Chapter 5 

Callan’s POV

“Paige! Come back here!” I shouted but it didn’t stop her from running out of the restaurant.

“Fuck!” My cock was still hard and my blood was boiling. No woman had ever rejected me before. I’ll show her.

I took my phone out of my pocket to dial whoever was first on the waiting list, but looking at all the names, I changed my mind and ran out after her.

Just as I got out of the restaurant, Paige got in a taxi. Jimmy was quick to get the car and I told him to follow them without her noticing. 

What are you doing, man? We should just fuck Jessica. You know that new receptionist in the hotel? One call from you and she’d come running naked.

No. There’s something about Paige Miller. I know for a fact I can’t move on unless I taste her at least once, you know?

Your choice, Jefe. I’m just your subconscious after all.  I shut my brain off right before he could end his evil laughter.

“Where is she going?” I said out loud without realizing it. 

“Are you talking to me, sir?” Jimmy asked, looking at me through the mirror. 

“Oh no, I was just thinking out loud, Jim. Where are we, by the way?”

“Uhm 220 East 78th Street, sir.” 

“Look,” I pointed to Paige’s taxi stopping. “Stop here. Wait. Is that a school?”

“Yes, sir. It’s a public high school.” 

“Hmmm. Maybe her boyfriend is a dorky teacher. Damn.”

I saw Jim smile and he quickly hid it by faking a cough.  When I looked back out the window, Paige came out minutes later, holding hands with a little girl. 

“What the…Wait here, Jim. Or better yet, just drive super slow and follow me.”

“Yes. Sir.” 

I got out of the car and started following Paige and her mysterious little companion. 

Well, now we’ve reached stalker level, huh? Pathetic. We could be fucking some hot blonde right now.

Shut up, brain. I wanna know who that little girl is.

The cool autumn breeze made me regret that I got out of the car without my jacket and I wanted to walk faster and stop Paige to confront her and maybe even apologize again for assuming she wanted to fuck in the bathroom. 

I was about 10 people behind them so I couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but I could see her smiling and laughing from time to time. Suddenly, someone bumped past me, making my phone fly off my hands for a couple of seconds before I caught it. I was about to shout and run after the asshole when I heard a chilling scream. Running through the crowd, I stopped in my tracks when I saw Paige falling on the ground. The little girl, who was behind her, screamed and cried. I ran toward them and realized the man who bumped into me was running away after dropping a bloody knife. 

“Brad! Garry! Catch that motherfucker!” I shouted knowing my body guards were right behind me. They ran through the crowd who already had their phones out and I went over to Paige. 

A woman took off her sweater and kneeled in front of Paige, and my eyes widened when so much blood was coming out of the wound on her left chest. The woman said she already called 911 and it was still 10 minutes away. I took over putting pressure on the wound.

“Mom! Mom! Oh my God. Please, wake up!” the little girl cried while she shook Paige.

“Don’t worry. She’s going to be fine. I’m Callan. What’s your name, kiddo?” I asked, while I dialed Jimmy’s number. In a couple of seconds, I carried Paige into my car, along with the little girl who said her name was Gwen. 

“It’s going to be okay.” I said, more to convince myself than the crying child.

“How do you know? She could be dead!” 

“Jimmy drives faster than an ambulance. Right, Jim?” I said, continuing to put pressure on the wound. The sweater was soaked with blood and I could hardly breathe from how fast my heart was breathing.

So this is what panic feels like. Shit, man. I hate this. I told you we shoul’ve just fucked Jessica.

“Yes, sir. We’re 3 minutes from the nearest emergency room.”

“Maybe we should’ve waited for the ambulance.” Gwen said, still crying.

“No. They would’ve taken longer to get there therefore longer to arrive. Look. See? We’re here. Now, I’m going to carry your mom out and you follow me, alright?” 

She nodded and the moment Jimmy stopped the car right outside the ER entrance, I carried Paige, who winced, but was still unconscious. Five people in scrubs came out with a gurney and I laid her limp body, telling the medical team she was stabbed. 

Gwen suddenly held my hand and we went in after they rolled Paige inside. I told the little girl to sit on one of the chairs because the nurse wanted me to fill up some papers. 

“Are you her husband?”

“Oh. No. I’m her boss. That’s her daughter.” I pointed at Gwen who’s eyes were so red and puffy while her shoulders moved up and down. The nurse gave me some forms and told me to fill it up with the little girl’s help. I took the forms with shaking hands and went back to Gwen. 

Minutes after we were done filling up the forms, a doctor came over to where we were sitting and I felt like puking.

“Are you Paige Miller’s family?”

“Yes. Is she okay? Please tell me my mom’s okay.” her tiny voice was barely audible. I held her by the shoulders fearing the worst. 

