I shook my head because I didn’t understand what the hell was going on. “What do you mean he’s on his way to Boston? Where did he get the idea that I went to Boston?”
“From a song you sang last night.” She bit down on her bottom lip.
Suddenly, my eyes widened. “Oh shit!” I ran up the stairs and pulled my phone from the nightstand, quickly dialing him. It went straight to voicemail. “Shit. It went straight to voicemail.”
“He probably doesn’t have service up in the air.”
“Oh my God, could this day get any worse? I need to go to Boston.” I pulled up the flight schedule and the next flight out was in three hours, but it was sold out. The next flight was with a connecting flight in Minneapolis, which put it at almost eight hours and that flight didn’t leave for another four hours. The next nonstop flight didn’t leave until tomorrow morning.
“Why don’t you just wait until tomorrow morning to fly out?”
“No. I can’t wait. I have to get on a plane now.”
“But you won’t get in until four a.m. That’s dangerous. You can’t be walking the streets of Boston in the middle of the night.”
I sighed. “What about his private jet?”
“He’s on it now. You’re really going to make his pilot fly another five hours back to Boston?”
“Damn it! I suppose you’re right. Well, I’ll just get in at four a.m. and get a room at the airport until I figure out where he is. I can’t stay here all night. I’ll go crazy.” I booked the flight that was leaving in four hours.
****
Alex
The plane landed at the airport and I raced off it, running to a monitor to see which gate her flight was at. Of course her flight had just landed and her gate was at the other end of the terminal. I ran through the airport like a madman.
“Excuse me. The flight that just landed, have all the passengers gotten off already?”
“Yes, sir. We just shut the doors. Everyone is off the plane.”
“Thank you.” I sighed as I looked around and then headed to baggage claim. She wasn’t there. But then again, her carryon bag was gone from the closet, so she probably didn’t check a bag. As I sat down on one of the benches, I went to pull my phone from my pocket and noticed it wasn’t there. FUCK! I forgot to grab it before I got off the plane. Could this day get any worse? I cupped my face in my hands.
I hailed a cab and had the driver take me to my hotel, Parker International. As I walked through the lobby doors, the employees stared at me with frightened looks on their faces. I gave a small wave and took the elevator up to my penthouse suite. Setting my bag down, I poured myself a drink and headed back down to the lobby.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Parker.” Todd smiled at me from behind the desk. “We didn’t know you were planning a visit.”
“It was very last minute. Listen, Todd, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything, sir.”
“I need you to tap into the system of all the hotels in the Boston area and find out if a woman named Emerson James checked in anywhere.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but the only person who can do that is Wes, and he’s gone for the night.”
“Well then, call Wes at home and tell him I need him here. It’s an emergency.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
I looked at my watch. It was nine o’clock. “Also, have a filet, medium rare, with a baked potato and green beans sent up to the penthouse.”
“Right away, sir.”
****
Emerson
My flight from Minneapolis was delayed an hour and finally ready to take off. I laid my head against the window as I thought about Alex. I couldn’t believe he thought I was going to Boston. Those damn cocktails I had last night. I wondered what he was doing, where he was, and how pissed off he was because he couldn’t find me. Even if I was in Boston, how the hell would he find me? Would he scour every hotel in the area looking for me? God, I loved that man so much and to put him through this tore me apart. Then again, he was the one who just assumed I went to Boston, so technically, it wasn’t my fault. He shouldn’t have gone assuming things. But with my pattern, I didn’t blame him. Boy, did I have some serious making up to do for this one. I closed my eyes to get some sleep.
****
Alex
As I was eating dinner, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, Wes was standing there.
“Good evening, sir.”
“Good evening, Wes. Thank you for coming here.”
“The front desk said it was an emergency.”
“Yes. I need you to tap into all the hotel systems in the Boston area and find out if Emerson James has checked into any of the hotels.”
“I can do that. May I use the laptop on the desk?”
“Certainly.”
He took a seat at the desk and began typing on the laptop.
“May I get you a drink?” I asked.
“I’m fine, sir. Thank you. It doesn’t look like she has checked in anywhere.”
“Impossible. She had to have.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but her name isn’t anywhere in the databases.”
“Great. I wonder if she checked in under a different name knowing that I would be looking for her. Try Emily James.”
He slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry, but she’s not checked in either.”
“Thank you for your help, Wes. I’ll make sure to compensate you well for this unexpected visit.”
“No need, sir. I’m just doing my job.”
I gave him a small smile as I led him to the door. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out two one-hundred-dollar bills and placed it in his hand.
“Take this and thank you.”
“Thank you, sir. Have a good night.”
I shut the door and went into the bedroom. Opening my bag, I removed the small blue box from it and opened it. Where are you, Emerson?
Chapter 43
Emerson
I finally landed at five a.m. Good God, I needed coffee. Once I got off the plane, I found a Starbucks and ordered a coffee with a double shot of espresso. Taking it to one of the tables, I sat down and pulled out my phone. Now what? It wasn’t like I could do much at this hour. I drank my coffee and then headed to the bathroom to freshen up. I was a hot mess with mascara stains underneath my eyes. After removing my makeup, I reapplied it and then brushed my hair. If I was going to find Alex, I wanted to make sure I looked good for him. I kept trying to call him all night and it still went to voicemail and I was starting to get worried. It wasn’t like him to have his phone off. Now that it was seven a.m., it was time to start looking for him, but where did I start? If he got in yesterday, then he would have gotten a room somewhere. I called Adam.
“Where the hell are you? I’ve been worried sick.”
“I’m fine. You all have totally blown everything out of proportion and I’ll explain it to you when I see you. But first, I need to know if Alex has a hotel here in Boston?”
“I think he does. Hold on, let me make sure. Yes. It’s called Parker International and it’s across from the Ritz Carlton on Avery Street. It’s about a fifteen-minute drive, but you’re going to be in rush hour, so it may take a little longer.”
“Thanks, Adam. I love you.”
“I love you too and we’re going to talk when you get back.”
I sighed. “I know.”
Walking out of the airport, I hailed a cab and had the driver take me to Parker International. As I stepped into the lobby, I went up to the desk.
“Hello, welcome to Parker International. How may I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Alex Parker. Is he here?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that information.”
A nice-looking man walked over and smiled at me. “You wouldn’t happen to be Miss Emerson James, would you?”
A smile crossed my lips. “Yes, I am.”
“I’ll just need to see some identification, if you don’t mind.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out my driver’s license and handed it to the man named Wes.
He glanced at my I.D. and, with a smile, he handed it back to me. “Here’s the elevator key to get to the penthouse. It’s on the top floor. Mr. Parker has been looking for you.”
“I know. Thank you.” I smiled.
I headed to the elevators, inserted the card, and took it up to the top floor. When the doors opened, I stepped into the hallway and stood before the large, double wooden doors. Taking in a deep breath, I lightly knocked. The door opened and Alex stood there with a shocked look on his face.