When I incorporated Goldstone, I didn’t set things up the way a lot of corporations do. Quite frankly, the idea of an elected board with politics and horse trading being the primary reasons certain decisions are made disgusts me. It’s as much an issue of covering your ass as it is ‘good corporate governance’, so I avoided it.

Pretty easy when I’m the largest single shareholder.

But still, as an olive branch to my initial angel shareholders who gave me the boost I needed—including, regretfully, my father—I do have meetings with them, usually including my senior executive vice presidents on a semi-regular basis to give a recap on their respective areas. Mostly, they’re informal things that go according to plan. As long as my dad doesn’t make one of his rare appearances to decree Goldstone a failure and demand more profits.

But before projects like this, we have a more formal sit-down to address any concerns before proceeding.

I’ve given the basics of the project and the potential growth we could achieve if this investment plays out, and thankfully, everyone seems to be on board. “Okay, so we’ll be flying into Tokyo Narita, and from there we’ll—” I say, going over the travel plan as a bit of a wrap-up.

One of my executive VPs, Stanford Truscott, clears his throat. “Yes, Stan?”

“Thomas, I have no concerns about this project, but something connected to it,” he says, tapping the table in the way he does when he’s got something uncomfortable on his mind. He’s a great lawyer, head of my legal department, in fact . . . but the man’s got enough tells that I’m shocked he’s ever been able to win a court case. Maybe that’s why he does his hardest negotiations around a conference table instead of in a courtroom. “It’s about Mia Karakova.”

Her name on his lips freezes me and I narrow my eyes. “What about Mia Karakova? She did great work on the last project.”

Stan glances across the table at some of the other VPs, who give him a supportive nod. It seems I’ve walked into something of an ambush. But Stan’s the one who has apparently been elected to face the executioner. The fact that he agreed to challenge me almost makes me respect him a bit more and lessens my impression of the remaining men and women sitting around the table like lemmings.

“I don’t think anyone disagrees with that. And it’s not that we don’t want you to have a social life, but she works in the company.”

“Your point?”

Stop getting your dick sucked by your analysts?

Not that damn voice. I don’t need it here.

“By all reports, she’s a bit of an odd wunderkind with numbers. In a month, she’s gone from being given a chance with a team here in Roseboro to being seen with you at a major public event, and now you’ve given her a jump up the ladder to an off-site team. To say there are whispers of . . . influenced decision making is an understatement. And as your lawyer, it makes me concerned.”

I look around the room, noting the faces looking at me. There’s a lot of experience in here, ‘advisors’ and executive VPs who have been with Goldstone since the beginning. Still, I know their thinking, and I know their number-one concern is quarterly reports and stock prices. Not a one of them cares about me beyond what I can do to fatten their portfolios.

“I’m only going to address this subject once,” I reply, pushing back from the table and glaring at the entire assembled group. “My relationship with Mia Karakova has nothing to do with her being part of either research team. It has everything to do with the fact that her professional results speak for themselves. She was given a shot on the hospital team because of her work for Bill Radcliffe. And her analysis was spot on. In fact, you all voted for Goldstone to proceed with her recommended course of action, the one that forecasts record returns on your investments in less than two years’ time. She did that.”

I can see that some of them are nodding now, on my side, and the fact that they are so easily swayed by dollars and cents only proves my point that money is all they care about. They just wanted to hear me say it.

“Still, Thomas, I’ve reviewed Miss Karakova’s employment history,” Stan says, trying to stay on point. “There’s a rumor you tried to have her office moved up to your floor?”

“That’s not a rumor. That’s a fact.” I’ve had enough of this, and my patience is wearing thin. I lean forward, planting my palms on the conference table where I fucked Mia just weeks ago. Fuck, has it only been such a short time. It feels like I can’t remember a time before her, like I’ve blocked it out in favor of the happiness she brings me, even if only for a short time.

“Let me be transparent here. Mia Karakova is a factor in my life, and that’s not going to change. But she is not affecting my business decisions any more than I take her analysis into account the same way I do each of you. You have all made millions of dollars from trusting my decisions. This one should be no different. But at the end of the day, it’s my name on the building out there, and I’ll stand by my actions. If you can’t, feel free to let Stan know and we’ll begin dissolution paperwork of your relationship with Goldstone Inc. Any questions?”

I cross my arms, fixing every person in the room with a stare. No one says a word, most of them unable to meet my eyes. I know I have a reputation for putting people ‘on blast’, but I certainly hadn’t thought this was how today’s meeting was going to go.

With a sigh of disappointment, both in my board and in myself, I tell them, “Meeting adjourned.”

Everyone files out, leaving me to fume. Who are they to question me on bringing Mia into this project? If it weren’t for my decisions, we wouldn’t be a billion-dollar company right now in less than ten years.

It’s pure luck, no skill on your part, stupid boy.

It’s not her fault, but I’m brooding and I barely give Kerry a glance as I head into my office, closing the door behind me and sitting down. I close my eyes and will myself to relax. I’m not going to let them hold me back, and I’m not going to let them force me to doubt myself.

If I’m going to be worth anything, I have to be the best, and I can’t be that by being pissed off that someone questioned my decisions. I am better than this. I have to be.

