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Chapter 16
Nico
I kept pacing back and forth in my penthouse, waiting for Michelle to answer me. I had been calling and texting her for well over an hour with no response. It was highly out of character for her, especially after everything we had been through. She may have been a busy career woman, but she always made time for Hugo and me. Something was wrong.
So I went over to Hugo’s place, worried that something bad had happened.
“Michelle’s not getting back to me,” I told him. “This isn’t normal, Hugo. Something’s wrong.”
Hugo put his hands up. “Just relax, man. Maybe she fell asleep or forgot her phone at home.”
“Michelle would never leave her phone at home,” I reminded him. “And I’m convinced that she’s part vampire because she doesn’t need a lot of sleep in order to get through the workday. I’m telling you, something is wrong.”
“How about we just go over to the hotel and surprise her?”
I nodded my head, eager to see Michelle. The thought of anything bad happening to her made me sick to my stomach.
I followed Hugo in his car as we made our way to her hotel. We were driving pretty fast and a bit recklessly, but the Russian cops knew who we were and rarely pulled us over. That was part of the perks of being a Stepanov.
As soon as we got to her building, Hugo and I rushed inside and ran up to her room. By the way, he was walking, I could tell that Hugo was also concerned. He had been telling me to relax, but it didn’t take him long for him to get on board with my emotions.
We knocked on the door a few times, but nobody answered. With one swift kick, Hugo kicked the door open.
It was completely empty. Not even a suitcase in sight.
“Why the fuck would she leave without telling us first?” I looked Hugo in the eyes, but I could tell that he was heartbroken.
“None of this makes sense,” Hugo said to me. “Michelle isn’t the type of woman to just up and leave, Nico. Come on.”
“Where are we going? To the United States?”
Hugo rolled his eyes at me. “No, you, asshole. Get in your car. We’re going to Dad’s place to figure this whole thing out.”
As soon as we got inside of our father’s mansion, we raced to his office and went inside.
“Hello, boys,” he said, motioning for us to sit down. “You look upset. What’s the matter?”
Hugo and I took a seat, and I decided to let him do the talking.
“Where’s Michelle Harrington?” Our father cracked a smile, then leaned back in his chair.
“She was called back to the United States, sons. I’m surprised you guys didn’t hear. Chase Harrington announced her engagement this morning.”
“Michelle’s engaged?!” I stood up as I yelled across the desk. My father looked surprised at my outburst but kept talking.
“Well, her father betrothed her to some big business guy. Michael, something or other, I don’t know. Anyway, he’s made billions of dollars on investment deals, and Chase is a bit old school.”
“So wait,” Hugo said. “This is an arranged marriage? As in Michelle has no say in the matter?”
Our father nodded. “It’s a bit odd to do that kind of thing in the twenty-first century if you ask me, but Chase has always colored outside of the lines. Plus, he’s a lot like me. He wants someone to take over the business someday, hopefully in the near future given his age, and it’s always better to have a man on board. You know how women can become too emotional.”
“Michelle is far from being too emotional to run a fucking business,” I said. “If anything, I bet she can do a damn better job than Chase Harrington ever has! Just look at the way she pushed this project along, Dad. She doesn’t need some guy at her side to run that company. Plus, who’s to say that she even wants to run that fucking company?”
Our father cocked his head to the side and then looked at Hugo.
“Since when do you two care so much about who she marries?” Hugo cleared his throat.
“I think what Nico is saying,” he said, “is that we’re just shocked this is all happening. You taught us to be polite but professional with clients, and we were just surprised when Michelle left without saying goodbye. That’s all, Dad.”
