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“Are you…doing okay?” The question remained ridiculous in light of the circumstances, but I had to keep asking it, to try to maintain some sense of normalcy.
“Bethany’s here. We’re working.”
“I’ll let you get back to it. I’ll see you tonight. Love you, babe.”
There was a knock on my door as I hung up. Ryan, my assistant, stuck his head in, his electric-blue glasses shining in the early morning light. “Gabe? I have those reports for you.”
“Send them to my laptop.”
I pulled up the data Ryan sent me and reviewed the most recent reports from my international partners who handled the patch’s distribution. The international sales were tracking the domestic numbers—the patch was unequivocally a global mega-hit. I’d made more money on my partnership with Paragon than I’d projected. I’d always known that the technology would be a bestseller, but its success had blown by every marker.
I’d been interested in Paragon long before I met Lauren. I’d watched the company’s growth from afar for years, admiring the team she’d built. I’d speculated that with the board of directors she’d assembled, she’d been working on something fantastic, and I was right. For purely business purposes, I’d wanted Dynamica in on the ground floor with Paragon. That was why I arranged a meeting with Lauren in the first place. But since the first time I met her—at lunch at Grove, the day my life changed forever—I only wanted her.
Once I got to know Lauren and saw her brilliance firsthand—and understood the game-changing nature of her invention—I wanted to help the product reach as many consumers as possible. I knew the patch would be a winner, and I could help launch it on a global scale right out of the gate. I believed strongly in Lauren’s vision and believed in the good the patch could bring the world. I’d also known it would be profitable, and it was—even with its thin initial profit margin, it was making my company millions.
But profit wasn’t the point, and it never had been.
I closed my laptop and started pacing. Lauren had worked tirelessly her entire adult life to bring the patch to market. It had the potential to improve global health on a massive scale in the years to come. I didn’t want a corporate terrorist to take it away. I knew Li Na would defile Lauren’s vision for her invention. I clenched my hands into fists as I continued to pace. I didn’t want Paragon to go out like this—bursting into flames under the misdirection of a greedy, corrupt, and criminal CEO.
Lauren’s technology deserved more than that. Lauren deserved more than that.
Feeling restless, I grabbed my phone and texted Levi. Any progress?
My phone remained silent for a minute, so I went back to pacing. My thoughts went in a hundred different directions as I tried to think of a way out. My phone dinged, and I grabbed it.
There is no progress yet. Please stop driving me fucking crazy, Levi wrote back.
Knowing I was about to tick him off, I picked up the phone and called him anyway.
He answered on the first ring. “Jesus, Gabe. I’m trying to work.”
“I understand, but that doesn’t answer my question. Did you guys figure out the license plate number yet?”
“You left here two hours ago. Do you remember that I have other clients and other cases to manage?”
I raked my hand through my hair. “Yes. But you promised me you’d give this your full attention.”
Levi sighed. “I am giving it my full attention. But we haven’t uncovered the rest of the plate number in the two hours since you last asked me. Now please go back to work and let me actually get something done.”
“I hope you actually get something done. I’ll check back with you later.”
Frustration ate at me as I put the phone down and started pacing again. I had plenty of my own work to do, but it could wait. What couldn’t wait was saving Lauren’s sister and her company. The clock was ticking… Why did it seem like Lauren and I were the only ones aware of that?
I grabbed my coat and my laptop, hurtling past a surprised-looking Ryan. “I’m going out for the day. Cancel my meetings.”
“Okay?” Ryan wasn’t used to me leaving with the day booked like this, but these weren’t normal circumstances.
This was the new normal. It would require some getting used to.
Levi looked less than thrilled when I rolled through the doors of my house a little while later. “Don’t you have a multibillion-dollar company to run?”
“Yeah, I do. But I figured I could do it from home today. Wonders of the Internet and all.”
Levi rolled his eyes and appeared to say something under his breath, but luckily I couldn’t hear it. At least Ash looked happy to see me. “You’re telecommuting for the rest of the day? Nice. We still haven’t tracked down the full license plate, but I’m going through a stolen vehicle database, and I think I’m getting closer.”
I looked at Levi. “See? This is what I’m looking for. Progress.”
Levi grabbed his laptop and cell phone and headed outside toward the pool.
