Page 42 of Cocky Tech God

We cleaned up our faces, and were on the verge being late. A quick kiss to my lips and he was gone. I sighed, greedily inhaling the lingering scent of him. The last time I’d been so utterly consumed with a man, I thought I would be a wife and a mother. Neither happened. And there was no chance I’d ever be either. So, I’d always played it safe.

When Marcos, my ex-fiancé, broke our engagement to search for a fertile woman who could deliver all the babies he desired, I was destroyed. So much for a man wanting me for me, not my ability to carry a fetus to full term. I’d rather die a spinster than think of myself as unworthy, as broken. And I couldn’t face seeing the disappointment I had seen in Marcos’s eyes again. It made my miscarriage so strong, so real again after listening to Calista last night. It was as if it were happening all over again. I simply couldn’t put myself in that position.

An email notification buzzing in my bag startled me. The pain of my past tucked back, deep inside me where I preferred it. I rifled through my bag, until my hand met the cool metal phone. I pulled it out. It was Mia.

Mia: Call me ASAP. We have a problem.

Hansen

I sat in the reserved seating section of the Morgan Financial Holdings’ spotlight. Lucia’s reserved chair in the row behind me was empty. Where was she? I’d just left her. I thought she was on her way. Of all the sessions to miss, this was not the one. Graham would see she wasn’t there.

Something felt off, because she wanted the Morgan Financial Holdings’s contract as much, or probably more, than I did.

I pulled out my phone from my blazer pocket and typed a message to her.

Me: Morgan spotlight starting. Get your hot ass down here.

Hot ass was an understatement. She had the best ass I’d ever seen in my life.

“Morning, Hans.” Calista sat in the chair next to me—her reserved chair. “I think I’m still pissed from last night.”

“I’m doing fine.” I shook my head. “Thank God.”

“I wonder how Lucia is getting on today.” She furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of Lucia’s empty chair.

“She was fine this morning…” I stopped mid-thought. Shit.

My eyes met Calista’s. She smirked.

“Was she?” Her dark blonde eyebrow lifted.

“When I ran into her earlier.” My recovery was less than smooth—something I wasn’t accustomed to. “She was fine.”

My phone vibrated. “Hang on a sec.” I turned my attention to my phone, anxiety taking hold. I swiped the screen and read.

Lucia: Now’s not good.

I frowned. What was this about? I re-read the message. There was something between the lines that made me feel that she was not fine anymore. An urge ripped through me, and before I could really think about it, I stood, with the intention to find out what the hell was going on with Lucia. Spotlight be damned.

“You’re going to miss Graham,” Calista said, attempting to reach out, but missed me altogether.

I tucked my iPad under my arm and moved through the packed room until I was out in the emptied space of the hotel corridor connecting the conference rooms. Leaving the spotlight looked bad. As companies vying for a position as cybersecurity software implementor, our absence would hurt us. But I knew with all my being Lucia wouldn’t miss this unless it was serious.

I scrubbed my face. My mind created multiple storylines of what happened with her. And when I finally got back to our room, the scenarios got more extreme because the room was empty. Her bags were still there, so at least she hadn’t left the island.

If she left the island without telling, or seeing me, I wouldn’t like it. The realization winded me for a second. I worried about her. I wanted her to be here. With me.

Shit. Those were not the feelings I expected, or wanted, to have.

But still, I considered my next move.

I pulled out my phone and typed a message with too-quick fingers.

Me: Where r u?

I waited and sat on the bed with my eyes bonded to the screen. I didn’t want to miss a response in the shuffle of all the other text messages, emails, and instant messages I received continuously. The seconds moved slow, and the minutes seemed like an eternity. After five minutes with no response, I left the room. She had to be somewhere on this trio of islands.

I would find her.