She disappeared around December 28th. Her mother had called and asked her if she was working at the restaurant on New Years Eve. She said she didn't know what her plans were.


Lately, Stacey had been acting strange. She told her mom (her only confidant and friend) that she met a charming, handsome man who was passing through their small, Midwestern town. They sat and talked for 2 hours. He was so interesting.


Stacey was never good when it came to men. She was a beautiful young woman, but after a major incident when she was a teenager, she never sought out another relationship. Her big, green eyes and her trim, firm body attracted the truckers, but she never compromised her vow to herself to not give in.


Two weeks after her encounter with the handsome stranger, she saw a magazine that a customer had left. On the cover was her handsome stranger.


DEREK STACK NAMED CEO OF BEDFORD OIL. Stacey's eyes went wide. She read in the article that Derek had been appointed a week after they met. She had been sitting and flirting with a multimillionaire. At her tiny interstate restaurant!


Bedford oil was located in Boston, and it was the fourth largest oil company in the world. The company had been losing a lot of money for several years, she read. But Derek Stack, who was a financial genius, according to the article, was the perfect person to turn the company around.


Stacey told her mom about Derek.


"Could you imagine if something happened between us?" she asked.