Page 48 of The Kiss that Captured a Billionaire
What Theo didn’t realize was that she had her own resources. Her grandfather had left her enough to live comfortably. Plus, she had her degree. She could always find another job.
She stepped into the elevator and pulled her phone from her purse, her hand shaking so badly she nearly dropped it.
Kerry picked up on the third ring, her voice muffled with sleep. “Rose? It’s barely?—”
A choked sob ripped from Rose’s throat before she could speak.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Kerry’s voice sharpened instantly, all sleep gone.
Rose swallowed hard, the words scraping her throat. “Has your brother left yet?”
“No… we were out late last night. Why?”
Rose closed her eyes, inhaling shakily. “Would he… be interested in a little company on his trip back to Nebraska?”
There was a beat of silence, and then Kerry’s voice softened. “Oh, sweetheart…” She murmured something low and fierce that Rose didn’t catch, then said, “I’ll meet you at the theatre in half an hour.”
Rose nodded even though Kerry couldn’t see it. “Thank you.” Her voice cracked.
She ended the call before the tears could fall.
By the time the cab pulled from the curb, her jaw was set and her gaze was fixed on the bright ribbon of asphalt ahead—a road she would choose, not one Theo carved for her.
Theo thought she had no choice. But she did. And she was about to take it.
Eleven
An hour later, Theo walked beside Nikos toward the private entrance of the penthouse. He was thinking about how quickly he could get Mimi on the phone, about the arrangements that would need to be made—when Nikos stopped abruptly.
“What is it?”
Nikos’s gaze swept the space, his frown deepening. “Where are her shoes? They were here when I came in.”
The question hit like a blow. Theo’s stomach turned to stone. Her purse, shoes, and shawl were gone.
He cursed, strode down the hall, and pushed open the bedroom door.
The sight of her clothes gone—the bed made—hit harder than any hostile takeover. Rose wasn’t just gone, it was like she’d erased herself, and their night together.
An icy thread of dread wound through his spine.
Behind him, Nikos’s voice was low but pointed. “Do you think she could have overheard us?”
Theo bowed his head, closed his eyes, and visualized the scene from earlier. Despair rose inside him as his gaze locked on his office door.
If she’d been standing close enough… if she’d heard everything?—
“Gamóto!” Damn it! The curse tore from him as the truth twisted his stomach. “She heard us… and she’s gone.”
Theo’s jaw flexed. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and called the front desk.
The concierge answered promptly. “Good morning, Mr. Kallistratos.”
“A young woman, early-twenties, wearing a pale blue dress—did you see her leave?”
“Yes, sir. She exited about forty-five minutes ago.”
Theo ended the call, shoving the phone into his pocket with another muttered curse. The coil of frustration inside him twisted tighter.