“Yes, the patient is stable for now. She’s lucky the knife missed her heart by inches.” The doctor answered calmly and I sighed in relief. 

“She needs to stay here for a couple of days for observation and we’re giving her some blood transfusion since she lost so much, and some antibiotics to avoid any infection.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Can I see my mom now, please?”

“I’m sorry, but not for now. She’s still in the recovery room for another hour. You and your dad can go home for now to get some things for your mom.”

“He’s not—.”

“Okay doctor. Thank you.” 

“Why are you pretending to be my dad? Wait, oh my god, are you my dad?”

“What? No. I told you. I’m Callan Montgomery, your mom’s boss. Don’t you know who your dad is?”

“Boss?” her red eyes widened with fear as she gasped. “Oh no. Please don’t fire my mom.” She said, slumping back onto the chair and crying again.

“Why would I fire her? Coz she got stabbed? I’m not the devil, kid.”

“But it was in the contract. She wasn’t supposed to be married or have kids.”

“What contract?”

“Your job vacancy.” she stared at the floor while holding her hands together.

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard of. I didn’t instruct such a thing.”

I was about to call Darla when my phone rang.

“Talk.” 

“It was a mentally unstable man, sir. Douglas Hubert. A former Spanish teacher at that highschool where the incident happened. He’s been taken to the psychiatric hospital.”

“Okay. Thanks, Brad. You guys take the rest of the day off. Just make sure to send the replacements here.”

“Thank you, sir.” Brad said and I ended the call. I couldn’t believe everything that happened.

“So, Gwen. You didn’t answer my question. Don’t you know who your dad is?”

“If you don’t mind, I really don’t feel comfortable talking about this topic with you who’s practically still a stranger. I mean I’m thankful you helped save my mom and all, but I think we’ll be fine now.”

“Did you text someone to come and be with you here? How old are you anyway? You look so young to be in highschool.”

“No. It’s just me and my mom here in the city. She has an aunt, the one who owns the apartment and the bar we’re living in, but she’s halfway across the world right now, on a cruise ship. It’ll be okay though, mom will wake up soon, I’m sure of it.” She tried to look brave, but her hands and knees were shaking.

“Yeah. I know she’s going to be great, but hey, what about you? Are you hungry? Wanna go to the cafeteria or something while we wait for your mom to be transferred to her room?”  I said, wanting to distract her. I’ve never talked to a kid before because we don’t have any in our family, but it surprised me that I was feeling sorry for her. Gwen nodded and my heart skipped a beat when she suddenly hugged me by my neck and cried.

Shit. Poor kid. She must still be traumatized. I said to myself.

If your mom had been stabbed to death and it’s just the two of you in the city, then yup that counts as traumatizing, pal. My brain answered back and I rolled my eyes.

“She’s going to be okay, right Mister?” Gwen suddenly said while still hugging my neck tightly.

“Yeah, kid. Don’t worry. And you can call me Callan. Come on, let’s go find you something sweet to eat.” 

****9 hours later****

“Gwen. Gwen?” I heard Paige say and I looked up from my phone. Ever since the 5th time I called the doctor and she told me Paige was stable and was going to be alright, I sort of relaxed a bit. I was even proud of myself for managing to make the kid sleep. 

“Shh. She’s fine. She’s asleep. She’s okay.” 

“Callan? What are you doing here? I thought I was going to die and Gwen would be an orphan. Oh my God.” 

“You’re going to be fine. The doctor said that lunatic missed your heart by a couple of inches so you’re just about the luckiest person on earth. Listen. It’s okay that you have a kid. I wasn’t even aware it was in the job description. It must’ve been Darla’s initiative, knowing how much I fuck around.” I said, whispering the f word and for the first time in life, feeling embarrassed about it.

“But why are you here? What time is it?” she said, her blue eyes wandering around the room. 

“It’s almost midnight and I’m here because Gwen said you guys were alone here. I uh..After you left, I followed you and took you to the hospital after…”

Paige’s tears started falling again and I took out my handkerchief and wiped them. 

“It’s okay. I told you I’m your friend. Back in the restaurant…it really was an honest mistake. Look. I’m an asshole, okay? I’ve been one for as long as I can remember. I get what I want and have never taken no for an answer. But you… I really like you, Paige. You intrigue me so much. You’re the first woman I’ve ever talked to. Like literally having a genuine fun conversation with. And who knew that would actually feel good.”

“I’m sorry, Callan. Thank you. I didn’t realize a friend is what I needed the most after all.” She said, trying to get up, but winced in pain. I bent down and kissed her forehead. 

“Paige! Oh thank God, I finally found you.” A tall well built man suddenly burst the door open and ran to the bedside. He was shocked to see me and I was just as confused. 

“Who the hell are you?” I asked, pushing him away from her bed.

“I’m her fucking husband, jackass. Who the fuck are you?”