Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
I had no idea when I took her hand that she would guide me down a path to greatness. I might not be able to save her life, but maybe one day I could save others.
1
Lennon
I flip through to the next page, my eyes trailing down the list of names and pictures.
“What are you doing?” A hand comes down on my stack of papers, stopping me from turning the page again.
I pull my gaze from the papers up to see Emily standing next to me. She has her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. Our work now is more casual, but she still wears a suit every day.
“I’m retired. I can do whatever I like,” I remind her. She scoffs a laugh.
“Retired. Right.” She rolls her eyes. “It sure doesn’t seem that way.”
“I am.” It had come as a shock to everyone when I retired in my early thirties. I’d gone public with Colossal, Inc. in my mid-twenties. I’d been doing well but not well enough to fund my next project. I had needed more cash in the door for the robotics I’d been developing.
Going public had given me the additional capital I needed to move forward. Once I’d gotten it, Colossal Inc. exploded into the medical field. So much so I was above my pay grade. I’d gone as far as I thought I could with it, so I sold all my shares. At the time I held the majority.
I was not only set for life, but so were the generations to come. That is if I ever have kids. It doesn't look like that’s going to be happening.
For now I need to find something else to fill my time. Something I can sink my hands into once again. What that is I have no idea. Right now all we really do is run benefits raising money for children in need. I still want to help in some way.
“You have to let this go at some point. Find some girl and settle down. I know that’s what you want.” My hand slams down on the desk, making Emily jump back. I’m normally laid back and easy-going. My brother is the one with the temper. But all of my patience goes out the window when it came to this. I wasn’t letting it go. I couldn’t. I made that promise a long time ago. It was her or no one.
“Sorry.” She again rolls her eyes at me. She’s the only person that can get away with that shit. I know she only wants the best for me. She is like an older sister to me at his point. She’s been at my side from the beginning.
“I worry about you. You look more worn out now than you did when you still worked for Colossal pulling eighty-hour weeks.” She is right. Work kept me busy. When I hit the bed each night I was out. I have too much free space in my head now. Skiing only occupies so much of my day. All I can think about is her. The girl that stole my heart all those years ago. I gave her a vow, and I won't break it.
“Then help me find her.” She lets out a long sigh.
“We’ve been doing this for years. Not to mention your ass would be in trouble if anyone finds out you’ve been buying your way in to get medical records from hospitals.”
No one is going to find out. I started searching for her when I was in college. I didn't have the means or the knowhow to do it before that. We had parted ways in the hospital so I could go check on my brother. When I came back, I couldn't find her anywhere.
“I don’t read them. I check the name and age. Nothing more.” Emily snags one of the binders that’s sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk. She might not want to help me, but she will anyway. She always does.
“What if she died and that’s why you can’t find her?” My head jerks up. “I’m just saying.” Her words are like a punch to my throat. I’d thought that too at one point but pushed it to the back of my mind because I wasn’t ready to deal with that ending.
“I’ve been through the obituaries.” I go back to flipping through the pages, not wanting to talk about Willow dying. She was a fighter. I’d seen it in her eyes.
None of the private detectives I hired have come up with shit either. I’m searching for a needle in a haystack. Still, that isn't going to stop me. I’ll never stop looking for her. I flip the page again and freeze.
“Lennon? Are you okay?” Emily jumps up from her chair.
“I found her.”
“What!” She runs around the desk. I stare down at the picture. She’s older in this one. “She's beautiful.” She isn't just beautiful. She is breathtaking, but that was only a part of her.