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!"

a glass paperweight from the desk and hurled it across the room.

secretary stuck her head in, alarmed. "Everything okay, Mr.

causing the woman to shrink back in terror

on the desk as I fought

way to track this

could only shake his head

nothing, man. He covered his tracks

I flipped the desk with an

heaved it against the wall, shattering it into

stormed out and slammed the

hard the frame nearly splintered. I ripped

parking

down my

into my car, I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I exploded with a strangled cry of

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

punctuated with another bone-jarring strike against the steering

be

hands chased away any hope of waking up. It was all

forward to

forehead on

everything crashed down around me. I sold

liquidated nearly every asset to raise that

a bitch," I spat

it all for more. For what? To get played like a goddamn

so much for, gone in an instant because of my greed and one man's deception. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying in

had gambled everything...and

tried to compose myself enough to drive home. I fumbled the key into the ignition, twisting it hard

stuck fast, defying my increasingly frantic

I wrenched the