BRYCE

The last few weeks have been the happiest in my life.

It’s hard. Not my relationship. That’s easy. So is spending time with Tessa and having a five-year-old around. The only problem is that my girlfriend sleeps on the couch in her living room, so it’s difficult, getting the girl naked. Not that I’ve been unsuccessful. Her friend Abby offered to watch Charlie while we went out on a few dates.

The hard part has been juggling my career without neglecting Tessa and Charlie.

Ever since we got back from Tahoe, I’ve been sneaking away from the office by seven every night, so I can have dinner with them before heading back to my office or to my apartment to finish work. I’ve played more board games and put together more Lego sets in two weeks than I have in the last twenty years.

Truth? I love it.

Tessa thought I was insane when I came home with a three thousand four hundred and forty-four piece Lego set, but it looked like the perfect weekend project. The Joker Manor is almost complete, minus a few turrets.

Tessa doesn’t think I see her spying on us from the kitchen, watching as Charlie and I bond. I just hope I’m doing a good enough job with him. It’s all still so new to me.

“Is the little man ready?” I say as I walk into Lumiére Salon and Spa.

Today is the sleepover at the Academy of Sciences. Charlie has been packed and ready for a week, so I know he’s excited to go. To be honest, I’m a little nervous. It’s the first time I’ll be solely responsible for him. It feels like a test run to fatherhood.

Tessa’s eyes meet mine, and they’re filled with worry. She couldn’t get the night off due to a high-end wedding that was planned months ago where she has to follow the bride around all night to make sure she looks like perfection until after the first dance when she can take off. So, I get to take Charlie all by myself.

“It’s okay, Mom. We’ll be just fine,” I say, leaning over to kiss Tessa on the forehead.

She glances up at me, biting her bottom lip before sighing. “I know.” She leans down to Charlie. “You be good, okay? Listen to Bryce and do everything he says. And no running off on your own.”

“You already told me that a hundred times.” He grabs my hand and starts to pull me toward the exit. “Come on, Bryce. Let’s go!”

I laugh as I steal a kiss before running after Charlie.

I had Brantley pick up a booster seat for Charlie today, and when I open the door to the Tesla, pulling the seat back, his eyes are as big as saucers at the sight of the race car–inspired booster seat waiting for him. I might have had an Austin moment when buying it.

“Wow! How cool!” Charlie yells, sitting in the seat and pretending to be a NASCAR driver.

I make sure he’s buckled and close the door before heading to my side of the car. Of course, my phone rings with the Sexton Media extension showing as the caller.

Not knowing who it could be, I answer, “This is Bryce.”

“You’ve been sneaking out early a lot lately.” Missy’s voice antagonizes me from the other end of the line. Ever since Austin’s accident, she and my father have been eerily quiet.

“What can I do for you?” My voice is laced with disdain.

“I have an urgent matter waiting for you in the conference room.”

“I have a meeting.” I look in the rearview at Charlie, who is pretending to be Mario Andretti. “With a very famous race car driver.”

She doesn’t seem to care. “You need to come back immediately. This is a matter of life and death.”

Well, that’s a first …

“Who’s dying?”

“You will be if you’re not back here in twenty minutes.” She hangs up the phone.

“Fu … dge.” I hold myself back. I turn to Charlie as I put my seat belt on. “I have to make one stop back at my office, and then we’re off.”

“Do I get to sit in your big office chair?” he asks, like that would be the coolest thing in the world.

I laugh. “What makes you think I have a big office chair?”

“You’re huge. You almost broke Mom’s kitchen chair at dinner last week,” he deadpans.

Kid’s got a point. I don’t add that the reason it’s creaky is because it was one of the many places his mom and I made love the night I told her I loved her. The best day of my life, I might add.

After making our way through the city and to my private parking spot, we enter the building, and I guide Charlie through the lobby. When I left an hour ago, I wasn’t planning on coming back.

After the accident, Austin went home and has been rehabilitating. Today was his first day back, and we celebrated the release of his exclusive interview with Sergeant Miller. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since I left the hospital. Austin was adamant that Tanner stay in New York to wrap up his finals and insisted he didn’t want visitors. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see he is happy to have Jalynn play nurse.

“This place is a fortress,” Charlie says in awe as he looks up into the marble entryway.

We walk past security and into the elevator. The kid is short for his age, but he looks especially tiny in the grand lobby of marble and granite.

“You come here every day?” he asks.

“I do.”

“And you work for a newspaper,” he adds.

“I own many newspapers.”

He bobs his head. “You really are like Clark Kent.”

I smile and ruffle his hair. He starts to count each number as we climb. It starts off pretty mundane … one … two. As we near the eleventh floor, his voice escalates a bit, and his eyes widen with each number. When he says twenty, his body starts to dance, and his smile widens. I start to count with him … twenty-one, twenty-two. By the time we get to the twenty-second floor, we’re practically screaming the numbers and shaking like we just yelled, Blast off! Who knew an elevator ride would be so exciting for a kid?

We’re laughing as the doors open to the floor, and I realize it’s the first time in years I haven’t dreaded those thirty-three seconds in the elevator. Maybe I should bring Charlie to work every day.

“I’ll show you my office, and you can sit in the big desk chair while I have my meeting.”

We pass Jalynn’s desk, where her chair is empty. She said she’s staying late with Austin so I know she’s in the building.

Charlie and I enter my office. He runs to the executive desk chair and hops in, making it skid back a little toward the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.

“Are you gonna be okay in here? I’ll be back in five minutes. Don’t go anywhere.” I’m motioning to him with my hands like he’s a dog I’m telling to sit and lie down.

