Billionaire, Let's Divorce! by BELLA

DENNIS

I slammed my fist on Cole's desk, causing everything on top to rattle.

"What the hell do you mean you can't find him?"

"Did I hear you well or have I suddenly developed an ear problem?"

Cole shrank back. His eyes were wide with fear and remorse.

"I'm sorry man, I've tried everything. James just...disappeared without a trace after taking all our investments."

Rage boiled inside me. I grabbed Cole by the lapels and shoved him against the wall.

"You're supposed to be the expert! You vouched for this guy!"

"I know, I know," Cole sputtered, hands up defensively.

"Believe me, I'm just as gutted as you are. I lost every penny too!"

I sneered.

"Yeah? Well it's a lot easier for you to be casual about losing pocket change. I put in $100,000 man! Do you have any idea how much I sacrificed for that?"

The memories flooded back, of all the rights I had to part with to raise that money. I thought that if the investment paid off, I could buy a whole new collection and more. Now all I had to show for it was NOTHING. Letting go of Cole, I ran shaky hands through my hair. I started pacing, mind racing over how I could possibly make this right. The bars were doing well, but not well enough to absorb that steep a loss quickly. "I'm ruined..." I muttered, then whirled on Cole again.

"This is on you! You talked me into this scheme with your big dreams about life-changing profits!"

Cole flinched at my booming voice.

"I didn't know he was going to run a damn Ponzi scheme! The backgrounds, documentation, it all checked out!"

from the desk and hurled it across the room. It

in, alarmed. "Everything

the woman to shrink back in terror before

on the desk as I fought for control. I

still a way to track

only shake

He covered his tracks too

the desk with an animalistic bellow, raining papers and office supplies

crystal decanter from the liquor cart and heaved it against the wall,

out and slammed

I ripped my suit jacket

parking lot

my

the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I exploded with a strangled cry of anguish, pummeling the wheel over

"Stupid...fucking...idiot!"

was punctuated with another bone-jarring strike against

had to be some

away any hope of waking up. It was all too

slumped forward to rest

on the

me. I

liquidated nearly every asset to raise that

son of a bitch," I spat at my own reflection in the rearview

it all for more. For what? To get

dreams and security I'd sacrificed so much for, gone in an instant because of my greed and one man's deception. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying in vain to somehow make this waking nightmare go away. But

gambled

tried to compose myself enough to drive home. I fumbled the key into the

It was stuck fast, defying my increasingly frantic

growled as I wrenched the key back and forth