A/N: Deepest apologies for the long delay. Real life got serious for a hot minute there. I had to find bits and pieces of time to write this, so it's not my best. In fact, I'm really not happy with it, but I wanted to get on with the story and not make you all wait any longer! So, my apologies if this chapter feels disjointed.

Lost Boy

Chapter 10

Carlisle POV

It had been two days since I caught Edward with his pants down, quite literally. His indiscretion had hurt me badly. Worse than I could have imagined. I thought I hadn't grown attached, that I'd be mature enough to walk away when our agreement had been completed, but I was dead wrong.

He'd warned me. Over and over, he warned me that he wasn't really into guys. The pain I was feeling, the immense hurt, it was all my fault. I dared to think I could be different, that he would see how well we could work together, but it was a fantasy. A fool's errand.

I'd also paid him. He didn't want to accept the money, I could tell. Edward was an inherently good person; I knew he didn't want to take money for a job unfinished. But I was not a vindictive person. I may have been hurt by catching him fucking Gianna, but truthfully, he had a right to fuck whoever he wanted. It was my fault I had allowed myself to fall for a straight man. Even if I wasn't entirely sure he was straight. But HE believed that, and that's what mattered. Anyway, I paid him because I didn't want to see him on the street anymore. I wanted him to do something with his life, and be safe and happy, even if he wasn't going to be with me. Aro was proof of what can and does happen on the street, and Edward didn't deserve that. I gave him the check and watched him storm off in anger, leaving me to clean up the mess of my own making.

After he'd stormed away, I had the unenviable task of informing my father and Senna that he'd left the building while my father had pulled me aside to make a few final adjustments to the contract. Luckily, my father blamed himself for not appointing Jenks as Liam's babysitter, therefore allowing Liam a chance for second thoughts and escape. I quickly vowed to them that I would try to hunt him down and convince him to return.

Instead, I went back to the empty hotel room and mourned my failed relationship. The relationship that was only in my head apparently, despite our intimacy and despite our passionate kiss that I couldn't believe was an act of his part. I spent the day curled up on the bed, unable and unwilling to eat or shower, or do anything but wallow in the misery of being alone once again.

Unable to sleep, I arrived back at the office at the crack of dawn, well before anyone else would be there aside from the security guard. As I sat at my desk trying to figure out what to do to salvage the acquisition for a third time, I found myself realizing that I didn't want to salvage the acquisition. I didn't want to purchase people's dreams, pull their life's work out from under them in the name of money and career advancement, all in an effort to line our pockets and make my father more powerful. That wasn't who I was.

A knock on my door surprised me out of my thoughts and I glanced at the clock. Still too early for the others to arrive, it was an hour before we usually opened the doors for business. Curious, I bid the person entrance. It was my father's secretary, the little whore who seduced my Edward.

Gianna was dressed as enticingly as ever, but her face was marred by a giant deep purple bruise over the bridge of her nose.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing to the chair across my desk and sitting down before I could say anything.

"What the hell happened to your face?" I asked rudely, still angry that she'd fucked Edward.

She shot me a pointed glare. "Your boyfriend happened."

Dread spread throughout my body, I felt it down to my toes. How did she know I was involved with him? I thought I had hidden my horror and put on a decent performance when I caught them in the act. I feigned surprise. "What? I don't have a boyfriend."

She laughed hollowly. "Please, I heard your little lover's spat after you very rudely interrupted us in the bathroom. Edward, was it?"

"He's not my lover," I insisted through gritted teeth.

"Right, right. But I did hear you pay him off while I was still outside the door. So, he's, what, a fucking hooker?"

I didn't answer, just shot her a withering glare, to which her smile grew wider, and she sat back in the chair, crossing one leg over her opposite knee as she twirled a lock of hair in her fingers.

"I'm sure Alistair would be interested to know that Liam McAllister was never actually here, and his own son was trying to pull one over on him. And paying a man for sex while he's at it!" Her eyebrows rose as she looked at me.

My voice was steely. "I did not pay him for sex," I lied.

"Oh, okay," she replied, disbelieving. "But you still paid him to commit fraud. Not sure which is worse really." Her smirk spread across her face.

Sighing, I gave in. She had me over a barrel, and there was nothing I could do about it. "What is it you want, Gianna."

Grinning ear to ear, she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward. "I want double what you gave him." I blanched, but she continued. "You give me that, and I won't say a word. But if you don't, I'll tell your father that 'Liam' was a fraud AND your fuck buddy."

Seething with anger at her demand, I whipped my checkbook out from its place inside the desk. I'd write her a check to shut her up, but she didn't know how much I had paid him, so I wrote the check for six thousand dollars. I made a show of looking like it pained me to write it, ripped it from the book, and handed it over.

She snatched it from my hand and grinned like a kid in a candy store, her tongue peeking out as she smiled widely at the amount. Folding it up, she tucked it into her bra as she rose.

"You better watch yourself, Carlisle. It's a dangerous game you're playing with your father's company." With that she left, shutting the door behind her, leaving me feeling more used and defeated than I had ten minutes before.

xxxxxxx

After a week spent pretending to track down Liam to appease my father (Gianna had been keeping her mouth shut as promised, thankfully) and failing miserably at putting Edward into the back of my mind, I received a bank statement in the mail, revealing the check I'd given Edward had not been cashed. This made me irrationally angry. What was it all for if he wasn't even going to try to better his situation? If he hadn't cashed the check, then he was bound to be back on the street— how else was he going to keep surviving?

