Page 60 of My Dear Mr. Corporate

I tried his small sips, but I was too thirsty and the water going down my parched throat felt wonderful. I guzzled more than I should and ended up spewing some on his shirt because my throat wasn’t working fast enough.

“Sor-ry,” I apologized.

“It’s okay. Sip some more.”

He was patient, treating me with the care he had taken when my ankle had sprained in the woods. When I’d drank a third of the water he withdrew the bottle from my lips although I was not fully quenched.

“I’ll give you more in a little bit,” he told me. “We have to get your body used to what it’s been deprived of. Too much too soon and it will make you sick.”

Trusting his knowledge of these things, I leaned against his chest and listened in shock as he explained quietly to his aunt how I had ended up in her basement. I was stunned to find out his uncle was the responsible one. That odd man. I knew something was off about him when he made that comment in the lounge about taking over the company.

“I am so ashamed,” she remarked and started to cry as she placed a small bowl of soup and crackers on the table before me. “I had no idea he would ever do something like this. To his own family. What was he thinking?”

“If his gambling is anything to go by,” Tate explained, dipping the spoon into the soup and feeding me. “Then he was desperate for money. It probably didn’t help that I forced him to resign because of the money he’s been embezzling to support his habit.”

Before he could say anything else, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “Think you can manage on your own for me to take this call?” he asked.

I nodded, and he placed me on the chair and left the room. The feeling in my legs was slowly coming back, tingling and hurting but I tried to ignore it as best as possible. I fumbled with the spoon but managed to get it to my mouth.

“It-it’s not your fault,” I croaked hoarsely at Susan when I saw how upset she was about everything. “You didn’t know what he was up to.”

“I should have known something was wrong,” she sniffed. “I hadn’t seen him for months and suddenly he appears and offers to clean out my basement. I could have prevented this.”

I shook my head and reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “If you hadn’t let him in, he would have brought me somewhere else. Probably somewhere Tate would have never found me.”

While she allowed that thought to sink in, I consumed the soup she had prepared for me. I was already feeling better, my stomach no longer growling. I put down the spoon and took a cracker as Tate re-entered the kitchen. I nibbled on it sensing the news he had was bad.

“That was the detective,” he stated and plucked me from the seat, sitting once more with me in his lap. “Uncle Simon confessed to everything. It’s just as we suspected. He has a huge gambling debt hanging over his head. Your house is on the verge of being repossessed by the bank. He targeted Bryan because of something he said Bryan overheard, something he thought you had told me.” He frowned at me.

“It was that day he met me,” I remarked. “He didn’t know who I was yet, and he was making some statements about the pictures on the wall. Basically, he was saying he would take over the company, no matter what. It must have slipped my mind.”

Tate stared at the woman across the table, his expression serene. “I’m sorry, Aunt Susan, but we’re not going to let this slide. He’s done too much. He could have asked for help, but he didn’t. He chose to go as far as to kidnap Bryan and I don’t take that lightly. He made it personal, trying to use Bry to hurt me.”

She nodded, her face crestfallen. “I understand.”

“Are you finished?” he asked me. “I need to get you to the hospital to have you examined.”

I groaned. “I’m fine. Do I have to?”

“We’ll let the doctor decide how fine you are.”

After everything I had been through, we had been through, I gave him a mock scowl. “You mean after three days you can’t decide if I’m fine anymore?”

He had been so serious since he found me that I was relieved to see the crack of a smile. “After we put back a few pounds on you I’ll answer that.”

My scowl this time was real. He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on my lips. “Just kidding. Even when you’re all skin and bones you’ll still be fine to me because I love you.”

I placed an arm around his neck and hugged him. “Thank you for loving me enough not to give up on searching for me. I prayed you would find me.”

“I’ll always find you. No matter how long it takes.”

The conviction in his voice made it hard not to believe him. I hoped we would never have cause again to test that theory.

“Aunt Susan, perhaps you should call mother and stay with her tonight,” Tate suggested to his aunt.

She shook her head. “No, this is home. I’ll be fine. You two should go to the hospital. Please keep me updated.”

Tate carried me to his car and she walked us out, standing on the porch. I couldn’t help but notice her sadness.

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