Page 38 of Corporate Escapades

“I called Jack. I’m sure he’s already outside waiting for us.”

They hurried from the apartment without another word. When they arrived in the lobby, Jack was indeed waiting for them. Paris crawled into the backseat as Vic took the spot in front. Feeling as if the blood had drained from her head, she gasped, “I can’t breathe.”

“Don’t think about what’s going on,” replied Vic. “Focus on positive thoughts and try to relax. Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly.”

Paris tried to do as he said, but it was of no use. She began to hyperventilate, and before she knew it, she could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness.

Vic, realizing he had lost her, unfastened his belt and crawled into the back seat. “Jack, do you have anything to drink?” he asked.

“Yeah, here,” he said, handing him his water bottle.

Vic pulled Paris over and placed her head in his lap. Grabbing her wrist, he assessed her pulse, which seemed okay. Lightly tapping her cheek, her eyes began to flutter open. “Hey,” he said. “Come on back to me. You’re okay.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“You hyperventilated and fainted,” he replied. Paris tried to push herself up, but Vic stopped her. “I think you should rest for a moment.”

“I’m okay, I think.” Paris looked into his intense blue eyes. She was shocked that he could be so kind and caring.

“I’m sure you’re fine, but I still think taking it easy with moving isn’t a bad idea.”

She took his advice and was oddly enjoying the sensation of lying in his lap, but then she wondered what was wrong with her? Had she hit her head when she fainted? Deciding to fight the feeling, she gently pushed away from him, and despite his disdain, he helped her back into a seated position and handed her the water.

“Drink it,” he said softly. “It’s Jack’s. As far as we know, he doesn’t have any major diseases yet.”

“Gee, thanks,” replied Jack from the driver’s seat. Vic slugged his shoulder. “Jerk,” replied Jack.

“You know I love you, little brother,” said Vic. You could hear the fondness in his voice.

“I know,” said Jack.

“How long until we’re at the hospital?” asked Paris.

“We’re nearly there,” said Jack.

“Do we know anything about Mya or what kind of shape either of them is in?” asked Paris. A knot had formed in her stomach. It seemed to be a trend as of late.

“Chase said Mya was driving and that they were hit from the driver’s side. Her car’s pretty messed up. He was told that she’s stable, but he doesn’t know much beyond that.”

“What about him?” asked Jack. “Is he okay?”

“They weren’t completely sure. He said they wanted to check him over more to be on the safe side. I guess he hit his head pretty hard against the window,” replied Vic.

At the hospital, Chase met them in the waiting room.

“They’ll be retrieving me any moment,” said Chase. “I need to have my head scanned. The doctor said they’re admitting Mya. She didn’t respond well when they checked her over. She’s pretty banged up, and they want to monitor her overnight. They said it would take about an hour to get her situated, but then we can see her. I tried to call her family, but apparently, they’re on vacation in Madrid. If anything changes, we’ll need to track them down.”

Paris looked at Chase, and she could no longer hold back her emotion. Tears flooded her cheeks as she tried to stifle her sobs.

“Paris,” said Chase, “it’s gonna be okay.”

“We could have lost her,” wailed Paris. “We could have lost both of you.”

“Trust me, it was scary, but we’re going to be okay,” replied Chase.

“Come here,” demanded Vic. Paris didn’t move. She was afraid to move, especially

toward him.

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