What was Crystal doing going to marriage counseling? There was no way that information was a mistake. Owing to the nature of the business, his employees went through a rigorous background screening as part of the hiring process. He had an entire department dedicated to designing and maintaining an advanced encryption system for the routers they manufactured, and security breaches were always a threat. He hired only the best to ensure that didn’t happen. So he knew that they wouldn’t pull something like that out of the blue. So why wasn’t he picking up his phone and calling her to demand an explanation? Perhaps he didn’t want to hear her explanation. This was the first real relationship he’d ever been in, and he liked how his life was with her in it.
Laying his head back wearily, he admitted the truth—he was afraid of what she’d say. He knew they couldn’t go on as they had been without him knowing what in the hell was going on. He’d never had anyone that he was scared to lose, and he didn’t like how it felt at all. She’d gotten closer to him in the short time they’d known each other than any woman ever had—including his own mother. And he had no idea how to deal with it.
Mark stayed in the same position for another hour before getting to his feet and going to pack a bag. A quick call to his pilot ensured the plane would be ready in an hour. Jacob was still in Boston dealing with problems there, and he was going to join him. Right now, he needed distance from Angel until he could come to terms with what she’d done.
• • •
Crystal checked her phone yet again, hoping to see a message from Mark. She’d been worried about him since last night, and he hadn’t attempted to contact her. She’d called him as soon as she woke that morning, but his phone had gone straight to voice mail. She’d left a message and then texted him a few hours later when she reached the office. Since they’d been together, he was seldom out of contact. If he didn’t take her call, then he returned it, usually within the hour. So this silence from him was unusual and worrisome. Now it was time for her break, and she was going to drop by his office and see if he was in.
When she reached the door with DESANTO GROUP on it, she gently pushed it open and was met by a smiling, middle-aged receptionist. Crystal had met her several times before when she’d waited for Mark after work. “Hi, Ginny, is Mark in yet?”
The other woman looked momentarily confused as she said, “No, honey, he’s in Boston. He left last night, I believe. Jacob is already there, so obviously there was some issue to make Mark leave so suddenly.”
Crystal was stunned and from the look of sympathy on Ginny’s face, it showed. “I . . . um . . . oh, that’s right,” she stuttered, “I’d forgotten about that.”
As she turned to leave, Ginny called out, “Did you want to leave a message for him?”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I’ll talk to him later,” she managed to choke out before hurrying out the door. What is going on? she wondered frantically as she walked back to her own office. It wasn’t like him not to let her know he was leaving town. Had the visit with his parents been upsetting to the point that he’d fled without a word? Well, that wasn’t quite true. Ginny knew he was gone.
She was distracted for the rest of the day. Lydia asked her a few times if everything was all right, and she’d attempted to smile and assure her that she was just tired. Not technically a lie since she’d tossed and turned most of the night, worried about Mark.
When five o’clock finally came, she gathered her things and was grateful that Lydia was on the phone. She gave her a wave as she walked by and went straight to her car without stopping on the way to speak to Gwen or Mia. Normally, she’d pop in and chat for a few minutes, but today she wanted only to get home and make sense of what had happened.
• • •
“Care to tell me again why we packed up in the middle of the night like a bunch of outlaws running for our lives? Don’t get me wrong, I can see you trying to avoid your parents again, but I’ve heard through the family grapevine that they’re out of Myrtle Beach today,” Denny said between mouthfuls of his breakfast. He might be complaining about their last-minute trip, but he was certainly enjoying the food at their hotel.
Mark had opted for just coffee, not feeling up to a large meal this morning. He took his time taking a sip before answering his nosy cousin. “Jacob’s been tied up here for too long. If Williams can’t run this fucking location without having his hand held, then I need to make some changes. We shouldn’t have to constantly bail him out.” Williams was the new general manager and was having issues with those loyal to the one who had been recently terminated. The other manager hadn’t been doing his job, and the company had suffered as a direct result. Mark had given him ample opportunity time and again to get his act together. Yet nothing had ever changed. He’d continued to come in late or not at all, while contracts went unfulfilled. The man was single-handedly ruining the reputation of the DeSanto Group and he had to go. Unfortunately, thanks to his lax work ethic, he was popular with the employees, and they were making it hard for their new boss.