When I got down to the street, everyone was staring at me, and for a moment I was terrified that Nurse Barnes was going to give chase. Then I realized why: I was still clad in a cotton hospital gown, my ass exposed for everyone to see.
Hailing a cab, I launched myself into the back seat. I gave the driver the address of LennoxCo and rested my forehead against the greasy glass window, trying to catch my breath. I still didn’t know what had happened to Audrey, but I had a feeling she was in trouble. It bothered me that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Just what, exactly, was going on? Was it because I felt responsible? Or guilty?
Deep down, I knew that I didn’t even want to dwell on why I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I knew that it was something aside from guilt, but whatever it was, it wasn’t something that I wanted to focus on. Not right now, not when I had Richard Hodges to go after.
The cab pulled up, and I dashed out, promising to send a girl down with the fare. Everyone stared at me as I raced through the lobby and jumped the identification turnstiles. When I finally made it up to the executive floor, I rushed into my office and grabbed a change of clothes from the desk. Even though I knew deep down that Audrey wouldn’t be sitting out front of office, not seeing her there was like a punch to my gut.
The phone rang, and for a second, I felt a flash of irritation that Audrey hadn’t picked up the call. When I remembered what was going on, I grabbed the receiver and pressed it against my face.
“Hello?” My voice was ragged and hoarse. It sounded like I’d been running a marathon. I coughed. “This is Enzo Lennox,” I said, my tone biting. “Who is this?”
“Enzo.” When I heard Richard’s voice, my free hand balled into a fist at my side. “Enzo, looks like you ran away from the hospital.”
“Fuck off,” I snarled out. “Where is she?”
Even though I couldn’t see him, I knew that Richard had to be smirking at that exact moment. “Where is who?”
“Audrey,” I spat out. “Where is she?”
Richard laughed, a silken sound, like he was enjoying himself. My blood boiled when I realized the truth—he was enjoying himself. He’d always enjoyed tormenting me, far too much.
“She’s safe, don’t worry. Although, if I’m being honest, I have to say that I don’t really get the attraction, Enzo. Just what is it about Audrey that’s so enticing to you?”
I growled. “Where is she?”
“Enzo, I’ll tell you where she is. All you have to do is one little thing for me, okay?”
I didn’t say anything. My blood was pounding in my ears, and suddenly I felt like I was going to pass out again. I knew that I needed to eat something, fast, but now that I had Richard on the phone, I didn’t want to let him go.
“Enzo, just give me the company. I want LennoxCo. Or rather, HodgesCo,” Richard said in a nasty tone. “Just hand over the company, and you get Audrey back. Isn’t that a fair trade?” He snickered. “And don’t worry, I won’t want anything to do with her. I have my eye on a little girl who looks like Christie Brinkley to be my secretary.”
I slammed my fist on the desk and almost howled as pain shot through my body. “Forget it.” I sneered into the phone. “You’re not getting my company, Richard. You’re not even getting a dime of my money.”
“Well, then suit yourself,” Richard said airily. “I know what you’ve been doing, Enzo. I know you’ve been looking for ways to incriminate me. And you’re a fool if you think that’s going to work. I’m smarter than you and tougher than you, and a hell of a lot scarier than you. You’re not going to bully me into doing anything.”
Inwardly, I groaned. “Richard,” I said through gritted teeth. “Get this through your thick fucking skull. I’m not selling my company to you. I’m not giving my company to you. LennoxCo is none of your fucking business, and you’re going to leave me alone and let Audrey go. You understand that?”
Richard snickered. “That’s not the way things are going to end,” he said with disdain. “Enzo, I would have thought you were smarter than this. After all, you’re a self-made man, aren’t you? You didn’t have to learn the business from anyone, not like me. You self-made assholes are supposed to be better businessmen!”
“I’m keeping my business and running it the way I want to,” I hissed out into the phone. “And that’s the final word on that!” Feeling triumphant, I slammed the phone down into the cradle.
Again, I almost called Audrey’s name until I looked out of my open door and saw that her desk was empty. My heart sank. I ran out into the hallway.
Karen was standing there with a group of women, chattering and laughing. When I dashed up, she glanced at me with surprise.
“Enzo, you’re looking tired,” she said, eyeing me from head to toe.
“Karen, you need to call Sebastian,” I told her. “Tell him to come to my office, immediately. This is important!”
Karen squinted at me and narrowed her eyes before crossing her thin arms over her chest. She was still one of the hottest women I’d ever seen, but I felt as little desire for her as for a corpse. “Where’s Audrey?” She gave me a big, mocking smile. “Late again?”
“She couldn’t come in today,” I snapped. “So hurry up! Go! Now!”
Karen skittered off, her heels clacking on the marble floor. Her friends looked up at me with a mixture of envy and disgust on their faces. Dashing back to my office, I pulled my phone off the hook. It rang again before I could even punch in the number I was thinking of.
“This is Enzo Lennox.”
“Enzo, I forgot one little thing.” I cringed as Hodges’ slimy voice filled my ear. “One little thing about your company, and about Audrey.”
“I’m still not giving it to you,” I snapped. “And I have my ways to take you down, Richard. So don’t even think that I won’t try.”
“You may try all you want, but you’re certainly not going to succeed,” Hodges replied in a silky tone. “After all, I’m the smarter one here. You know that, Enzo.”
I swallowed hard. “So, what is it? What do you want?”
“Oh, it’s nothing else that I want. Enzo, it’s a little past eleven in the morning right now. You have twenty-four hours to change your mind about giving me your company. Or else, Audrey won’t live to see another day.”
“Bullshit.” I scoffed. “I bet you don’t even have her.”
“Oh, Enzo, you can be such a fool,” Richard said. There was a pause, and then I heard him yell Audrey’s name. There was a blood-curdling, high-pitched female scream in response.
My blood ran cold. “Hodges, you fuck,” I said into the phone. But the only thing in response was a dial tone. He’d hung up.