Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 61

I'd been waiting in my cell for hours and Thelma and Louise were still talking. They seemed completely comfortable with one another, like they were best friends on vacation at a Sandals beach resort. They were ignoring me, which I didn't mind at all. It gave me time to think.

"Oh, honey, please. There's no way the Hilton beats the Four Seasons."

"I just don't like how they look at me at the Four Seasons. I mean, really. We all have a job to do. We're all working. Can't there be a little professional courtesy?"

I looked down at my nails. They'd grown long in the last week. I'd barely had a chance to breathe. To do the basics like shower and cut my nails. I looked like a hot mess. I wondered when Heath would be back. Maybe he could pull some strings and get me a shower. Though the thought that I'd be showering in prison one day soon made me sick to my stomach.

"Fuck those douchebags. You won't survive long if you keep worrying about what other people think of you. You've got to look out for number one and fuck everyone else."

"Figuratively or literally?"

They giggled like schoolgirls. I'd expected to be out by now. It felt strange being in jail again. Twice in one week. Like Heath said, this wasn't looking good. But on the other hand, fuck Heath. Fuck anyone who thought it didn't look good. I wasn't there because I did anything wrong. I was trying to help. Poor Taye. His brilliant young mind. The things he could have done. The things we could have done together.

"I admire you for not caring. I don't know how you do that. I try to tell myself that it doesn't matter. I try to write it off, but I just can't."

"Don't worry. You'll learn. You get numb to it after a while."

I admired these two women. They had people they could count on. They had each other. I used to have friends. I used to have people I could count on. In college, I'd tried so hard to make everyone happy. It was exhausting. Then, after I started Ancien, I guess I threw the baby out with the bathwater. Running a startup, volunteering with charities, and being social was too much. At least it was too much for me.

In Alex, I'd found someone I could connect with. He seemed to be like me: a lone wolf. But he handled it so much better than I did. He didn't seem to mind the solitude. That would be ideal, wouldn't it? Living without friends wouldn't be so much of a problem if I didn't get so damned lonely all the time.

"Luna, your lawyer's here," a cop said again.

Finally. It had taken him long enough. My heart skipped a beat, and not just because I was hoping Heath would finally get me out of here. Heath may have been arrogant and self-centered, but he wore his arrogance well, and underneath he had a big heart. I could see that in the way he was helping me.

The cop led me down the hallway, but this time, I was excited. Maybe Heath had found a loophole. Or bribed a judge. We arrived at the same door he had taken me to last time.

"Usually, I make it a point not to ask questions," said the cop. "But your last lawyer seemed perfectly fine to me. Why did you switch?"

I didn't understand his question. I just stared blankly back at him.

"Fine, don't tell me."

He pushed the door open, shoved me in, and slammed it shut behind me. The man was wearing a dark suit. It definitely wasn't Heath.

"Do you work with Heath Lemming? Where is he?"

The man didn't look like a lawyer to me. His shoulders were broad like a quarterback's. He stood up.

"Please, have a seat."

"What's going on? Where's Heath? Is he okay?"

My heart was racing a thousand miles an hour. I sat down. The man walked behind me. I wanted to scream. I looked around the room-there was a mirror on one wall. Maybe the cops were watching. Maybe they were behind the mirror. He couldn't hurt me if they were watching us. I tried to think of the Law & Order episodes I'd seen. The cops weren't allowed to listen in on lawyers talking with their clients. But they could watch, right?

"Luna, everything's all right. I work at the same law firm as Heath. He sent me. He told me everything. I'm here to help."

I relaxed my shoulders and let out a sigh of relief.

"Just relax. I'll be getting you out of here in no time."

"Where's Heath? Why didn't he come himself?"

"He was just pulled into another case. He asked me to take over."

The burly man was now standing directly behind me. Heath had told me he wasn't working any other cases. And besides, he wouldn't just give up on me like that. Something was wrong. This man wasn't right. I needed to get out. I opened my mouth to scream. The cops would hear me. But before I could draw breath, something pressed against my mouth. Instinctively, I breathed in, and acrid fumes filled my lungs. This time, it didn't smell at all like cleaning solution. I tried waving my arms, but I couldn't reach the man. My breathing became short and shallow. But I didn't feel like I was going to pass out-exactly the opposite. Like a volcano was erupting inside of me, like the pressure was building. But, then, it wasn't a volcano anymore. It was an earthquake. My body began shaking out of control. I couldn't see anymore. I couldn't control my body. I couldn't-