AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really? Ace and I… Never mind.”
“Oh, no, go ahead. I meant what I said earlier, London. Your happiness is what matters to me most of all.”
“Are you dating?”
“That’s the second reason I moved here.”
“Oh, really?”
“And it may surprise you that she’s neither a model nor an aspiring actor. She’s in finance. Works on Wall Street.”
“You dating a financier?”
“A very sexy financier.”
“I’m happy for you, Max! Why isn’t she with us? I’d like to meet her.”
“She’s working. But she’ll be home around five. You can come see my place and meet her, too.”
“I don’t know, Max. We have dinner reservations for seven. An important meeting.”
“We have plenty of time. I’ll call her. She’ll meet us there and we’ll give you a ride back to your place. On the way you can tell me what you and Ace are up to, what you started to say about a reality show. I can see that, by the way. Like I said, the guys I met with are looking to finance projects. They’ve got connections in Dubai. We’re not talking millions—we’re talking billions.”
* * *
Ace paced their rental home. He was at his wit’s end. The calls to London were now going straight to voice mail. Just like what happened in Milan. The feeling that started in the pit of his stomach had spread through his whole body. Something was wrong. London was in trouble. He thought of calling law enforcement. But this was New York. Without some type of evidence other than a feeling, they’d be of little help if they agreed to help at all.
He punched the speaker icon on his phone and tapped a number. “Frida, I need your help. Call the car service to pick me up. Then put on a suit or something official looking and be down in the hotel lobby so we can drive through valet parking to get you.”
“Ace, you sound worried. What’s this about?”
“No time to explain. Just call the car. I’ll tell you when we meet.”
* * *
London stood in front of a stylish building just blocks from Central Park and waited for Max, who was parking the car. He came around the corner in minutes, unlocked the door and then stepped back to allow her inside. Before her was a beautiful foyer with two-story ceilings, a huge chandelier and marble parquet floors.
“I see why you’re so excited to show this place off. I like it, Max. Very nice.”
They continued into the massive living room, viewed the dining-kitchen combination along with an office, library and sunroom on the first floor.
“It’s nice down here,” Max said as they neared the stairs. “But the suite upstairs is where the designers really shined.”
They started upstairs.
“Where’s your girlfriend? I thought you said you called her when I went to the restroom and she’d be here.”
“She’s on the way, probably got held up by a last-minute phone call or two. But she’s excited to meet you. She’ll be here. Don’t worry.”
They went upstairs. The rooms were everything and more than Max had described.
“This makes me want to buy a place in New York. The designer you hired earned her paycheck.”
“A million and a half dollars later, she should have.”
After they toured the rest of the second floor, Max wanted them to go to the roof.
London looked at her watch. “I really need to get back to Midtown. Traffic is crazy this time of day. It can take me an hour, easy.”
“Just five minutes. Let’s go upstairs.”
London looked at the short flight of stairs that led to a slanted door. A feeling that she couldn’t explain came over her. She’d had an enjoyable afternoon with Max and was glad they could be friendly. But it was time to go.
“Next time, okay? I’m going to leave.”
She turned and went down two steps before an iron grip halted her progress. She almost lost her balance and slammed into the wall.
“Max? What are you doing? Let go of my arm!”
“I’ll let go of your arm,” he said calmly, a blank look in his eyes. “But you’re not going anywhere.”
London’s heart jumped into her throat. Belatedly she realized her purse was on the table in the foyer downstairs. Her cell phone was in it. The fun-loving man with whom she’d shared the last two hours was gone. In his place was someone she’d never seen before. A stranger. A madman. There was no overpowering him. Max wasn’t that tall, but he worked out regularly. She couldn’t beat him up, so she’d have to try to outsmart him.
