Fascination: (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #9): A Friends to Lovers Romance

by Ainsley St Claire

  “I know it was hard to walk away from all that work, but in the end, it’ll be worth it.” She pats my hand. “I have some disappointing news. I’ve learned that of your four contracts for Fashion Week, three are backing away. If we can salvage this, we might be able to get them back, but I’m not optimistic. I’ve explained to all of them that it’s a smear campaign, and they understand, but they’re worried that this is just the first. I still have Gap holding steady right now, though.”

  “Art’s an old friend, but if this doesn’t land well this week, we’ll lose them, too.”

  I fight back the tears. This is so upsetting, but in the end, we’ll rise above this and survive. I will personally float the company if that’s what I need to do. I made that decision on the plane. I don’t know who’s gunning for me, but I won’t be a victim. I’m ready to fight.

  Chapter nine

  Mason

  Leaving CeCe this morning was really hard. I know she could really use some support right now. She plays like she’s strong and doesn’t want to show me any of her weaknesses, but I see how she can be vulnerable, too. As soon as she does the morning shows, she’s going to have the tabloid press all over her. What a nightmare.

  I wish she’d asked me to go with her to New York. I wanted to insist, but she was firm about my getting back to work.

  I’ve been back for a few weeks, each day working a bit longer, and I believe I can finally make it a full day. It’s a nice feeling.

  I’m usually the first to arrive, but when I walk in the door, I see that’s not the case today. The office is buzzing, and everyone is quick to greet me. I know I’m not supposed to really have any caffeine for a while, but I’m not sure I can make it without coffee. CeCe was amazing last night, and I didn’t get a full night of sleep—not that I regret a minute of it.

  I stop in the kitchen and see the breakfast buffet of french toast, various breakfast meats, and fruit. I pick up a banana and pour some coffee, then doctor it with cream and sugar. I hate anything artificial; I’d rather spend more time in the pool swimming laps than drink light cream or artificial sweetener.

  I’m only going to have one cup. This throb has started at the base of my skull and works its way up to my temples and behind my eyes. I’m hoping the caffeine will help it go away.

  There is a partners meeting this morning organized by the team. Normally we’d have them after dinner at Charles’s home on Sundays, but since they’re touring the world on the Queen Mary 2, we’ve taken a break from meeting as a group on Sunday evenings.

  Joining the group in the conference room, I’m too busy thinking about who could be after CeCe to immediately notice there are balloons, a cake, and champagne. “Whose birthday?” I don’t even realize a group of employees followed me into the room until they laugh.

  Quinn giggles. “No one’s, silly. We’re just celebrating your official return to work today.”

  “Actually, we just wanted cake for breakfast,” Sara jokes.

  I look at the cake, which says “Welcome Back!”

  “You guys are too much.”

  They erupt in applause. Quinn and members of her team pass around orange juice and the bottles of champagne to the standing-room-only crowd. I see Emerson standing there with baby Liam, and I know she was behind this. She winks at me, and I smile. What a moment. I’m overtaken by the thoughtfulness of this grand gesture.

  “Mason, we are so glad you’re back. While you were out the last four months, it showed us how much work you do for the company and each of us personally. You are the engine that keeps this jalopy of a company going. Welcome back,” Quinn announces.

  “Here, here!” everyone exclaims.

  “Wow. I don’t know what to say.” I look around at the team, and all I see are smiles looking back at me. I know that sometimes being the managing partner is a thankless job, but I have to admit, this has me speechless.

  “This is a first,” William shares, and the team laughs.

  I know I must turn a giant shade of crimson. “When Dillon, Cameron, and I started SHN, we had no idea that it would build into something like this. Everyone here is an integral part of our success, and if I don’t say it often enough, we appreciate everything each of you does.” I feel like I might tear up, so I raise my glass before my voice breaks. “To SHN and its continued success.”

  “Well, are you going to cut that thing, or are we just going to admire it?” Cameron eyes the cake.

  It’s placed in front of me, and I cut it into pieces for the partners to hand out to everyone.

  Emerson gives me a big hug. “CeCe said she had to run to New York, so let’s have dinner together tonight. You can come over, and we’ll relax on the deck.”

  “I’d love that.”

  Once we settle down, and the last of the employees are back at their desk, I look around the table at the eager faces staring back at me. “Thank you for this warm welcome back. I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I realize my absence wasn’t easy, and I appreciate all you did to keep us going.”

  “Next time, can you plan to be poisoned and out of the office rather than just surprise us?” Cynthia says snarkily, but the giant grin crossing her face tells me she’s joking.

  “I’ll do you one better,” I reply. “How about I don’t get poisoned again?”

  “I like that much better,” Sara retorts.

  We walk through our agenda, and everyone gets caught up. As we’re leaving, I hear Cameron ask Sara, “I sure do miss our Sunday night dinners with your in-laws. When are they due back?”

  “Next week. I like those Sunday night meetings at their house. Not only is it the best and most nutritious meal I eat all week, but it really helps to set up my week,” Sara shares.

  “Me, too,” Christopher chimes in.

