Buying Gabrielle

Chapter 1

EVAN HUNTER'S POINT OF VIEW

I glance down at my watch as I walk into my company's elevator. I'm fifteen minutes late for an appointment with my accountant, but I'm  sure James is still waiting for me in his office.

James is a good accountant, but he sets off some warning bells in my head  for some reason. I can't quite put my finger on it, I just have a bad feeling about the man at times. I hadn't become a millionaire at the age of 20 because I'm bad at reading people's character. I know the secretary doesn't like him all that much, and she's pretty much the office granny, always smiling and bringing in cookies.

The man's wife had died and he is raising a teenage daughter alone, and that was one of the main reasons why I hired him. I'm sure James must have his hands full, because from the picture of his daughter that he has on his desk, she is quite the little beauty. I have studied the picture before, wondering how a girl could look both mischievous and innocent at the same time. I decided it was from the combination of the lovely smile, adorable dimples, and laughing green eyes. She embodies the innocence that I had to throw away years ago.

I stand outside James door and I am about to shove the door open when I hear James' voice, talking on the phone.
"Listen, I need more time to get the money I owe you. I can't get you the money at all if you kill me!"

I stand completely still, mentally wracking my brain for any accounting discrepancies in the past six months. I don't think James has been stealing money from my company. None of my people have caught anything. I make a mental note to have them go over all recent financial transactions with a fine-tooth comb. If he has been diverting any money, I will know soon.

James voice pleads to the person on the other end of the phone, and I almost fly into a murderous rage when James says, "I know you like beautiful young women,and I have a 17 year old daughter who will be 18 in six months. Dark haired beauty, green eyes, and I swear on my life she is a virgin. If the debt goes away, I will sign legal guardianship of her over to you."

I have heard enough.

I shove the door open and storm into the room. James' head jerks up and he looks panicked. Good.

I stalk over to him and yank the phone away from James.

I tell whoever is on the other end of the line, "James will have the money to you by the end of the day. You touch so much as one hair on the girl's head, and you will be floating face down on the river within hours. That's not a threat, that's a promise."

I shove the phone back on the desk, pinning James' in a death stare.

I jerk him up by the collar and punch him in the face with all my strength, the way I punch my punching bag in my home gym after a particularly stressful day,  leaving him a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the cops right now, James." I snarl.

James looks panicked, but then a gleam enters his brown eyes as he gingerly picks himself off the floor. I didn't hit him hard enough.

"Because Gabrielle would go into the foster system. And you have a thing for my little girl, don't you? She's seventeen and beautiful, probably every perverted foster dad's dream. I know most of them are good people, but there's that small chance..."

I punch him again, blackening his eye, before I yank him back up and pin him to the wall by his neck.

"You listen to me. I'll pay off the debt, but you are signing over your rights to Gabrielle to me. I'll take care of her. Or I'm going to call the cops and find a way to get legal guardianship of Gabrielle myself, while you rot in jail. I don't know what the penalty is for trying to sell your teenage daughter, but it's your choice."

James gives me  a smarmy smile, and it is all I can manage not to punch him again.
"You condemn me, but have you given a thought to the implications of what you are doing yourself?"

I release my grip on James neck and snarl, "I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm buying Gabrielle."