Page 5 of Stuck With A Billionaire Bad Boy

I nodded, but I wasn’t convinced. I said, “I think we should start by looking at her financial records, her social media accounts, and her phone records. That might give us some clues.” But Ethan denied it. He said, “We can do that later. Right now, we need to talk to the people who knew her best.” I sighed. We went to Emma’s parents’ house. Ethan and I sat down with Emma’s parents in their living room.

“From what you told us,” I said, “we’ve learned a lot about Emma. She was a kind and generous person, but she was also struggling financially. She had been working as an escort to make ends meet, and she had gotten involved with some dangerous people.” Emma’s parents listened in silence, their faces etched with worry.

“We believe that Emma’s disappearance was not voluntary,” Ethan said. “We think she was taken against her will.” Emma’s parents gasped in shock. “But why?” her mother asked. “Who would want to hurt her?”

“We don’t know,” I said. “But we’re working on it. We’re going to do everything we can to find her.” Emma’s parents nodded, but they looked anything but convinced. “We need your help,” Ethan said. “We need you to provide us more information about her personal life, tell us everything you know about Emma’s life. Anything that might help us find her.”

Emma’s parents took a deep breath and began to tell the narrator and Ethan everything they knew about their daughter. They talked about her childhood, her friends, her relationships, and her dreams. They talked about the good times and the bad times. They talked about everything they could think of.

We listened intently, taking notes and asking questions. They wanted to learn as much as they could about Emma’s life so that they could find her. After several hours, Emma’s parents were exhausted. They had talked about their daughter for hours, and they were emotionally drained.

“Thank you,” I said. “You’ve been very helpful.” Emma’s parents nodded. “We’ll do everything we can to find her,” Ethan said. Emma’s parents nodded again, but they didn’t look hopeful. We stood up to leave.“We’ll be in touch,”I said. Emma’s parents nodded and we left the house.

Our differing approaches lead to frequent arguments and disagreements. When we were interviewing witnesses, I wanted to ask open-ended questions to gather as much information as possible. Ethan, however, thought that the approach was too time-consuming and preferred to ask direct questions to get to the point.

“Ethan, we need to talk, our different approaches are causing a clash between us and we need to figure out how to work together,” I said, feeling the tension rise. “I may be your intern, but it doesn’t mean I have no valuable input in this case. My open-ended questions can lead to more fruitful evidence than your quick and risky approach.”

Ethan looked at me sternly, “Mia, you need to understand that this job is not for the faint-hearted. If you want to succeed in this field, you need to be quick and take calculated risks. It’s not like the James Bond novels you read.” His tone was firm but laced with a hint of amusement as he chuckled, clearly amused by my frustration.

Ethan and I had been working tirelessly for weeks to gather evidence and build a case. I had poured over phone records and financial statements, while Ethan had used his connections to track down potential suspects. Finally, our hard work paid off. We had found Emma.

Ethan was on the phone, talking to someone. He had been negotiating with the kidnappers. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but I could tell that he was trying to get Emma released.

Ethan hung up the phone. He looked at me and smiled. “I did it,” he said. “I got her released.”

Emma had been held captive in an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom, but Ethan had negotiated with them to secure Emma’s release without paying a cent. We drove to the abandoned building where Emma was being held captive. We cautiously entered the building, guns drawn. We found Emma tied up and badly beaten. She was barely conscious, but she was alive.

As we approached Emma, I was taken aback by her sudden recognition of Ethan. Without warning, she tightly grasped his hand and began to repeat his name repeatedly. “Ethan, Ethan, Ethan…” she said with relief, “I knew you would come to save me.” Ethan’s gentle touch on her arm revealed a tender side to him that I had not seen before. Emma’s reaction toward Ethan was puzzling, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something more between them.

We got Emma to a hospital and stayed with her until her family arrived. We had solved the case, but the tension between them remained.

As we were transporting Emma to the hospital, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked Ethan how he knew her. His cold reply and defensive tone only fueled my suspicion.

As I sat in my office the following day, I was greeted by the approach of Jack. “Greetings, Mia! How are you today?” he inquired, his tone cordial and warm. I replied with a friendly smile, “I am doing well, thank you. And yourself?”

With a look of concern etched on his features, Jack queried, “Have you happened to cross paths with Ethan today? I have been attempting to reach him via phone, to no avail.” Upon reflection, I offered, “He has gone to the hospital to visit Emma if I recall correctly.”

“Ah, I see,” Jack nodded in acknowledgment, his expression softening with relief.

Suddenly intrigued, I ventured, “Jack, would you happen to know what kind of relationship exists between Ethan and Emma?”

With a faint look of surprise, Jack replied, “Well, there isn’t really a relationship to speak of. You see, Emma was an escort.” Perplexed by his response, I queried, “ I know Jack, but I’m not quite sure I understand. What are you trying to say?”

As I sat in stunned silence, Jack revealed the startling truth about Ethan’s past. “I don’t know much about it, but Ethan told me yesterday that she was an escort and that he spent a significant amount of time with her during his London trip two years ago. I’m not sure if they met again afterward or not.”

“Ethan would often bring escorts with him on his long business trips, so perhaps Emma was one of them.”

Shocked by this revelation, I questioned, “You’re saying that Ethan is a regular… I mean, like this?”

Jack responded with a heavy sigh, “Yes, Mia, something like that.”

Overwhelmed with disbelief and anger, I struggled to come to terms with this new reality. I had always held Ethan in high regard and had never imagined that he was capable of such behavior. It was difficult to reconcile my previous opinion of him with this newfound knowledge.

I seethed with fury at the realization that I, too, had been nothing more than a source of amusement for him. I truly regret succumbing to my desire for him that night and lowering my guard. At the time, I had no idea that he was a playboy. I was so overcome with emotion that I hardly registered Jack’s departure from the room.

The flames of my righteous anger were kindled anew after that fateful night with Ethan. His callous and self-serving behavior burned with intensity. His demeanor after our one-night stand had hurt me deeply, and now that I knew he used to be a playboy, I felt regret for that night. The thought that he had considered me like the other women he had spent nights with was overwhelming.

Despite the apparent power dynamic between us – with Ethan as the owner of the investigation firm and me as a mere employee – I remained resolute in my determination to prove myself and remind him of his place.

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