AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Madison is gone, Mr. Brooks. She was supposed to meet us in the lobby at eight this morning, but she never showed up. I thought that she might have overslept, so I beat on her door, but no one answered. When I tried to get the manager to let me in, he said that she had already checked out. She’s not answering her phone either. I don’t know what to do.”
My heart races as I hang up, saying nothing to Howard. I need to know that she’s safe, and I need to know what happened. Everything seemed fine last night. Hell, it was better than fine.
I immediately call her phone, and it rings, but no one picks up. I keep calling. Over and over again until it stops ringing and starts going straight to voicemail.
What the fuck could have happened?
Emery Brooks:Madison, please pick up. I’m worried about you. If I don’t hear from you, I’m going to get the police involved.
I try to keep my breathing even and calm. She’s safe. She has to be since she checked herself out. Plus, I was there until two in the morning. What the hell could have happened between then and eight this morning? Why would she just run like this?
The phone vibrates in my hand, and I look down at a message from Madison.
Madison Carter:I’m safe, and I quit. Don’t talk to me again, or I’ll be the one to call the police. You know what you did, and unlike you, I’m not a liar. I follow through with my promises.
What the fuck is this about? I didn’t do anything wrong. Was it something from last night? Was I too rough or too demanding?
Fuck me.
How am I supposed to figure it out if she’s talking about getting the police involved?
That’s when it occurs to me. I also have an entire ChitChat campaign that no longer has our star employee working on it. No one else knows what she’s been planning or doing. It was all her. And I’ve made promises.
I’m so fucked.
The bad part? I’m not even that worried about the campaign. I’m worried about the girl who’s so pissed at me that she quit her job and refuses to talk to me, even to explain why she’s pissed.
I need to fix this, but I don’t know how.
Chapter 50
Madison
A five hundred dollar cab ride seems excessive, but when it’s that or talking to anyone at Aspire, I’m happy to pay it. The driver grins at me as I leave him a big tip and get out of the car in front of my apartment.
I don’t know how I’m going to get my things from Em’s house, but that’s a problem for another day. Today, all I’m going to worry about is not burning his house to the ground.
He fucking promised me.
It’s not even that I’m mad at him for cheating on me. I knew he was a liar and a womanizer the moment I met him. The thing that makes me so angry is that he convinced me I was wrong. He manipulated me into believing that he’s worth being patient for, that he’s not the man the world thinks he is.
Now, not only do I have to get over him, but I also have to find a new job. The offer from Herman and Schuster is probably still open, but I don’t know if it’s the right fit. I don’t know that they’ll give me the freedom I’ll need to be successful.
I climb the stairs to my floor and drag my bag behind me like it’s the weight of the world. Until I received that envelope this morning, I was the happiest I can remember. I thought everything in my life was perfect.
Now I know it was all just a house of cards ready to topple over.
Tessa is laying on the couch, her phone above her head, when I step through the door. “What are you doing here?” I ask, surprised to see her.
She jumps, obviously just as surprised at seeing me. When she realizes who I am, she puts her phone down and says, “I live here. What’s your excuse?”
I try to give her a smile, but it just doesn’t work. In those few moments, the rage inside me just becomes too exhausting. This is my home, my place of safety and comfort where bad things don’t happen. Seeing Tessa laying like she always does breaks the dam that’s been holding the sadness back. “Em cheated on me,” I whisper.
In an instant, she’s on her feet and wrapping her arms around me. “Fuck him,” she whispers, and I feel myself breaking down. I was happy yesterday. Happier than I can remember.
Now, it’s like someone’s ripped a piece out of me. I shouldn’t feel like this. I shouldn’t hurt this badly. I’ve known Em less than a month, and before that, I was perfectly fine.
But fine isn’t happy. Fine isn’t blissful or ecstatic.
