Page 4 of Written with Regret (The Regret Duet 1)
In the wheelhouse of no good deed goes unpunished, that one image had changed the face of Kaleidoscope forever. By the end of the month, Ian and I had been called to testify in front of Congress, Zuckerberg-style. Thus beginning the greatest ethics and privacy debate our nation had ever seen.
News stations across the world were covering all things Kaleidoscope. People came out of the woodwork in support for the program, touting its successes in criminal investigations. Others wielded their pitchforks, holding protests and demanding that we be sentenced to prison time for creating such a powerful weapon. That was the week Caven Hunt and Ian Villa had become household names. That was also the week we’d decided we weren’t cut out for politics and had accepted Stan Gotham’s low-ball offer to buy the company.
I hated to sell. Kaleidoscope had once been our passion, but our hands were tied. With a Supreme Court legal battle that would more than likely shut our search engines down for good, rich and devastated seemed a lot more palatable than broke and devastated.
So there we were—celebrating the finalized sale and a nine-digit balance in our bank accounts. And I was finally free to lose myself in a beautiful woman.
I passed Veronica the champagne. “What exactly do you think I’m going to be worthless for tonight?”
“Don’t play coy with me.” Smiling around the mouth of the bottle, she tipped it up for a sip.
“Who’s playing?” I asked, absolutely being coy while sliding my hand down to her ass.
She cuddled in close. “What do you say we kick all of these people out and head back to my place?”
“Your place? That seems like a gross misuse of time what with my bed being fifteen steps down the hall.”
“Your place is a dump, Caven.”
I twisted my lips and glanced around my apartment. “Ahhh… Are we really calling this a dump nowadays?”
Her eyes twinkled as she peered up at me, her long—and more than likely fake—lashes fluttering innocently. “Yesterday? No. Now that you’re loaded? Absolutely.”
I’d been “loaded” by most people’s standards since Kaleidoscope had first taken off, but I didn’t spend enough time at home to justify forking over massive amounts of cash on an apartment that would serve as nothing more than a glorified hotel room. And I guessed when your boss was the third-richest person in America, my one-bedroom apartment, no matter how clean and spacious, probably did look like a dump.
“I’ll start apartment hunting tomorrow.”
She grinned, all pearly white and saccharin sweet. “Smart man.”
Shaking my head, I tore my blue stare away from her to find Ian making his way toward us. His tall, lean body weaved through the chattering guests, but his stoic, brown eyes were locked on mine, disapproval carved into his features.
While I’d always been the consummate bachelor, Ian was slightly…well, boring. I loved the guy, truly. But while my weekends were spent mingling with socialites, his were spent at his house in the burbs, a book in one hand and, if his lack of female companionship over the last few years was any indication, his dick in his other.
Stopping in front of us, he shoved a hand into the pocket of his navy slacks and pointedly flicked his gaze to where Veronica’s red fingernails were toying with a button on my shirt. “You two didn’t waste any time.”
“It’s been hours since the funds hit the bank and we’re both still dressed.” I shot Veronica a wink and shifted her deeper into my side. “I’d say that’s an unprecedented display of self-restraint.”
Ian rolled his eyes.
Veronica giggled.
And I breathed, free and easy, as if it were the first day of my entire life.
Taking the champagne from my hand, Ian inspected the label. “Christ, are you chugging vintage Dom? This bottle could have paid our rent in college.”
“Didn’t you hear?” I leaned in close and whispered, “We’re loaded now.”
He kept his eye on the bottle, an unmistakable grin pulling at the corners of his lips. Yeah. He was proud of us too.
He lifted his gaze to mine, that subtle grin stretching into a full-blown smile. “Ah, fuck it.” He threw the bottle up for a long draw.
I roared with laughter and my head filled with a high that had nothing to do with the alcohol.
Things were just…good.
Life had never been easy for me. Chaos had been following me like a dark cloud, looming and hovering, casting its shadow far and wide despite how bright the path in front of me should have appeared. After growing up the way I had, where happiness had been more of a privilege than a choice, I knew better than to believe that that moment would be anything other than fleeting.
And one second later, the universe proved me right.
My attention was drawn from Ian when the doorbell rang. People had been coming and going all night, not bothering with courtesies like knocking. I’d greased the palms of the couple who lived downstairs not to call the cops if things got rowdy. But it was only nine. Things were far from rowdy. Especially considering that Veronica was still wearing clothes.
