I rolled over and reached for Gia only to find the sheets cold and empty. Somebody was an early bird. Stretching out on the king-size mattress, I called for her, “Hey, why didn’t you wake me?”
Not getting a response, I rolled out of bed. “Gia?”
She was probably on the balcony. It seemed to be her favorite place in the apartment. I went in search of her and came up empty. She wasn’t in the bathroom, the kitchen, the spare bedroom, or my office. Her purse and overnight bag were gone, as well as her toothbrush and makeup. It was as if she’d never been here at all. The only thing left was her sequined dress that hung on the back of the closet door.
Searching for my phone, I found it in the pocket of my jeans that were tossed on the floor. It was dead as a doornail. Ugh! I plugged it in and tried to call her, but it went immediately to voice mail.
She must have headed out early and caught a cab. It wasn’t the first time, but it was going to be the last. There’d be no more of that after I talked with my father today. I hopped in the shower, got dressed, and went to work. She and I were going to have a talk about her getting in a car with strangers. It wasn’t safe.
I stepped out of the elevator and was greeted by Tom. He sheepishly handed me a cup of coffee. “Your father wants to see you in his office immediately.”
My father could have waited to discuss the fundraiser until after I got settled. Regardless, I needed to speak to him about Gia. There was no sense in putting it off. The sooner I told him about our relationship, the sooner I could put her mind at ease.
“Okaaay.” I waved my fingers at our receptionist, Teresa, and she gave me a tight-lipped smile. It was weird.
As I walked down the hall, people scurried out of my way, barely making eye contact. I had a gruff reputation, but this was ridiculous. Not one person said hello or even looked at me.
I entered my father’s office to find my mother and Hunter already there. “What the hell is going on?”
“Shut the door,” my father said.
Clearly, there was an issue. “Family meeting? It’s been a long time since we’ve had one of those.” I sipped my coffee and sat next to my mother. She reached over and squeezed my hand. Again, it was odd.
My father leaned on his desk and folded his hands. “We got your email.”
What?
Reading my confusion, he continued, “As a matter of fact, everyone on this floor got it.”
“I didn’t send an email. To anyone.” I looked between the three of them. “What’s going on?”
“You really should be more careful,” Hunter piped in.
My father turned his laptop toward me and pressed play on the attached video. I watched as Gia and I entered my office the night of the fundraiser. The footage was grainy, and we were wearing masks, but there was no mistaking it was us, especially with Gia’s red hair. She sat on the edge of my desk. All you could see was her back, but when my head disappeared, it was obvious what was going on. I watched myself flip her over and push her chest to the desk.
Fuck! I didn’t need to see any more.
My hand reached out and smacked the laptop closed. “Who’s seen this?”
Hunter chuckled from his perch by the door. “Everyone.”
Everyone? “I didn’t send that. I didn’t even make the tape! My office is supposed to be private!”
“It came from your email,” Hunter said.
I looked between my parents. My God! My mother watched a video of me having sex! Everyone did! “I swear to God, I did not make that video and I certainly wouldn’t share it if I had.”
My mom squeezed my hand again. “We suspected you didn’t.”
“Then who did?” Who would do something like this, not just to me, but to Gia?
“I’m guessing the culprit is in this room.” My father’s gaze landed on Hunter.
Hunter? I knew he wanted my job, but he’d gone too far. I jumped out of my chair and charged, taking him to the ground. “You fucking piece of shit!” I only got one good punch in, cracking his nose again, before my father pulled me off. “Let me go!” I shook with rage.
“Sit down, Son!” my father ordered. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” He pushed me into a chair against my will and turned to Hunter. “Why?”
Hunter straightened his lapels and wiped the blood from under his nose. “I knew there was something going on between you two, but I had to prove it. Say goodbye to your job.”
“What about Gia? She’s going to be humiliated.” I told her to trust me and I fucking failed.
“She put in her resignation this morning,” my mom whispered.
She’d seen the video. That’s why she ghosted me this morning. I dropped my head into my hands. This was the worst possible thing that could have happened.
“You’re fired,” my dad said calmly. My head snapped up, but his focus wasn’t on me. It was on Hunter.
He pointed to himself. “You’re firing me? He’s the one who broke company policy.”
My father shook his head. “What you did goes so far beyond that, not to mention illegal. You’ve damaged the reputation of this hotel, violated the privacy of my employees, humiliated Gia, and cost me an event coordinator.”
“Gia? That’s what you’re worried about?” He huffed. “Pretty pieces of ass are a dime a dozen. She’s totally disposable.”
“She’s not disposable, you stupid fuck! I’m in love with her!” It wasn’t the way I imagined this conversation going, but it didn’t matter.
“I knew it!” my mom exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. “I knew when I saw her at Martha’s baby shower at the Onyx that she’d be perfect for you.”
“Rose?” my father questioned.
My jaw dropped. “You set me up?”
She waved away my shock. “You were taking forever to settle down. A mother does what a mother has to do.”
“You’re in love with her?” my father asked.
“Completely. I was planning to tell you about our relationship today, but then this happened.”
He gave me a soft smile. “Then you better go get her and bring her back.”
“You’re not firing him?” Hunter asked incredulously. “That job is supposed to be mine!”
“You have thirty minutes to clean out your office before I call security to escort you out. You’ve burned your last bridge with this family.”
Although I would have liked to bask in Hunter’s demise, I had more important things to do. “I gotta go!” I flew down the hall to Gia’s office and poked my head in. Penny was taking her portraits off the wall. “Where is she?”
Penny shook her head at me in disgust. “She went home. I’m supposed to pack up her things and send them.”
I pointed at her. “Don’t touch another thing. I didn’t do this to her, Hunter did. I’m going to bring her back. Have Tom text me every contact he has for her. I want phone numbers and addresses.”
I ran to the elevators.
“Where are you going?” Penny yelled.
“To the airport!”
I was going to get her back no matter what it took.