“I’m good. I’m gonna pretend I’m Lex Luthor getting ready to plot my revenge on the world.” He puts his hands in a triangle, very fitting for villain pretend play.

“As long as you don’t leave. And don’t touch the computer. Or the phone.”

He tilts his head. “What can I touch?”

I look around the room and remember I have booze in my bottom desk drawer. I walk over, open it, take the bottle of Johnnie Walker out, and then say, “Everything else.”

I close my office door and place the bottle of booze in the trash by Jalynn’s desk. I head down to the conference room. There are employees in the newsroom, but many of the offices back here are empty, as they are senior positions that usually don’t hold late-night hours.

When I turn into the conference room, I halt on the carpet and do a double take. Missy is here, as I expected. Also at the table are two women.

One I know for certain shouldn’t be here.

The other I’ve never met before and I was hoping to soon … except not at this particular venue.

“Christine. What are you doing here?” I ask her in confusion.

She gives no response other than to pinch her lips and scowl.

The entire time she worked here, I never saw her with Missy, so this screams of something I don’t want anything to do with. Especially since they’re sitting at a table with none other than America’s crusader for women’s rights—Kathleen Clarke.

Otherwise known as Tessa’s mom.

The way her eyes glare back at me under her dark-framed glasses makes me question if she even knows who I am or if she knows her grandson is sitting in my office down the hall.

“Mr. Sexton.” Kathleen nods her head but doesn’t extend her hand, seeming like she’s disgusted to touch the skin of a man like me.

She’s looking at me in a way that makes me believe she has no clue I’m dating her daughter. Tessa and I have discussed her mom many times. I know she knows about me. At least, I thought she did. Tessa said she wanted me to go to breakfast with them this weekend. An offer I accepted, yet I have been oddly nervous about.

Kathleen opens a thick folder she has on the conference table.

“Ms. Clarke, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say.

“You know who I am. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing. Usually, men of your stature are intimidated by me.” Her tone is neither condescending nor kind. “If you aren’t now, I promise, you will be by the end of this meeting.”

“What is this about?” I try to act calm and not like I’m about to get my balls ripped off by the woman who birthed my girlfriend.

“Mr. Sexton, it has been brought to my attention by my client, Christine Mummert, that she was fired after failing to perform oral sex on the night of—”

“Absolutely not!” I declare.

She seems to be unaffected by my outburst. “You’d be advised to control your temper, Mr. Sexton,” Kathleen states. “Male privilege and entitlement do not make you above the law. You took advantage of my client—a faithful assistant who you used as a sexual pawn.”

“Sexual pawn?” I question with an outward show of frustration and then stop.

My heart is pumping out of my chest. I’ve covered this type of scenario many times in the news, but I have never been the subject of one. I want to yell and go ballistic on Christine for accusing me of such a thing, but I know well enough to rein it in. Men have buried themselves in hotter water over smaller accusations.

“I believe I need my counsel present.”

Missy takes a seat and crosses her legs. There’s a Martha Stewart–like smile on her face. “Now, now, Bryce, no need to be so defensive. This is just a pretty little meeting of the minds. No one’s called the cops … yet.”

Her threat is laced in her picture-perfect appearance, so prim and proper, but really, she’s a vindictive—

Don’t go there, Bryce.

“Then, what do you want?” I ask.

“For you to pay!” Christine calls out from her seat.

I haven’t seen her in a while, but she looks different to me. It’s in her face. She looks thinner. Sadder.

“For what?” I keep my voice level.

She raises her chin and says, “For forcing me to give you a blow job in your office.”

I have no words. No words. Just anger.

I run my hands over my temples and then pinch the bridge of my nose.

Rein it in, Sexton. This is not the place.

Kathleen looks pleased by my silence. “In my twenty-five-year career, this is the most common sexual assault case. They have the same beginning—young assistant who wants to climb the ranks and a high-powered boss who uses sex as a means of promotion. While this might not seem like a big deal to you, Mr. Sexton, my client has been severely traumatized by what she was forced to suffer. This case will not end well for you. I’ll be proud to have my picture splayed across your precious papers as the person who took you down. No man should get away with firing their assistant because they wouldn’t sleep with him.”

Her words are cruel, but her face is stoic. She’s done this many times before, and she knows the art of posture. Calm and steady wins the race. I, on the other hand, can’t help the fury that is building inside me.

“Is this about money?” I turn to Christine. I take a step closer to the table and place my hands on the oak. “You’ll slander my good name just to get a few dollars?”

Christine opens her mouth, but Kathleen silences her with the touch of her forearm.

Kathleen looks back at me. “If it were up to me, this would be public. Due to the anxiety my client has experienced over this, she has requested to settle this privately. If we cannot do so, we’ll have to go public.” Kathleen leans back with her shoulders stiff and chin raised—her power posture. It’s a sign that any word I say won’t faze her. “You think, just because a woman is nice to you, it’s an open invitation to try to get in her pants?”

“That is not what happened. I was never inappropriate with her. She’s the one who came into my office, wearing nothing but lingerie.”

“So, you didn’t kiss her in your office, and you didn’t allow her to give you oral sex behind your desk and then kick her out and fire her the next day?”

“No.” My teeth grind so hard; I think I might break a tooth. “There were still people in the newsroom, so I closed the door so that no one would see there was a half-naked woman in my office.”

“What happened after you locked her inside the office?” Kathleen asks, taking notes.

“I didn’t lock her in. I was protecting her from anyone else seeing her,” I say.