You’ll never be worth anything anyway. No matter what you do.

There’s a quiet knock on my door, and I open my eyes, shutting the voice down with a growl. “Yes?”

Kerry opens the door, sticking just her head in. She probably saw my face, heard my tone, and wants to make sure I’m not about to rip heads from shoulders.

“Excuse me, sir. Mr. Truscott’s here. He was hoping to have a private word?”

I take a deep breath before nodding, sitting back as Stan comes in. Kerry asks if he’d like a coffee, hurrying off to get a cup for him while Stan sits down in my guest chair and stares me down.

I asked him to be my legal VP for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that he can deal with my fiery temper when it comes to work and isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions.

So I remind myself why he’s here in the first place. I hired him exactly for this.

“Something else, Stan?”

“Thomas, believe it or not, I came in here to see how you’re doing,” he replies, unbuttoning his jacket and getting comfortable. I raise a challenging brow, and he says, “And maybe to share a little advice. That is, if you’ll listen.”

“I have a few minutes,” I say, sitting back and refusing to give him a banal response of ‘fine’ about how I am because we both know that’s not true.

Stan didn’t need to come to Goldstone. He’d already made a good life and career for himself as a named partner in his own firm. He earned my respect before ever stepping foot in the building as an employee, and he has done even more to impress since coming onboard, even if I do think he’s too conservative on his business ideas most of the time.

“Did you know,” he says, pausing as Kerry comes back with his coffee and he thanks her with a polite nod, “before I agreed to join the company, I did my research on you?”

“I’d have expected nothing less. What did you find?”

“I found a man who’s smarter than the average bear, that’s for sure,” Stan replies, “but who’s no genius. Now don’t take that the wrong way, because there are too many geniuses in this world who are cashing welfare checks for me to draw any relationship between brains and success.”

“So, what’s brought me to the top in your estimation?” I ask, curious what he sees.

“You’re successful for the same reason Jerry Rice, Michael Jordan, and every other overachiever is, at least if you look at what people thought of them when they got started. You want to prove people wrong. You compete with yourself, with what others expect of you. That desire to be the best is second to none, and you’re willing to work hard to be number one. I also know what fuels it.”

His analysis is not incorrect, which makes me wonder what he thinks my driving force might be. “What’s that?”

Stan shakes his head, sipping his coffee. “You know, you could create the world’s largest company. You could become president. You could craft world peace . . . and it won’t matter. Not to him.”

The fact that he throws that out there so casually infuriates me, but I school my features into a poker face, refusing the tell that would give me away.

“Your father,” Stan says, acknowledging the elephant if I won’t. “My research and discretion are more thorough than most. That’s what you pay me for, after all. And after meeting Dennis at my first board meeting, I felt some inquiry was prudent. Not to be condescending, but you deserved a childhood far different from what you had. You may have had things when it came to money, but money isn’t everything, as you’re well aware. The way he treats you” —he leans forward, meeting my stare— “and treated you after your mother’s death, is criminal. And that’s coming from a lawyer.”

He’s pretty spot-on, but this is a little too deep for Stan and me, so I just want to move this along. “You said you had some advice for me?”

“Yes,” Stan says. “Mia Karakova is the first person I’ve seen in my five years here who seems more important to you than your drive to be the best.”

“It seems like that would be a good thing. A more well-balanced leadership?”

Stan smiles sadly. “You’d think that’d be the case, but you’re a jet engine on stage-five afterburners, just about two steps short of blowing up if you keep going the way you have been these past few years. And all it takes is for you to be put in just the right situation, the right circumstances, and those two steps will hit you like a ton of bricks. In a situation like that . . . you could hurt yourself, you could hurt her, and you could hurt the business. I’d prefer if you didn’t reach that point.”

“So, what are you recommending? That I stop seeing her?”

“No,” Stan says with a laugh. “I wouldn’t dream of asking that of you. What I recommend, what I advise, both professionally and personally, is caution and consciousness. Be aware and be wary, of her, of yourself. And even of others’ perceptions, not because they are true but because they can affect your placement as the best on whatever scoreboard you’re keeping. Dennis isn’t going away, but you can be happy. Not in spite of him, but simply because he no longer has any hold on you. That is what I would like for you.”

It’s probably the most caring, dare I say fatherly, speech anyone’s ever given me. That Stan sees beyond the face I present, whether because he’s looking for my tells from knowing my history or because he actually cares, is oddly reassuring. His willingness to broach this conversation, both in the meeting and again in private, speaks to his character, and I respect that, and therefore, his advice.

“I would like that as well,” I offer.

He stands, offering a handshake that I return. But before he goes, he says, “Investing in a woman isn’t like investing in a company. You can’t just cut your losses, follow the contract guidelines, and walk away when it’s all over.”

He’s right . . . and wrong.

I know what I’m doing. Mia isn’t just an ‘investment’. She’s someone special. And I have no intention of walking away from her.

And all the old bastards in the company can doubt me. They can doubt my decisions and my skills . . . but I won’t let them stop me.

Even Stan doubts that I can have the perfect ending, worries that I can’t have my company and Mia.

We’ll see.