Page 51 of Hard and Unprotected

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.