Barely considering the potential consequences to my actions, I hopped in my car, determined to find him and demand that he accepts the money I'd given him. Anger and disappointment warred for dominance in my mind, and my emotional state was unstable at best. Underneath all of that, I tried to ignore the soaring of my heart at the thought of seeing Edward again. The sight of him would be balm on the empty space in my soul he'd left behind, and even as I admonished myself for continuing to feel this way about a man who didn't return my feelings, I couldn't bring myself to banish the emotion. It was probably unwise of me to seek him out while feeling so unstable, but I simply couldn't help myself. I had to see him.

He shone like a beacon in the darkness as I pulled up to the corner opposite his. He wasn't looking my way, just leaning against his lamp post with a cigarette dangling from his lips, wearing the same outfit he'd worn the first time I'd picked him up. My cock twitched at the beauty of him, and I willed it to settle down as I exited the car and locked it with the key fob. He looked my way when the alarm beeped, his mouth dropping open in surprise, the cigarette falling to the ground as I crossed the street. He recovered from his shock fairly quickly, crossing his arms and glowering at me as I approached.

"New policy," he ground out, his jaw clenched tightly. "No seconds, or thirds. One time only."

His words hurt and I cringed, but I soldiered on with my purpose. "I didn't come for that, Edward." His face fell a little before he hid behind his steely expression once more. "I want to know why you're still doing this. Why didn't you cash the check?"

Edward shrank back slightly, his arms tightening around himself. "I didn't feel right about it."

I sighed deeply. This boy was too principled for his own good. "Please, Edward, take the money."

His entire countenance changed then, and he threw his arms down to his sides, hands clenched into fists. "No, Carlisle! God, why the fuck do you even care?"

"I don't know, because I do, Edward! You're a good person, evidenced by your stubborn refusal to accept the money you've earned!" I shot back, struggling to keep my own voice from rising.

"I didn't earn it," he answered coldly. "Now if you don't mind, you're killing my business."

"Edward, please, come with me and we'll talk more. This isn't you."

His body shook with the force of his anger. "You don't even know me! Fuck off and leave me alone!"

Rejection swelled in my chest and I felt my shoulders slump. Crossing his arms over his chest again, Edward knew he'd won for now and turned his body away from me, pointedly looking in the opposite direction, indicating quite clearly he was done with me. Reluctantly, I shrank back and crossed the street to go back to my car. There was a man with greasy brown hair pulled back into a ponytail leaned against my driver's side door. He looked like a junkie.

Leering at me, he asked, "Can I get a ride?"

"Fuck the fuck off, Garrett!" Edward shouted from his corner.

Garrett looked over at him and rolled his eyes, but he got up off the car and went back to his lamppost. I quickly got into the car and started the ignition. As I drove away, I took one last look at Edward in the rearview mirror. I didn't miss his face start to crumple as I left.

xxxx

The next morning, I walked into the office to find Gianna smiling prettily at me. It filled me with a weird sensation, but I ignored her and swept past the desk, only to be faced with Jenks. His expression was the opposite of Gianna's, sneering at me with venom. His face changed to a grin when I met his eyes and he chirped, "Fare thee well, Carlisle!"

No clue what he was talking about, I didn't really care, and I sneered back at him as I pushed my office door open. There, behind my desk, sat my father. The sneer dropped off my face as my stomach sank. It made sense now, Gianna and Jenks' odd greetings.

My father knew.

His steely gaze met mine as I shut the door behind me and walked forward a few steps. He gestured to the chair opposite him and I took the seat, dreading what he would say.

Neither of us spoke for several long moments. Finally, he said one word. "Why?"

"Why what?" I answered, stalling for time.

He scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me, boy. You know I don't give a rat's ass who you fuck in your personal life. However, I never thought for one minute that you would fuck me and my company."

My mouth opened and closed; words unable to form.

"Paying a prostitute to pose as McAllister...it's surreal, like out of a movie, Carlisle." Though he was angry, there was an underlying sadness to his tone.

I sought to salvage what I could. "Father, I was only trying to buy some time. The real McAllister dropped out at the last minute, and I was going to pull him back into the fold afterward, so I-"

"Went to the nearest intersection and pulled some trash off the street to help you commit fraud?"

My defense mechanism kicked in at the insult. "It wasn't like that. Edward isn't trash." Father's eyebrows raised at that but he remained silent. Hoping he was softening, I added, "I just...didn't want you to be disappointed."

My father heaved a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed tightly. "I appreciate that, but how can I trust you again, Carlisle? I'll never be able to believe anything you say in this office." He opened his eyes and laid his hands flat on my desk, leveling me with his stony gaze. "You're out, son. Jenks will take over your position. I want this office cleared by noon." With that, he rose and headed for the door. Before he was gone, I had to take a last parting shot at the one who betrayed me though.

"You know Gianna fucked him in the hall bathroom?"

He stopped and turned to face me, his hand still on the doorknob. "Yes, I do. And I know you punched her when you found them together. You're lucky she didn't press charges."

"I didn't fucking punch her, Dad. I paid her to keep quiet. She probably punched her god-damned self."

My father smirked and turned away again, and before he shut the door behind him, I heard him mutter under his breath, "Atta girl."

Xxxx

As I was packing the last of my things, there was a knock on the door. "Fuck off, Jenks, it'll be yours soon enough," I bit out.

But it was Gianna who peeked her head in.

"Oh great," I said snidely. "What the fuck do you want, you backstabbing bitch?"

She just smiled and said, "Someone to see you, sir."

Gianna shoved the door open fully and retreated, leaving a big hulking beast of a man filling my doorway.

"Are you Carlisle?" his deep voice boomed.

I hesitated to answer; this man looked angry and like he could break me in half. Not trusting my voice, I nodded.

He squeezed himself through the doorframe and shut the door behind him.

"I don't know if Edward mentioned me," he began. "I'm Emmett, and I want to talk to you about what you did to him."

tbc