“Your problem is not my problem. I really don’t know how to make it any clearer. I left that business.” I told him as I hung up the phone before he could ask me again or better yet attempt to blackmail me. He really has some nerve. I explicitly told him when I took this promotion, I was done. No more late night calls or texts insisting I help him. Even though when I saw his name flash on my phone every cell in my body wanted to say yes. But I knew saying yes to him would ruin everything. I would be fired and what would I have left? A life of secrets and running. No, I’m a different person now. I already have too much on my conscience. I can’t take anymore.

My feet led the way through the glass revolving door as my mind was focusing on trying to forget this phone call. After exiting the elevator and heading into my office, I couldn’t shake it. My mind needed a distraction. I looked out of the floor to ceiling glass window with the hopes I could find something different to concentrate on. Apparently, this was more difficult than it seemed. I took my phone out and brought up his contact. Before I could hit the call button, my sliver of self control emerged and blocked the number. Relief flooded through me, and I quickly got to work distracting myself with everything that needed to be done.

Suddenly, my assistant was coming into my office to say farewell as she took off for the night. I normally would leave before her and was startled when I looked at the clock indicating it was fifteen past midnight! Somehow I had managed to work the whole day and apparently a little into the next. I made a note to ask my assistant to leave earlier and started to collect my things. The once packed parking lot had been reduced to just two cars. One of the cars belonged to me and the other was a dark blue car parked beside it. I thought I recognized it, but as I approached closer I saw no one inside it. I blamed it on the day I had before I opened the back side door to put my briefcase in. As I went to shut the door I felt cold metal against my throat. My hand instinctively went to my own knife in my pocket. Before I pulled it out I looked down towards the hand holding the knife and recognized the tattoo. This man just will not take no for an answer. I should have known he wouldn’t like being blocked. He led me to the back of the blue car and opened the trunk. “Well, are you gonna help me now?” he asked as I looked down at the dead body. So much for getting out of the business.