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“Maybe not. Maybe she wasn’t being truthful with you.”
“She told me so herself, that her mother died when she was young. Gracie grew up all on her own, Alex. Didn’t know who her dad was, her mom was barely a teen when she had her. She was given over to social services and farmed out to various foster homes her entire childhood. Trust me. She wouldn’t lie about her mother being dead.”
“How awful.” Alex went quiet. “Maybe this woman is her grandmother then. I don’t know. But Tessa thinks that’s what drew Gracie there. The woman had a heart attack.”
“I’ll find out when I get there, won’t I? I need to go.” He paused, his mind awhirl with what he needed to do before he‘d go. “I have no idea how long I’ll be gone.”
“Take as long as you need. I’ll cover everything. Want me to call in for them to prep the jet?”
“What? Are you serious?” He hadn’t even thought of taking the private Worth Luxury jet. Talk about an extravagant move. They used it for business purposes only. Alex had made that clear from the beginning.
“She’s in trouble, it could be serious. And it would take you a solid four hours to get to Ithaca, if not longer. Take the jet, Hunter.” Alex sounded as if he would brook no argument.
“All right, I will. Thank you, Alex. And thank Tessa too. What you two did, it means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome. Call me when you find out anything.”
“I will.” Hunter hung up the phone and shut off his laptop, shoved a stack of files in his desk drawer. He needed to get the hell out of here and quick. Get to Ithaca so he could see Gracie and make sure she was all right.
He hoped she was safe. A shudder moved through him. ICU. That alone scared the hell out of him.
A knock on his open door caused him to glance up. Marcus stood in the doorway with an expectant expression. “Can we talk?”
Irritation filled Hunter. Marcus was the last person he wanted to talk to, considering he was on top of his shit list. “I only have a minute, so make it quick,” he said tersely.
Marcus stepped inside the office, shutting the door behind him. His expression grim, he approached Hunter’s desk, watched him silently while Hunter gathered his things in preparation for his exit. “What, you’re already leaving for the day? It’s not even three yet.”
Hunter glared and shoved his laptop into its case. Why he was bringing it, he didn’t know. Not like he was going to get any work done. Not while he sat in a hospital at Gracie’s side, worrying about her. “It’s none of your damn business where I’m going. What do you want?”
“No need for the hostility.” Marcus sounded downright indignant. “I thought we were friends.”
“First and foremost, I’m your boss. As for being your friend, I think you can kiss that goodbye, considering you
insulted one of my employees and implied she fucked me for a promotion.” The irritation in his voice rang loud and clear.
“Give me a break. Like we haven’t talked shit on female employees before. You’re taking this way too far.” Marcus shrugged, ignoring Hunter’s pointed stare. “Fine, you want the truth? I’ll admit it, I was a little drunk. A little jealous too, considering I’ve been with Worth much longer and you didn’t even glance in my direction when considering who to promote. But I get it. I see why you promoted Gracie. You’ve got something going on with her.”
“I do not,” Hunter said through clenched teeth. He lied, of course, but Marcus didn’t know that. Hell, he didn’t want any more rumors spreading than there already were.
“Right. So what I saw between you two in your office was just a friendly discussion?”
Hunter’s blood went ice-cold as the memory swept through him. The night he’d interrupted Marcus’s attempt in asking Gracie out, he’d taken her back to his office to talk to her about going to California with him.
And then he’d proceeded to have sex with her in a chair.
“Remember? Yeah, I knew you would. Now I see why you interrupted us. I was this close to having her eating out of my hands. Guess you wanted to keep her all to yourself.” Marcus sneered.
“Shut the fuck up. Don’t talk about something you know nothing about,” Hunter warned.
Marcus held his hands up in front of him. “Chill out, man. Truth hurts, doesn’t it? And what would Alex think if I told him about your extra-curricular activities?”
“Fuck you,” Hunter spat. “I should fire your ass on the spot.”
“For what? Speaking the truth?”
“For making threats against me.” Hunter wished like hell he could smash Marcus’s face in. “Get out of my office. I’ll file a report on you when I return.”
“File a report? With who?”
