Freedom (Billionaire Secrets 2)

She turned towards the door, ready to flee and never come back.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“I’m leaving,” she said. “Dover is no different from VLA. You chew employees up and spit them out. I’m not going to stand here and put up with these accusations. I’ve lied, but I’m not what you say I am. I thought you were different, Simon. I thought you cared about the people who work here. The truth is, all you see is your own ego. I used to think you didn’t have people in your life because you kept them at a distance. Now I see it’s because people keep their distance from you.”

Heather didn’t wait to hear what he said next. She opened the door, stepped out of her office, and rushed towards the elevator without a backward glance.

Chapter 20

He didn’t bother to call the cops on her. It was no use. Just like with his previous assistant, sentiment won out. Only, this was worse than mere sentiment. His feelings for Heather was still so strong he couldn’t call security or the cops on her. His heart wouldn’t let him.

When the longest day of his life at Dover ended, he got into his car and headed home. The meeting with the board had gone the way he’d expected. Badly. With a security breach this big, Dover was teetering on the brink of total disaster. The only thing the board managed to agree on was that they’d probably have to come up with the funds to pay to get the hacked material back.

Money that they’d have to either pay to their rivals or to Heather directly.

Simon gripped the steering wheel even tighter, unable to hold his anger inside. Calling the cops was pointless. The board had already done that, so it wouldn’t surprise him if the police made a visit to Heather’s place sooner rather than later.

Thinking about her languishing in prison tore him up. Which was crazy because the woman he cared about didn’t exist. The kind, good, sweet woman who had made his childhood bearable no longer existed. In her place was a bitter, vengeful woman who had told him a pack of lies in order to destroy his dreams.

When he went back to work, he’d have to figure out how to go on without her. Plus, he’d have to hire a new assistant. He had no idea how he’d have the stomach to hire someone else after two of his previous assistants had ended up being so untrustworthy. With his trust in Heather dead, he knew he’d never trust another person as long as he lived. His hypothesis about people had turned out to be true. There was no point in letting people in. All they wanted was to get a piece of him and then get out as fast as possible.

He parked his car in the underground parking lot and walked over to the lobby.

“Good evening, Hank,” he said, greeting the concierge.

“Evening, Simon,” Hank replied from his desk. “How was work today?”

“Hell,” Simon replied.

“One of those days, huh?”

“You could say that.” Simon sighed. “Any mail?”

“Not much. But you’ve got an invoice right here waiting for you.” Hank reached into one of the mailboxes behind him and handed Simon the invoice.

Simon arched an eyebrow. “Invoice? For what?”

“Don’t you remember? Some electricians came over last week to update the place and the company delivered the invoice today. Your assistant was good enough to remind me last week,” Hank said. “I like this new assistant. Much nicer to me than your last one.”

Simon didn’t bother to explain that Heather was no longer his assistant. Talking about her was only going to make him look like a lunatic. How on earth could he possibly explain that he still had feelings for someone as deceptive as Heather Hall?

He stared at the invoice. “They looked at every apartment in here?”

“Yep. Every single one. Including the one you live in. Didn’t you remember they were supposed to come fix the place? Anyway, the super came down here to let them in, and they did a thorough job as far as I can tell,” Hank said. “They were here forever.”

The building superintendent hadn’t come over in months. But he had a key to each apartment, which meant he’d been able to let the electricians in without a problem. “How long were they over here?”