“I have to work. I need the money. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Call me if he calls you again or if he shows up. We’ll get an order of protection. In the meantime, I’m going to track him down and find out where’s he’s staying. He’s on parole. He can’t go far and has to report in to his parole officer. I’ll find out who that is and see if I can make him aware of the current situation. There’s not much more I can do unless he makes a move and commits a crime.”
“I appreciate anything you can do. Thank you, Detective Flynn.”
“You’re welcome. Now make sure the place is locked up. When you go out be sure to be aware of your surroundings and never go anywhere alone, especially at night, Millie. Got it?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
Millie hung up the phone and fell to the couch. She covered her eyes with her hands and immediately saw images of Frank. He wanted her. He was free and out there, ready to come after her. She swallowed hard then began to cry.
Her life couldn’t get any worse.
* * * *
Millie felt like shit when she woke up to the sound of her alarm clock going off. The weekend brought her little sleep and constant panic. There had been no sign of Frank and she had decided not to venture out of her apartment after all. Clare had called her to tell her that she had her award and would give it to her at work. As Millie got dressed, she wished she could call in sick and not have to leave her apartment. She was scared and she was completely alone. A few minutes before preparing to leave, her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw that it was her boss, Vincent Arthur.
“Hello?”
“Miss Donovan, it’s Vincent Arthur. Are you planning on coming into work today?” he asked, and she wondered why he would be calling to ask her this.
“Yes, sir, I’m on my way now.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to inform you, Millie, but as you know, the company is making cuts and unfortunately, the first place we need to look is the fundraising department. There are two of you doing the same job, and Layla has been with the company longer. I need to release you.”
“What? You can’t be serious? I just brought in millions of dollars for the operation. You were there Saturday night congratulating me on a job well done. We spoke about upcoming events and I’ve worked my rear off all these months. Layla didn’t accomplish this and she has only been working for the company two months longer than I have.” The tears stung her eyes. Instantly, she thought about Stewart. That lousy bastard. He did this. He was a golf buddy of Arthur’s.
“I’m sorry, Millie, but I have no choice in the matter. If it’s any consolation, you’ll be greatly missed and I’ll even provide severance pay so you can handle things for a while until you get another job. I wouldn’t have any problems with giving you a recommendation on another job elsewhere.”
Millie was shocked. “I’ll have to come in and gather my things from my desk.”
“Of course. Once again, I’m sorry.” He hung up and Millie growled as she stomped her feet and felt the anger nearly come to boiling point.
Stewart is a piece of shit!
Millie was very upset as she walked into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee. Now what? She was jobless, she had a psycho after her, and her ex-boyfriend just ruined her life.
She heard her phone ringing and picked it up off the counter without even looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?” she answered with attitude.
“Hello, Millie. How are you this morning?” Stewart asked, and Millie swallowed hard.
“How the hell do you think I’m doing, Stewart? I can’t believe that you would stoop so low and get me fired.”
“Fired? Oh, dear, you mean Vincent chose Layla over you? Well, she is a lot better looking and has a lot more class.”
Millie wanted to rip his head off. She was so damn angry. “You are such an asshole, Stewart. I can’t believe that you did this. All I ever did was care for you and be the perfect girlfriend for you to show off.”
“You bore me, Millie. You may have a great ass and big tits, but you’re timid and weak. I needed a real woman. You flaunting your body last night was disgraceful. Just remember to never fuck with me. Have a nice life.”
“Go to hell, Stewart. And by the way, you may have a lot of money and be on some power trip, but your dick will always be small!”
She hung up the phone and growled in anger.