After a quick walk through a spectacular lobby and up via a gilded elevator, the two of us arrived in an apartment so grand that it made my penthouse bachelor pad look like a cramped shotgun.

The main room was a massive space with a vaulted ceiling and ornate, gold columns. Tasteful Renaissance-style art complete with marble sculptures comprised the décor, and there was, of course, a sweeping view of the city.

“Damn,” said Chelsea. “This place would make Jay Gatsby blush.”

“That’s old California money for you,” I said. “Not all that showy when out in public, but once you get to their homes you see where it all goes.”

There were only a few dozen guests in attendance, about evenly split between executives and other high-ups in the company and the various investors and their dates and friends. Damien Winter strode out from the middle of the crowd and made his way toward Chelsea and me, a big, congenial smile on his face.

“There’s the couple I’ve been waiting all night to see,” he said, clapping his hand on my shoulder and giving me a shake.

“Pleasure as always, Damien,” I said.

“And you’re looking the picture of beauty,” he said, turning his attention to Chelsea. “Still not sure how Bryce managed to so thoroughly luck out, but I won’t hold it against him for catching a break.”

He leaned in and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek before flashing me an avuncular smile.

“So good to see you, Damien,” she said.

Once we’d made our greetings, he clasped his hands together.

“Well! I’d like to get you both acquainted with the rest of the guests, if you both don’t mind.”

“I insist,” I said.

Damien took us through the room, introducing us to various men and women whose names I’d only thus far seen on investor sheets. And as we got about halfway through our little meet-and-greet, the doors to the apartment opened, revealing Hunter and Felicity.

The two of them began working the room right away, Felicity flashing that million-dollar smile as she turned on the charm, giving me a knowing look before she and Hunter began making their introductions.

And as the investors began to realize that one of the most famous women in the world was now in among them, their attention slowly melted away from Chelsea and me.

“I guess we can’t compete with that,” I said.

“Fine with me,” said Chelsea. “I was needing a break from all the cheek-kissing and handshakes. Not to mention it’s only a matter of time before Felicity sees me and does that scream thing.”

“Care to enjoy the peace while we have it?” I asked, gesturing to the balcony.

“Sounds good to me,” said Chelsea.

I fetched us a pair of fresh drinks from the bar before we stepped out onto the balcony. The city was just as majestic as ever, the silver curve of the moon hanging above it all.

“I know I’ve already said it, but you’re doing a hell of a job with all this,” I said, sweeping my hand toward the crowd inside the apartment.

“Thanks,” she said. “You know, it’s funny—if you would’ve told me when I started out in tech that I’d be rubbing elbows at a party like this, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. But now that I’m here, I don’t know. It feels like I was missing out on an important part of business by leaving all this sort of stuff up to other people.”

“Are you thinking about your contract gone awry?” I asked.

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking about. I was naïve enough to think I could leave all that to Walsh and Becca, and that I could hide out in my office and work on my software. But I guess I had to learn that lesson the hard way.”

“And now they’re back at it.”

“Right,” she said. “They think they can strong-arm me again. But I’ve learned from my mistakes. Still…”

“There’s the matter of what they might find out,” I said.

She shook her head, as if not even wanting to think about it.

“They won’t find out. How could they?” I asked. “It’s not like either of us have told anyone about this.”

A strange expression flashed on Chelsea’s face, one that I couldn’t quite interpret.

“Right,” she said. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Before either of us could say another word, the door to the balcony opened up. It was Damien.

“Apologies for interrupting,” he said, “but Bryce—could I see you for a moment?”

Chelsea nodded, planting a quick peck on my cheek.

“Go on,” she said. “I’ll be fine without you.”

“Be right back,” I said.

I stepped to Damien’s side as we headed back into the apartment.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“It’s Hunter,” he said. “He let it slip that you’re planning some kind of charity program?”

I scowled. Going behind my back and misrepresenting my social enterprise plans with the investors was pure Hunter, through and through.

“It’s not quite a charity,” I said as we made our way through the living room. “Not that at all, actually.”

“Well, you’re going to want to tell Martin and the rest of them that. Hunter is telling them that you’re getting ready to throw their—and my—money away on some bleeding-heart program.”

Martin Gold was the owner of the apartment, and he was just as wealthy as Damien.

I gritted my teeth, feeling at that moment like I wouldn’t mind socking Hunter right in the damn mouth. The two of us stopped in front of a large set of double doors, and Damien gave them a knock before opening.

The doors revealed a large, old-fashioned study. Inside were Hunter, Martin, and a few other investors from the party. All of them wore the same grave expression on their face.

