Page 147 of Seal the Deal

I step between them, my hands raised. “Alright, that’s enough.”

Alex mutters something under his breath and storms out to say goodbye to the kids.

Zoe snorts, watching him leave. “He’s such a bag of dicks.”

I nod, but my thoughts are already miles away—on Jake, and how he’ll react when I tell him Alex is picking Noah up. I hate this.

Chapter forty-four

You had ONE job

Charlie

Istand at the head of the boardroom table, eyes on the slides. The room is filled with our new potential clients, people who could change the course of my career.

“… and with this approach, we can increase engagement by thirty percent next quarter.”

There’s a murmur of approval, a few nodding heads, but I can’t focus. My mind keeps drifting back to Noah. Back to Alex picking him up from school today.

You shouldn’t have agreed to this. It was a mistake.

My throat tightens as I glance at the clock. Jake’s back in Denver today, probably at the rink right now. I can’t wait to see him. Can’t wait to wrap my arms around him, kiss him, tell him I’m sorry.

I take a breath and click to the next slide. There’s been no message from Alex since he said he was en route to school. My gut churns, because I should’ve heard back from him by now.

“…and that concludes our presentation,” I finish, forcing a smile.

As Marcus takes over with closing remarks, I barely hear him. The sharpness inside of me continues to rise. I want to grab my phone and text Alex to check he got Noah, but I force myself to stay professional. It’s the longest ten minutes of my life.

When the meeting finally winds down, I make my way out of the room and check my phone again. That’s when it lights up with Alex’s name flashing on the screen.

I frown as I start walking towards my office. He never calls.

“Alex?”

There’s a pause, and when he speaks, his tone is tight. “Uh… we’ve got a bit of a situation.”

My stomach drops. “What do you mean? What kind of situation?”

“I stepped into a business meeting for a minute,” he says in a rush. “When I came back out… Noah wasn’t there.”

Everything inside me screeches to a halt. The air feels thin, like I’m choking on it, and I reach out to grip my desk, trying to keep steady. “He wasn’t… What do you mean, he wasn’t there?”

“I looked everywhere,” Alex continues. “He didn’t listen, like always. Maybe if you taught him to follow instructions, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

My mouth opens and closes like a goldfish.What the fuck?

Before I can scream at him, he continues. “I’ve checked the café, the lobby, the streets nearby—he’s just gone. I don’t know where he is.”

A wave of dizziness crashes over me. My knees weaken, and I clutch the desk harder. Noah, my baby, is somewhere alone in downtown Denver. And the one person I trusted him with haslosthim.

“Alex, how could you be so—” My voice breaks, and I press my lips together. Yelling at him won’t bring Noah back. Panicking won’t help. “Where are you?” I manage, the words like acid. “Where was the last place you saw him?”

“LoDo. Near Union Station. That’s where I last saw him before my meeting.”

My heart races, brain mapping the area. LoDo. Crowded, chaotic, full of places where a six-year-old could disappear.Did he wander off? Is someone with him? Is he safe?

“I’m heading there now,” I choke out, barely holding my voice steady. “Stay there, Alex. Don’t move.”

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