Page 1 of Billionaire Hunt

Part I

Chapter 1

“This sucks. This sucks so so much,” Emmaline said as she and her husband Colin helped me pack up the last of the boxes. “I mean, helping you pack isn’t what sucks. I mean it does, but what I’m trying to say---”

“Not very eloquently--” Colin said with a smile.

Emmaline rolled her eyes at Colin and tried again. “What I’m trying to say, if a certain someone is done interrupting, is that this whole situation sucks. I’m sorry you’re going through this, Misha. I know how hard you worked to build all of this...” Her voice trailed off and she looked around forlornly at all the boxes in front of us.

I wanted to agree, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself as I glanced around the now empty office that had once held six full-time employees. It had been a vibrant dynamic space filled with innovation and laughter. I had thought I was building an empire, but it had quickly crumbled. Designs by Misha had officially closed.

I shook my head. “I just can’t believe this is happening. I worked so hard and now it’s all over.” My voice sounded wistful and I didn’t know how much longer I could stand being in my former office without crying. And I wasn’t a crier, but Emmaline had summed it up perfectly--this sucked.

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. I wish I had kept my stupid mouth shut,” Emmaline said, rubbing me on the back.

“Me too,” I joked, taking a deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded and took another deep, shaky breath. “Just sad, that’s all. This place meant a lot to me.”

“I know,” Emmaline said, looking just as wistful as I had moments ago, “but you’ll make a comeback.”

She was a lot more positive than I was. I wasn’t accepting defeat in the long run, but in the short run, I had definitely failed and a comeback didn’t look like it would happen anytime soon. I wasn’t going to say that to Emmaline though. When we had been in college together, our other friend Lacey and I had been the ones pushing her to finish her degree. We had been Emmaline’s personal cheerleaders when her life took an unexpected turn and she’d experienced an unplanned pregnancy. Being a college student and a single mom had been hard on Emmaline, but we had pushed her to keep striving anyway. And now, over 10 years later, she was returning the favor. I was used to being the strong one in my social circle. I wasn’t going to let something as inconsequential as my entire career ending break me. At least, that’s what I was telling myself.

“You and Colin can head out. There’s nothing left. I think I can handle it from here.”

“You sure?” she asked, hesitating.

I gave her a small smile. “Yes, I’m sure. And I know you have to go pick up Dora soon, so I understand if you need to head out.” Theodora, or Dora as we called her, was Emmaline’s preteen daughter.

Emmaline hesitantly gave me a hug. “Well, call us if you need anything and I mean anything. You know I’m a professional counselor...almost licensed...in case, you want to talk.”

I gave her a half smile. “Thanks...but probably no, thanks.”

She nodded. “Well, if you find yourself sitting in your closet crying…call me.”

I watched them get in the car and leave, and I took one last look at the office that had been like a second home to me. I remembered how excited I had been to open this place. My husband was rarely home so I had thrown myself into my career, hoping that one day it would grow into something that rivaled his. He was an engineer and owned his own firm. The idea of being an entrepreneur intrigued me and design had always been a hobby of mine. We were well-off, but I had wanted to maintain an income and hadn’t wanted to be completely reliant on Wyatt, my husband.

For five years, it had been like a dream. I had been so happy and then the local economy started to slowly unravel. My clients just dried up and I was left with nothing. I had even stopped taking a paycheck to be able to pay out something to my employees, but I knew that wasn’t a sustainable solution. Finally, I let go of the dream. I’d never forget the day I called them into the conference room and told them that our company was coming to an end.

No one was surprised, but there were tears and some of those tears had been mine.

I added the last of the boxes to the trunk of my car and then locked the door of my former office for the final time.

“I’ll miss you,” I whispered to the building, looking fondly at the old warehouse turned lofts. With a sigh, I turned away and walked to my car.

I slid behind the wheel and my phone rang immediately. I answered it, using the Bluetooth in the car.

“Hey, girl, I’m fine,” I said, expecting it to be Emmaline or my other best friend Lacey checking on me.

“Misha?”

I laughed. It was my husband. “Hi, I didn’t look before answering. I just assumed you were one of the girls.”

“Not a problem,” he said sounding distracted. “Did you finish packing everything up?”

“Yep, just have to return the key,” I chirped, trying to keep the mood light even though I didn’t have a reason to.