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I wince at this thought. I hope this is merely a weird blip because I’ve grown attached to the gorgeous man, and really care about him. I feel good about myself when I’m with him, and dare I say it? I may be in love.
My heart sinks at the thought of love, and by the time I make it up the five flights of stairs to my apartment, I’ve made up my mind. If Justin isn’t going to address the scenario, then I’m going to confront him. I’m not letting him toss me aside like last week’s moldy pizza. But if I’m walking headfirst into a rejection, it’s not going to be in my sweaty yoga pants with messy hair. No, I’m going to make sure I look good doing this.
I quickly shower and tend to my hair and makeup. My curls are brushed into a gleaming brown mane, and I slip into a casual yet sexy dress that emphasizes my curves without looking sweaty. Then, I head across town to NYC Repo. In the parking lot, I stare at the building. It’s boxy and drab, pretty much what you’d expect of any corporate offices.
Slowly, I get out and enter the lobby. To my surprise, a man is standing at the front desk next to the receptionist. He’s young and handsome, and looks a bit like my boyfriend. He’s surprised to see me too, and his black brows raise.
“Can I help you ma’am?” he asks casually, his eyes looking up and down my figure. I frown.
“I’m looking for Justin,” is my hesitant request. The man quirks a sly grin at me.
“He isn’t in right now. Is there something I can do for you?”
“No. I’ll just wait until he gets back.”
The man’s eyebrows practically zoom off his forehead.
“He may not return for a while,” comes his silky voice. “Are you sure you want to wait?”
I merely spin around and seat myself in the reception area, crossing my legs primly.
“I’ll wait, be it one hour or five.”
The man gets a knowing look on his face and strolls over.
“You must be Marley,” he says. I narrow my eyes at him. Do I know this person?
“Yes, I am,” I say in a tight voice. He bows slightly.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is –”
“Paul,” I finish for him.
He chuckles, running a large hand through his black hair. His resemblance to Justin is quite striking, with those handsome bronzed features and blue eyes.
“I am, indeed. I hope you’ve heard good things about me from my cousin,” he says.
“Mostly,” I say in an even voice. “But it depends. I’ll just wait here until he comes back. If your cousin is actually in his office, you can tell him that I’ll wait until he comes out,” comes my pointed comment.
But then, Paul’s voice goes down an octave and his forehead creases.
“Well, seeing that you’re Marley, I guess I can tell you this. Justin’s not in his office. He’s not even at home, as far as we know. My cousin’s missing, Marley. He went out on a job last week and never came back. We haven’t heard from him for days now.”
His words cut through me like a razor-sharp knife and I stare, dumbfounded. Missing?! What can he possibly mean? My heart starts racing as I clasp my purse with white-knuckled fingers.
“Missing? What do you mean, ‘missing’?”
Paul looks apologetic.
“No one’s seen him for a while now. We were hoping he was ensconced in a love nest with you, but evidently not. Your appearance definitely changes things.”
The air starts wheezing in my chest.
“Did you call the cops? He could be in danger!” I exclaim.
Paul’s expression is grave.
“We did. They’re looking for him, but they said there is only so much they can do because we have very little information to go off. All we know are the details of his last job, and no one there remembers seeing him that day.”
I’m panicked to hear this.
“So what are you doing about his disappearance? We need to contact the Mayor’s office and put out a missing persons report! Does this happen often? Is the repo business usually this dangerous?”
Paul looks forlorn and gently takes my hand.
“It can be because not everyone takes well to their things being reposessed. Most people don’t, actually.”
I begin to hyperventilate.
“Well if the cops aren’t doing anything about this, shouldn’t the company? He was out on a job for NYC Repo when this happened! Is this how you treat your employees? That man risked his life for you, and now you’ve hung him out to dry? Who does that?” I’m practically screeching now, desperate to help Justin.
But Paul looks at me with a curious gaze.
“Oh… he still hasn’t told you.” My gaze shoots up to meet Paul’s.
“Told me what?”
The handsome man sighs once more.
“Justin is the CEO of NYC Repo. Did he tell you he was just an employee? No, my cuz founded the company before he was twenty. This is his outfit. He just goes out on jobs himself sometimes to stay in the game, you know, so he can see what’s going on at street level.”
