Saving Us (The Billionaire Brothers of NY Duology #1)

23. Gage

CHAPTER 23

Gage

W here the fuck could she be? She wasn’t at the club Saturday night. Victoria hadn’t heard from her since they worked together Friday. She won’t respond to any of my texts. She won’t answer any of my calls. She doesn’t seem to be at her apartment. I even asked Jared if Delia had heard from her, and nothing.

The past couple days have been a living hell.

Work yesterday was useless. I couldn’t get anything accomplished because every thought was consumed by her. And by my asinine actions from the other night.

I didn’t even understand where my jealousy came from. Although, having an ex-wife who cheated on you probably has some lasting effects. But it surprised me as much as it did Harper.

Sitting at my desk, staring out the window at the street below, I knew today would be another waste of time. But once the clock hit nine, I was making the call.

And it finally hit nine.

“Fiona’s Flowers, may I help you?”

“Hi, may I speak with Harper, please?” With bated breath, I waited for Fiona’s answer. Intentionally, I did not tell her it was me, though I’m sure the caller ID alerted her.

The pause in her response wasn’t very reassuring.

“She’s, uh, off for a couple days. Can I take a message?”

I disconnected the call.

And grabbed my suit jacket.

Walking into the shop, the scent of flowers inundated me with memories of Harper. Her scent came rushing back as if she were going to be there, working at that wood table with her bright smile.

Instead, Fiona came walking through the back door, the bell announcing my arrival.

“Gage, what brings you in today?” she asked. She didn’t seem all that surprised to see me as her eyes bored into mine, searching for something. It was as if she was looking for the answer in my face to her own questions, but I didn’t have them for her.

But that told me she had some for me.

My hands shook with nerves as I stood, unmoving. Unsure of what my next move should be, I remained where I was, staring at the woman Harper respected as a mom.

“Fiona.” My voice was feeble.

I wasn’t myself. At all.

A broken version of me was standing in front of this person whom I now considered a friend. And my future was possibly in her hands.

“I need something from you, and you probably aren’t prepared to give it to me,” I said. Taking a few steps in her direction, I leaned against the edge of the table, using it to support me. I suddenly felt as though I was about to pass out. “I’ve, um, been trying to reach Harper since Saturday, and haven’t been able to. We had a fight. She’s not at her apartment. She’s not here. I know we haven’t known each other for long, and you owe me nothing, but if you could find it in your heart to give me some idea where I could find her, or at least make sure she’s okay…”

The crack in my voice startled me. The last time I cried was the day my mother left when I was ten years old. And I hadn’t cried since. Now I felt as though today would be the day. But I kept it in. The knot in my throat grew so large it felt like the air couldn’t move past it. But I kept it in.

Bending over the table, despair ran its course through my body. My head hung between my shoulders as I realized how important Harper had become to me.

And she was gone.

“Gage.” Fiona used a soft tone. “You poor thing.”

Her hand went to my head, patting me, consoling me. I was too devastated to care about being embarrassed.

“She was just as shattered as you are,” she said.

I looked up. The compassion her eyes held gave me hope.

“I see a lot of me and Jim in you two. And he screwed up a few times,” she said, then laughed. “I would have wanted someone to push him in my direction if it was needed, or we wouldn’t have the wonderful life we have.”

But then she abruptly walked to her back room, leaving me alone. No words. And I was left wondering if I’d imagined what she’d just said.

But just as quickly, she came drifting back in with a piece of paper in her hands.

“Ran off to see her mom. She doesn’t see her often, and this was a very sudden visit. I kind of knew something was up,” she said. Handing me the paper, she closed it in my hand. “I hope I’m doing the right thing. Make sure you do the right thing.”

Standing straighter and taking a full breath of air for the first time in what felt like days, I looked down at my newest ally.

“Thank you,” I said as I bent down and hugged Fiona.

Walking out of the store, I pulled out my phone and made a call.

“Maryellen, get the jet ready.”

I’d been to Florida, but I’d never really been to Florida. A conference in Miami, a fishing trip in the Keys. But most of the time it was over the winter months, during the season when it felt great to escape the cold North to the warm South.

This heat and humidity sucked. And I jumped on the jet without a bag packed, still in my suit from the day. The car was taking me directly to Harper’s mom’s place. I’d worry about a change of clothes later.

