Page 50 of Fake Marriage with the Billionaire

“Catch?”

“Well, there’s a catch, right? You can’t just quit. You’ve never just quit a thing in your entire life. Especially when it has to do with this company or with money. What’s really going on?”

Richard leaned against his desk. “Rebecca, I’m just done fighting, okay? You can have the company. You can have everything involving Dad’s estate. You can have it all. I’m not going to fight you about it anymore.”

She stood there with her eyes narrowing, shuffling her feet back and forth. “So, you’re just throwing in the towel?”

“I’m letting go,” he said. “Effective immediately. I’ll be packing up my office and out by the end of the day. I’ve got a flight to catch.”

She snapped her fingers. “That’s what it is,” she said. “You’ve stolen a bunch of money from the company and you’re leaving before anyone figures it out.”

Richard scowled at her, then shook his head and started laughing. “Rebecca, my dear stepmother, you are not worth the time I would have to serve for committing such a stupid crime.”

The smile disappeared and she looked the most serious than she’s ever looked at Richard his entire life. “You’re really giving all this up?”

“I am really giving all this up,” he responded. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some boxes.”

“No problem,” she said. “I should probably go ahead and plan a press conference.”

Richard just smiled at her. After she’d left, he felt a dim kind of sickness about making her so happy. But it was only a slight thing. He felt like this was the right decision. No matter how he turned it around in his head, this was the right choice for his life.

He was feeling optimistic for the first time in a long time. With the money in his savings, he had enough to live for a while and maybe he could start over at some point. After telling Stella how he really felt, he found that he felt lighter. That morning, he woke up and realized that the sky was the limit as far as where he could go or what he could do. He didn’t have to stay tethered to his father’s business if he didn’t want to.

Richard got a couple of boxes from the mailroom and returned them to his office and started packing. About an hour into the process, he turned on his television for some background noise. Immediately he saw Rebecca standing in front of a roomful of reporters, taking questions.

“Wow,” he said to himself, “that was fast.” He didn’t even know that Rebecca could get that many reporters to show up somewhere that quickly. It was almost impressive if he didn’t believe that she didn’t spend some money to get them all in one place at a specific time.

He heard a knock at his door and he turned to see Stoney standing there. “Hey,” he said as he walked in. “I stopped by your place to see how you were doing. They told me you were here.”

He looked over at the boxes, then the television with Rebecca talking in front of a microphone, the wordsInternet Guru, Richard Hollis III steps down as CEO…

“Wow,” he said. “You really did it.”

“Yeah.” Richard sighed and put the television on mute. “I guess it’s just time for me to move on.”

Stoney nodded. “So, what’s next?”

“Well,” said Richard, “I don’t know just yet. Maybe I’ll start my own company. Who knows?”

Stoney smiled. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He walked over to one of the boxes and took out one of the many pens that Richard had and turned it over in his hands. “You’re finding yourself. It’s about time.”

“Yeah, well. First things first. After this, I’m going to go home, pack my bags and take a trip for a few weeks.”

Stoney looked at him questioningly. “Take a trip? Where?”

“Somewhere tropical, I think,” he said. “I plan on picking a spot on a map and just going.”

Stoney nodded sagely. “Good for you, man. I was worried about you for a second.”

Richard smiled a little, then said, “You know, I went by your sister’s house yesterday after you left.” He paused and Stoney stopped flipping the pen around in his hands. “She, uh, she didn’t take me back, if you’re wondering.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Honestly, no,” said Richard. “Not at all. But after the way I treated her in the end, I don’t deserve anything more than her absence.”

Stoney frowned, then dropped the pen back in the box and sat on the edge of the desk. “Maybe if you gave her some time.”

Richard shrugged. “I can’t expect it, Stoney,” he said. “She has to live her life and I have to start living mine.”

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