Owned M Never Novels & Stories

I stood in the doorway, arms wrapped around myself, suddenly cold despite the apartment's perfect climate control. I watched him hunt. Browser history. Documents. Photos. Searching for evidence of sins I hadn't committed. "Who's Thomas Brennan?" he asked suddenly. My mind raced. Thomas Brennan. Thomas... "The gallery owner. Morrison Gallery. I'm on their mailing list." "This email says there's an opening reception next week." He turned the screen toward me, showing me the innocuous gallery newsletter I'd forgotten existed. "Were you planning to go?" "No. I just never unsubscribed—"

“Monochrome leases the operational space.” My hands pressed flat against the table. “I won’t own my headquarters.” “You’ll own your company’s operations,” he said. “We’ll own the structure.” “That’s not ownership.” “It’s standard in commercial development.” “Not for me.” I’d built Monochrome to be untouchable. No investors could force me out, no board could override my decisions. Everything was mine. And now he wanted me to lease my own headquarters. “Let me make sure I understand this correctly, Mr. Kane.”