Bodyguard: Ace Cain

|12| Noel Blackman

|Noel Blackman|

The day just kept getting interesting as Ace and I drove back home. We stayed silent for the car ride, which didn't bother me. My mind was too busy wondering what he had going on tomorrow while simultaneously wondering about Hailey. She barely knew me, and the disdain she had was gargantuan. How Ace factored into all of that, I'm still piecing together. You have to be miserable to dislike someone you don't even know.

Hailey was the least of my problems now, though, as we approached my house. To our surprise, my father was home. I haven't seen him since he decided not to have dinner with me. His being here meant he needed to tell me something. It could be about my mom and where she's been all this time. Surely, he had to have answers by now. We're getting close to three months of her being missing. They say if you don't find someone within the first 48 hours, it's not a good sign. I had faith in my mom, though. She was strong.

Rushing inside, I found my father in the family room, looking in the mirror. He had his best dressed on once more, meaning he was going to meet with someone. My father is a busy man and very rarely comes home. I'm not particularly happy to see him, but if he has information that I need, then so be it. I've been waiting so patiently to hear anything about my mother. Now was my chance. Only...it wasn't.

My father turned around with a bright smile on his face. "There you are! I have some big news."

My eyes brightened; I was excited, thinking the news I'd hear was just what I'd been waiting for. "Did you find her?" My brain immediately goes to my mom.

He looked confused for a moment but realized what I meant. "Um...no," he scratched the back of his neck. "Let's call this medium news instead."

My heart sank. "What is it, then?" Not that I cared that much.

Now his face lit up. "You need to be dressed and ready tomorrow for the exhibition," he touted, more excited about this than usual. "Tomorrow, we make an important business move with none other than Noel Blackman."

The fact that my father was putting this above finding my mom, his wife, angered me. His business will live on regardless of whether he takes a step back or not. Finding her should've been the priority, but it seemed like it wasn't. He was more thrilled about making business deals instead of making sure my mother was okay. It was sickening!

Now this Noel Blackman guy rang a bell to me, yet I didn't know him. His name was familiar, but it was hard to pin down. He was someone important, if my father was freaking out about him. Usually, with clients, he's calm and doesn't give them much thought. Now he was grinning from ear to ear, like he had just won the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm not amused by any of this.

My head was spinning with anger after hearing this nonsense. "Are you even looking for mom?" The words just came out of my mouth.

Stunned, he looked at me nervously. "Reign, I'm doing my best to find any trace of her," he argued.

"You sure? Because it doesn't seem like you're trying hard enough." I was so upset.

Sighing, my father didn't like talking about this. It didn't help that I was pressing the matter. The answers we needed he wasn't doing his best to get. It was almost as if he didn't even care to find out where his wife went. She disappeared into thin air, doing what she normally did. He didn't think to take notice of that. My father was supposed to be one of the most influential people in the world. He couldn't use his influence to find her. To have others looking for her? Instead, he would rather continue business as usual. It was pathetic.

Despite sharing my concern, he wasn't going to acknowledge it. He's the king at brushing things off if it doesn't matter to him. My feelings were just a tiny percent of his concern. The world revolved around him and him alone.