  “We can meet at my place this Sunday,” I offer. “It wouldn’t be as nice a meal, but it would be our typical Sunday night dinner.”

  “I can make that work,” Dillon says. “Does anyone mind if Liam comes along? We don’t have the nanny thing completely lined up.”

  “I think Bella would boycott if you didn’t bring him,” William says.

  “Absolutely! It’d be great to have almost everyone together,” Greer agrees.

  “Sounds like it’s settled. Sunday evening, my place, at six o’clock with your significant other.”

  Dillon hangs back once everyone goes their separate ways, and I can tell he wants to talk to me. “What’s up?”

  “Are you okay about being in your place again? We can certainly host at our place.”

  “I’ll be fine. I feel silly that I’m at CeCe’s and she isn’t there.”

  “What’s going on?”

  I walk him through all that’s been happening.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me,” he says when I finish. “Does Emerson know about the trolls?”

  “I would think so, but I can’t be sure. Right now she’s hoping that the companies she’s working with during Fashion Week don’t pull out.”

  “Man, that really sucks. Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Cameron and I were thinking we’d take you to lunch today,” Dillon offers.

  “I think that should work. How about we get a reservation at one somewhere?”

  “I’ll get that taken care of.”

  Walking back to my office, I hear a lot of greetings: “Welcome back to work full-time.” “Great to see you.” “So glad you’re back. We missed you.” It really makes my ego soar.

  There’s a line out my door with people waiting to see me. I talk with each of them and answer all of their questions. I have just enough time to get through a few emails before Cameron is standing at my door. “Ready for lunch?”

  My head is pounding from a hunger headache. “Let’s do it.”

  A rideshare is outside the building waiting for us. “We were going to get sushi; does that work for you?” Cameron asks.

  “
Absolutely.”

  In the car, the guys are talking baseball, and I keep thinking about CeCe. She should be close to landing in New York. I send her a text. Thinking of you. Enjoy your dinner and call me later.

  We sit and order way more food than we can ever possibly eat. Our waitress asks, “You have other people coming?”

  “No, we’re just hungry,” Cameron informs her.

  As we wait for our lunch, we talk about things going on around the office. My phone pings with a text, and I’m guessing it’s CeCe. My stomach tightens and my pulse races as I get excited about her response, regardless of how mundane it is. She’s the woman I’ve loved for years, but I never thought she felt the same way.

  “You’re smiling. You don’t usually smile. You’re always so serious. What’s going on with you and CeCe?” Dillon pries.

  We haven’t defined our relationship, so I don’t want to say something until we do. “We’re taking it slow.”

  Cameron asks, “You’ve been taking it slow for about five years now. At what point do you think you’ll be speeding up a little bit?”

  Dillon snorts.

  I glance at my phone. The text is from her. We’ve just landed. I’m a stress-mess. Cross your fingers for me.

  Me: Miss you already. Call me after dinner and let me know how it goes.

  “CeCe has a mess going on right now at Metro. She’s flown to New York last minute, and she’ll be on all the morning shows tomorrow. I don’t think I’m telling you any company secrets, but someone is going after Metro really hard right now, and it makes me nervous,” I explain.

  Both the guys sit up straight. When Emerson joined our company, with her came her three best friends—Hadlee, who is now married to Cameron; Greer, who currently does our public relations; and CeCe, plus CeCe’s brother, Trey, who married Sara, our company attorney.

  “What do you mean?” Cameron asks, looking like he’s ready to defend a woman who is incredibly kind to all of us.

  “I worry this is somehow related to our crap. Someone has posted false photographs and is spreading fake rumors about animal testing at Metro.”

  “Do they test on animals?” Cameron asks.

  “No, they don’t. I guess they’ve made a conscious decision that China is the only country that requires it if they are going to sell to any citizens there, so they won’t sell to them.” My cell phone pings again, and I look at it. I’m both shocked and surprised. It’s from Annabelle. My heart stops, and I look down to read her message, then reply.

  Our food arrives and the guys begin to dig in, but I can’t help but be mesmerized by the car accident I’m witnessing in this text message exchange.

  Annabelle: I understand you’re out of the hospital. That’s great news.

  Me: Where are you?

  Annabelle: I’m at my sister's. I’m really disappointed that you’ve chosen to move in with CeCe.

  How does she know I moved in with CeCe? She’s at her sister's? I need to let Jim know so he can locate her and she can be pulled in by the police for questioning, not only about the poisoning but also to determine if she’s the mole and hacker. If she’s the one who went after CeCe, I’m going to kill her myself.

  Me: What happened to you?

  Annabelle: Everyone was right.

  Me: What were they right about?

  Annabelle: That I was just a placeholder.

  Me: Placeholder?

  Annabelle: You never loved me.

  This is the same fight we’ve had over and over, but for her to call herself a placeholder is new. I may not love her, but I do care deeply for her.

  Me: Annabelle, are you okay?

  Annabelle: I’m fine, but I can’t say the same for CeCe.

  Whoa! Did she just threaten CeCe? The hair on my arms stands at attention.

  Me: What are you talking about?

  Annabelle: She’s trying to take what’s mine. She’d better watch herself.

