Chapter Seven
Chase
I paced back and forth in the kitchen, swirled the ice cubes around in the glass, and then took the last watered-down sip of bourbon. I had spent most of the morning wrapping up the final details of the acquisition plan of Derrick’s company, Dunamis.
It was perfect. He had seen just about everything and although I felt it was a done deal, Derrick evading my calls and emails was disconcerting. I had finally reached him on the third try today. Likely, my force and mildly intimidating message had had an effect.
“Derrick, I’m sure you’ve been busy, but you said you’d reach out to me on Friday. Listen, I don’t want to waste our time—yours or mine. I have another company, very similar to yours, that has been begging me to invest.”
“No, No. We have been busy. This is a big move for us. For the last three years we’ve been this small company, making a little money, having fun. This is going to be a complete change for these guys. I needed to make sure everyone was on board.”
“And?” I asked.
“They are…mostly.”
“It’s your company. While the plan is for me to come in and help take you to the next level, I need you to be able to step up and take this company by the balls and make it work. That means being a hard-ass if necessary.” I placed the glass to my lips, forgetting I had already drained the last little bit. “If you can’t do that, maybe we aren’t a good fit.”
“I know, Chase. I’m trying. We are. It’s just…” His voice trailed off with hesitation. “I’ve had a few calls and had met with people before you. They’re still coming back. I want to make the right decision.”
“You are,” I said sternly. “We need to have this wrapped up by tomorrow or I’m going to move on.”
“I understand,” he said.
I ended the call and walked over to the wet bar, refilling my glass and dropping a large cube of ice on top of the smaller cube.
It was a bluff. I wanted this company. A lot. And the thing was, I didn’t have any others of value lined up. While I was sure I could find them, it would require starting the entire process all over again.
I had already given Derrick a ton of great ideas and information. I had a level of comfort and trust with him, but I also knew that his best friend, Mark, was the hold-out. Mark had been the loudmouthed, opinionated kid in the meeting who definitely wasn’t a fan of my approach. I knew that the amount of money I was offering and the expertise couldn’t compare to anything else they had seen.
Derrick just needed to prove himself, and I knew putting pressure on him and the threat of losing the offer would likely be enough.
“Chase? Where are you?” Jake’s voice echoed throughout the house.
“Kitchen,” I hollered back.
Jake and I had a standing Monday afternoon meeting that we had started back in the early summer. It was our weekly planning meeting, but usually consisted of sitting on the back patio, drinking and reviewing the calendar for the week.
While he had started out as my assistant and right-hand man, his responsibilities had definitely changed once Summer had left and I had chosen to take on a single client versus dealing with many. I had groomed the interns and senior consultants well, and now many of them were working with their own book of clients and Jake was overseeing them.
Velocity Capital had always made a shit-ton of money, but it wasn’t until Jake came in, initially as an intern, and then as my assistant, that things began to function smoothly. I had always had a bit of ADHD, spreading myself over many clients and working multiple projects at a time.
I liked it that way. It kept me busy and somehow, more focused. As the clients demanded more, I delegated. Eventually, I began handing things over to Jake.
Jake walked in and set his satchel on the corner of the island as he stared at me. “You started already?”
“It’s been a hell of a week and weekend,” I said with a laugh.
“So…?” Jake stood there, not completing his thought and obviously expecting me to catch on to what he was asking.
I couldn’t guess his question. Everything over the last twenty-four hours had been a blur. Hurried. Frustrated. Tiring.
“Summer,” he said with an impatient noise. “Have you heard anything else other than what you had told me? Are you doing okay?”
He made his way to the bar and pour himself a glass of bourbon and then opened the small refrigerator underneath the counter grabbing the sour mix and adding a splash. He continued talking. “I mean, neither of us expected her to just show up.”
“No. I haven’t heard anything else, and I honestly don’t want to. Not right now. I think we left things on a good note.” I chuckled to myself. “Her timing was impeccable. I had just finished talking to Jamie and dealing with that.”
Jake stirred his drink with a confused look on his face. His brows furrowed. “Dealing with what?”
“Next time I decide to get involved with someone, don’t let me.” I walked past Jake and headed out toward the patio as Jake followed. “She was paid to meet me.”
“What the fuck?” Jake said immediately. “By who?”
“Don’t know. But it’s more than that. They set her up. They asked her to find out about Dunamis. They took pictures of us together and threatened to release them to the university…like that would actually matter.”
“So, they aren’t professional blackmailers,” Jake said with a laugh. “You sure can pick them.”
“They pick me. I just have a weakness for pretty girls who are smart.” I took a seat on the lounge at the edge of the patio. “Jamie came clean last night, but I already knew. I learned about it from her waitress friend at the Fox Hole. The friend filled me in and I had planned to confront Jamie. Before I could even get a word in, Jamie told me everything.”
Jake took a seat in the chair across from me and kicked his feet up on the ledge that lined the patio and looked out over the water. “What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I’ll find out who it is, eventually. Obviously, they don’t know anything or they wouldn’t have asked her to get info on me.” I took a deep breath as I thought about Summer returning. “She’s different.”
“Jamie?”
“Yes. She’s like Summer, but in a different way. Smart, gorgeous, ambitious, but not driven and cut-throat the way Summer was. I think that’s why I like her. I’ve realized that while I love women who are driven and ambitious, we need to have our own space.”
In that moment, I realized why it was I liked Jamie so much and why I’d been able to finally let go of Summer. It was also the reason I had been attracted to Hannah, the girl before Summer. She’d involved me a bad scenario, too. I wanted to help people. I wanted to help these woman, whether they really needed it or not. I felt I had something to offer, something other than sex, money, and a relationship. At the same time, it was the reason why those other two relationships had failed.
I had been able to teach them and guide them, and they didn’t need me or want me. They were young and ambitious and wanted to prove themselves, not only to themselves, but to me. They were seeking my approval but at the same time, dealing with their broken pasts. Weaker men that preyed on stronger women.
I was their protector and when they know longer needed me, they moved on. Being an alpha male was in my blood, but so was being something other than a player. My bad choices had caught up to me.
But this time, it was the last time.