Longing (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #7): A Billionaire Romance

by Ainsley St Claire

  Lying in bed, I think about Bella. I wonder how I can find her again. I’ve heard stories of people placing personal ads, but that seems a bit sleazy. I’ve searched for her PeopleMover page, but couldn’t find her.

  Why didn’t you get her contact information?

  I thought I’d have all the time in the world to ask her questions about where she worked and her family. I’m going to go back to The Church on Saturday night and hope to see her.

  Please let her be there.

  Chapter seven

  Christopher

  It’s Wednesday morning, and I have an appointment with one of my more interesting prospects. Rather than worry about parking, I take a rideshare into the SOMA neighborhood. The company is located on a street lined with multiple warehouses, where one white building seems to blend with the next. The GPS tells the driver we’ve arrived, and I get out, hoping the door in front of me is the right place. The nondescript building doesn’t look like much, but once inside, I find a decked-out lab.

  I walk up to the receptionist and introduce myself. “Hi. I’m Christopher Reinhardt from SHN, and I’m here to meet with Dr. Vance Johnson.”

  She grins widely as she stands and extends her hand. “Welcome to Black Rock Therapeutics. My name is Mindy. Dr. Johnson’s expecting you, and I’ll let him know you’ve arrived.”

  As I wait in the reception area, I take in all the old issues of science periodicals that are scattered along the table. I don’t have to wait long before he comes walking out.

  Dr. Johnson is a short, round, balding man who reminds me of a weasel. It’s hard to believe this man won the Lasker Award. “Mr. Reinhardt, thank you for coming in. We’re excited you’re here.” We shake hands.

  “Nice to finally meet you face-to-face.”

  “Would you care for a tour of our lab?”

  “I’d love one.”

  He leads me into the lab, talking as he goes. I notice that none of the employees seem to look him in the eye as they scuttle out of his way. He takes a lot of the credit for what his team has accomplished. I would imagine he is a difficult manager. That would be a red-flag for Emerson and her team.

  The tour ends at a large conference room that is set up with a huge buffet. He pulls up a PowerPoint slide presentation and walks me through the results they’ve accomplished so far, and it is impressive.

  “The data is still pretty raw at this point, but we expect to have it ready for trials within six months.”

  “Animal or human?”

  “Animal,” he asserts firmly.

  Internally I blanch. I’m not a fan of animal testing. “What are you doing to prepare for your testing?”

  “I have a grad student from Berkeley’s Biochemical department working on that.”

  “Great. Can I meet him?”

  “I wish you could. Unfortunately, they’re not here today. They work Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

  “I see. Can you tell me how you are collecting your raw data today?”

  “Well, ah, as you can see, I’m using data from these Parkinson’s patients and from patients who’ve had other brain degenerative diseases.” He stumbles a bit. “It’s pretty complicated.”

  “I see. Dr. Johnson, I’ve been to medical school. I think I can grasp it. Maybe I should meet with your research assistant?”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’d hate for you to come back again.”

  I leaf through the proposal and spots some changes. “I see you’ve upped your ask from your original proposal you sent me from ten million dollars to fifty million.” That’s a huge increase, and I’m not seeing why the amount would have increased so significantly.

  “Yes, as we reevaluated our needs, we thought the ten million wouldn’t cover all the clinical trials needed to move this forward. Animals are expensive you know.”

  “Dr. Johnson, this is only a preliminary trip. Let me explain how we work at SHN. Once I have a firm grasp of your concept, I will pass it along to some of the other teams. Our technology team will vet any software and prototypes. Our operations team will walk through your leadership team, your accounting, and your vendors. And a team will go through your business plan. Then together the partners will determine if you’d be a good fit for us.”

  “Well, I hope that doesn’t take too long. I have interest from several angel investors and Perkins Klein and Carson Mills.”

  Perkins Klein is defunct and has been for almost a year, so I’m positive he’s lying. Not a good sign. But given his anxiousness, I’ll give him a pass—this time. Chances are it’s his way of negotiating. It’s not a good business practice, but honestly, if they are able to accomplish what they’re setting out to do, this will be a huge win, and they’ll have several investors lining up around the block to finance them.

  “Well, if that’s the case, we’ll want to move quickly,” I assure him, but I’m not sure he understands quickly could still mean six months.

