Billionaire, Let's Divorce!

DENNISNôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I slammed my fist on Cole's desk, causing everything on top to rattle.

"What the hell do you mean you can't find him?"

"Did I hear you well or have I suddenly developed an ear problem?"

Cole shrank back. His eyes were wide with fear and remorse.

"I'm sorry man, I've tried everything. James just...disappeared without a trace after taking all our investments."

Rage boiled inside me. I grabbed Cole by the lapels and shoved him against the wall.

"You're supposed to be the expert! You vouched for this guy!"

"I know, I know," Cole sputtered, hands up defensively.

"Believe me, I'm just as gutted as you are. I lost every penny too!"

I sneered.

"Yeah? Well it's a lot easier for you to be casual about losing pocket change. I put in $100,000 man! Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for that?"

The memories flooded back, of all the rights I had to part with to raise that money. I thought that if the investment paid off, I could buy a whole new collection and more. Now all I had to show for it was NOTHING. Letting go of Cole, I ran shaky hands through my hair. I started pacing, mind racing over how I could possibly make this right. The bars were doing well, but not well enough to absorb that steep a loss quickly. "I'm ruined..." I muttered, then whirled on Cole again.

"This is on you! You talked me into this scheme with your big dreams about life-changing profits!"

Cole flinched at my booming voice.

"I didn't know he was going to run a damn Ponzi scheme! The backgrounds, documentation, it all checked out!"

"Well it clearly didn't!" I grabbed a glass paperweight from the desk and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall with a terrifying crash.

Cole's secretary stuck her head in, alarmed. "Everything okay, Mr. Taylor?"

"GET OUT!" I roared, causing the woman to shrink back in terror before scrambling away.

Chest heaving, I braced my hands on the desk as I fought for control. I lifted my gaze to the shaken Cole.

"Tell me there's still a way to track this bastard down and get our money back."

Cole could only shake his head mournfully.

"There's nothing, man. He covered his tracks too well."

Those words detonated the final threads of my restraint. I flipped the desk with an animalistic bellow, raining papers and office supplies across the room. "I'm ruined!"

I grabbed a crystal decanter from the liquor cart and heaved it against the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces. "Fucking ruined!"

I stormed out and slammed the door

so hard the frame nearly splintered. I ripped my suit jacket off as I

crossed the parking lot with Sweet

pouring down my face. When I

climbed into my car, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I exploded with a strangled cry of anguish, pummeling the wheel over and over until my hands felt numb and bloody.

"Stupid...fucking...idiot!"

Each word was punctuated with another bone-jarring strike against the steering column.

This had to be some terrible nightmare.

But the pain radiating through my hands chased away any hope of waking up. It was all too real.

I slumped forward to rest my

throbbing forehead on the wheel,

feeling everything crashed down around me. I sold off two rental

buildings I owned and liquidated nearly every asset to raise that $100,000 investment-all for naught.

"You dumb son of a bitch," I spat at my own reflection in the rearview mirror.

"You just had to chance it all for more. For what? To get played like a goddamn fool?"

The dreams and security I'd sacrificed so much for, gone in an instant because of my greed and one man's deception. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying in vain to somehow make this waking nightmare go away. But the throbbing ache in my hands was an endless reminder that

I had gambled everything...and lost.

I drew a shaky breath and tried to compose myself enough to drive home. I fumbled the key into the ignition, twisting it hard with a trembling hand.

The key didn't turn. It was stuck fast, defying my increasingly frantic efforts.

"No, no, no!" I growled as I wrenched the key back and forth until something snapped.

The key broke into two and the pieces fell uselessly into my lap.

"God damn it!"

I slammed my fists against the steering wheel again as the jarring impacts sent hot flares of pain up my arms.

Through the rearview mirror, I noticed a couple getting into their car nearby. They looked startled at the outburst, but quickly averted their gazes with worried looks on their faces.

I couldn't even bring myself to care what kind of spectacle I was making.

How would they understand that my whole life had just been shattered into pieces?

The shrill ringtone from my jacket pocket cut through the heavy silence. I already knew who it would be before even checking the caller ID.

Ana's smiling face filled the screen. Her beautiful features were absolutely gut-wrenching to look at right now.

I stabbed the ignore button.

The phone instantly rang again, making me flinch. I stared at it and my chest heaved as waves of panic and dread washed over me.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted at the device, jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.

"I can't...I can't talk to you right now!"

As if in response, the phone started ringing again. The incessant tone was grating on my last nerve.

"You have no idea!" I snarled at Ana's picture, then flung the phone away from me in a burst of rage.

It struck the window hard enough to crack the glass before tumbling to the footwell. I dropped my head back against the headrest and squeezed my eyes shut.

Tears of anguish and self-loathing trickled down my cheeks.