Page 115 of Missing Pieces (Men of Manhattan 3)

at me.

Was he expecting me to go? I wasn't going to go. I wasn't going to give up that easily. "It's really important that I speak to her. Can't you call her and tell her that it's me?" Would she know me? She had seen Tyler a few days ago. Would he have told her about me?

"I'm sorry, Ms. Shaw. There isn't anything I can do."

"You can just tell her that it's Tyler's friend. She'll understand. Please can't you just ask if she's willing to speak with me?"

His eyes bulged slightly. "Excuse me for one second." He grabbed a stack of mail and walked around the desk and toward the door.

James Hunter had just walked into the building. I swallowed hard. It was like seeing a celebrity. He grabbed the mail from the concierge and thanked him. The concierge tried to hurry him along to the elevator. He was trying to make it so that I couldn't speak to James.

Finally my feet started working and I walked up to them. "Are you James Hunter?" I don't know why I said it like that. I knew it was him. He looked just like his pictures.

He glanced at the concierge and then me. "Yes?"

"Oh, don't mind her," the concierge said. "Ms. Shaw was just leaving. Right?"

"James, I'm a friend of Tyler Stevens. We met a few weeks ago. And I need to speak with him. I don't have his number or his address and I was hoping you could help me find him."

"I'll call security, sir," the concierge said. "She's probably just paparazzi. I'll take care of her."

"No, it's okay, Rodgers," James said slowly. "What did you say your name was?"

"Hailey. Hailey Shaw. Tyler and I were on this crazy spur of the moment road trip and I just really, really need to speak to him."

"We've actually heard all about you. But my wife is having really bad morning sickness. Let me see if she's up for a visitor." He pulled out his phone and put it to his ear.

Penny's pregnant? I couldn't believe I didn't know that. But I had been pretty isolated the past week. It had been a while since I had last turned on the TV.

"You'll never guess who's standing in our lobby right now." Pause. "Hailey Shaw. Tyler's Hailey." He smiled at me. "I thought that would be your answer. We'll be right up." Pause. He looked in the grocery bag he was holding. "Yup. And one extra thing I hope you'll like." Pause. "I love you too."

That had to have been the cutest conversation I had ever witnessed.

"Thanks for checking, Rodgers. But you can add Miss Shaw to our list."

"Very well."

James nodded toward the elevators and I followed him. "I'm sorry about all that," he said as we both stepped on. "After everything that happened, I just want to make sure we wouldn't be getting any unexpected visitors."

"No, I completely understand. And I'm glad you're okay."

He smiled. "You don't even know me."

"I've read about your story. About you and Penny specifically. I was always rooting for you two."

"Thank you." He looked a little surprised to hear that.

I knew they had gotten a lot of bad publicity for their relationship. A professor falling in love with his student probably wasn't usually front page news. But a professor as famous as James Hunter? Their relationship had been smeared in front of the whole country. I had read that they couldn't leave their apartment for months because the paparazzi were harassing them. They had been through so much already. And then they were finally getting their happy ending and he was shot.

I tried not to blatantly stare at him. He was classically tall, dark, and handsome. But he looked a little paler than he did in pictures I had seen. I watched him put his hand out on the railing of the elevator, as if he was steadying himself. He was clearly still in pain. And rightfully so. He had been shot three times, all just barely missing his heart. He probably should have still been resting.

"Did you want me to carry that?"

He smiled. "I'm okay. But thank you for offering."

"Are you sure? I know you're still recovering. Shouldn't you be resting?"

He laughed. "My wife nags me enough about that, trust me." He let go of the handrail and stood up a little straighter.

---