Free Web NovelChapter 112: Chapter 112: Elliot, I’m So Scared (Part 2)
’When a man likes a woman, he’s the one who’s supposed to be all over her, holding her and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. It’s not supposed to be the other way around.’
’Justin Sullivan had no feelings for Selena Sheridan. The one he liked was Georgia Thorne.’
"To be honest, I’ve known Georgia for a long time, and I’ve liked her for just as long. That’s all there is to it." Justin Sullivan’s fists tightened without him realizing it. "Elliot, you and Georgia aren’t right for each other. Stay away from her!"
Elliot sneered. ’Who was he to say whether he and Georgia were right for each other?’
"I’m warning you, if anything happens to Selena, I will never forgive you!"
Elliot Sheridan hung up. Owen Sawyer knocked and entered. "Any word?"
"Not yet. They’re still looking. They’ll let us know the second they find anything." Elliot grunted, his fingers drumming an irregular rhythm on the desk.
Owen Sawyer saw it—a classic sign that Elliot’s patience was wearing thin.
They couldn’t reach Selena Sheridan, and there was no finding her anytime soon. In her agitated state, there was no telling where she might have gone.
When Elliot called Georgia, she asked excitedly, "Did they find Selena?"
"Not yet, but we’ll find her eventually," Elliot said. He had only called to check on how Georgia was doing.
Georgia whimpered, "Elliot, I’m so scared."
"It’s okay. I’m here."
Hearing the lonely, helpless sound of Georgia’s voice on the phone, Elliot wished he could rush over to her side.
Georgia spent the afternoon in a state of anxious restlessness, texting Elliot every hour for an update.
Elliot was extremely patient in his replies, yet every update was just as disappointing as the last.
After an agonizing wait, the workday finally ended. As Georgia grabbed her bag to go downstairs, her female coworkers didn’t forget to remind her, "Aren’t you going to take that enormous bouquet of roses home?"
The sarcastic taunt was obvious, and Georgia awkwardly gathered the bouquet into her arms.
These days, florists sprayed the stems with a nutrient solution to prolong the flowers’ freshness; leaving them for a week wouldn’t be a problem.
She had been so worried about Selena all afternoon that if her colleague hadn’t mentioned it, she would have almost forgotten about the roses.
Carrying the roses downstairs, Georgia attracted a lot of attention and many envious glances.
She exited the company building and had only taken a few steps when she saw the man standing in front of a car.
When Justin Sullivan saw her, his face lit up with delight. "Georgia, you came!"
Georgia clutched the roses, her fair skin a perfect contrast to their fiery red petals.
’What was that saying again? A beauty that outshines the flowers themselves. That was Georgia, alright.’
Justin Sullivan had been waiting a long time. Unsure if Georgia would leave work early to avoid him, he had come to her company building early to wait for her.
"What are you doing here?"
The words had barely left her mouth when she remembered it was Silas Sullivan’s sixtieth birthday. Justin had said on the card that he would come to get her.
"I’m here to take you to my place. Today is my dad’s birthday. Get in." Justin Sullivan pulled open the car door, but Georgia stood frozen in place.
Georgia looked at him and said, "Justin, I never planned on going."
Georgia had never met Silas Sullivan. For him to suddenly ask to see her by name, and even have Hayley Sullivan personally deliver the invitation—she refused to believe there wasn’t something strange going on.
"Georgia, it’s still early. If you insist on wasting time out here, I can wait with you forever," Justin Sullivan said with a smile. "Lots of people are watching us. Do you think they all assume we’re a couple?"
It was true. With Georgia holding a bouquet of roses and the two of them standing together, it would be easy for others to get the wrong idea.
The rumors about her and Zane Lennox had already caused enough of a stir at the company recently; she didn’t want a repeat of that.
Georgia got into the car. Justin took the bouquet from her and placed it on the back seat.
To any onlooker, the man’s thoughtful gesture made them look even more like an intimate couple.
