassed up with a full tank, meaning we could go far, but they also had trackers wired into the engine.
The only way to turn off the tracker was to replace the engine.
I had to believe they hadn’t gone that far.
No matter where they took me, I knew Rome would come.
I just needed to keep myself safe until he made it.
It was two men who had taken me. They were both wearing masks that covered their faces, but left their hair exposed.
The one who had grabbed me had crawled to the front to take the passenger seat.
He was taller than the driver, at least from what I could tell, and stronger. He would be my biggest concern.
The driver was oddly familiar. I couldn’t place it, but there was something about his hair and the way he gripped the steering wheel that had an alarm going off in my head.
He was too familiar.
Holy shit! He was the driver whose name I had never learned.
“What are you two doing?” I asked tentatively, wanting to understand their current temperaments. Depending on their feelings, it could be safer for me not to speak at all.
Neither answered me; both focused on getting away as fast as we could.
We were weaving in and out of traffic, heading towards the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.
Thank God for typical New York City traffic, as we were making good progress, but it would still take time to get anywhere… which gave me time to get away.
I looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. I typically had bear spray with me. I rifled through my purse, looking for the bottle, but came up empty.
Damn it, when had I removed that?
Why the hell did I insist we keep the cars clean?
Anything would be better than the nothing I had.
Well… I did have my Louboutins. I did my best to peel off my shoe subtly.
However, my captors weren’t overly focused on me.
They probably assumed I was just a weak woman who wouldn’t fight back. Idiots.
I glanced at them as I readied my shoe, planning to aim for the driver’s eyes, but not only were they paying me zero attention, they were both frantically checking the rearview and side mirrors. I turned to see what had their focus.