Missy laughs like the idea is ludicrous.

“She came on to me, touched me. She had her hands on my thighs, and I pushed them away when she tried to undo my zipper. I walked out of the office and went home to change for the gala.”

Kathleen is shaking her head. Her pen is working overtime on the notepad. “Mr. Sexton, you expect us to believe you walked into your office to a woman wearing lingerie and closed the door behind you, so you could tell her you were simply not interested?”

I look up at Missy, who is snickering in her seat. “Can I venture to guess what your involvement is in all this?”

“I’m just here as a mediator, trying to help bring justice to this poor victim.” She gives a fake sincere smile to Christine.

“Let me guess. The terms are for me to hand over my stake in the company or else you’ll go to the cops.” My chest puffs out with the sharp intake of air.

“You forgot about compensating the victim.” Missy grins.

I can’t believe Kathleen Clarke took on this case. I can’t believe Christine is part of this. I’ve tried to stay poised, tried to be calm, but this bullshit is starting to wear at me. “You think you have a case against me. Fine. Bring it up with my attorneys.”

“We will,” Missy adds. “And you’ll most certainly go to jail. We have tapes. Tapes of Christine entering your office. Tapes of you going in, you leaving, and then she leaves in a disheveled mess. She even has the panties you tore off of her.”

“Nothing happened,” I reiterate.

Missy continues, “Really? Then, why did you force her to attend the gala that night? You were inappropriate with her on the roof as well. She slapped you for being so offensive.”

I slam my finger on the table. “She slapped me because I told her I didn’t want to be with her. It’s the same thing I said when she tried to seduce me in my office.”

“Yet you ran off to the roof with that whore,” Christine adds.

“Don’t you dare speak of Tessa like that!” I raise my voice.

“Who’s Tessa?” Missy asks. “Oh,” she says as if she’s remembered something dreadful. “You mean, Tessa Clarke, Austin’s whore? The one who ruined my Dior?”

“Austin’s what?” Kathleen asks in astonishment.

“She’s not Austin’s, and I swear, Christine, you can fuck with me, but don’t you dare go after the woman I love,” I threaten.

“Or what?” Christine asks.

Missy quickly sits up and motions her hands in confusion. “Did you just say you love that woman?”

“What the hell is going on here?” Kathleen shouts.

We all look her way. From the way she’s staring at me, I know she has no idea about me and Tessa.

“I’m in love with your daughter,” I say.

Christine lets out a loud huff.

“How do you know Tessa? Oh, my Lord.” She falls back into her seat with her hands to her mouth, digesting the information. She closes her eyes and processes this. “Bryce Jones. Makes sense. I knew she wouldn’t date a model from Fresno or a Texans cornerback.”

I raise a brow. Tessa had damn well better not be interested in either of those men. Who they are is beyond me.

“Does she know this?” Kathleen looks up at me, surprised. “Does Tessa know you’re in love with her?”

“Yes. And she loves me,” I state with every bit of conviction.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Missy rises from her seat.

“She’s a gold digger,” Christine yells toward me.

“This needs to stop right now.” Kathleen stands as she gathers her folder.

Christine rises with her, but Kathleen puts her hand on her shoulder and forces her back down on the seat. She grabs her voice recorder and places it in her briefcase.

“Unfortunately, under the circumstances of this man supposedly dating my daughter, I am now unable to serve as your counsel.”

Christine turns her seat and pleads, “You have to take my case. He forced me to go down on him.”

“No matter how much I want to take down any man who demands such things from a woman, it is now a conflict of interest, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

As she walks past me, she lowers her forehead and snarls, “I suggest you lawyer up … big time … and fast.”

“Ms. Clarke, if you’d just—”

“You’re a scoundrel and a user. I might not be able to represent Ms. Mummert, but that doesn’t mean this case is over. I know other lawyers, and you can bet yourself that I will be helping her find the best one to take you down. There is no way a man like you deserves to be with my daughter, and if I have to help put you behind bars to prove it to her, I’ll do so.”

“I know. I don’t deserve her or Charlie, but I’ll spend my life doing everything right by them. They’re my family,” I say.

Kathleen looks back toward Missy and the scene she is about to leave. “If this is what family is to you, then I don’t want it anywhere near mine.” She shuffles past me and into the hallway.

I look back at Missy, who is standing there with her hand on her hip and a pissed-off expression on her face.

“When does this end?” I ask. “Do you want to sell this company so bad that you’ll destroy the lives of everyone around you? First, you try with Austin, and now, me. Why is the destruction of this company and our family so important to you?”

She says nothing. Her chest is heaving as her chin rises higher. Her fake lashes flutter as she fights back whatever emotion she’s suppressing.

“Fuck you, Bryce,” she says and then turns toward the window. “You, get out!” she says to Christine, who jumps up from her seat and runs out of the room, nearly knocking into me.

I stand there, waiting for Missy to further explain. To say something that will let me know her intention for the future.

Her back is to me as she looks out onto the dark sky of San Francisco. Sensing she’s not going to say anything, I start to leave.

“We’re going to New York.” Her words stop me in my tracks.

“Why would you do that when Tanner’s coming home in a few weeks?”

She tilts her head and speaks over her shoulder, “We told him to stay. There’s nothing here for him right now. Your father and I have a surprise for him.”

Anything that has Missy and my father’s names attached is never a good thing.

“Leave the kid alone. I’d rather sit in prison for eternity than you do anything to get him in trouble.”

