Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate (Adelaide) novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Adelaide

I woke to blinding sunlight from the open curtains of my room, each aching pain in my body a reminder, a memory I forcibly pushed aside. I opened my personal laptop and checked the date; two weeks had gone by since that day at the office. My fingers drummed on the table. Where do I go from here? I couldn’t report him. He had my keys, except for the spare I kept in the gnome next to my front door. He wasn’t one of those cute gnomes, but rather, something Mama always insisted on keeping. A guardian, per se, to keep the riff-raff from feeling too comfortable crossing the threshold of your home. She was superstitious as all heck. She’d buy a pack of gum just so her total wasn’t $6.66, even when she was pinching pennies. My gnome was more like a gargoyle, with fangs and sharp claws. His eyes were carved to look like some little beast.

Back to the subject at hand, I now had no job, and I couldn’t count on my next paycheck making it into my account. It was probably going to be monitored. I knew how the Creedon worked; he had tabs on all his supporters’ and his competitions’ accounts. This way, he could ensure they weren’t dealing behind his back. Completely illegal, yes, but when you padded the Feds and politicians’ pockets with money, you could get away with almost anything. I’d start by closing accounts, then I would download the company files and ditch the laptop. Something told me to keep copies of everything Creedon did.

I couldn’t go to an ATM, there would be video evidence. Same with going into a convenience store. My fingers drummed again. Bingo, I needed to find someone who looked nothing like me to pull the money out for me. But who? He had my phone, which had my contacts in it. I couldn’t involve Misty. I did, however, have to contact her soon. I’d walk into the busy part of town and see if I could find someone who didn’t appear like they would weasel me out of my hard-earned money. The bonus I would have earned for the deal I solidified was trash at this point. I had been so stupid falling for that man’s charms; he was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, seeking a naive lamb. I wouldn’t be that lamb any longer, or ever again, I vowed to myself.

I pushed up from the chair, using the table as support. Every muscle in my body ached, I had to move, pack up whatever I could carry, and be ready to run at a moment’s notice. Uncle Jake, God rest his soul, had taught me a few things about survival. I’d become soft these last several months, reaping the benefits of a cushy corporate life; a steady paycheck from the promotion to assistant. I had wanted to rise to make a difference. How had I lost my way…Creedon…that’s how. I let myself believe the fairy tale. The poor girl and the “GOAT” of a tech company enterprise. I wanted to get technology in front of underprivileged kids. I even had a financial plan that detailed how to work with the donations, how that could be written off on the company’s taxes, and the analytics for how the press had the potential to affect the company positively. All that work was now flushed down the shitter, and now, all I had was my used and broken body as a reminder that dreams didn’t come true.

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