My phone pinged again. And again, and again. Shit. I couldn’t just ignore him; it might be something urgent. It might be Lucian telling me Cockerels Cap was on his way up to break the door down!
But when I took my phone out with shaking hands, they weren’t messages from Henry, or Lucian.
Stefan: WHAT THE FUCK RI?!?!?!!
Stefan: Did you think that going viral on a porn app wasn’t going to reach us?
Stefan: HE KNOWS!
Stefan: Ri?
Stefan: I know he told you to get some experience while you were in Australia, but I don’t think this is what he meant …
Stefan: I’m trying to cover YOUR ass, but you’re making it fucking impossible!
Stefan: Just tell me what is going on so I can help you! I get it, you’re not looking forward to coming back. But he’s not going to let this go
Stefan: The only thing stopping him coming for you immediately is me, reassuring him that you’re returning at the end of June. If you have any other surprises, you need to share them, so I can manage him
Stefan: Please don’t freeze me out, Ri
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
An Emotionally Stunted Man
HENRY
“Idon’t know how many times I need to say this, Atlas.” I massaged my knees under my desk. “The algorithm ismyIP, not Tickle’s.”
“But when we signed the deal, there was an unspoken agreement that it included the algorithm.” Atlas leaned back, running his hands through his fauxhawk.
“An unspoken agreement means nothing. It’s not on paper in the contract, it’s not included in the deal.”
I’d been right. Our investor was more interested in my algo than in Tickle itself. A sick feeling of impending doom sunk into my abdomen. I couldn’t put my finger on the root cause for it. I needed my vape. Hell, I needed to know that Ri was okay. She still hadn’t returned home by the time I had to leave for work.
She hadn’t replied to my last message, and I wondered if I’d somehow made things worse. But wasn’t it normal for a married man to text his wife that he loved her?
Ah, but you knew it was a loaded statement, Henry.Because you know that you?—
“Henry, think about this rationally for a hot minute?” Atlas whined, which I knew meant he was getting frustrated. I squeezed my knees again, breathing in sync.Squeeze—breathe in. Release—breathe out.
“I’mbeingrational. The contract does not include the algorithm, it’s all there in black and white.”
Atlas surged out of his chair, pacing my office. “The contract states that shares in Tickle include all related IP. That fucking algo is related IP, Henry!”
Release. Breathe out.
“It’s not. It’s licenced for Tickle’s use from my private company.”
“Are you fucking for real? You went behind my back on this?” Red was creeping up his neck.
Squeeze. Breathe in.
“I protected my intellectual property—a code I wrote long before Tickle was even an embryo of an idea. And judging by your behaviour right now, it was the right thing to do.”
Atlas leaned a palm against the wall and sucked in a few deep breaths. “Are you going to make me go back and explain that my partner separated the most valuable aspect of our business out, and … then what? ‘Sorry, you’ll just have to suck it up’? I’m going to look like a fucking fool!”
“The licensing agreement was provided to the investor during due diligence. If his lawyers didn’t advise him that it was excluded from the agreement, that makes them the fools, not you.”