Missy’s shoulder rises. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

The stakes in this game keep rising, yet I keep playing. Knowing I can’t stay in this room any longer and that there’s a little boy waiting for me down the hall, I storm out of the room, away from my evil stepmom. Away from the awful trick she tried to play with my wicked ex-assistant and the woman I hope one day to actually be my mother-in-law.

Maybe Kathleen’s right. I’m crazy to think this is a life for Tessa and Charlie. This world of Sexton drama is far beneath their goodness. If I were a stronger man, I’d leave them alone. Problem is, I’m weak and too far gone in my love for Tessa to ever leave.

Trying my best to calm my nerves, I head toward my office.

“You ready, Charlie?” I say as I turn the corner, only to see an empty office.

The chair he was sitting in is empty, as is the conference table and every corner in the space. Hoping he’s playing a game of hide-and-seek, I search under every table and behind everything in the room.

“Charlie?” I call out, walking into my en suite bathroom.

I run out to the hallway, hoping Jalynn is back, but she’s still not there. I run through the newsroom, asking anyone who’s there if they’ve seen Charlie. I check the break room, the restrooms, the hallways.

Nothing.

He’s gone.

I check the other offices next to mine before picking up my phone to call Austin, knowing Jalynn has got to be with him, but I need her right now.

Austin’s phone rings five agonizing times until I hear, “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”

“Austin!” I say in a panic. “Where’s Jalynn? I need her help. You, too. Have you seen a little boy? I can’t find him.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. What boy?”

“Charlie. He was sitting in my office, and now, he’s gone. I can’t find him. Where are you guys? Have you seen him?” I’ve been running from room to room and nothing. I run my hands through my hair. “He’s gone. I can’t find him anywhere.”

“Don’t worry; we’ll come help you look. He couldn’t have gone far,” Austin says into the phone before the line goes dead.

I continue to look under every desk I can until Austin and Jalynn come rushing in.

“Who is this kid?” Austin asks.

“It’s my girlfriend’s son. I’m supposed to be taking him to a Boy Scout event.”

My stomach turns, and the fear of throwing up starts to take over. I’ve never felt this feeling, this hopelessness running through me.

“You lost Tessa’s son?” Jalynn asks incredulously.

“You knew he had a girlfriend and didn’t say anything to me?” Austin turns to Jalynn with a what the fuck expression.

She tilts her head at him. “You have a big mouth when it comes to your brother’s love life. He didn’t need you getting in his face about ‘getting laid’.” She makes air quotes as she says the last words getting laid.

Austin laughs. “He’s getting laid?”

“Enough!” I shout. “Fucking Missy and her stupid games interrupted me. I told him to wait in my office, and he’s gone. Austin, what do I do?”

He wasn’t taking this seriously a moment ago, but he is now looking at me with downcast eyes and a small frown. “It’s okay, brother. We’ll find him. We’ll start with the perimeter and work our way in. What does he look like?”

“He’s a five-year-old boy with curly red hair.”

“We saw him,” Jalynn excitedly chimes in. “He was running down the hall. About twenty minutes ago.”

“He’s probably still on the floor.” Austin walks to the desk and picks up the phone. “This is Austin Sexton. We’re looking for a five-year-old boy with curly red hair, last seen on the twenty-second floor. Order a lockdown on the building. Start with the stairwells and then canvass the floor, starting with this one and work your way down. Every floor has a volunteer emergency leader on staff at all times. Have them lead the search on that floor,” he continues, working with the head of security on a plan to find Charlie.

The emergency lights flicker with an audible alert, and then security comes over the loudspeaker, explaining the situation.

Sometimes, I forget Austin was a Marine. His injury I remember vividly. It’s just hard to picture him as a man of authority, taking charge and saving lives.

“Don’t worry; we’ll find him. He couldn’t have gone far,” Austin says to me after hanging up the phone.

I nod in thanks before continuing my search. I start looking in every office. When I walk back into the hallway, I come face-to-face with Kathleen Clarke.

“What on earth is going on? I went to leave the building, but they told me I couldn’t because there’s a missing child.” She gives me an accusatory look.

I place my hands on her arms and plead with her, “It’s Charlie.”

I watch as her face twists in confusion.

“Charlie? Why the hell is he here? With you?”

“He was waiting in my office for me to take him to Boy Scouts when you so wrongfully accused me of something I didn’t do. Now, he’s missing.”

Her eyes widen. “He’s what?”

“Missing. I told him to wait in my office, and he’s gone.”

“Where could he have gone?”

I sigh. “I don’t know. I’ve looked in all the offices. My assistant wasn’t here, but she said she saw him walking down the hall.”

Austin and Jalynn turn the corner, hand in hand.

“Did you find him?” Austin asks.

I glance at them. “No.”

“Someone should go to the security office where the cameras are located. You don’t think he could have gotten out of the building, do you?” Jalynn cuts in.

“We did see him in front of the elevator banks,” Austin says in fear. “He didn’t get in, but we honestly weren’t paying attention. I figured he was with someone on the floor and didn’t think I needed to look into it.”

“Fuck,” I whisper under my breath as I rub my eyes.

“We need to call Tessa,” Kathleen blurts out.

My eyes meet with Christine and Missy, who enter among the commotion and are stunned to silence for once. If they’re smart, they’ll stay that way.

“I’ll call her. He’s my responsibility right now. Jalynn, get me access to those tapes and tell security I’m on my way,” I say as I walk away, taking my phone from my coat pocket.

“I’ll go talk to the guards up front.” Austin heads in the opposite direction.

“What do I do?” Kathleen asks. Her eyes are extra magnified in the thick glasses.

