“By what authority?” Pat asks.
“The United States President,” Booth tells him and tosses another piece of paper, he takes out of the file that’s on the table in front of him, to Leon who’s sitting closest to him.
I can see the presidential seal from here and I cringe. “That aside,” I say, quickly. “You’ve frozen everything. My money is in those accounts too. All the deposits are not his.”
Booth smiles as he looks at me. “Your small amount will be unfrozen and you can take that and open another account. I wouldn’t put his name on it, though.”
I look at him and smile. “Great. I expect that to be done by tomorrow. It shouldn’t be hard to see what deposits are for me and what are for him.” I look at Pat who’s across the table from me. “Can you handle that for us?”
“Well, um, there is the matter of our attorney fees,” he says as he threads his fingers together. “With this presidential order, I’m afraid those assets are gone. Ryker Crawford is no longer the billionaire he once was. I don’t know how we can represent him any further.”
“What does this all mean for me?” Ryker asks Booth. “Exactly what’s going to happen to me?”
“We don’t have enough evidence to charge you with a crime. You’ve managed to cover your tracks there, Crawford. Being that other countries have threatened not to do business with one of America’s top space companies, the President is within his rights to take that company away from you and place it in more trustworthy hands.”
Danner takes over as he pulls a paper out of his file and pushes it toward Ryker. “This paper states that you can no longer serve in any capacity at Apollo Engineering. It states that all of your cash assets will revert to the company. And no criminal charges can be made at this time with the evidence we have.”
“Essentially, I’m broke and jobless,” Ryker says.
I pat his leg. “Don’t let that worry you, baby.”
“You’re taking all I’ve done and flushed it down the drain. You know there’s every chance that Frank Holiday got rid of the minutes from that meeting. He took advantage of the scam that happened. A scam that I too was a victim of. He took advantage to gain control of something he has no business having control of. And our president gave it to him.”
“Look at it any way you want to. You’re no longer the CEO of Apollo Engineering. You can’t step foot back into the place. Your personal effects have been packed up and are in the trunk of our car,” Danner tells him. “You should feel grateful that you’re not being charged with a crime.”
Ryker’s hand moves over my leg. “The only thing I’m truly grateful for is this lady at my side and this child. All the rest if this Earthly shit can go to hell. So, I am free to go on about my life then, right?”
With a nod, Danner says, “Yes. Just stay out of Apollo and all will be okay.”
“Not a problem,” I say. “Since I have no legal team, how long do I have to wait for my part of the bank accounts to be freed?”
“It’s our policy to have them freed within twenty-four hours, ma’am,” Booth says.
“Good.” I look at the attorneys and give them all nods. I won’t be employing them. “And what about the smaller affiliate companies that were working with Apollo?”
Pat looks at Danner who says, “Their accounts have had the holds taken off them. It’ll be up to Holiday to decide to keep any contracts with them or not.”
“Good,” I say. “We’re done here, then.” I get up and Ryker does too, picking up the car seat.
“I want a file of all that you have,” he tells them all. “I want a copy of everything in both of those files.”
“You’ll have to wait for that,” Pat says. “Let Stephanie, in the front, make copies. We can no longer do business with you, Crawford. You understand, I’m sure.”
My husband’s head drops and so does my heart. He’s never been treated this way. It’s humiliating to him, I can feel it radiating off him. I turn back and push all the papers together and hold out my hands for the files the CIA agents have. “Let me get these to her. We don’t have time to fuck around. Our son will be waking up to eat in half an hour. You all seem like time-bandits. Time, we don’t have.”
They let me take the papers and files and I follow Ryker out. “Thanks, baby.”
“You really don’t have to worry, Ryker.”
“I know. I know you have money. I just feel terrible. I feel deflated.”
Dropping the stack of papers on the receptionist’s desk, I say, “Can you make copies of these really quick for us before Noah wakes up and wants to eat?”
“Of course,” she says as she hops up and gets busy doing that.
“Frank Holiday?” I ask Ryker as we take seats to wait for the copies. “Who the hell is he? I’ve never even heard anyone talk about him.”
“An old as shit man who knows so little about modern technology, it’s not even funny. But, apparently, he’s quite a good bull shitter and an excellent man with paperwork.” Ryker rubs his temples, telling me he has a massive headache. And who wouldn’t with this news?
“What does he do at Apollo?”
“Um, I think his official position is something like vice president of accounting or something like that. I’m not sure, really. I know it holds no real responsibility. It’s more of a paid job until he retires. Which I don’t know why he hasn’t taken retirement already.”
“Don’t worry about him. That would take more time than we care to take. Okay, he’s got the company. You have the brain. I have money. And Damien is our ally.”
For the first time since this shit began, Ryker smiles. “We do have all of that, don’t we?”
“That and Mars isn’t inhabited by a damn thing.” I pat his leg then lean over and kiss him, sending us to that place only we can take each other. When the kiss ends, he and I are both smiling.
“Here are the copies. I put them in this large manila envelope for you,” the secretary says.
“Great,” I take it and we both get up. “See ya.”
