Big Data: A Startup Thriller Novel

Chapter 46

"A Heath Lemming is here for you, sir. Says he has an appointment, but I don't have anything in the books."

The message came from the intercom. Thor pressed the button and replied, "Yes, tell him to wait."

"I thought you had this under control," said Doug. "Now you're saying Luna's disappeared?"

"Yes, when my team got to Luna's house, nobody was there. They looked for clues to where she might have gone. We listened to the recordings in the house. It sounds like they figured out we were listening."

"You're going to have to find her. Do you understand? This needs all of your resources. This could ruin everything. She knows far too much now."

"Of course, Doug. You keep assuming I'm a fucking retard. Stop treating me like a child. I've done everything I promised I would when we started. Every time there's been a problem, who fixes it? Me. So back off. I've got this under control. We will find her and we will take care of her. Please leave so I can run this business."

Doug was boiling with anger. He did not appreciate being spoken to like this. But Thor had a point. He had been getting results. The problem was, Doug had learned before that past performance was not always a good indicator of future performance. He wanted to trust Thor, but he couldn't let himself. However, he was out of energy. He decided to let Thor win this battle, and he left the room. Heath entered.

"I'm here," said Heath.

"Good, I'm glad. You're just in time. There's a project I'm going to need your help with. But before we move forward, I need to know something."

Heath sat down in front of Thor's desk. The man was imposing, but he looked more frazzled than the other times Heath had seen him. Like he hadn't slept in days.

"Sure, of course. You can ask me anything."

"I need to know that you have no attachments to Luna Valencia. You were her lawyer, after all. She's young. Beautiful. I wouldn't blame you if you had feelings for her. But if you do, you need to tell me so right now. Before we move forward."

Heath laughed.

"Sir, Luna is absolutely not my type. I mean, look at me. Do I look like the kind of guy who has a problem getting women? I'm a heartbreaker, not a guy who falls for every girl I run into."

"So you have absolutely no attachments to Luna Valencia?"

"No."

"Good. Then your first job is to find Luna and bring her back to me."

"No problem, sir."