Heartbreak You (Heartbreak Duet 2)

Atlas heads back into the closet and comes out with a pair of jeans. “Have it your way then. Goodnight, Theadora.” He slides his jeans on and walks out the door, his shirt in hand, leaving me sitting on his bed wondering how I can kill him and get away with it when he comes back in.

I look at his closet then walk over to it.

Now, if only I could find a match, I’d burn it all down and take great pleasure in doing so.

Chapter Sixteen

Atlas

Theadora will be the death of me, of that I am sure.

Garry, my driver, is standing at my door waiting for me as I pull on my shirt. “How did she take it?” he asks.

“What do you think?” I shake my head and take a deep breath.

He laughs and follows me down the hall. During months when the island’s not in use, I come out here to relax. I didn’t just buy the island as a business venture, I purchased it because it’s a place where I can be myself, rest, and chill where no one can find me.

“I think she’s interesting that’s for sure,” Garry says, and I can only nod at his words.

Theadora is remarkably interesting.

From the way she cares so deeply—it’s as if she can’t help herself, even concern is shown for Lucy who doesn’t give two shits about her sister—to how devoted she is to anything and everything she puts her mind to.

“Sydney’s been calling. She knows you have taken her.”

Of course, she does.

Sydney was tasked with erasing any surveillance footage, and even though I instructed her not to check the footage, I know she would have watched it. There is no way Sydney would have been able to stop herself.

“She’s been calling and asked, I mean requested, that you call her back straight away.”

Garry hands me my cell.

Sydney doesn’t come out here much, she isn’t a fan of the island and has requested in the past that her presence here be limited.

“I can’t believe what you’ve done,” she hisses. I hear Tina’s laughter in the background as she continues to berate me, “You are making me lie! Lie to the women I love, Atlas,” she whisper-yells.

“Who’s that?” I hear Tina ask.

“Atlas,” Sydney replies sweetly.

Then I hear the rustle of the cell before Tina’s voice blasts out, “What have you done with my best friend, Atlas? And don’t have Sydney lie to me again. I know Thea, and the last thing she would do is skip work even for a day, especially when she’s only just gotten that place back. She would never intentionally leave. Her business means too much to her! So, tell me now, Atlas. What… have… you… done… with… her?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I rush out as I walk into the kitchen and point at what I want sent up to Theadora’s room. The staff nod and busy themselves then scamper away—they can tell I am in a mood. I grab at the food in front of me and eat as Tina continues to berate me, “You’re a shit liar, and you are not going about this the right way if you want to win her back. Thea likes honesty and companionship, someone who cares. Do you even understand her at all?”

“I’m trying to.”

“Good! Bring her back and do it the right way like they do in the movies. Win her over by caring for her. Don’t fucking kidnap her. Really, Atlas, do you have any idea? You are a terrible person, and the problem is you are proving that to Thea by keeping her there with you.” I hear her rumble off several cusses before Sydney comes back on the line. “I didn’t tell her.”

“I know,” I reply.

Tina knows Theadora better than anyone. She would know she didn’t go in to work, and I guess it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.

“Lucy has been calling. You need to cut your losses with that one. She is going to cause nothing but trouble for you.”

“You handle her,” I tell Sydney while shaking my head.

“Atlas, you really don’t want me to handle her! Because I do not like that bitch. So, you do it before things become remarkably worse at my hand.”

Sydney hangs up on me.

I grin at her boldness, it’s one of the reasons I hired Sydney to begin with. She was the first woman I employed in my empire, and I’m glad I did. She doesn’t mince words, and she’s never been sexually interested, for obvious reasons. Sydney’s never found me the least bit attractive, which helps considerably, and she’s in my business for all the right reasons.

I would never let her go, she’s invaluable to me, and so I pay her handsomely. But also I make sure she’s happy because sometimes money isn’t everything, and I can tell with Sydney she needs to be stimulated as well as rewarded. For this reason, we get along, and she has never been afraid to call me out on decisions or dress me down when needed. I don’t always like it, actually sometimes I detest her, but I put up with it because she is irreplaceable. No matter even if I wanted, I would never be able to replace Sydney in my business dealings. So, I keep her happy no matter the cost to me financially or personally.