I keep my mouth shut as we walk out between the two CIA pricks and go to the elevator. As the doors close, Ryker puts the car seat on the floor and wraps his arms around me, giving me a real kiss. When the elevator stops, he ends the kiss. “Baby, you really are my hero.”
“And you are mine,” I tell him. “Never doubt that for a second. We’re a team, you and I. What you want, I want. And I want you to see Mars.”
The glazed look in his eyes does something to me. “Gia, you don’t have to…”
I stop him with another kiss. “Shh. I want it too.”
We step out of the elevator with our arms around each other as the doors close. “The baby!” we both shout.
He throws out his arm to stop the doors from closing and grabs the car seat with our son in it. “That was close!”
I clutch my chest and try to calm down. “Damn, baby!”
“I know,” he says as he shakes his head.
Walking out of the office has us knowing things are very different. But not so much so that we can’t handle those changes. Nothing worth having is ever easy. And neither of us mind working hard.
The future doesn’t scare me. I hope it doesn’t scare him, either.
RYKER
“I’m broke, Gia,” I say as I drive my wife and son home. “For the first time in my life, I am dead broke.”
“How does it feel?” she asks me from the backseat as she looks at me through the rearview mirror.
“I’m still breathing. It doesn’t cost a dime for the air I need to stay alive.”
“Are you feeling worried at all?”
Digging deep into myself, I look for worry, dread, fear, and I find none. “I’m not. You know I think I can deal with this.”
“And it doesn’t hurt that you’re married to a pretty rich chick, either,” she says with a laugh.
“Oh yeah, you have money. I kind of forgot about that. Funny, huh?” I stop at a red light and look back at h
er. “Guess you can be my sugar-momma.”
“I got you, Big Daddy.”
We both laugh then quickly shut up as the baby starts to move. “We almost woke him up,” I whisper.
She pats his little leg to settle him. “We don’t want to do that. He’s going to want to eat as soon as he wakes up and I can’t take him out of this car seat.”
Driving home in silence, I think about how I really feel. I’ve had everything I’ve ever worked for taken away from me. By a man who doesn’t deserve it. A man who’s lied about me and stolen from me.
I should be furious. I should be seething with anger. But all I can be is happy. Looking in the rearview mirror, I see my gorgeous wife, dozing and the car seat with my son in it. Happiness is all I can feel.
So what if I’m not a powerful CEO anymore. So what if I have only a few dollars in my wallet. So what if I have no clue what I’m going to do in the future. I have people to love and they love me.
That’s all I need!
The sky is still blue. I don’t have money and the sky is still blue. The breeze still blows, the birds still chirp. Life goes on. Money or not, life goes on.
“Baby, I’m starving,” Gia says as she shakes her head in an effort to stay awake. “I’ve got money in my purse. Can you pull through somewhere and get us something to eat?”
“Dollar burgers?” I ask with a chuckle. “Anything off the dollar menu, Gia.”
She laughs and sighs. “You’re hilarious.”
“I think I’m going to be good at being poor,” I tell her.
She wrinkles up her nose as she shakes her head. “You’re not going to be poor. Not a damn thing is going to change. We’ll keep the staff at the house. The cars, the house, all of it will remain the same.”
“But I’m not going to be paying it. It won’t be me keeping us wealthy.” Then it hits me like a brick wall. “I’m going to be a kept man. I really am going to be kept. I’ll have to ask you to give me money. I’ll have to rely on you, Gia.”
“So?” she says like it’s not a great big, huge, deal.
“So? So, Gia? That’s not cool!” I pull into the drive-through of a fast food place and have to reach back for money to pay for the cheap stuff. “I need some cash.” The words feel thick on my tongue.
She places a twenty in my palm and runs her fingertip over it as well. “Don’t ever think about this money as mine. This is our money. The way it’s always been. Now order me a burger and fries and a bottle of water, please.”
I think about what she’s said as I look over the menu. Our money. Her money is now, our money. Nope, it still feels bad!
“Two cheeseburgers, all the way with mustard. Two small fries and two bottles of water, please.”
“That’ll be twenty-five dollars and seventeen cents,” the man in the box tells me, freaking me out.
“How much?” I ask as this has to be a mistake. It’s a couple of burgers and some fries and water, for God’s sake!
“Twenty-five, seventeen, sir. And do you need extra ketchup?”
“How many ketchups come with it?”
“One small packet. Most people want extra,” he explains.
“Baby, do you need more than one packet of ketchup?” I ask Gia.
“Please,” she says.
“Yeah, give me some extra ketchup.”
“How many?” he asks.
“Um, how about two or three more?”
“You want two or three?” he asks, annoying the crap out of me.
“What does it matter? Put in a couple or so.”
“There’s a thirty-cent charge for each one. So, give me an exact number” he says, sending me into a tizzy.
“Thirty cents each? For little tiny packets of fucking ketchup? Are you fucking serious right now?”
“Ryker!” Gia hisses at me. “No cussing! They’re going to spit in our food!”
“Sir! You can’t speak to me like that! You know what, I’m deleting this order. Find somewhere else to eat. I’m refusing you service,” he tells me, sending me into a rage.
