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I’m buying out. It’s taken six months to work out the details, but it will turn a tidy profit if I do it right.”
    I walked round to stand behind him, placing my chin on his shoulder. “How much are you offering to buy it for, Mr. Big Shot? Want me to chip in?”
    “$20 Million, give or take.”
    I sucked in a breath, impressed. “That sure as hell is some purchase! What are you buying, gold mines?”
    He laughed. “Not quite. They’re a fashion label – they design their own clothing and push it through a series of retail outlets. There’s some deficiencies I’ll need to deal with, but with my production lines and their distribution network, I should be able to spin it into something two or three times the current P/E ratio.”
    Now my interest was really peaked. “I used to work in a fashion house before I got laid off,” I said. “Maybe I know the company. Who are they?”
    He chuckled. “No wonder you were so good at picking out that suit, I still get comments on it.” He flicked through the papers on his desk. “Here it is. The parent company is Etroc Holdings, but the fashion house is…”
    “Mon Cheraise,” I said suddenly.
    He looked up. “How did you know? Do you have friends there?”
    I could feel the tears welling even as I stepped backwards. “I used to work there,” I said, my whole world suddenly falling apart. “Until I was fired by the new owner.”
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    “Were the deficiencies in the staff department ?” I asked viciously. I was sitting on the bus angry as all hell. Jacob had been trying to call for the last 20 minutes, ringing incessantly, and I’d finally decided to answer. “Do you even care that you’re the reason I can’t pay my bills?”
    “Anna, I…”
    I cut him off, too angry to listen. “How dare you! What is this, your sick idea of a joke? Make a woman destitute and then swoop in and fuck her while she’s low?” Several passengers turned toward me, but I didn’t care.
    “Anna, I…”
    “ Have you been stalking me? ” I demanded, another thought suddenly hitting me. I cut him off again. “How long have you known?”
    “Anna. Please, listen to me.”
    “What.” I swear frost was suddenly crackling up the window.
    “Anna, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. It wasn’t my fault. Whatever your job is, I’ll get it back. Pay you double.”
    “Not everything can be solved with money, Jacob King.”
    I heard a sigh, and imagined him running his hands through his hair. That sexy, mussed up… no, I wouldn’t go down that line of thought. I was too furious. “I’m sorry Mr. King . I thought I knew you.” Then quieter, a whisper – “I thought we had something.”
    “Anna, wait. We’ll fix this. Whatever it takes, however much it costs.”
    For some reason, the casual way he threw money around only made me more angry. “You just don’t get it, do you?” I spat. “It’s not always about the money. When you bought the company, did you once stop to think about the lives of the people you fired? Did you think that maybe they had families? That they had houses and mortgages and cars and bills to pay? No! All you thought about was the money.”
    “Anna. All those things you just mentioned, I didn’t...”
    I didn’t need to hear a hollow apology. “Damn right you didn’t think! That’s the problem with money. It makes you forget who you really are. I knew I should never have taken that job with you!”
    “Anna, please!”
    I sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out hard, steadying myself. “No. I’m sorry Jacob. It’s over.”
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    I’d walked straight off the bus, crying, changed into my oldest, comfiest pajamas, and hadn’t left the house since, except for regular runs to get Ben & Jerry’s.
    The poor corner store attendant hadn’t known what to do the first time I’d first walked in with red splotchy face and streaked makeup. Now when I entered he just went to the freezer and pulled out two tubs