“Calm down, Bruce. She’s a child throwing a temper tantrum. I’m sure she’ll be back in time for her after-nap snack.”
What the fuck was I thinking letting Holly take her shopping? Holly could never understand someone as sweet and pure as my Sophie. I’m a fucking dumbass. I bet Holly even tried to dress her like she dresses herself, something I wouldn’t like one bit.#p#分页标题#e#
“I can’t believe you lost her! She’s the most important thing to me in the world and you just let her go!” The words burst out from me. I know I might be overreacting but I feel like something I’ve always wanted might be slipping through my fingers.
“Excuse me? The most important thing in the world? Being a bit dramatic, aren’t you, Bruce?”
I breathe deep, filling my lungs with air, trying to calm myself. I want to go through the phone and choke this bitch to death but I can’t.
“Which way did she go?”
“I have no idea. By the time I realized she wasn’t coming back into the dressing room, I walked out just in time to see her get in the back of a cab and take off.”
“Fuck,” I say, but I’m somewhat relieved she wasn’t abducted or something horrible. She’s so perfect that I’m sure anyone would just snatch her up, something I should have done from day one. If I’m technically her guardian, could I trap her in my condo and not let her leave? I would have to come up with something else once she turns eighteen. Something that would bind her to me.
“Looks like you’ve got the evening off. How about I come over and we finally get that one-on-one time you’ve been needing?” Bile rises in my throat at the thought of Holly touching me. I think my cock has belonged to little Sophie since before I even laid eyes on her. Since I found out she would be mine to take care of, it seems like my cock took that and went with it, now my heart seems to be along for the ride.
“Holly, I know your father is an important client, and we’ve known each other for some time, but fuck you. Sophie is important to me, and the fact that you don’t give a shit is really eye opening.” I don’t mask the disdain in my voice.
“Jesus, Bruce, you’re acting like she’s a lost lover. You barely knew the girl. Calm down.”
“There’s a lot about her you don’t know, and frankly it’s none of your business.”
“My God, you’re in love with her.”
The denial is on my lips, but I can’t say it. It would be a lie. I do love her, and I think I have from the moment I saw her. I don’t want losing her to be the way I find out, and I’m angry at myself for allowing it to get this far.
“Goodbye, Holly.”
I toss my phone on my desk and just stand there, not knowing what to do. I have no idea where she’s gone. I don’t know who I could possibly contact to find out. I’m completely lost. And utterly heartbroken.
That night…
I’m pacing the kitchen and checking my phone every thirty seconds. I still haven’t heard from Sophie. It’s dark out, and I’m so worried thinking about what could be happening to her. Is she out partying? Is she crying? Is she dead? My mind goes from one extreme to the next. I know someone might have just grabbed her. She is so utterly perfect that I couldn’t even blame them for wanting her, but make no mistake, I will find her.
I’ve called the cops so many times they say my name when they pick up the phone. There’s nothing I can do but wait for her to turn up. She’s only seventeen, but it hasn’t been twenty-four hours, and since she wasn’t kidnapped, she’s free to do what she wants. They even informed me that at the age of sixteen, she’s a legal adult in North Carolina, something I wouldn’t be letting her know. It also meant I could have her but also that she could walk out my door if she still couldn’t get her trust until she was eighteen.
I take my scotch and go over to the breakfast bar, getting ready to make another call to all the local hospitals, praying that she isn’t there. I want to know where she is, but I’m terrified something awful has happened to her.#p#分页标题#e#
As I dial the first number, I hear the elevator ding and my heart starts beating out of my chest. I feel like I imagined it, but when the doors open, I drop my phone and rush to the elevator.
Grabbing Sophie up in a bear hug, I squeeze the life out of her. “Where in God’s name have you been? Fuck, I was so worried.” I bury my face in her silky blonde hair and inhale her sweet scent, holding her curvy body to mine, not wanting to ever let go. She’s so small and compact, she fits against me perfectly. Like she was made for me.