"No."
"Neither do I. It can't be counted on your fingers. Or toes. Twice over."
"I never heard about all of this."
"Laila's never heard about it. It's between me and my dad. Mom and Laila never hear about it."
"But you're older now."
"I wanted my dad to think so, sure." He covered his eyes with his arm. "I don't think that I'm old enough for this. Adulthood is hard."
I kissed his muscular forearm. "You'll find a way out. It'll be fine. How much money will you lose?"
"It's not the money." Chris shrugged. "I have plenty of money. He wants me to buy back all of his stock, and I can do it. It just sucks. All we've got is an MVP and a lot of plans."
"MVP? Most valuable player like Steve Nash?"
"No. It's a minimum viable product. It's basically the least that you can get away with. We're just now seeing some adoption."
"Why is he bailing just when you guys are getting traction?"
"He's been sending pissed emails about me … being otherwise occupied."
"What's your next step?" It was funny, because I'd felt colorless and energy-less not that long ago, but I'd pull myself together to be here for Chris, to give him anything he needed today.
"I've got to talk my lawyer."
"You want me to come with you?"
He turned to look at me. "You'd come with me?"
"Anything for you. I know that you've been holding me down, and I'd repay it five times over. I appreciate it," I said softly, pushing his hair off of his forehead. I kissed him softly on his mouth, and I watched his eyelids flutter.
I got off of the bed and pulled his legs off.
"Hey!"
"Let's get going. Get your ass in gear."
Chris came off of the bed and pulled me over his shoulder. He spanked one cheek.
"Let's shower."
We got into the shower, and he put me on my feet. He bent his head and leaned forward to kiss me breathless. Then he took shower gel and rubbed my whole body, rubbing it into my skin. I knew that I would smell like him, and I loved the idea of his essence being all over me.
I returned the favor, and we never stopped kissing, even as his fingers found their way between my thighs. He discovered the wetness between my legs, wetness that had nothing to do with the water pouring down around us.
I panted as he forced me into an orgasm. My muscles spasmed around him, and I would've fallen if he hadn't held me up.
When I opened my eyes again, I sank to my knees. Without waiting for permission or anything from him, I took him inside of my mouth. He shouted, but it faded. I used my tongue and hands to bring him to the edge of ecstasy, and I drank him down as he released inside of my warm mouth.
"Damn. We're never going to get to the lawyer if we keep going like this."
He kissed me hard, and I pushed him away a fraction of an inch.
"We've got to get dressed. I promise that we'll get naked tonight. And it'll be worth the wait."
I looked at the fire in his eyes, and I thought about taking it back.
I shook off the thought of staying in bed with him all day. We had responsibilities, and the faster we got through the legal tangle of his co-founder deserting him, the faster we'd be able to focus on us and our marriage.
Intellectual Property Lawyer
Chris
We were dressed and in my Lambo when my phone buzzed. It was a media alert; I'd set up an alert for my name and my company's name a long time ago.
I felt my breath come in fast.
"What's going on?"
Instead of answering, I gave her the phone and swerved into a parking slot.
"Your company is pivoting? That's news to me … I thought that your co-founder was abandoning … " Her voice trailed off. "Oh."
I took a quick breath, and then I got us back on the road.
We went to the nondescript building where my lawyer's office was. It was full of mahogany and gleaming edges, ensuring that we felt that we got our money's worth when we paid a high hourly rate for their expertise.
I was never as grateful that they took all the legal stuff out of my hands as when Benoit Bouvier told me the good news.
"So have I got this right? When I buy him out, I own the property?"
"Yes. He can't just leave, get the money, and then set up a startup with the same code. It's not right."
"So what are our options?"
"We're going to send over a cease-and-desist."
"Can we do that? I mean, he wrote it."
"Yes, he did, but you will have paid for it. You will own everything."
I said a silent prayer. "Okay. Let's move forward."
My lawyer nodded. "I'll get my best people on it." He looked at my hand in Nora's. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out."
Nora and I stood up, waved, and left.
We walked into a tiny coffeeshop called Brews and Stews. It was a very unique local coffee shop that sold soup and coffee during the winter months. During the summer months, it turned into a frozen yogurt place that let you choose your own toppings and pay per ounce.
"So that's it, then? You just pay him what he asked, and then you sue him for infringing on your intellectual property?"
"It looks like it." The day was looking brighter. I had my girl by my side, and my company had been given CPR. If we could just get my former co-founder to sell like he wanted, we'd have his balls in our grip. I couldn't wait to make him sing like a soprano.
I got an Americano from the counter, and Nora got a decaf mocha cappucino with soy milk.
We sat down in the corner, and I put my hand on her knee. We looked at each other, exchanging more in silence than we could if we spoke.
We would be okay.
Peach Ice Cream
Nora
FIVE MONTHS LATER
"Chris, I need peach ice cream."
He groaned. "I just bought you mint chocolate chip. Not even two hours ago."
"I need it."
He picked up his keys and walked to the car without another word.
I felt guilty for sending him out like this, but it was getting weird to drive with my big pregnant belly. My legs were short enough that there wasn't a lot of space between the steering wheel and my tummy on a normal day, and I had a big baby bump now. I'd gotten pregnant not long after Chris' company had reached its crisis. It turned out that stress relief could lead to a little more. I'd been scared, since I was still sliced up on the inside, but my OBGYN had given us the green light.
I heard the engine start and garage door open, and Chris' headlights lit up the front of the house before he left.
I heard the garage door close.
I went up to the nursery to look at everything. We still had all the stuff from my first pregnancy, and I hoped against hope that I would actually get to use it with this one.
I laid down in bed, putting a hand on my baby bump. The baby nudged me, and I smiled. I felt so heavy and terrible, but it was worth it when my little one bumped me. It reminded me that all this was worth it.
* * *
I dozed off, and I must've napped for a very long time. I was stiff when I woke up, and I stretched.
I checked the bedside clock, and I frowned. Chris should've been home by now.
I went to my phone and called him.
"Pick up!" I commanded him.
But all I got was voicemail.
I had a little prickling of the hairs of the back of my neck and a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, so I went and checked Chris' Find My Phone.
But it was turned off entirely.
I almost bit my nails, but I stopped myself. I was sure that my husband had a good reason for not coming home yet. Maybe the first grocery store didn't have peach ice cream, and he was driving around at night looking for a 24-hour grocery store that had peach ice cream in stock.
* * *
All the stress made me tired, and I went to sleep on the couch in the living room. If - no, when - Chris came home, I'd be right there to see him.
* * *
When I woke up, cheerful sunlight was streaming through the windows. Chris hadn't come home last night.
The ball of dread that had taken root yesterday turned into a boulder. Where was he?
I called Laila.
"Hello?"
"Laila, it's Nora."
"What's up, sweetie? You sound stressed."
"Chris didn't come home last night - I'm not sure where he is."
"He's not at my house or my parents' house."
"How can you be sure?"
"I had dinner over there last night so I could tell them about the baby- trust me, I would've noticed if Chris had shown up."
I sighed quietly. "Thanks, Laila."
"No problem, sugar."
We hung up, and I paced around the kitchen. Where could Chris be?
Van
Chris
I had just gotten out of my car at the supermarket when someone parked a dark blue van right next to me. I went around their car, trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.
But I didn't expect someone to come at me with a rag soaked with chloroform.
Someone grabbed me from behind. I immediately elbowed him in the gut. I could hear him grunt in pain, but the chloroform was too hard to resist. Before I could fight him too much, I could feel my body getting limp.