Page 29 of His Captor

“You cannot walk away from seventy-five million dollars like this,” Colin shouted. “Who cares where that money comes from. You’re never going to see that kind of cash again.”

“There’s more to the world than money,” I said, calmer still. “It’s over, Colin. You’ll get the appropriate amount of compensation when the business assets are divided. I suggest you use them wisely.”

“You can’t do this to me!” Colin shouted as I left his office and turned the corner into my own. He followed me, of course, as everyone in the office stood from their cubes to watch us. “You can’t stab me in the back like this.”

“I’m not stabbing you in the back or anywhere else,” I said. “Our partnership is over. We had a good run. You’ll still have a fortune to play with.” I saw the worried faces watching from the main office and called out loud enough to be heard, “All of our employees will be given an extremely generous severance package.”

That set a buzz off in the main office. Colin barely noticed it, though.

“I won’t let you do this to me,” he shouted. “It might be your research, but you signed an agreement. I have a right to profit from your tech. I’ll sue. I’ll hire the best lawyers. I’ll…I’ll make you pay if you do this.”

“You’re sounding like a child, Colin,” I said, looking around my office to see if there was anything I wanted to take with me. “Why don’t you go home to your wife and kids and?—”

“Gloria took the kids and left me last month,” Colin bellowed.

My brow flew up. I was suddenly struck by the terror of how I would feel if Billy had taken our kids and left.

But that was ridiculous. We weren’t together and we didn’t have kids.

“Go home, Colin,” I said, not unkindly. “It’s over.”

That wasn’t the end of it, of course. Colin marched into the main office and proceeded to bully Rachel and shout at everyone who even looked like they’d started packing up his desk. All that happened while I was packing up my own.

Then Colin went suspiciously quiet for a while, probably as he ran to his computer to access the research files. The way he started shouting on the other side of the wall from my office told me Rachels’ and the IT departments efforts had been a success.

While that was going on, I pulled out my phone and called Alex.

“I hope you found a way out of the agreement with Colin,” I said without preamble, “because shit has just hit the fan over here.”

“Why, of course I did,” Alex said with what I could tell was a smug smile. “Turns out that agreement isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”

I sagged to sit on the edge of my desk, limp with relief. “Thank God. And are there any non-compete clauses I need tobe aware of? Can I set up another company to continue with development?”

“You can,” Alex said, a slight cringe in his voice. “But to be honest, I wouldn’t establish a new company in this same state. Just to be on the safe side.”

In a moment like a flash of lightning, everything in my life seemed to converge into one point.

“What about Barrington?” I asked.

“Barrington?” Alex sounded taken aback. “East Cost Barrington? Why?”

A second later, he sucked in a breath of understanding.

“Ohh. Didn’t Billy’s Dark Fantasies profile say he was from Barrington?”

I frowned and flushed with guilt, even though Alex couldn’t see me. “Nonsense,” I said. “Barrington is one of the biggest cities in the country. It’s closer to the capitol and the center of the military. If I’m going to start a new tech company to further develop this security technology, it makes sense to do it in an area closer to the people I’d like to eventually sell to.”

“Sure,” Alex said, disbelieving. “By the way, Billy’s second called and mentioned that Billy seemed a bit out of sorts after your play session ended. Is there something you want to tell me?”

I’d told Alex everything I wanted him to know when I’d called him after my shower, when Billy was making us breakfast.

“You know everything I need you to know,” I told him. “Yes, I had the time of my life with Billy, but he’s gone now. I have no way to find him again?—”

“Other than setting up another fantasy through the app,” Alex pointed out. “In Barrington.”

My heart caught in my chest. I could do that. I could set up another fantasy to find him again.

A second later, I shook my head. “Right now, I have to focus on my business folding up, Colin threatening to sue me, and establishing a new company. I need to find jobs for my current employees, too. At least, the ones who won’t want to move to Barrington with me.”

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