Page 23 of One Night with the CEO

When there was no response to that, Genevieve gave Mia a call. The phone rang and rang with no answer. Now, Genevieve was truly concerned. She called three more times before getting into her car. Maybe Mia was at home. She might be sick or hurt. Genevieve couldn’t think of anything else that would prevent Mia from at least telling her that she couldn’t make it.

Genevieve made it to Mia’s house in record time and rang the bell. Nothing.

She knocked on the door. “Mia? Mia, if you’re in there, say something, please. I’m really worried.”

The house was as silent as a tomb.

Fuck. This wasn’t good.

Genevieve tried not to panic as she drove to the police station, but she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking. If something had happened to Mia… Well, Genevieve didn’t know what she’d do without her.

Over the past few months, Mia had become central to her life. Genevieve’s work still fulfilled her, but there was nothing like coming home after a long day to Mia’s sweet smile and the floral scent of her perfume as she put her arms around Genevieve and asked how her day was.

There was no one immediately available at the station, so Genevieve grabbed the arm of a busy-looking officer walking past.

“Please, I need help. I think something has happened to my girlfriend.”

His expression immediately became serious. “Let’s sit over here. Tell me what happened.”

Genevieve allowed herself to be ushered into a chair, trying to remain calm. “She was supposed to meet me tonight at my place. She’s never late and she hardly ever cancels. When she does, she always lets me know at least a few hours beforehand. Tonight, she just never showed up. I called her and even went to her house, but there’s no one there.”

“When was the last time you spoke to her?”

“This morning. I was at her place last night and we had breakfast together before I headed off to work. She was going to spend the day at home, working on her paintings. I don’t know what could have happened. She could be sick or hurt or kidnapped—”

“Let’s try not to think the worst. Ninety percent of the time, these kinds of disappearances are nothing sinister. She may have simply forgotten her phone at home and gone out.”

“She wouldn’t forget that we had plans. She never forgets.”

“Everyone forgets sometimes. No one is perfect.”

“I’m not saying everyone is perfect,” Genevieve snapped. “I’m saying I know her. She wouldn’t forget.”

“I understand. I’ll have one of the officers check on her.”

“Can I come with? Please?”

“Absolutely not. We don’t allow civilians in the field. Don’t worry, they’ll call as soon as they know anything.”

Genevieve paced up and down the station, jumping every time the phone rang. Officer Williams, who was helping her, answered calmly each time, and each time, he shook his head at Genevieve. No news on Mia yet.

Another call came, and this time, Officer Williams sat up straighter. He beckoned Genevieve forward. Genevieve nearly tripped over her own feet in her hurry to get to him.

“I see. Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay, thanks, Bryan. I’ll tell her.”

He hung up. Genevieve’s fingernails were digging painfully into her palms. “What happened? Where is she?”

“You can stop worrying, Genevieve. Mia is perfectly fine.”

“Fine? What do you mean? Where is she?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say. What I can tell you is that she’s safe, and she has her phone with her. If she wants to contact you, she will.”

“That makes no sense. Why would she be somewhere else when she was supposed to meet me? Why would she not answer her phone if she’s not in some kind of trouble?”

“All I can say is that my colleagues have checked on her personally and assure me that she is fine. I can’t go interfering in relationship issues when no one is in danger.”

Genevieve wanted to scream and shake the answers out of him, but she still retained enough of her sanity to know that this would be a very bad idea.

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