Page 87 of Protecting Bianca

“No.”

“Did the New Yorker interview you yet?”

“No. Were they supposed to?”

“That’s what Jackson just told me.”

“I haven’t heard anything about that. You should speak to Bianca. She'll know.”

“I’ve been trying all afternoon.”

A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grew and this time I raced down the corridor towards the large boardroom where I had set up my temporary base. I opened one of the apps on my laptop and located Bianca’s phone. Her blue pin popped upimmediately, pinging here at the office.Was she in the building, but I somehow missed her?

I called Dave downstairs. “Hey, boss. What can I do for you?”

“Have you seen Bianca this afternoon?”

“Not since she left a few hours ago.”

“And she hasn’t returned?”

“No.”

“What about Mr. Walsh?”

“I haven’t seen him since he left, either.”

“Thanks, Dave.”

“Is everything Ok?”

“I don’t know.”

I hung up the phone and tore down every corridor, and knocked on every closed door, even shouting into the women’s washroom. When no one hollered back, I went inside to check all the stalls. They were empty.

A thought popped into my head, and I ran toward her office. My eyes scanned the room quickly, but I didn’t see her purse. I checked the desk and the floor, but it wasn’t there. Then my eyes caught something on a chair. Pulling it out, I discovered her black leather bag, and nestled inside one of the pockets was her phone.

I exhaled, relieved that I’d found it and knew that it explained why she hadn’t gotten back to me all afternoon. But that relief only lasted for a second because I realized if she didn’t have her phone with her, I had no way of tracking where she was.

Don’t panic.

She wasn’t missing. I just didn’t know where she was exactly. Jackson had said he’d last seen her with Walsh. I rushed back to my laptop and pulled up Walsh’s number. I punched in the digits and waited while the phone rang.

And rang.

Shit.

Walsh wasn’t picking up.

Jeremy.

The thought that he had anything to do with this made my shoulders tense. I called him next, and he answered after the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Is Bianca with you?”

“No. She should be at the office.”

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