Stu trotted back inside, shaking his head when Rocco looked down at him. “I spoke to a cab driver who told me she’d gotten into his friend’s cab a moment ago. The man suggested that she might need police assistance, sir.”
Rocco’s heart pounded against his chest with worry. “Did she look hurt when you saw her?” he demanded.
Stu’s lips compressed slightly, not sure exactly how to respond to his boss’ inquiry. “She was pretty shaken up when she came downstairs, sir. It looked like she’d been crying which was why I was trying to have her wait for you, or at least let Don drive her home. She snuck out while I was upstairs getting you, sir.” Stu saw the livid expression in his employer’s eyes and knew this was bad. “I’ll find her, sir. I’ll interview the cab driver and get the information on where she stopped. Give me a few hours.”
“You have two hours!” Rocco told him with a low, menacing growl. “I want to know if she’s safe in two hours or less!”
Stu nodded his head, knowing now that he should have pulled one of the guards to watch out for the woman. It wasn’t his employer’s normal way of doing things to bring a woman back here so it should have given him a head’s up that this woman was different. He should have followed his gut and ensured her safety. Now his boss was worried.
It took less than thirty minutes to get the address where the cab had dropped off the woman. Three minutes later, he was handing the information to his employer. “Take me there,” Rocco snapped, already showered and dressed in a business suit even though the horizon still hadn’t started lightening to indicate the morning had begun its timid presence on the day.
Twenty minutes later, he was still furious as he stood outside her apartment knocking. She wasn’t answering her door, but nor was there any noise inside. She must have gone into work which is exactly what he should be doing.
He paced the hallway for several moments, considering his next move. He could knock on her neighbor’s doors, get more information. Or he could find out where she worked and find her there. Or even better, he thought with a victorious smile, he could get her to come to him.
Turning to Stu, he said, “Get me information on her. I want to know everything you can on this woman.” He didn’t wait for Stu’s nod of agreement but turned and walked out of the building.
Rocco went into the office, still furious that the woman had left him but not sure why. Yes, she’d been timid initially, but once he’d kissed her, all of her shyness had disappeared, replaced by a vibrant, fascinating, sexually amazing woman. He’d been blown away to finally meet a woman who could match his sexual appetite but something had gone wrong. What game was she playing?
Stu interrupted his morning meeting with the information on where she’d gone. His eyes quickly read through the information in the file folder, but when that was the only information his head of security gave him, he stood up and walked out in the middle of one of his president’s sentences.
“Do a full background check on her,” Rocco commanded just outside of the conference room. “I want to know what she eats for breakfast, who her first kiss was and all the other pertinent details. Fast,” he said before he turned around and headed back into his meeting. It infuriated him that she hadn’t called, teasing him with the suggestion of a replay of the previous night. Every time he thought he had her motives down, she didn’t follow through on how he suspected she would act. So he’d revised his opinion, only to have that blown away as well.
By the time he was leaving his office, his anger was at a boiling point. There had been no word from the woman and Stu hadn’t come back with his normal file on her either. So he was working this situation blind and trying hard not to assume anything further. So far, all of his assumptions had been wrong and the only thing left was that she was a sweet, kind woman with a generous spirit and a body a man would gladly die to possess. But that was so far out of the realm of possibility, his mind refused to accept it. That was the fantasy he’d like to wrap around his memories. As soon as he found her, got to know her, he was sure that her true personality would surface and she would be just as mercenary and manipulative as the other women he’d come into contact with in the past.
After a fast shower and shave, he snapped the cufflinks onto his tuxedo shirt and pulled the dinner jacket on. If she were going to contact him, she should have done it by now. Everyone knows that one doesn’t string along a man forever. There were too many other women out there who could fulfill his needs. When he entered a charity ball that evening, his eyes automatically scanned the room, waiting to find her clad in some designer dress – a dress that he would eventually pay for when she sent the bill to his house. Normally those kinds of machinations irritated him, but in this case, he wanted Brianna so badly, he would gladly drape her in any designer dress she prettily begged for.
Then he stopped himself, irritated beyond reason for the way his mind was being controlled by his lust for a slender, innocent looking woman. All the games had been tried on him and he wasn’t going to fall for this one either. He wanted her to be honest with her desires and if she couldn’t play by his rules, he wanted to have nothing to do with her. But by the end of the evening, when he was leaving the ball after only being there for an hour, he was still furious, but now his anger had turned to concern. Where the hell was she?
“Here’s the information I’ve been able to gather so far, sir,” Stu said, handing him a file folder that was fairly small. Rocco read through a slightly more thorough report. She was a journalist who did stories on weddings and fluff pieces, rented an apartment for…he chuckled at the small amount she paid in rent, had a cell phone, internet service, electric bill and one credit card which she paid off every month. That was it? “Where’s the rest of the information?” he demanded.
Stu shook his head. “There wasn’t much I could find, but we’re still digging.”
Rocco looked down, his eyes narrowing as he read the rest of the information. “She only has a checking account and a retirement account?” He looked up at Stu. “She has two bank accounts and that’s it?” When Stu nodded, Rocco looked down, irritated by the way she’d invested her retirement account. She should shift her money over to some other accounts and she would be making at least twice as much as the return she was earning now.