Page 39 of Guarding the Billionaire

We stayed there a few minutes, Flora draped over me with her head on my shoulder, until my phone beeped, bringing me back to the present. I dug into the couch cushion where I’d hidden my phone, knife, and gun for safekeeping while we watched TV. It was a message from my boss.

Lois:Shapiro is MIA. Neighbors haven’t seen him for weeks, but we found this at the apartment.

I opened the photo attached to the text, enlarging it so I could see what it was.

“Oh my God, is that us?” Flora asked, looking down at the photo.

It was a computer monitor, the screen filled with a picture of my mate and I walking to a black town car in front of her office building.

Flora

Teresa told us we couldn’t do anything about Josh until the next day, so we watched two more episodes of Buffy. I couldn’t concentrate on the show -- not that I needed to when I’d seen every episode a dozen times or more – because I kept seeing the photo on Josh’s screen.

I didn’t know if he’d taken it or paid someone else to, but clearly he was watching my whereabouts. There was no explanation for that I could think of, nothing that wasn’t sinister anyway.

After we were done with Buffy, I transitioned into my Sunday night ritual: a long and luxurious bubble bath, an extended skincare regime, and an early bedtime. Teresa came up to join me shortly after I got to bed, but other than a quick kiss, neither of us initiated anything more.

She was distracted, and definitely concerned, although I couldn’t say for sure how I knew that. My bodyguard’s expression was as impassive as ever. I realized that I could somehow intuit her emotions, something that had been more frequent since we first started being intimate. Maybe it was the mate bond that Teresa had told me about.

The next morning I woke up alone. When I came downstairs Teresa was in the kitchen with Angie, who’d stayed on the night shift but was heading home when we left for the office. Without a word Teresa sat me down at a table in front of a bowl of yogurt and fruit, then brought me a cup of coffee.

I had to admit, it was nice having someone take care of me. I’d been close to my parents but neither of them had been particularly nurturing. They’d always been preoccupied with the business, and they’d raised me to be self-sufficient.

We exited through the back door to the garage where Teresa had parked the Sapphic Security SUV. It was black and shiny, like you’d see the FBI driving on a TV show, and according to Teresa, bulletproof. That was more comforting now than it would have been a few days ago.

“Any news on Jake?” I asked as we pulled past the guards at my front gate.

Teresa shook her head. “He’s in the wind, but we’ve got a team looking for him. If he uses a credit card or pings a cell phone tower, we’ll know.”

Once we got to the office, the day fell into its normal rhythm. As usual, Amy met us at the reception desk, rattling off my schedule as we walked down the hallway. Although she’d been a little scatterbrained when she first started, Amy had turned into a decent assistant, I thought. I made a mental note to talk to Human Resources about extending her an offer of permanent employment.

I pushed through all my morning meetings, Teresa by my side, then took a break to eat the lunch Amy brought us. I felt a little awkward making my assistant get me lunch every day, but I realized that Teresa was right. I need to focus more on healthy eating. Skipping breakfast and lunch and then nibbling on snacks after dinner wasn’t making me feel my best.

Around three o’clock I realized that I hadn’t used the restroom all day.

“I’m going to use the ladies room,” I told Teresa.

She looked up from her computer to remind me, “Call me if you need me.”

“I’ve been peeing on my own since I was a toddler,” I teased. “I think I’ll be fine.”

When I exited the office, Amy stopped me.

“Did you need something Miss Meyer?”

“Just taking a break,” I reassured her.

“They’re doing some repairs in the ladies room on our floor,” Amy told me, pointing at the door to the stairway. “A maintenance man was just here, he said to use the ladies room one floor down.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I stepped into the stairway, the heavy door swinging behind me, and suddenly a hand clamped on my mouth, another one circling around my waist.

“You’re coming with me.”

When I tried to scream, the hand tightened on my mouth. “I have a weapon. Do what I say, and maybe you’ll live.”

The voice was muffled, like the person was wearing a mask or something. He pushed me up against a wall, my face to the concrete, and out of my peripheral vision I saw the man pull at a strip of silver duct tape that was hanging from the wall.

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