  After a two and a half-hour meeting, I’m done and ready to get out of here. I have mixed feelings on this deal. I desperately need another company in my portfolio, but I’m just not sure this is the one. The Lasker Award makes Dr. Johnson and Black Rock Therapeutics a stronger sell, but something seems a little off.

  “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Reinhardt.”

  “Thank you for showing me around. Let me know when I can meet with your research assistant. I have a few more questions to ask that I think only he can answer.”

  “I’ll get that set up.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Somethings off, I just can’t place it right now.

  Chapter eight

  Christopher

  It’s been a crappy weekend. I didn’t accomplish anything that I wanted to get done. Instead, I spent the weekend canvassing San Francisco. I looked for Bella everywhere I could think of. Each time I saw someone with long, dark, luscious hair, my heart would beat a bit faster and my palms would sweat as I hoped it would be her, but it never was. I can’t believe how disappointed that makes me.

  I even went out to The Church last night to look for her. No luck. I did see that asshole there again, but he seemed to be preoccupied with another woman who was more receptive than Bella had been. Good. Now he’ll fuck off.

  I danced with a few girls, but it wasn’t the same as it was with Bella. The chemistry that we had was different. It was more intense than I’ve ever experienced. I don’t know how to explain it to either myself or anyone else.

  Driving down the peninsula to our Sunday night meeting, William and I ride together and discuss what it’s like to be the new guy at SHN. These dinners are pretty impressive. The Arnaults invite all of us over for dinner every Sunday night, and a partners’ meeting follows. We can bring a guest, but they can’t attend our meeting.

  Margo and Charles Arnault are the original founders of Sandy Systems, which is one of the original start-ups that gave the Bay Area Silicon Valley, and they are on our advisory board, but so are their two children—Trey who currently runs Sandy Systems, and their daughter, CeCe, who runs Metro Composition, which is quickly becoming the largest independent cosmetic company in the world. Margo started Metro when she left Sandy Systems.

  “Do you feel a little left out not bringing a date?” William asks me.

  “Yeah, sometimes but only because I don’t bring a date. It seems the dinner part is certainly social, but I’ve never felt left out.”

  “It would be nice to have that company for dinner, but who wants to come to this thing and sit around waiting for us while we sit in a meeting for two hours?”

  “You’re probably right, although that seems to be a pretty fun crowd. I sometimes wish I was with them rather than in the meeting,” I confide.

  “I hear ya, man.”

  When we arrive, a pack of dogs greets us, and CeCe comes out and gives us each a hug as she waves the dogs away. “Welcome to Casa Arnault.”

  “Nice combination of Spanish and French,” I joke with her because they pronounce the Arnault name
in French.

  “Mucho bien.” She grins widely. She’s stunningly beautiful with her chestnut brown hair and a figure that is to die for, but after meeting Bella, I have eyes for no one else.

  Each dinner begins with a nice mixed cocktail that Emerson has created. Tonight's drink is a honey bourbon cocktail. She hands me a glass. The dark bourbon is cloudy and over ice with an orange peel garnish. I’m prepared for a sweet drink, but I’m surprised when it’s actually not sweet at all.

  “This is a keeper,” Sara announces. She gets lots of agreement from around the room. The honey seems to take the bite out of the bourbon.

  Margo announces, “Tonight’s menu is a prime rib with twice-baked potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts, and dessert will be a blueberry cobbler.” I’m consistently amazed at how elaborate our meals are each week.

  Sitting around the table at dinner, I look at the group and realize I really like everyone in the room, but they’ve all been coupling up.

  Dillon and Emerson are married to one another, and I’m waiting to hear they are expecting a baby.

  Sara and Trey married a while ago at some fancy wedding in Hawaii. I remember reading about it in the tabloids when I was interviewing at SHN. Trey is CeCe’s twin brother and the son of Margo and Charles.

  Mason brings his girlfriend, Annabelle. She’s cute enough but doesn’t seem to be the right fit for Mason. She seems to be a little bit of a hanger-on.

  Cameron’s wife, Hadlee, is a pediatrician. She grew up next door to the Arnaults, and met Cameron through CeCe. She and Cameron are huge Harley buffs and will spend their weekends riding up and down the California coast on a motorcycle all decked out in black leather outfits.

  Cynthia recently got engaged to Todd. Todd is one of our new advisers. He works for a hedge fund out of New York City and moved here to start a San Francisco office when he was introduced to Cynthia by CeCe.

