The Tycoon's Unexpected Baby (The Abbot Sisters #3) - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,43
forced her lips to curve up into some semblance of a smile, accepting the plastic container. “Thank you.”
And she walked out of Dimitri’s home so that he could get on with his life.
Chapter 12
“Pepper!” Dimitri called out, tossing his jacket over the back of the couch in his penthouse. He’d thought about hiring another decorator, someone who could add a bit more color. He knew that Pepper preferred a brighter, more vibrant décor and, he had to admit that he liked Pepper’s place more than his penthouse. Besides, maybe if he got more color into this penthouse, it would brighten Pepper’s mood.
To that end, Dimitri put the bag onto the dining room table. It was filled with fettuccine Alfredo and lobster ravioli from Tony’s place, along with bread and salad. He’d stopped by on his way home from work, suspecting that it would be too hard to entice her out of the penthouse for dinner. So, it made sense to bring dinner to her instead.
“Mr. Bosalis,” his housekeeper called, looking anxious and worried as she walked towards him from the kitchen. “She’s gone, sir.”
“Gone?” he asked, not understanding the word. “Who is gone?”
“Your wife, sir. She’s gone. She left for work about an hour after you did this morning and she hasn’t returned.”
Dimitri’s stomach loosened and his shoulders relaxed. “Ah. I’m relieved that she decided to get back to work. That might be good for her. But don’t worry about it,” he told his housekeeper. “I’m sure that she’ll be back later. I’ll just text her and let her know that I have dinner ready for her.”
The housekeeper’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, that’s good. If you don’t need me tonight, I’ll just…”
“That’s fine. Take the night off,” he assured her, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He was relieved that Pepper had finally gone back to work. She’d been sitting in a chair staring out the window for too long and he suspected that it would be good for her to concentrate on something else for a change.
And maybe she’d let him hold her at night. He didn’t even need to make love to her. Not yet. He knew that she wasn’t ready for that. But he wanted to hold her, to talk about what had happened.
The man who had punched her had pleaded guilty to assault and had received a jail sentence of only ten days. He was already out and roaming the streets. But Dimitri didn’t think that the sentence of only ten days for assault was good enough. He’d put into place various plans that would ensure that the man would understand more completely what he’d done.
He dialed Pepper’s phone, intending to call her and tease her about…something. Anything! Hell, he was so completely worried about Pepper that he could barely concentrate on work these days. She wouldn’t go to work, wouldn’t talk to him, and barely ate. It was almost as if she were punishing herself for losing their baby. But that was ridiculous, he thought, tamping down his rage at the bastard who had swung wild and missed his target, hurting his precious Pepper instead.
After five rings, he accepted that Pepper had probably left her phone on silent. Ending the call, he dialed her office number.
“Hello?”
Dimitri scowled because it wasn’t Pepper’s voice. “Hello, this is Dimitri Borsalis. Is this Nancy?”
“Yes,” the woman replied. “How are you today, sir?”
“I’m fine, I was just…”
“We heard what happened to Pepper. Is she okay? Is there anything that we can do to help?”
That was odd, Dimitri thought. “She isn’t there with you now?” he asked.
There was a long silence on the other end. “No, she hasn’t been in since…well, since before.”
He clenched his teeth. “So, she didn’t come into work today?”
Another pause. “No,” she replied, a note of panic in her voice now. “I haven’t seen or heard from her since before. I just…”
“I’ll find her,” he snapped, then ended the call. He wondered if he should call the woman back and apologize for his rudeness. It was what Pepper would want, what she would demand of him. But where was she? Pepper had left here, telling his housekeeper that she was going into work.
So if she wasn’t here, and she wasn’t at work, where the hell was she?
He walked out of the penthouse, grabbing his keys on the way. He completely forgot about the dinner that Tony had carefully packed for them. He couldn’t think beyond getting to Pepper and making sure that she was okay.