“Haven’t you already done enough? Take care of your client here while I clean up a mess that never should have happened to begin with.”

I don’t care what first impression I just made with Kathleen. She obviously already had her mind made up about me. Right now, there’s a curly-haired boy who has my full focus.

As I enter the security room, I’m met by Don, the head of security for the building.

“How long until I get access to those tapes?” I ask, making sure he knows there is no room for anything but cooperation from him.

“We’re working on it, Mr. Sexton. There are protocols we have to follow and—”

“Protocols my ass.” I get up in his face.

He holds up his hands in defeat. “I know. I promise we are working as fast as we can. We understand the importance of the situation.”

“Yes, a little boy might be in danger. Get them up now!”

“Yes, sir. Five minutes, max. Hopefully less.” He leaves to assist the crew who’s rewinding tapes, trying to find any sign of him.

I run my hands over my face, trying to figure out what to do. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.

Where could a kid go so fast? Why didn’t he just stay where he was told?

I make a quick call to Brantley, telling him to head to Tessa’s salon to bring her here. Then, I hold my phone up to my ear, not wanting to have this conversation but knowing I need to.

“The meeting couldn’t have started yet. Everything okay?” she says as her greeting.

“Baby, I need you to come to the office as soon as possible. Brantley is on his way.”

“I can’t leave, Bryce. I just finished with the bride, and now, I’m about to get into an Uber to head to the hotel for the wedding. The earliest I can leave is nine o’clock. Wait … why are you at the office? Is everything okay?”

I sigh. “No, Tessa, it’s not okay. Please know I have everyone in the building working on this, and we will find him.”

“Find him?” she yells. “What do you mean, find him?” The panic in her voice rises with each syllable.

“I stopped by my work and something I didn’t expect hit me up. I asked him to stay in my office for five minutes. When I came back, he was gone.”

“Oh my God,” she screams. “Bryce, where is he? How could you leave him?”

“I have everyone working on it. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“Couldn’t have gone far? Bryce, he’s a five-year-old boy. He can disappear in a second. You have to always pay attention. Oh my God, where’s my baby?” Her voice cracks, and tears sting my eyes.

“We’ll find him. Don’t panic. Brantley should be there any minute to pick you up and bring you here. Try to breathe. We’re searching for him. We’ll find him, I promise.”

“But, Bryce …” Her voice trails off, and I can hear nothing but her cries.

“Don’t think like that, Tessa. We’ll find him. Let me let you go, and I’ll call you if we find him before you get here.”

“Okay,” she says through her tears.

I pound my fist against the wall. “Don, tell me something. Anything,” I growl.

“We see him in the hallway, but the cameras lose track of him.”

“Lose track? How is that possible?”

“He entered the stairwell, and then we don’t see him.”

“He what?” I yell. “Could that lead outside?”

Don’s face looks grim. “It can, sir. But it’s a lot of floors down. We are looking at every floor.”

“How could he not be seen?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We see him enter the stairwell, and then he disappears when he goes from one camera to the next.”

“Don, I’m trying really hard not to lose my cool here. This building has the most state-of-the-art system. You’d better tell me how this is possible because, as of right now, none of it is.”

“We have someone going through the staircase now. He’s much shorter than our normal people in the building. We think he might have slipped under the view of the cameras. That’s the only thing that makes sense right now.”

I get up in his face. “You’re telling me that there are spots in this building that aren’t viewable by these cameras?”

His eyes widen with fear. “I’m sorry, sir, but yes, there are. Sections where only a few aren’t covered or little portions along edges of the ground in the stairwells. He’s short enough that it’s possible. That’s all we can figure out right now at least. We see him, and then he’s gone.”

“Find. Him. Now,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Yes, Mr. Sexton. Every guard in the building is on the lookout.”

“Call me as soon as you see anything,” I growl as I exit the room and head back toward my office.

Kathleen is sitting at Jalynn’s desk, her head resting in her hands as her shoulders shake and tears flow down her face. Thankfully, Missy and Christine are nowhere to be seen.

Jalynn’s eyes meet mine, making my heart ache even more, but I can’t go there. We will find him.

“Austin’s in the lobby. They said Charlie hasn’t come through there,” Jalynn says.

“They saw him enter the stairwell,” I say matter-of-factly, making Jalynn’s eyes widen and Kathleen sit up in fear.

“Could he have left the building?” Kathleen says in fear.

I sigh. “It’s possible. Tessa should be here any minute. Is there anything we should know? Does he hide a lot? Could he be in a cabinet or something?”

She covers her mouth and nods. Once she gathers herself, she says, “He loves to play games. Hide-and-seek is his favorite.”

Of course it is.

“Okay, so let’s not panic. He’s probably just hiding from us. Security is searching every floor. We’ll find him,” I say, praying my words are correct. I might be saying them, but I’m not believing them.

It’s impossible to stay still. This is a big building, and he’s just a small boy. There are too many places where he could hide. The idea of him getting hurt in any way has my blood pressure soaring.

I continue my search, heading down the halls and stairwells. I’m given a master key that lets me open up any office door. I do so, hoping that he maybe went into one and locked himself in while playing Lex Luthor or Clark Kent or whatever his wild imagination comes up with.

I’m only on the floor below mine where many of our editorial desks are and where my father and Missy have their office suites. As I turn the corner, I stop in my tracks. Christine’s standing in my way with an expression on her face that sends chills down my spine—in the worst way possible. She has that saddened expression again, but as her eyes take me in, it’s as if the fire starts to build back into them.

“Why are you still here?” I ask.