But the first problem arose when we arrived at the gated entrance to the community where her mom lived.

I had no way of getting inside.

“Sir, what would you like me to do?” the driver asked.

I didn’t have an answer for him. Being locked out of places wasn’t something I was used to.

“Is there an office we can contact to let me in?” I asked.

“I don’t believe so, sir. The only people that can open these gates are residents, it’s a security measure.”

There was an intercom with a button, so there was someone to talk to.

“I’ll get out, thank you.”

As soon as I got out, the sweat was dripping between my shoulder blades, hitting me at the waistband of my pants. The jacket came off, and the shirt was unbuttoned at the neck. As I rolled up my sleeves, I hit the button on the intercom. The static that sounded through the speaker was not the most encouraging sound.

I hit the button again.

And I was graced with the same static noise.

What if a resident needed help?

“May I help you?” a voice like tin said through the box.

“Yes!” I said a bit too triumphantly. “I’m here to visit someone. How do I go about that?”

“Well, they would have to buzz you in, sir? You should call them,” the voice said.

Shit. I hadn’t expected this literal barrier in my plan.

“But it’s a surprise,” I offered. “I’ve flown in to surprise my girlfriend for her birthday, and she’s staying with her mom. Margaret Wilson, building four, number 4302.”

There was a long pause with no words or static. I thought I’d been abandoned when suddenly, the static returned.

“Listen, I’m not supposed to do this. I’ll buzz you in, but you have to come to the office. If you don’t come here first, I will definitely get fired.”

The relief that washed over me was tangible. My back straightened and my shoulders raised just a bit as some confidence was added to my emptying tank.

“Thank you, which way to the office?”

She rattled off directions as the gate creaked open. I hoped I got the lefts and rights correct in my mind. Most people were driving through this maze, not walking. It took me ten minutes to get there, and by then the sweat was so profuse on my entire body that my shirt clung to my back. The front was completely unbuttoned, begging for any type of breeze to find my skin, but it wasn’t happening. Finding the door to the office and knowing there would be air conditioning once stepping inside kept me going.

And what a glorious feeling it was. It’s amazing how we take it for granted, and I don’t think I will ever again. I welcomed the tiny bumps from the frigid temperatures that popped up all over my skin.

“You walked here? I thought you ditched me,” a voice yelled from a nearby desk.

Turning to the voice, I found a thirty-something tired-looking girl, who I was sure didn’t like her job but needed it. Her eyes inspected me from head to toe. Looking down, I realized my shirt was still wide open, my torso on full display. Pulling it closed, I moved toward her, my biggest smile of thanks on my face.

“Well, from the gate I did. I sent my car away when I couldn’t get in, then realized that was a mistake five minutes later when I was sweating through my suit.”

She, on the other hand, was wrapped in a sweater. They did like their air conditioning in this office.

“Yeah, this is a bit unusual for this early in the season. It’s really hot out there the past couple days,” she said. “Do you mind signing in and letting me see some ID?”

As I signed the clipboard, she scrutinized my license, for what I didn’t know, then logged some information in a notebook.

“Thanks. We’re really only supposed to let delivery people in here that don’t have tags to open the gate. So let’s keep this between us, if you don’t mind,” she said with a wink.

“Thanks again,” I told her as I walked toward the exit. I wasn’t looking forward to leaving the cool temps of the office, but I needed to get to Harper.

“Hope she has a happy birthday,” she called from the desk behind me.

Once outside, the numbers on the buildings told me I’d have to make my way to the back of the complex to find Harper’s mom’s place. Thankfully, there was a tree-lined path that helped with the heat. As I walked, I realized I had no real plan in place for when I got there.

What was I going to say?

What if she refused to talk to me?

Once Fiona gave me the address of where Harper was, no thinking was involved. Jumping on the corporate jet to get down here as fast as I could was the only plan. My time on the flight was spent adjusting my meeting schedule over the next couple of days since I wouldn’t be in New York. Maryellen got in touch with Chase and put him in charge of a few of them, so the hope was that he could handle it. He and Jared had been calling and texting since I landed, but I couldn’t explain it to them. I didn’t understand it myself.

I questioned if coming here was the right thing to do. Harper obviously went to extreme lengths to have me not find her. However, we’re too far into this together for me to simply walk away.