“What’s this about a damn charity, Bryce?” asked Martin, a squat, heavyset man with a large nose and eyes that always seemed to be in a perpetual scowl.

I shot Hunter a brief glare. But Hunter’s expression was one of pure confidence, as if he couldn’t be touched and he knew it. I guessed that more than a few gin and tonics were behind this attitude.

“What did he tell you?” I asked, stepping into the middle of the room, commanding the attention of everyone there.

“I told them that you’re ready to spend their hard-earned money on free housing in the worst parts of town,” said Hunter. “In other words, the truth.”

“Wrong,” I said. “Wrong as hell. There’s nothing ‘free’ about it. It’s a social enterprise. We’re going to build low-income housing in tandem with local businesses that’ll revitalize neighborhoods—and turn a profit.”

That seemed to alleviate the tension somewhat. Throwing out the word “profit“” in a room full of investors was always good for that.

The eyes of the room were on me, and I didn’t waste the opportunity. I went into the same pitch I’d made at the meeting, giving the investors the bullet points on the housing plan.

“The next step for Carver Holdings, as you all know, is diversification. It’s the same as what I told you all before—I’m going to turn the company, with your help, from a simple investment firm into a true conglomerate. We’ll have a social enterprise branch, sure, but we’ll also have a robust tech department, IT services that are second-to-none, and, in time, our own manufacturing and shipping capabilities.”

Then I lowered my voice for the most important part.

“And all of you will be in on the ground floor. We’ll drop the ‘holdings’ and just be ‘Carver.’ And the name ‘Carver’ will be up there with Amazon or Tesla or Apple. One of the new great American companies.”

Hunter had screwed up. If he wanted to make me look bad, letting me get into CEO-mode wasn’t the way to do it.

“But this housing and commercial building idea,” said Martin. “They don’t seem to be high-return investments.”

“No,” I said. “It’s not quite a nonprofit, either. The housing will be affordable but not pure charity. With safe, clean, but not expensive housing on the top floors and shops and restaurants on the ground floor, they’ll turn profit, but more importantly, they’ll be our foothold into property development. It’ll show that I’m capable of setting off in a new direction and making it work, taking a chance on some hard-up places and turning them around for the better.”

I clasped my hands together.

“And we’ll be able to make a difference,” I said. “How many of you are simply interested in making money? Just amassing fortunes, piles and piles of cash simply for the sake of having more cash? What I’m offering you all with these developments is the chance to make a difference in the city—a true legacy of doing good.”

Then I went in for the kill.

“And, of course, every one of these new developments will bear the name of one of the investors who made it possible. Your names on display so that the city knows just who took a chance on meeting a need the rest of the city was content to ignore.”

That did it. One thing I’d learned long ago was that the fastest way to an investor’s heart was through his ego. And no one could turn down the allure of a building with his or her name on it.

The investors broke out into pleased murmurs among each other.

Hunter looked none too pleased.

“You all hear what he’s actually saying, right?” he asked. “He wants to spend your money on some tenements for the city’s poorest! Sure, you’ll have buildings with your names on them, but what about when they’re run-down crack dens in a few years?”

I didn’t let him go on.

“Hunter’s always been the cynical type,” I said. “He’s a great asset to the team, but his vision isn’t why I value him so much.”

A few chuckles sounded out at my very diplomatic dressing-down.

“Fine!” he said. “It’s your money.” With that, Hunter stormed out of the study.

“It sounds risky,” said Martin. “I’m not going to lie, kid.”

There were maybe five people in the world who I’d let call me “kid,” and three of them were in this room. I smirked.

“But you’ve already turned Carver Holdings into one of the top firms in the city,” he went on. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to what you’d be able to do with more resources at your disposal.”

Damien placed his hand on my shoulder.

“And let’s not forget that with his new wife at his side, Bryce will have all the support he needs for his newest ambitions.”

The words sent a tinge of guilt running through my body. Damien’s money was the key to all of this, and his lending it to me was based on a lie. I swallowed and kept on my brave face.

“She’s a lovely girl,” said Martin. “Honestly, knowing you’re putting all that playboy bullshit behind you was a major consideration in making my investment. Good to see you’re finally growing up.”

I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Feels good to have put it all behind me,” I said. “If I’d only known how good it feels to have the love of one good woman, I’d have done it all much sooner.”

Martin chortled.

“Don’t let blondie out there hear you say that,” he said. “That girl’s probably wondering why the hell you had her for two years and didn’t pull the trigger.”

“She seems to be doing fine,” I said. “She and Hunter are a good pair.”

“OK,” said Damien. “I think that’s enough business for one evening. Shall we?”

I agreed. Together, we all headed back to the party.