“Building is on lockdown, remember? I tried to leave, but it’s like the universe wants me here, so I’m taking that as a sign.”

“There is no sign, Christine. I suggest you go downstairs. I’ll call security and give them my permission to have you leave the premises.”

I reach for my phone, but she stops me.

“Is this really what you want? A life where you have to search for a homely child who has no father? Do you really want to play stepdaddy to that red-haired little boy? You know what they say about the redheaded stepchild …” She lets out a small chuckle, and I have to clench my jaw to stop from doing something I’ll truly regret.

“Don’t you dare speak about my family that way. Charlie is an amazing little boy, and I’d be lucky if he one day looked up to me like I was a father to him.”

Just like that, Christine seems to have snapped back out from under whatever cloak Missy put over her eyes and is now looking at me with truth. “I used to run your schedule. I knew when you were stressed or tired or needed a drink. I was at your beck and call and ran every errand for you. I was the best, and you cast me aside.”

“You were my assistant, Christine. That doesn’t mean I wanted to be with you.”

“You should have. What kind of man lets a woman fall to her knees, practically begging to give him a blow job, and shoots her down?”

“A man who knows it’s wrong.”

“You’ve slept with assistants in the past. I heard stories—”

“They were mistakes. Both consensual and both mistakes.”

“What? I’m not good enough to make a mistake with? It took me three weeks to pick out a time where I could get you by yourself. I spent three hundred dollars on that lingerie. You could have fucked me so hard on that desk, but you were too pussy to do it.”

“I’m sure as hell glad I didn’t. You need to stop the charade. I don’t know what your end game is, but because I was here, being accused of something I didn’t do, a child is missing. I’m supposed to be at a Boy Scouts event, but instead, I’m terrified out of my mind that I can’t find a little boy who means the world to me, and it’s all because of you and your lies!”

She grabs ahold of my shirt. “Take it out on me, Bryce.” She pushes out her breasts and licks her lips. “I could give you a world full of fucking whenever you wanted and free of drama-ass kids. All you have to do is say yes,” she taunts.

I push her hands away. “I. Said. No.”

Her body steps back with a slight stammer. Her brows are pinched, and her jaw is tight. “That’s too bad, Bryce. You see, your stepmom has it out bad for you, and I’m more than honored to help her in any way I can. You might have gotten Kathleen Clarke out of representing me, but just as she said, you’d better lawyer up, and you’d better do it fast. Because I’ll get what I want from you one way or another.”

“Like hell you will!” Kathleen comes stomping around the corner.

I don’t know if I should be happy or frightened out of my skull.

“I’m absolutely disgusted with you right now, Ms. Christine Mummert. It’s women like you who make me sick. Accusing someone of something as horrible as sexual assault when it was obviously you who sexually assaulted him is despicable. How dare you have no respect for the women who truly went through what you accused him of doing. I will make sure you never see a courtroom when it comes to this matter. You’d better pray a man never actually assaults you because I’m telling you right now, with this accusation being totally false, no one will ever believe you.”

Both Christine and I stare wide-eyed and shocked at what we just heard.

“Bryce, you can make that phone call now to security. I believe there’s a woman who needs to be escorted out of our presence.” Kathleen stands up straight, her professional demeanor fully intact again.

I reach for my phone, saying, “Yes, ma’am,” as Christine huffs away.

As I hang up the call, I glance up to see Kathleen still standing there. I don’t know what to say exactly. I wait for her to make the first move.

“I was going to wait for more news from Missy’s office, but I think I’ll come upstairs with you,” she says.

I nod and walk toward the stairwell where we head back up to my floor.

Tessa comes barreling down the hall when she sees me. “Have you found him? What’s going on?”

I wrap my hands around her. “How did you get up here? The elevators are on lockdown.”

“Security escorted me up. Please tell me you found him.”

“We’re still searching. No word yet.”

She pushes me away. “Then, why are you standing here? We need to be looking.”

“They are. We are. Everyone is, I promise. We’ve been searching in every cabinet, closet, and desk on this floor. He couldn’t have gone far.”

“Oh, thank God you’re here!” Kathleen says, crying into Tessa’s shoulder.

It’s this moment that she realizes her mother is here. At Sexton Media. And most definitely not because Charlie is missing.

“Mom? Why are you here? At Bryce’s work?”

I stare at Kathleen for a brief moment and then open my mouth to explain when Kathleen chimes in, “That’s not important right now. I’ve been helping with the search for Charlie. Where are some spots he likes to hide around the house?”

“Okay,” she replies tepidly, knowing something odd is going on but is wise enough to refocus her energy on Charlie. “You think he’s just playing hide-and-seek?” she asks, confused.

“We don’t know anything, but he is a five-year-old boy, so we’re doing all we can. So far, no one has seen him exit the building on any cameras we have,” I say.

I see her shoulders sag. Mine do, too. Knowing that is the only thing that keeps me from losing my shit altogether.

She nods her head, starting to believe that has to be the case, too. We have to stay positive, and right now, this is the only positive thing we have to go by.

My phone rings with a call from the security office. “Tell me you’ve found him,” I say after I hit the Accept button.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Sexton. Nothing yet. We want to show you the camera system to try to get your take on it,” Don says.

“I’ll be right there,” I say, hanging up the phone and grabbing Tessa by the hand. “Let’s go look at the cameras.”

She has to do a slight jog to keep up with my long strides, but neither of us slows down until we make it to the security room on the eleventh floor.

“Don, what do you have for me?” I ask.

He briefly eyes Tessa but is smart enough not to ask any questions. There’s no time for that now.

