Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
I picked it up and the glass winked dully. No way Maggie thought for a second this crap was real.
I was going to kill Raul Lozano. Why the hell did I pay this guy all that money for if he was going to fuck up something as basic as this?
If his mistake made her run ….
A sharp pain sliced through my hand. I looked down. I’d squeezed the glass ring so hard that it cut into my palm. Blood dripped between my fingers and splashed on the floor. But the pain was nothing compared to what was going on in my chest. Now that shit fucking hurt.
Maggie. I need her back here.
I had to get her back.
I have no choice. I can live without Lincoln Conglomerate. Hell, money was practically growing on trees, cash hailing down on my head in hard pellets. Girls like Maggie are a different story though. No way would I find another treasure like the brunette. And I didn’t want to. She’s the only female for me.
The blood rushed from my head and I stumbled back into the wall, barely able to stand.
Maggie. No. I couldn’t lose her.
But where was she?
My mind spun furiously. I’d never met her friends or family. I guess it was self-protective on her part, she didn’t want to bare parts of her life that should stay secret.
So what did that leave?
Nothing.
Wait, the pet store. It was a long shot. It was late as hell and DoggyMart would be closed but I was desperate. I grabbed my phone, hands shaking like crazy.
“DoggyMart, this is Leah speaking. How can I help you?” The woman sounded hesitant on the phone.
My teeth clicked together, jaw tense from strain.
“Hey, Leah. This is Evan Lincoln. I’m looking for Maggie. Can you tell me where I can find her?”
“Oh, damn!” the saleswoman muttered. “I knew I shoulda let the phone keep ringing.” The last bit was under her breath but I heard every word loud and clear.
What the hell was this bitch smoking?
“Do you know where Maggie is?” I demanded.
A click sounded, and then buzzing dial tone.
“Hello?” was my demand. “Hello?” Shit, did that ho hang up on me? I dialed back, and this time the call went straight to voicemail, a recorded line telling me that DoggyMart was closed for the night.
Fuck! What the hell? In my mind, I was already at DoggyMart and beating some answers out of this stupid Leah person. But by the time I got there, she’d probably be long gone.
I stopped.
But what else could I do? What other options were there?
Her father. Maggie talked about her father once. What the hell was his name again? Oh yeah. Ralph Lake. My fingers felt as big as sausages as I typed the name on my phone.
Come on, come on!
And soon enough, some creeper service located Ralph Lake’s number and address. In a frenzy, I dialed the number and mentally crossed my fingers.
Ring. Ring. Ring. The tone buzzed through my ears for what felt like forever. But nobody answered.
God damn it! Furious with myself, I smashed the phone into the wall. It exploded in a dozen pieces, plastic and glass flying everywhere.
This can’t be it. I can’t lose Maggie like this over some stupid fuck up. What the hell was Lozano thinking?
Even worse were my thoughts about myself. I’m the biggest idiot in the world. I had a real gem in my hands, a treasure worth more than her weight in gold. And I let it slip through my fingers because of some stupid fuck-up at the jewelry store.
Because I let my dad rule my life.
I let my greed to be CEO overwhelm everything.
Maggie was there the whole time … and I just couldn’t see it.
Fuck me.
I stumbled back against the wall, phone pieces crunching under my thousand dollar Italian shoes. All the money in the world was mine. Endless possibility. Opportunity that others would give their right arms for. But the one thing I wanted wasn’t for sale.
13
Maggie
Two years later.
I should have locked the store up and gone home long ago now. It was dark outside and so late that walking from the bus stop with the stroller made me nervous. But the baby bunnies had just come in and I wanted my son Ryan to see them.
“They’re cuties, huh?”
Sitting on his blanket next to me on the floor, my little boy gurgled and grinned. He reached his hands towards the bunnies but I kept them just out of reach so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt them. One of the rabbits hopped into my lap, its nose wrinkling adorably.
I had to work during the day so this was precious quality time with Ryan. I don’t see him as much as I want because it’s hard to be a single parent with a full time job. There are so many responsibilities and difficult trade-offs.