I won’t lose her over my stupidity. If she still doesn’t want me after I apologize, well, I’ll have to live with that.

Stopping, I looked at the building in front of me, building four.

Once I made it up to the third floor and was standing in front of the door to 4302, the panic set in. But I wasn’t normally a nervous person.

I made people nervous.

My knuckles knocked on the door three hard times in succession, and then I waited.

And I waited.

Looking to my left and my right, as if someone might come out of another apartment. I realized no one was going to answer the door.

I was being hit with one obstacle after another.

Her mom’s condo was near the elevator and stairwell. So, I made myself comfortable on the steps, pulled out my phone, and tried to get some work done. Work was always something I looked forward to. It drove me when I woke each morning. But as I opened each email, my mind drifted from its contents to the way Harper walked away from me the other night at the club.

And the anger in her eyes.

Her anger for me.

She destroyed me. But I’d done it to myself.

Trying to work was useless. I moved on to social media, which I was rarely on. Maybe mindlessly scrolling through some TikToks would help pass the time.

But then the elevator dinged. Strolling out of it came two women.

One of them made my heart stop beating.

The other looked just like her, but with lighter hair and twenty-some years her senior.

Their arms were full of bags: grocery bags, beach bags, shopping bags. They were laughing and talking about their day. Moving from the stairwell, I took tentative steps in their direction for fear of scaring them. Her mom, Margaret, was the first one to see me.

She stopped talking. But it was obvious she knew who I was as her eyes lit up at the sight of me. Something of a smile started to form on her lips, but Harper was still going on about whatever they had been talking about.

“Harper,” her mom said. “Let me take the bags.”

“Why, Mom? I can help you. This is…”

She looked up at her mom and stopped talking, following her mom’s gaze.

Spinning around, Harper saw me.

“Gage,” she whispered.

Her eyes went wide as her body went limp. But she recovered, standing straighter, shaking her head from the cloud that had consumed it.

“Hi,” I croaked out. I knew the moisture was building up in my eyes. Maybe it would be mistaken for the sweat dripping from my temples. But I didn’t care anymore.

Finally, my manners kicked in and I raced to the aid of both women.

“Let me take these,” I said as her mom unlocked the door.

Harper was stunned. She handed me the bags without complaint and followed me into the condo as if on autopilot. The kitchen was in plain view, and I placed all the groceries on the island. Mrs. Wilson had the other bags in her hands and was standing by my side as we both turned to face Harper. Her mom cleared her throat.

“Mrs. Wilson, I’m sorry to show up on your doorstep like this. I’m Gage Parker. It’s nice to meet you.” Extending my hand, she grabbed it firmly with both of hers.

“I know who you are, and it’s so nice to meet you. And call me Maggie, please.” Her look bounced between both Harper and me, settling on her daughter. “I’m, um, going to do a load of laundry with these beach towels, then head to my room. Give you two some privacy.”

She scurried out of the main living space.

But Harper and I hadn’t taken our eyes off each other.

She was still standing near the front door, her beach bag at her feet. I took a few tiny steps toward her to see how she would react.

“What are you doing here?”

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the words cut through me like a knife.

“How did you find me?” she clarified.

My smile didn’t get the reaction from her I’d wanted. Instead, her hands went to her head, fingers gripping her hair, as if it were about to explode.

“Hey, Harper, relax,” I said, moving closer to her. “Finding you was no easy feat, I can tell you that.”

And then she looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time.

“Why are you all wet? Why is your shirt soaking wet?” she asked. “And why are you in your suit?”

She was still struggling to put it all together.

“None of that matters right now. All that matters is that I found you and I hope you’ll hear me out.”

Her hand went to her mouth, covering it. Covering the gasp that tried to escape.

“Gage,” she said.

And I did not like how she said my name.

There was a finality to it. A shudder ran through my entire body, head to toe, as my brain fought off the idea that she was about to reject me.

How could I have fucked this up? She was the best thing to ever happen to me. And I fucked it up.

Rebecca was my first love. But I think I always knew we never connected beyond the bedroom. We had fun in college and tried to make it into something it wasn’t.

Becca tried to fix the cracks in my heart. But she didn’t hand her heart over to me because it belonged to someone else. So, the cracks never healed.

But Harper.

The moment she ran into me, my heart was whole again.

But I fucked it up.

I lost her.