THE CEO

Five Years

Colin turns to me and takes my hand in his, "I don't want to hurt you with all of this. Are you sure you want to know?" I close my eyes and take a deep breath, "Tell me everything." Colin smiles sympathetically, "All right. If that's what you truly want." He turns back to his computer and hangs his head while he sighs, "Matt, or as his parents named him, Matthew Danhere is probably the lowest scum I think I've ever researched."

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, "As you already know, he took your last name when you married, but I don't think you know why. I found some old messages on his social media that he sent to his brother." I move closer to Colin, "You want me to read what it says?" I nod, "Okay," he looks at me and begins to read," I can't believe Rebecca fell for it; she honestly has no clue that I'm only interested in her money. She's making me sign some stupid prenup. Luckily it's only valid for five years, so after that, if I leave her, I'm entitled to half of her family fortune and half of everything she owns. I'm taking her last name. I will be a Vanguard, and in turn, I am entitled to half of that stupid company her family owns. Do you know the one where she works? Vanguard Industries. Oh, I cant wait for it to be mine."  

Colin turns to look at me. My eyes are welled up with tears. "Oh Rebecca," Colin leans over and wraps an arm around my shoulder, "I can't continue. We're a few seconds into this, and I can tell this is going to rip you apart." I lean my head on Colin's shoulder while a tear breaks free and rolls down my cheek, "No, please continue. I need to hear all of it." Reluctantly Colin continues, "About a year into your marriage, Matt started slowly moving money into a private account under the last name Danhere. At first, it was small amounts, but they grew larger and larger over the years. I'm assuming because you didn't notice, he became braver. He seems to use this money for special trips, hotel bookings, dinners, and expensive gifts. Just last week, he bought a costly tennis bracelet. Did you receive a gift from Matt?" My hands are trembling, and the tears are flowing freely, "No, Matt has never bought me anything like that. I think the last time he bought me anything was on our honeymoon." I stifle a sob, "He just used me to get to the company and the money?" Colin is quiet for a moment, "It would seem so." I lift my head off his shoulder and begin sobbing, covering my face with my hands. "I can't believe this. How could I have been so stupid?" My body shakes ruthlessly while I sob into my hands. Colin rests his hand on my back, slowly moving his thumb up and down. I know he's trying to comfort me, but he has no clue how to. 

After a while, I calm down, "I'm sorry, Colin, this must be very uncomfortable for you." He smiles slightly, "I don't enjoy doing this, but I feel that you have a right to know what this bastard is up to." I nod and tell him to continue, "I found Amelia." I immediately straighten up. I need to see this woman. Who is she? Colin clears his throat, "I was looking around his social media, his emails, and messages. I couldn't find anyone named Amelia. After some time searching, I finally found her. She uses a different name on her social media, assuming he hasn't saved her number under her real name. Her name is saved as The Boss on his phone." Colin rolls his eyes at the name, and that makes me giggle a little. "They have been exchanging nude images and explicit messages for almost two years. If I understand these correctly, he plans to marry her after he receives his half of the fortune when you get divorced. Wait, how long have you been married?" 

I feel the pit in my stomach grow, "Our fifth anniversary is next week." I look down at my trembling hands, trying to hold back the tears, "We are having a huge party for family and friends." I feel my lip start to tremble, "Oh, what am I going to do, Colin? I need to stop this before he gets exactly what he wants. I only work for Vanguard Industries because I love what I do. I honestly don't need the money, but I'm not giving anything to this worthless man!" I can feel the anger building up inside me, "We need a plan. I am about to ruin this man's entire life, and you are going to help me." A devious smile spreads over Colin's face, "Oh yes, Miss Vanguard. I love the way you think." 

I asked Colin to gather all the evidence I would need to give my lawyer while I packed my things to head home. He hands me an envelope, "Take care of this. We don't need him finding any of these documents." I nod, " I have a safe at my desk. I'll put them in there." I move closer to Colin, take his hand, and look up at him, "Thank you for this." I stand on my toes and kiss him gently on the cheek before I leave his office.

I told Marvin I was working late, so he wasn't picking me up this evening. I call a taxi to take me home. As we pull up to the house, I notice something strange. All the lights are on, and there are police officers outside. I pay the driver and run up the driveway to see what happened.