Always Been Yours

Chapter 9 Gregory Has Gone Missing

Over at Sawyer Group, Nicholas was still in the meeting when he got a call from Andrew. As soon as he heard that Gregory had gone missing, he stood up abruptly and walked out of the conference room with a steely expression, announcing through gritted teeth, “Dismissed!”

There was no hiding his anger and hostility. The sheer incompetency! What’s the use of keeping the staff if they can’t even keep an eye on a toddler?!

He looked more mutinous than he had seconds ago as he boarded his car. Just as he was about to rush back to the manor, his phone rang with an intrusive trill.

It was an unknown number, Nicholas noted, but he was in such a daze that he mispressed and answered the call instead of rejecting it.

As soon as the call was put through, an awkward female voice filled the other line, stammering, “H-Hello, President Sawyer. It’s me, Tessa, the violinist who performed at Young Master Gregory’s birthday banquet the other day. Do you still remember?”

She heard no response, but what she did hear was her heart thumping wildly in her chest. She wasn’t so presumptuous as to think Nicholas would still remember her after their brief meeting on the yacht, but then again, that wasn’t her priority at the moment.

Clearing her throat, she explained promptly, “President Sawyer, Gregory has come to the orchestra building to look for me all on his own. I was concerned that you might be looking for him, so I figured I’d give you a call. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please come and bring the little one home?”

Nicholas’ gaze darkened ominously at this as he said icily, “I see. I’ll be over right now. Thank you.” Then, he hung up the phone decisively and gave his assistant a call, snapping irritably, “Find every bit of information you can on a woman called Tessa Reinhart right now—her childhood, her accomplishments in school, every single detail there is to know about her!”

phone, he stepped on the accelerator and sped over

…

in record time, having taken a mere hour to complete the otherwise

he stormed through the main entrance of the orchestra building, anyone

Tessa straightened up and greeted

the other hand, looked rattled as he kept quiet, not daring to so much

happily seated down, his little legs dangling over the edge of the chair as he

near Nicholas’ temple was throbbing dangerously, and his voice sounded somewhat disembodied, as if it came from the depths of hell, as he demanded darkly, “Gregory. Sawyer. I don’t know where

jumped at the thunderous volume of his

at ease as he turned his head away haughtily, sneering, “It’s not my fault that you didn’t keep your promises, Daddy. You told me you’d bring me to see the pretty lady, but you went back on your word, so I have no choice but to come here alone.” He spoke softly, but that did little to hamper the hurt

taken aback by the forward protest, and for a second, he wasn’t sure if he had the right to argue. He couldn’t deny that he had been stalling Gregory, hoping that he might eventually forget about the promise, though Nicholas

Gregory, intending to talk some sense into the boy. “You have to cut me some slack here, kid. I’ve been really tied up at work, but I did try to free up my schedule to bring you to see Miss Reinhart. You shouldn’t have

you. You were cooped up at home for the past three days, so don’t tell me you were busy working! Don’t think I don’t

Tessa sputtered aloud before she could

after the little guy’s grumbling. Having calmed down, Nicholas went on to cajole the child, saying, “Okay, so now that you’ve seen the pretty lady like you wanted to,