  Me: Are you threatening CeCe?

  Annabelle: ;)

  I look up at the guys and they stop eating. I show them the messages, and Dillon reads the exchange out loud for Cameron. We all sit there dumbfounded.

  “Holy shit! You need to show that to the FBI. Both the White-Collar Crime and Cybercrimes divisions need to see that. Particularly since they think she could be the mole and that she poisoned you,” Cameron exclaims.

  “I’m not sure she actually poisoned me.”

  “Come on. She’s the only person who had access, and she just threatened the woman you’re currently living with.”

  “Annabelle didn’t have access. She left me about a month before I was poisoned. And CeCe and I aren’t living together, I’m just staying at her house.”

  “That’s only semantics. Where does her sister live?” Dillon asks.

  “Southern California. She’s threatened CeCe. We need to report this and put someone from Jim’s team on her around the clock.”

  Cameron nods. “ I agree. This isn’t going to be good.”

  I look down at my half-eaten plate of sushi. “I’ll reach out to Marci Peterson, our outside lawyer for these kinds of issues, and see if I can’t see her before I walk over to see Cora and her team. If nothing else, we have an idea of where Annabelle is.”

  “Whatever you need to do. Let us know if we need to enlist the girls to rally around CeCe for protection.”

  I step away from the table and reach out to Marci, but she’s in court until two. Her assistant says she’ll call me back this afternoon. When I hang up, I text Jim.

  Me: CeCe’s on her way to New York, and Annabelle has resurfaced.

  Jim: I’ve got two guys I can call that can cover Caroline.

  Me: That’s what I’m looking for. Annabelle threatened her. CeCe’s had some issues since we talked—pictures on the internet with animal cruelty.

  Jim: If Caroline pushes back, I’ll let you know. I’ll also beef up your team if Annabelle’s making threats.

  Me: I don’t want to scare her off. I want her close enough that we can have the police capture her. She indicated she’s at her sister's.

  Jim: We’ve been watching her sister’s home down in Orange County. No sign of her.

  Me: Let me know if CeCe rebuffs your team in any way. I think between animal rights activists and the threats from Annabelle, she needs a team.

  Jim: Agreed. I’m on it. And I’ll also start my team looking into her animal cruelty issue.

  I return to the table, though I’m not listening to the conversation as they talk about the Giants and the Twins before moving on to the Vikings and the 49ers. It’s all a blur, and I’m not quite present at the moment. My headache that I thought was hunger is not going away. I haven’t had a lot of coffee, so I know it’s not a caffeine headache, but it’s pounding, and I’m not feeling well.

  Sara and I have a meeting right after lunch so I hustle back to meet with her. As our company attorney, she carried a big workload while I was out. When she steps into my office, she looks me over carefully. “You don’t look like you’re feeling very well. Are you sure you’re not pushing too hard?”

  “No, I’m fine.” I show her the text messages from Annabelle. “I’m worried about CeCe and the mess she’s dealing with, and now this only makes it worse.”

  “When is Marci out of court?”

  “Any time now.”

  She nods. “If we need to go over this later, just let me know.”

  “No, it’s fine. Let’s get started.”

  Sara and I go through the issues four companies are facing with going public.

  “DreamWeaver’s financials are not in line with projections,” she shares.

  “Their competitor didn’t do well when they went public a few months ago, so that’s expected.”

  “I’ve heard they’re ordering champagne by the case and sending it to all their offices.”

  “Let’s see if Emerson or Quinn can’t talk them out of that. Have Dillon do a current valuation, and if it’s expected to be low,
let’s not be celebrating that we’re worth less than we thought.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” She looks at her list of companies. “Time Traveler’s founders are arguing in the news.”

  I roll my eyes. Sometimes these owners are like small children. “I’ll call and get them talking to one another.”

  “Better you than me. I just want to take my shoe off and knock them over the head with it to bang some sense into them.”

  “That might be fun to watch, but it probably wouldn’t help.”

  “I know. That’s why you get to work with them.”

  We go through two more companies with similar issues. Just as we’re wrapping up, my cell phone rings. “It’s Marci,” I tell Sara.

  “We’re done anyway. Good luck. Let me know if I can help.” Sara quietly walks out, leaving me to my phone call.

  “Hey, Marci, how are you?” I greet.

  “Are you back to work full time?”

  “Today’s the first official day.”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’ve been going part-time for a while, working my way up to a full day. I won’t be burning the midnight oil, though.”

  “Good for you! Any news on your ex?”

  “Well, that’s why I’m calling. She sent me a text today, and I have some concerns.” I walk her through what’s going on with CeCe and the need to go to the FBI.

  “Let me make a few calls, and I’ll see if we can’t also involve the US attorney.”

  “You just want to invite all the cool kids.”

  She chuckles. “You know me so well. So, what time can you be here? I want to talk before we head over, and we have a little bit more privacy in my conference room. We still don’t know what’s going on at SHN, and it makes me nervous that now your advisor’s company is having issues.”

  “I can leave now. My big afternoon meeting just ended, so your timing was spot-on.”

  “Well, that’s a first.”