Free Gloria's Revenge by Nelle L'Amour

head and bring me some clarity.
    Shrugging off the robe, I stepped into my large stall shower, pulled out the faucet knobs, and let the multiple jets of water bombard me. Wasted, I sagged down the travertine wall and buried my head between my bent knees, wishing the memories away. It was futile. My life was spinning out of control, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Slowly, I lifted my heavy head, my eyes passing over my shiny white scar. As if I didn’t have enough going on in my head, the memory of that fateful night flickered inside it. Regardless of how evil Boris Borofsky was, I had committed a crime. Robbed him blind. I was not a religious person, but I believed in karma. Clarity hit me like a thunderstorm’s first sting of rain. There was no doubt. All the terrible things that were happening to me were the result of my terrible secret. There was a power higher than Victor Holden, and He was bringing me down.
    I was already in comfy sweats when my cell phone rang. Revitalized a little from the shower, I sprinted downstairs to my purse to answer it. My heart skittered. I hoped it wasn’t Jaime. Or Victor. Reaching into my monstrous bag, I sighed with relief when I saw on the caller ID screen that it was Kevin. I pressed answer.
    “Glorious, I have to cancel the pity party. All hell is breaking loose. The Associated Press picked up on the Times story, and it’s going to be everywhere.”
    “Fuck.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
    “I’m going to be glued to my phone and computer all night dealing with this.”
    “Kev, did you know that Victor was the first to sell off a shitload of shares?”
    Kevin was as surprised as I was and was even more surprised that the press hadn’t jumped on it. He agreed with me that we should keep it our little secret until I knew more; right now, the less the press knew, the better.
    Kevin heaved a sigh. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got three calls coming in.”
    “I’m so sorry, Kev. No worries about tonight. And besides, I’m zonked and should go to sleep early. Tomorrow’s going to be a living nightmare.”
    “Do you want me to stay with you tonight? I can work from your place.”
    “No, I’ll be okay.” Oh, my Kev! Always there for me.
    “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
    A faint smile played on my face. “I’ll call you if I need you. Good luck with everything, and let me know of anything major.”
    After exchanging good-byes, I took my cell phone with me and wandered over to my kitchen. I yanked opened the refrigerator door. Having been away for over a week, it was almost bare. Tilda, my beloved housekeeper, had done a thorough sweep of all my leftover business meals and minimal groceries. There wasn’t even any milk for my morning coffee. All that remained was a half-drunk bottle of wine from my last pity party with Kevin and a small chunk of brie cheese. I bit into the cheese and washed it down with a gulp of wine, straight from the bottle. I polished off the rest of it and then headed back upstairs.
    I was wiped out. Usually, I had a nighttime beauty routine that consisted of washing my face and slathering my body with Gloria’s Secret moisturizer. Not tonight. Not even bothering to take off my sweats, I sunk into my delicious bed and snuggled under the thick duvet. I placed my cell phone, a quick arm’s reach away from me on the night table, and then turned off the light. The twinkling lights of the city flickered on the walls. I didn’t use blackout shades or blinds because I was afraid to sleep in total darkness by myself.
    But tonight, I was also afraid to go to sleep because I dreaded waking up in the morning. I was going to have to deal with all the negative press and the wondering looks of my beloved employees. And then there would be a bombardment of e-mails coming in from store managers and vendors from around the world, inquiring about the future of the company and my own.
    Sleep finally claimed me, but not for long. I