“Come this way.” He leads us through a few hallways to a room filled with television screens. “You see this right here?”

We watch as Charlie walks down a hallway in our office.

Tessa yelps and covers her mouth at the sight of her little boy. I wrap my arm around her, bringing her into my chest and nodding for Don to continue, trying to stay strong myself at the sight of the little boy looking around like he’s lost.

“Well, the next camera picks up here”—he points to another screen that’s empty—“but as you can see, he never comes into view. So, we checked the stairwell, and you see the very top of his head right here”—he circles the brief moment you see his curls bob up and down—“but then nothing.” He looks to us and shrugs.

He. Fucking. Shrugs.

I want to beat his ass for the nonchalant way he’s treating this situation. This is a little boy. Tessa’s little boy, who was my responsibility, and he shrugs.

I have to grit my teeth and take a deep breath before I go off on him because I know that would only upset Tessa more.

When I’m finally calm enough to speak, I say, “Then, he had to have gone downstairs, right?”

“Well,” he sighs, “all of us think it would be nearly impossible for him to go down twenty-two floors without being seen by at least one camera. And no one has exited at any floor or the ground level who hasn’t been questioned or verified.”

“Then, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, we’re just as confused as you are. We don’t think he came back on the floor, but we can’t find him in the stairwell.”

“If he didn’t go down, could he have gone up?” Tessa asks.

I place my hand on her shoulder. “We’re on the top floor. The stairwell ends at the door.”

“And we did check. The latch to the roof was secured and locked. We’re all stumped here, and we were hoping you knew something we didn’t,” Don says, raising his arms in question.

Tessa wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me into her as she cries even harder than I heard her cry over the phone.

I get it. I feel totally helpless, too, and after seeing these tapes, it’s like he disappeared into thin air.

The night starts to tick away, yet there’s still no sign of Charlie. We’ve searched in every nook and cranny of this building, and the San Francisco police have a search party on the lookout as well, just in case he did get out.

I feel like I’m at my wit’s end when Austin comes to sit next to me. I had the camera feeds sent to my laptop, and I’ve been scouring them for the past fifteen minutes. Thankfully, he and most of the staff have stayed to help us search. Things just aren’t adding up, and my fear is slowly turning into despair.

Is he really gone?

I need to get up again and continue, but I don’t know where else to search. Tessa is running through the entire building. Jalynn and the staff of every department on every floor are looking as well.

“Fuck, Bryce. I don’t know where else I could possibly look,” Austin says in a defeated tone.

I glance up at him, only to see past him to the outside where the fog has rolled in and the darkness is taking over. Fear grips at my gut, but I try to push it aside.

Tessa’s been crying nonstop, and even though I hate that her mom is here, I’m also very thankful she has her to turn to.

“Are these the surveillance videos?” Austin asks.

“Yeah. Look.” I turn the laptop toward him. “He enters but doesn’t go anywhere.”

Austin looks at the tapes and then mumbles, “Fuck,” under his breath when he points to the time stamp on the screen. He pushes back from the desk and starts to run. “The roof.”

I get up and run after him. “They already checked. It was locked.”

“Not at six fifteen it wasn’t. Jalynn and I were having dinner up there.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I say, exasperated.

Austin eyes me, not needing to say another word as he runs down the hall and I’m quick behind him. Charlie’s been missing for over an hour. A little boy on a roof with no guardrail …

I want to vomit, just thinking about it. It’s dark up there, too. Even if he didn’t mean to, he could easily have …

“Charlie,” I scream as I climb the ladder in the stairwell that leads to the roof door.

It’s a square door that opens upward. The latch is locked, so Austin hands me a key. I fumble, trying to get the key in the lock, and finally—finally—I get it unlocked. I thrust it open, and it slams on the ground above with a thud.

“Charlie,” I yell over and over again as Austin and I start frantically searching.

“Bryce,” I hear a little boy yell, and it’s the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard in my life.

Tears instantly flow down my face, and I don’t even try to stop them.

I run toward the lounge chairs Austin has set up as his getaway from the world. There, curled up in a ball, is Charlie. Austin flashes his iPhone light on him, and we see his tiny body shivering in the cold night air. His lips are blue.

I run toward him, swooping him up in my arms and holding him tighter than I’ve ever held anyone.

“I’m cold,” Charlie says, shaking.

I laugh at the nonchalant way he says it. Like we haven’t been scared to death, looking for him, or that he wasn’t losing his mind from fear. He was curled up on a chaise lounge this entire time, and his only complaint is that he is cold.

I hear Austin calling Jalynn, letting her know we’ve found him.

I pull back, looking into his eyes, still not believing he’s in front of me. I run my hand over his head, smiling at the kid who, until now, I didn’t know I loved as much as I do.

“Why are you crying, Bryce?”

“You gave everyone a big scare. We didn’t know where you were.”

He sighs. “I’m sorry. I was just exploring. I went into the stairwell and saw the light shining through from that door in the ceiling. So, I climbed the ladder like I was in the Batcave. When I saw other people were up here, I hid, afraid I’d get in trouble. But, when they left, I realized the door over there locked behind them.”

I let out a small laugh, pulling him back into me for a big hug, loving his innocence.

“I was worried you were going to pretend you were Superman and leap off the building,” I say.

“No. Batman can’t fly. Not without his special suit on anyway. Besides, you’re Superman, remember? If anyone can fly, it would be you.”

I hug him. I hug the little guy who looks at me like I’m a superhero even though I failed him. I lost him on my first chance.

