Green-Eyed Monster Read Online Free PDF Page B

need this. Not now, for God’s sake. Not here under these crazy conditions.
    ❖

    “Ginette? Can I ask you something?” The MP3 player was switched off and the weight of another body tilted the edge of the mattress.
    “Victoria Gresham, your girlfriend. She is around, isn’t she?  I mean, she’s not off traveling or anything, is she?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, you see…”
    “No, I don’t see. What do you mean?” Something was wrong.
    “I mean, well…”
    “What the fuck do you mean?”
    A short silence. The expletive seemed to jar Mickey before she continued.
    “She isn’t answering my e-mails. You two are getting along, aren’t you?”
    “Your e-mails?”
    “Yeah, I have her private e-mail address, and I’ve been sending my demands directly to her, but she’s ignoring me.  Something ain’t right.” A deep, pained sigh followed. “How well were you two getting along before I kidnapped you?”
    “Wait. You’re sending e-mails as ransom demands? How the hell can you make sure they’re not traceable? What about your IP?”Mickey was clearly taken aback. “Hey, I’m in the business. I can cope. Nothing comes back on me that I don’t want.”
    “Oh, so you’re a geek? A hacker who sees her technical abilities as a right to operate outside the law of digitally challenged folks.”
    “I am not a hacker. I am a bona fide developer.” Mickey unintentionally gave up another clue as she defended herself.
    “What exactly do you mean, ‘her private e-mail’?” she continued relentlessly now that she had her abductor off balance.
    “Where exactly have you been sending these demands to?” An e-mail address was reeled off to her that made her heart turn cold. She knew no one would be picking up on that mailbox.
    It was private, all right; practically redundant, in fact. Used only for domestic purposes, never business, just shopping and vacation planning, and no one would be opening it soon . Shit, this crazy woman’s ransom demands are bouncing off into the ether. I could be tied up here until my eightieth birthday!
    “Well, try another one, for God’s sake. I can’t wait around all day for monies to be exchanged. I need to get out of here.” Panic crept into her voice, though she tried to quell it. On hearing it, a warm, reassuring hand reached out to rest just above her knee. The suddenness of the touch on her bare thigh below her boxers startled her, and her cuffs clanked against the bedrails.
    The hand instantly withdrew.
    “I did. I tried yours. I figured once she noticed you were gone, the first thing she’d do is check your mail.”
    “Mine?”
    “Yup. [email protected]. Hey, you may think I’m a bumbler, but I’m pretty damned smart. Smart enough to have my intellectual copyright stolen by your girlfriend and her Gresham Corporation.”
    Oh, this sounds bad. Very bad. This whole kidnapping is a disaster. Perhaps I can convince her to let me go. Bribe her or something…get her sympathy…
    “Did she steal from you, Mickey?” She tried to sound sincere yet shocked.
    “Are you being sarcastic? She’s your girlfriend. Everyone knows she’s a premenstrual piranha. And yeah, she stole my idea.  My code.” Mickey’s voice rose with indignation. “This was the perfect plan. The perfect revenge and get even. Except nobody’s listening to me.” Her voice rang with self-righteousness. “It should’ve taken less than three hours, tops, and here we are, day two. Are you sure she’s not outta town or something? I mean, why isn’t she climbing the walls looking for you?”
    “Well, actually, we split up.”
    “What?” A stupefied bellow.
    “We split up. Separated. Broke up.” Her litany was almost gleeful as she sensed waves of panic rolling from Mickey’s body.
    “Ended our relationship. Went separate ways. Fell out of love.  Had an emotional meltdown. Needed space. Took time out.  Divor—”
    “What?” More like a stupefied squeak now. This