Chapter 80

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Kidnapped?

Marissa stared at Rafael’s face in disbelief. This was a very

immature thing to do.

“I need to be in office, Rafael. There are people who are dependent on me. You just made me an in charge and now this irresponsible behavior of mine might invite suspicions.”

Rafael slowed the car and parked it on the side of the road, “Then tell them the CEO decided to make you in charge and he decided to steal you from the office… and by the way…” he turned his body in his seat to face her, “Why always worry about people?”

“Because that’s my bread and butter,” she said softly, “Not everyone is born with a golden spoon in his mouth like you.”

After saying it she realized she made a mistake, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… look. We need to go back. Your office…”

He took her by surprise when he leaned forward to unbuckle her seat belt. Not only that but his arms snaked around her waist to pull her onto him.

She was almost on his chest, “For a moment… just for a moment, Marissa,” he pleaded, “Can you please forget about the office, in charge, work, your home, kids, home chores… your car, your kitten, your puppy…” Placing her palm on his mouth, she laughed hard.

Instead of joining the laughter, his eyes just stared at her face. When her laughing fit was over, she exhaled a long breath, “What

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do you have in mind? Because I can forget everything but not our kids.”

He nodded in understanding, and she placed both hands on hist chest to move back a little to put some distance between them, “So! What’s next?” she asked settling on her seat and trying to

control her accelerated heartbeat.

Just to show herself busy and to control her overwhelming emotions she took out her phone and then cursed internally partly due to frustration and partly due to embarrassment.

“This area hasn’t got any signals. I can’t even call or message anyone,” She raised her phone to check the signals.

“That’s good!” he pinched her nose playfully and then fired up the engine, “This means kidnapping has gotten easier for me. Now you can’t call anyone for help.”

She slapped his thigh and folded her arms on her chest. She knew he would never do any such thing.

She trusted him.

She could observe his strong hands on the steering wheel from the

corner of her eye.

Just then it occurred to her, “Are you taking me for breakfast?” because he knew she hadn’t eaten enough. He must be hungry too.

“Sort of,” he winked, “the abducted ones are usually not allowed to

ask questions.”

“Oh, brother. Fine!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in surrender, “Take me wherever you want!”

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He laughed when she gave up, “Buckle up, strawberry. Now you are

at my mercy.”

***

Delinda and Shang stayed quiet in the elevator.

A policeman was asking about Marissa. Why?

Shang–chi was continuously trying to contact Marissa to issue her a fair warning. When they stepped outside the elevator, she

reached for his arm.

“We need to inform someone here, Shang. Delinda finally managed to speak, “there must be some misunderstanding.”

“No use. These companies usually don’t support their employees in such matters. They are usually scared of their name being

tarnished. Talking to them will be fruitless.”

Delinda’s worry was increasing with each passing minute. She didn’t want to get panicked.

“What if we talk to Mr. Joseph? He might be helpful.”

“Where is your phone? Right now, what you can do is, go and leave a detailed text to her. I hope she will get our messages once she switches on her phone or gets it charged. Just do that.”

Delinda nodded, “I left my phone behind,” she headed to her desk

to get her phone.

Shang–chi saw her typing frantically on her phone and started trying Marissa’s number. He wanted to leave a good amount of missed calls on her phone so that she would contact them back, as

soon as she would see her phone.

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After typing messages, Delinda got up and took her purse, “Where do you think you are going?” Shang–chi inquired in confusion.

“I can’t sit here on my ass waiting for my friend to get arrested. I’m going to talk to Dean.”

“But Del. Her job might be in danger and …”

“Why would it be in danger? If any such thing happens then I’ll get help from social media. When my son was sick, she not only spent her time with me but also talked to Dean to connect us with a good doctor. I didn’t have to pay a dime for my son’s treatment. If any such thing happens, I’ll be the first one to resign from MSin.”

“Hey. How are you, Delinda?” Dean was standing close to a shelf. looking for something, “please take a seat. I know today it’s a little. chaotic due to Marissa’s absence but don’t worry.”

Delinda took the seat, “I need to talk to you, Dean. It’s important,”

Dean nodded when at last found the desired folder and turned to

his seat.

“To be very frank, Marissa has taken half of my load. I hope

everything is good on her end. She isn’t even receiving my phone,” His eyes snapped behind Delinda.

She also twisted her neck and found Shang standing there. He came over with a sheepish smile and took another seat beside her.

“You also need help with something? Shoot it!” Dean leaned back in

his seat and started revolving his chair.

“We are not here because of us. It’s about Marissa,” Delinda said

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after bending over a great deal.

“Like I just said, we are trying to contact her…” Dean trailed off when saw their faces, “Is something wrong?”

“A policeman is downstairs asking about Marissa. We don’t know what the problem is. But he was talking about an arrest warrant.”

Dean’s face paled visibly. He quickly picked up his phone receiver and dialed a number.

“We tried calling Marissa, but her phone is not responding. It’s forwarding us to the voice message part,” She explained to Dean.

Attaching the receiver to his ear, Dean’s skin between his brows. -wrinkled, “Strange. Mr. Sinclair is also not responding.”

“Won’t he come to the office?” Shang asked him.

“Mr. Sinclair is not in Kanderton. He is traveling continuously and is always available on the phone,” He mumbled and started dialing another number.

“Mr. Joseph? This is something super urgent.”

“No, sir. I think you need to cancel that meeting and be here.”

“Sir, it’s about Ms. Aaron.”

“Hmm. Ok, sir. I’ll do that.”

He placed the receiver down, “Mr. Joseph is on the way. Once he arrives, we’ll let him know the details.”

Both Shang–chi and Delinda took a sigh of relief. Though they were still concerned about Marissa but at least Dean seemed to be

willing to help.

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Kate was searching for the man in the lobby. According to Amir, the police must be there by now. He had a friend in the police department who informed him that Inspector John Harris was on the hunt and couldn’t wait to meet Marissa.

The moment she spotted the uniformed man, her smile broadened. He was turning away from the receptionist’s desk and was punching numbers on his phone when she waved at him with a smile as if he was an old acquaintance.

With a frown, he placed his phone back in his pocket and turned back to look behind him, thinking she must be waving to someone else.

Kate didn’t want to approach him in front of the desk, so she preferred to exit the building. Inside there was the risk of CCTV

cameras too.

The inspector seemed sensible and followed her trail.

“Yes? How can I help you?” he asked the beautiful woman.

“I heard you talking there,” she said politely giving him, her best smile, “You were asking for Marissa Aaron.”

“Yes, I was. Do you know her?” The charm of her smile worked, and he found her quite appealing.

“Yes, I do,” she shrugged, “Unfortunately, she hasn’t arrived yet.”

“OK. That’s what the receptionist told me. Anything else you know about her?”

She raised her one shoulder and moved her hair off her face, “Of

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course,” she smiled, “I know where she lives.”

“Wow!” this time he did man