Pitch Perfect by LUANN MCLANE Page B

happened to him, Mitch wanted to know that his daughter could make it on her own, but she failed to take life seriously. He had tried to reason with her before about this same issue without any luck. She had recently run up some hefty credit card bills, and it was about time that she got a big dose of reality and learned to work on her own.
    Mitch squeezed the ball harder and tried not to worry. He had only been trying to get Mia’s attention and pound home the point that wealth didn’t come easy and sometimes carried a hefty price tag of its own. Granted, he should have cleared the air about his role in the Hanover Candy deal after teaching her a lesson, but he hadn’t really expected Mia to immediately stomp out the door in a self-righteous huff. When he was about to hop in his car and roar down the road after her, though, it was Manny the gardener who had laid a gentle hand on his arm and stopped him. In his broken English, Manny had managed to tell Mitch to let her go. Mitch hadn’t been convinced until Manny had let him know that the old oil-leaking Camry wouldn’t make it too far down the road anyway. But here it was two days later without any word, and Mitch was worried sick.
    Mitch did manage a slight smile when he remembered the stubborn set of her chin when he had told her she wouldn’t last until Labor Day on her own. She might be spoiled, but like him, Mia could never refuse a challenge. She had done plenty of charity work and always raised more money than the previous chairperson. And she was amazing at throwing parties and events. She entertained his clients with poise, and in truth, if he didn’t make amends with her, he was going to miss her in more ways than one. Mia was a lot smarter and much savvier than she gave herself credit for, and she could easily be on his payroll, but he knew that his employees would treat her with kid gloves and he wanted her to find success outside of his company before he would even consider having her work for him. He had tried to explain that to her, but Mia always thought he was simply trying to blow her off and not take her seriously.
    “Ah, Mia,” Mitch said with a sad shake of his head. He picked up his cell phone and thought about calling her but then refrained. If she were in any real trouble, she would call him, he reasoned, but then he shook his head. “Maybe not.” She could be pretty darned stubborn, another trait she had no doubt gotten from him. When he thought of the possibility of her broken down on the side of the road, a cold shot of fear slid down his spine. He wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep until he knew that Mia was safe. But he also wanted her to experience being on her own and making her way, so instead of calling her he scrolled through his contacts until he came to longtime friend and private detective Dan Tanner. They had known each other since Mitch had hired Dan to find out if his suspicions were right about Clarisse cheating on him. Mitch had used Dan’s services a few other times for business and was always satisfied with his work. Mitch clicked on Dan’s name and a moment later Dan picked up.
    “Hey, Mitch, what’s up?”
    “Well, I have a job for you.”
    “Shoot.”
    Mitch propped his feet up on his desk and explained what had transpired with Mia. “I haven’t heard from her. Can you track her down and tail her for a while? Let me know she’s safe without her seeing you?”
    “You have any idea what direction she was headed?”
    Mitch sighed. “None.”
    “Friends she might be staying with? A boyfriend?”
    “She doesn’t have a boyfriend, and if she were with friends I would most likely have heard about it. But like Manny said, the old car might not make it too far. She has no credit cards except for my gas card, and last time I checked she hadn’t used it.”
    “But she has a smartphone, I hope?”
    “Yeah, the latest and greatest thing out there on the market.”
    “Good. I should be able to track her phone