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He took a deep breath. “Okay…”
“Li Na wants me to stop working on my launch to partner with her on a version of the patch.”
Gabe snorted. “That’s the upside of her being crazy—at least she’s never boring.”
“I want to say yes.”
There was stunned silence on the other end of the line. “Is there a punchline, here?” he asked, after a minute.
“Hopefully.” If it worked, the joke would be on Li Na.
“You’re going to have to walk me through this.”
“I’ll agree to work for her, right now, in exchange for an agreed-upon sum. With the underlying agreement that once she gets everything she wants, she’ll leave me and my company alone, once and for all.”
“Do you really want to do this? If you do, she’ll get to market first.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Babe.” Gabe still sounded confused. “You lost me.”
“Li Na thinks Paragon is incapable of launching the patch without me,” I said.
“And she’s right. Isn’t she?”
“No…not if you help. Not if you’re my silent partner.”
He didn’t say anything, so I explained. “When Li Na and I discussed the details via text, she said she wants me as soon as possible, twenty-four hours a day, until she has all the information she needs. She intends to beat Paragon to market, at least on Chinese soil—and anywhere else she can manage. I told her it was worth it to me, at this point. I told her I wanted her out of my life.”
“She wants you where?”
I took a deep breath, readying myself for the part of my plan that Gabe really wasn’t going to like. “In an office space somewhere close by. But not Paragon. She wants me off-premises and off-the-grid, somewhere where I can’t moonlight working on Paragon business.”
“You can’t go someplace and work for her,” Gabe said. “No fucking way.”
“Gabe,” I said patiently, “I’m trying to discuss this with you. I told her I wouldn’t go without security.”
“She could double-cross you. She could kill you—just like she killed Clive.”
“Timmy’s not going to let anything happen to me,” I persisted. “You know that. Also, I’m not worth anything to Li Na if I’m dead. That’s not what she wants. She can’t even hurt me too much, because I won’t be any use to her.” I hoped that last part was true.
“I’ll be your security. That’s non-negotiable, babe.”
I fought the intense urge to slam the cell phone against my head. “You can’t—I need you to help me, here at the lab. This is my chance—our chance—to be free of her, once and for all. I’ve thought it through. All I’m asking is that you do, too.”
There was a prolonged, excruciating silence. “I understand why you want to do it.”
“Does that mean you’ll help me?”
Gabe let out a sigh so long, it sounded like a hiss. “I’m going to support you—because I know you’ve analyzed all the angles and you believe it’s the right choice. But for the record, I hate this. I fucking hate it, and it’s my job to tell you that.”
“Okay.” My voice came out small.
“Okay,” Gabe said, but he didn’t sound at all like he meant it.
After more discussion, we agreed that if things were taking too long at my off-site location, Gabe would send back up and call the authorities. I hypothesized that he would also take matters into his own hands at that point, but I kept that conjecture to myself. I didn’t plan to let things go that far. I had people to love and a company to run. I would come back to him, no matter what.
So with Gabe’s reluctant blessing, Li Na and I entered into an agreement.
