He looked so pathetic, in that big chair, at that big desk, in this big office. Because he’d never looked smaller to me, and I wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
“Do they have their jobs back, or am I leaving?”
Leon remained silent, glaring at me like that alone could force me back into the box he’d created for me.
“So be it,” I said, and I left.
I didn’t even return to my office. I just took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked out into the sun.
Rachel hadn’t gotten far. I found her, and I made her take me to the nearest ATM, where I took out as much cash as it allowed me to.
“Do you want a new car?” I asked.
She laughed. “Fuck. Sure, why not.”
“Me too. Let’s go buy new cars.”
I knew the money would be Leon’s next move. If I wasn’t going to obey him, he was going to cut off my finances. It didn’t matter to me anymore. Most of our funds were tied up in investments, but I planned to drain as much of what was liquified as possible.
Rachel wanted a Jeep, so we went to get that first. I bought her a Wrangler Rubicon 392. I also decided to buy Matthew a Grand Wagoneer Summit Reserve. I didn’t know much about cars, but they were the most expensive two, and I loaded them up with all the features and upgrades available. I wanted to buy Benny something too, but my card was declined as soon as we stopped to fuel up.
So we brought the new cars back to Benny’s with the plan that Rachel would get someone to bring her back to collect her old car.
Benny had been concerned, and Matthew disapproving, when they’d come out to greet us. Rachel was so excited about the car that she rushed through her explanation of what had brought us here.
“Wait, wait, you were fired?” Benny questioned her.
“Yes, but look!” She pointed. “It’s my dream car! I’ll get another job, at like, Noctis Tech or somethin’.” She gagged as she mentioned our biggest competitor. “I’m great and they’d be lucky to have me.”
Benny’s hand smoothed down my arm as he turned to look at me, and his eyes softened. “You quit your job.”
“I quit my job,” I repeated. “And I’m moving in with you.”
His eyes lit up, his lips pulling into a wide grin. “When?”
“Now. We just need to go get my girls.”
“Harper.” Matthew tried to interrupt, but I tossed him the keys to his new car that he fumbled before securing.
“You should take Rach to get her old car. Benny and I are going to my place.”
“I think we should talk about—”
“Later, Matthew.” I pulled Benny toward his car, and he came willingly.
There was a lot we needed to talk about, I understood that. My entire life, entirepurpose, had just evaporated in one rage-fueled encounter with Leon. I had to figure out what that meant for me and how I was going to move forward, but later. Right now, all I wanted was my man somewhere we could be alone.
With Matthew living here, and the way Ginny popped by constantly, and now I was sure Rachel would too until she got another job, solo time was likely to become a lot harder to secure.
Benny tried to talk to me about it on the drive to my penthouse, but I told him I wasn’t ready yet, and he listened.
Then I was pulling him by his shirt to the wall of windows in my bedroom. I made him fuck me against the glass as I took in the city view from here for the final time.
I didn’t belong up here anymore, not on this side of the glass. Now my place was down there with Benny, and the color, and the music.
We showered, and I went to check on my girls. I could bring Aurelia and Juliette in their tanks to Benny’s. Celestine would be the tricky one to transport, and I’d have to get her a new enclosure as hers was built into the apartment.
I’d thought maybe I could sort that out over the next couple of days, but my blood ran cold when I approached the tanks and discovered someone had switched all of themoff.
