Carter Reed(21)

I still couldn’t believe any of what he said.

“Emma.”

Work. Late. It was after 8:30 now. Oh god. I shook my head. I was getting dizzy again. Then I choked out, “Noah Tomlinson didn’t have enough money to start all those hotels at once. He got the money from you, didn’t he?”

Carter lifted an eyebrow. “Your job is still there, but if you’re late, I can’t guarantee it’ll always be there.”

He didn’t have to say any more. I raced upstairs and emptied my bag onto the bed. When I couldn’t find anything that would’ve been appropriate, I wanted to scream. But then I looked at the closets and I wondered…. I swept it open and gaped. Well, that wasn’t true. I would’ve gaped if I had enough time. The closet was full of designer labels and after I checked a skirt, I saw it was in my size.

I didn’t have time to think about that coincidence.

Hurrying, I grabbed a white business skirt and shirt. There was another closet of shoes. I wanted to fall over in a faint. High heels, sandals, pumps, everything a girl would’ve wanted in shoes were in that closet. Giggling from all the emotions, I slid on a pair of Casadei shoes and then stopped in my room. How would I get there?

With my purse, the new phone from Carter, I headed out of my bedroom. My answer was standing in my living room, waiting for me.

One of the guards gave me a nod. “Miss Martins. Your ride is waiting downstairs.”

Of course. I had a car waiting for me.

This was Carter’s life. It was now my life, I guess.

We went down the elevator where the other guard had the door opened for me. I slid inside. One of the guards sat beside me while the other sat in the front and off we went. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t know if I was supposed to. I didn’t know which guard sat with me, but I had a feeling that Carter wanted them around me from now on.

When we were close to The Richmond, my phone vibrated.

When you are ready to come home, push zero nine on your phone. Mike and Thomas will be waiting at the back entrance of wherever you are. Have a good day, Emma.

I stared at the phone for a long time. I couldn’t look away from it. Home? To Carter? I was really living with him. It felt so intimate, my pulse picked up. A sizzling sensation went through me. This was my life. This was my new life. I had a car. I had two bodyguards. I lived in an extravagant home, with an extravagant man. I drew in a shaky breath. Could I handle this? This was all too…it was too much.

I sat back and counted to ten. An anxiety attack was coming on.

Four days ago, I thought my life was ending. Everything had taken a 180 degree turn.

“We’re here, Ma’am.”

I jerked out of my thoughts. The car had stopped and I scrambled out the door to find that we were at a back entrance. When the guard closed the door behind me, I looked at him, unsure what to do or say now.

He gestured towards the door. “This is where we will pick you up. Have a great day at work.”

“I—thank you…”

He nodded at me and then waited.

Uh…

“You can go on in, ma’am.”

“Oh!” Flushing from embarrassment, I hurried through the door. It was an entrance that I never knew about, but a time clock was next to it. I clocked in before I headed to the hotel’s breakroom for coffee.

I ignored the workers at the tables. No doubt they had whispered about me and my week of no-shows, but as I got my coffee and headed out, I was surprised. There was no reaction. It was like nothing had happened, so I shrugged and headed towards Mr. Hudson’s office.

When I got there, it was the same shock. I expected some comment from him, but didn’t get anything. As I sat down at my desk, in my own little office two doors down from his, there was a pile of paperwork on my desk and my inbox flashed a number that would keep me reading emails all morning.

It was nearing lunch when I got my first clue.

Mr. Hudson said from my opened door, “How was your vacation?”

I jerked back, my heart pounding. He never knocked, not even a courtesy knock. “Vacation?”

I stared at my boss. It took me a moment to comprehend and then I sputtered out, “Oh. Um. It was good. How was the week here?”

Mr. Hudson stared at me behind his glasses and pinched the top of his nose. He was a big man, but bigger since he had stopped working out due to a back injury. He had gained fifty pounds over the last year. He carried it all in his belly now, which made him unhappy. Everyone knew Mr. Hudson used to think of himself as a player type of guy, but with his hair starting to gray and thin, he couldn’t keep up the image. Annoyance had his nostrils flaring and he clipped out, “The week was fine, would’ve been better if we had proper notice of your vacation.” His eyes narrowed and he lifted the top of his lip in a sneer. “Word came down from the top. You never told me you knew someone at the top, Martins.”

I straightened in my chair and lifted my chin. “The vacation was a surprise to me as well. I apologize for any strain it might’ve had on you or others.”

He huffed out, “You can thank Theresa for doing most of your work. She couldn’t do all of it, since you’re my actual assistant, but you can touch base with her. She’ll bring you up to speed on everything. We’ve got a big deal coming up. There’s a conference in New York. I want you there.”