“Listen here, dipshit! You can’t refuse me service because I’m deleting this order. That’s highway robbery, anyway! So, fuck you, prick!” I peel off and then I hear the baby crying and Gia’s glaring at me and I think I may have just messed up.
“Pull over. Now that you’ve woken him up, I have to get him out and feed him. Way to go!”
Pulling into a parking lot, I spot a little pizza place. “I’m sorry. I am, Gia. But that guy was crazy.”
“No, you were the one being crazy,” she tells me, making my jaw drop.
“Me?”
She nods as she gets the baby out. Spotting a little pizza place in the strip mall I’ve pulled into, I get out of the car. “Where are you going, Ryker?”
“To get us a couple of slices of pizza and some water. I’ll be right back.”
I can feel her icy stare pummeling my back as I walk away from the car. Am I really the crazy one?
GIA
Icicles are forming on the trees as I look out the window of my parents’ farm house. “Ryker, can you see if Noah needs his diaper changed? I smell something funky.”
Ryker gets off the bed and goes to check on our son, who’s sleeping in his little playpen at the foot of the bed. “Yep, he’s ripe. But won’t it wake him up if I change him?”
“If you don’t, he’ll get a rash. We certainly don’t want that to happen. Not when we’re about to leave.”
“It’s hard to believe that we’re really doing it, Gia,” he says then shushes our one-year-old as he wines about being moved around. “I know, Buddy, but you went stinky and Daddy has to get you all cleaned up.”
“The house and cars have been sold. The plane tickets have been paid for. We’re really doing it, Ryker.”
“Damien sure pulled it off, didn’t he?”
“It’s hard to believe, but he certainly did. Giving you a job at Markov Global is the best thing to happen to us since Noah.” I get out of bed and stretch as I watch a cardinal perched in the tree outside my childhood bedroom window. It looks back at me and flies away when I wave at it.
“There will be no birds. No trees. No barking dogs.”
“No, roosters to wake us up,” he adds. “Mars is thankfully, void of those things. Is that the same damn rooster from when we came here the first time?”
“I’m not sure,” I say as I take the dirty diaper and go throw it in the wastebasket. “Why do you ask that?”
“Because it’s as stupid as that bird was. It’s not dawn at four in the morning.” He snuggles Noah back up, and he falls right back to sleep.
Wiggling his finger at me, he whispers, “Come here, pretty momma.”
I giggle and go to him. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me with a long, sweet kiss. “In a few hours, a plane will start our journey to Russia.”
“A few years after that, a shuttle will take us to Mars,” I finish his thought. “Things are still moving in the direction you’ve always been going. Just a few speed bumps got in the way.”
He sways with me as we look into each other’s eyes. “Losing Apollo was a great loss. But it helped one thing. It helped us all to realize we need to be working together instead of apart. The program that Markov Global came up with, where we all work together and stop the segregation of different countries, is pure genius.”
“It is,” I say and kiss his cheek. “And you were the mastermind behind that idea. Damien had the ability to get it done. You two actually make a great team.”
“Weird, huh?” He kisses me again. “I stole his girl and now we’re partners.”
I give him a frown. “You didn’t steal me. I left him. I hate when you say that.”
“That night, when I saw you for the first time, I knew I had to have you. I stole you then and there.” He kisses me again.
“I suppose you’re right. You got into my head that night. That’s for sure.”
“And your heart,” he says then g
ives me another kiss.
Laying back down on the bed, he and I snuggle down under the thick blankets. “It took you a bit longer to burrow into there, Ryker. But once you did, you made a real home for yourself in there.”
Rubbing his nose to mine, he says, “You’ve created quite the homey spot for yourself in mine too.”
“I think losing Apollo Engineering was the best thing to happen to the space industry, Ryker. Sure, you lost your shit for about six months but when you came back around, you kicked ass and made things happen. I didn’t know I could be any prouder of you than I already was but you made it happen, somehow.”
“You know I hate it when you bring up my six-month meltdown. Stick to the good parts. Like when I came up with the idea for conglomerating the tops minds in the field. Now that was sheer genius.”
“It was.” I kiss him again and feel a stirring in his pajama bottoms.
His hand moves down to the waistband of mine and he moves it on in, finding my little pearl and giving it a swirl. Our tongues dance as his fingers ignite a heat in me. What a great way to warm up!
Something thumps the blanket, followed by a grunt, stopping us. We look up and see Noah, standing in the playpen and he’s thrown his empty bottle at us.
“Breakfast time,” Ryker says with a laugh. “Mommy will have to wait.”
I moan as he gets out of bed and trots past Noah, making Noah let out a sharp sound, commanding his daddy to come back and get him. I climb out of bed and pick him up. “Daddy’s going to go make his little man a bottle. You want to snuggle with Momma until he comes back?”
I take him with me back to our bed and lie him down then get in and snuggle with him. His dark hair needs a trim and a lock of it has fallen into his face. I brush it back and gaze at our little boy. He’s a perfect mixture of us. Our little creation.
Rockstar Untamed: A Single Dad Virgin Romance Page 128