Georgia sat in the car, watching Justin stride around the front to the driver’s side.
He started the car, turned the steering wheel, and pulled out onto the road.
"Selena isn’t picking up my calls. Does she know everything?"
"Mhm, I told her everything," Justin replied coolly.
Silence descended in the car. Georgia turned her gaze out the window, watching the trees lining the road recede into the night.
Autumn had well and truly arrived; the leaves on the landscaped trees were gradually turning yellow.
A phone’s ringtone suddenly shattered the silence.
Justin’s gaze instinctively flicked to his side. Georgia pulled out her phone; it was a call from Elliot.
With Justin right beside her, Georgia rejected the call, silenced her phone, and put it back in her bag.
The car soon arrived at the Sullivan family home. Georgia got out with Justin and followed him inside.
The Sullivan residence was enormous. It was Georgia’s first time visiting, and of all occasions, it had to be for Silas Sullivan’s birthday banquet. She hadn’t even prepared a gift.
The Sullivan family’s reputation in Portmire was nothing to scoff at.
Consequently, no small number of people had come to congratulate Silas Sullivan on his sixtieth birthday.
Inside the brightly lit hall, men were dressed in formal suits, and women were styled to be pretty, bright, and charming. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Among everyone there, Georgia was probably the most plainly dressed.
Dressed in an utterly casual knit sweater, she was completely out of place among the banquet guests, which ironically made her the most conspicuous person there.
Almost everyone present knew Justin Sullivan.
He’d been making a huge splash in Portmire since his return, appearing in the media quite often.
But who was the woman with him? She looked very young, dressed like a student fresh off campus.
She had a fresh-faced, delicate beauty as well.
Hayley Sullivan noticed them the moment Justin walked in the door.
She walked over, blocking Justin’s path. "I was wondering where you’d disappeared to. It’s so late, and you were nowhere to be found. Turns out you went to pick *her* up!"
Her contemptuous gaze traveled past Justin and landed on Georgia.
Georgia called out in a crisp, firm voice, "Good evening, Stepmother."
Her voice was not quiet; everyone nearby could probably hear it.
’This young woman called Hayley Sullivan ’Stepmother,’ so doesn’t that make her Hayley’s daughter? And Hayley is Justin Sullivan’s sister!’
’No wonder the girl looks so young. So she’s Justin Sullivan’s niece.’
Many of the socialites present, who had been speculating about Georgia’s identity and assuming she was someone special to Justin, now realized she was just his niece.
They all breathed a collective sigh of relief; every woman in the room wanted to get her hands on a man like Justin Sullivan.
Hayley Sullivan grunted noncommittally, then said to Justin, "Dad has been looking for you for a long time. He’s waiting for you in the study now."
"I was just about to take her there."
"Wait. Dad said he wants to see you, he didn’t say he wants to see Georgia. You go on ahead. I have a couple of things to say to her." Hayley pushed Justin in the direction of the study.
Justin glanced hesitantly back at Georgia, but then figured she was here now and couldn’t run off.
"Georgia, wait for me," Justin said in a low voice before striding through the crowd and leaving the main hall.
Hayley Sullivan looked at her. "Georgia, you actually dared to come!"
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’I didn’t want to come, either. But Justin blocked me at my company’s entrance; I had to come.’
Hayley Sullivan offered a few whispered warnings with a false smile, then went off to exchange pleasantries with her good friends.
Left alone, Georgia felt completely out of place. Just as she was thinking of leaving, a small figure parted the crowd and rushed toward her.
He tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Auntie, my mommy is calling you!"
She looked down and met a pair of big, bright eyes. The little boy was beaming at her.
The little boy’s name was Luke Sutton, the son of her older sister, Lynn Thorne. And sitting off to the side was Lynn herself.
"Feeling a little out of place?" Lynn Thorne asked with a gentle smile, handing a piece of cake to her son and letting him go off to play.
Georgia nodded. She had never been to the Sullivan home, and she didn’t know a single person here.