“I love you, buddy. I’ll never let anything happen to you again.”

“Charlie!” I hear Tessa yell.

I lean back, walking him to where Tessa will see him sooner.

As soon as she does, she runs over, falling to her knees, bringing Charlie to her chest as cries of joy escape her lips.

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to explore,” Charlie says.

She laughs, too. “It’s okay, baby. I’m just so glad to find you. You can’t do that to us, okay?”

“I know. I’m sorry.” He sniffles.

Jalynn, Kathleen, and the security team come up one at a time through the door. Jalynn walks up next to Austin and cradles his arm. Austin kisses her head and then looks back down at me and Tessa, who are cradling Charlie.

“So, this is the little guy that all of San Francisco is searching for?” Austin teases as he addresses Charlie. “You picked a great spot up here. It’s my personal favorite.”

I look around at the outdoor living space that Austin created up here last year as a place to escape when Father and Missy and I were getting to him. I’ve never come up here before, but it definitely has a fantastic view.

“This is your place?” Charlie asks Austin, who nods. Charlie shrugs. “It could use some blankets. A kid could get trapped up here.”

We all laugh at his joke.

“Austin, this is Charlie, and this woman here is my Tessa.” I look at my love and her son and introduce them. “I’d like you to meet my brother Austin and his girlfriend, who is also my assistant, Jalynn.”

“Pleasure to meet the woman who knocked my brother on his ass,” Austin says.

Tessa smiles. “I’m about to knock his teeth out. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.”

I lay a hand on her cheek. “Tessa, I am so sorry. This was my first chance to prove to you that I could be a man worth relying on, and I blew it.”

“You didn’t blow it, Bryce,” Charlie says, and we all look at him. “It’s not your fault I have special powers. Ask Mom. She lost me in Whole Foods once. I was eating the cheese samples.”

I raise a brow. “Really?”

She sighs. “He was three. Kids are hard work. I’ve had five years of practice. You’ve only had a few weeks.”

“I’d like the chance to practice more. You are my family. The two of you. I promise I’ll never take my eyes off him again. Ever. Not even for a call or a meeting. Anything,” I vow.

“I like you, Bryce, but I am definitely not following you into the bathroom,” Charlie says.

I lean down and scoop him up into a big hug. “I love you, Charlie. Will you give me a second chance?”

He looks over at his mom. “Don’t ask me.”

I look at Tessa. “Do you forgive me?”

She smiles. “Yeah, I forgive you.”

I lean forward and kiss her. Oddly, my brother starts with the clapping and catcalls. Jalynn hits him in the arm.

When Tessa rises as well, I put my arm around her. We thank the security guards and bid them a good night. They ask if we need an ambulance to check on Charlie, and we tell them we think a warm bath and Chinese food will do the trick.

We follow the crowd off the roof and down the ladder. When the latch is securely in place, I give the key back to Austin with a stern warning.

“Ready to go home?” I ask my little family.

Charlie is still cradled in my arms.

“One minute,” Kathleen Clarke says, drawing our attention to where she’s standing in the hallway. Ever since Charlie was found, she’s been quiet. “I haven’t been able to hug my grandson.”

She walks up to Charlie and takes him from my arms. It’s at this moment she starts to cry.

“I was so worried about you, you know that?” she says as she runs a hand through his hair over and over again. “Don’t ever run off like that again. Do you know what would happen to Grandma if anything bad ever happened to you?”

Charlie tightly hugs her, and she pulls him in like that hug is the one thing she needed in this world.

When her tears have been spilled and her nose is stuffy, she looks at me. “As for you, Mr. Sexton,” she starts.

I push my shoulders back and wait for the verbal pounding she’s about to give me.

“I’m not thrilled with what transpired earlier, and I’m livid that you lost my grandson.” I can feel Tessa’s body tensing beside mine as she waits for her mother to unleash fire and fury on me. “But I can without a doubt see that you love my daughter and grandson just as much as I do.”

“I’d give my life for them,” I state.

“Just be careful, will you? Your family is cruel, and it’s no place for Tessa and Charlie. I’ll be watching. I hope you make the right choices, moving forward,” she says. She gives Charlie another kiss on the head and hands him back to me. “Now, did I hear someone mention Chinese food?”

Tessa lets out a laugh. “You want to join us for dinner?”

Kathleen grabs her daughter’s arm. “Since you gave me a fake last name, I haven’t been able to spy on Bryce. What better way than to actually dine with the man? Where shall we go? Your place?” Kathleen asks me.

“Uh, sure,” I answer, unsure if that’s where Tessa wants to go.

Tessa skeptically eyes her mother. “You’re not raiding his sock drawer, Mother. This is why I didn’t tell you Bryce’s real last name!”

Kathleen laughs. “Oh, honey. Sock drawers are for amateurs. I bet he has a wall safe in his closet, and the password is his mother’s birthday.”

It should scare me that the woman is correct.

The two turn around and look at me for confirmation.

I, in turn, look at Charlie. “Looks like I need a new hiding spot for my cape.”

“You’re supposed to wear it under your suit,” Charlie explains.

“Right,” I concur.

“Come on.” Tessa grabs my hand. “I’d like my mom to see my new home.”

My heart nearly beats out of my chest with how happy her words have just made me. “You’re moving in with me?” I ask.

She kisses my cheek. “Charlie and I have already talked about it. We’re family, right?”

The elevator doors open, and we step inside. For the next thirty-three seconds, I hold on to the two most important people in my life and vow to never let go.

And then Tessa asks, “You two are going to tell me what was happening when my son went missing, right?”