  The only partner missing is Greer, but she and her husband are in Tuscany, Italy right now at her husband’s family’s quarterly wine meeting—he’s one of something like fifteen kids, and they own vineyards all over the world under the family wine umbrella.

  I had no idea when I joined this company that I would be joining a family, and we’ve all become a great group of friends.

  “Christopher, so are you dating anyone?” CeCe asks suddenly. Everyone seems to stop what they are doing and listen.

  “No, I’ve been working too hard,” I tell her. “But I met a really nice girl. Unfortunately, I somehow didn’t get her contact information, and I’m trying to figure out how to find her.”

  “Who introduced you?”

  I go into the story about the asshole at the club but leave out the fact that I took her home and fucked her hard and I couldn’t get enough.

  “You were her knight in shining armor,” Hadlee exclaims.

  “Are you going back to The Church?” Margo asks.

  “I went for a short time last night. She wasn’t there, nor were any of her friends.”

  “What’s her name?” CeCe enquires.

  “Bella. I don’t have the last name.”

  “I’ll have to think about that one,” CeCe murmurs. Turning to William, she asks, “What about you? Are you dating anyone seriously?”

  “No, definitely not. I haven’t found the right girl. I’m not looking at this point. I’m focused on doing a good job and making a good living.”

  “William and I have a friend in common, and she’s over the moon about him, but…” Annabelle shares.

  There’s a bit of pink that creeps on his cheeks. “We went on one date and, well, never mind.”

  I see Annabelle is ready to continue, but Mason gives her a look. She settles for saying, “She’d love to see you again when you’re ready.” She then looks at Mason and shrugs.

  “You know what I used to hate when I was single?” Emerson asks the group. “Being asked why I was still single, as if there is nothing better than being part of a couple.”

  “Well, if either of you want some help meeting the right girl, I may have some ideas for you,” CeCe offers.

  “You guys don’t turn down CeCe’s help. She has the best picker out there,” Hadlee points out.

  This is not how I want to decide my love life.

  “Is there any more wine?” William asks, and I surmise he feels the same way.

  The rest of the dinner moves to vacations people are planning. When it becomes eight o’clock, the partners and advisors retire to Charles’s office, and we all take our seats in the same place as we do every single week.

  Joining us first on our agenda is Jim Adelson who oversees all of our security. He walks us through some updates on what the FBI and Cameron and his team have learned about our hacker situation.

  “The assistant US attorney has been successful in getting counts against Adam Ambrosia and Eve McIntosh,” he shares.

  “Is it a problem they don’t know who Adam and Eve are?” Mason asks.

  “No, it seems that they were successful in using their hacker names. They are going to hold off trying them unless we start to get close to the statute of limitations, and then they will.”

  “Isn’t Ambrosia an apple variety?” Sara asks.

  Emerson looks at her confused. “Yes.”

  “And McIntosh is also an apple variety?”

  “Yes,” Emerson says slowly.

  “Well, there is a legal metaphor, the fruit of the poisonous tree. It’s used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally. The logic of the terminology is that if the source—the ‘tree’—of the evidence or evidence itself is tainted, then anything gained—the ‘fruit’—from it is tainted as well.”

  Everyone stops fidgeting and processes what Sara has shared.

  “The biblical reference of Adam and Eve being the first man and woman who had a poisonous apple is thought to be a description of their hubris, which expelled them from the Garden of Eden. The apple could relate to the biblical story.” Looking around at all of us, she continues, “What if our hackers once saw SHN as the Garden of Eden but now see it as the poisonous tree, and the apples are our success. Since they’ve been expelled, they plan to chop down the poisonous tree?”

  Mason sits back hard in his chair and looks between Jim and Charles, and the room erupts.

  “It’s just where my mind went. It is probably just two made up names, and I see something that isn’t there,” Sara says.

  “Sara, I think that is a brilliant observation. I hadn’t seen it that way. At a minimum, I think it’s worth sharing with Walker Clifton in the US Attorney’s Office.

  “Fuuuuck,” Dillon says. “Will this nightmare ever end?”

  Mason sits forward with his hands on his thighs. “I agree with Jim. I think it is a brilliant observation and should be shared with the FBI cybercrimes team and the US attorney’s office.”

  Cameron says, “I’m due to meet Cora Perry with cybercrimes later this week. I will let her know. Jim, let me know if you want to join me. I’ll also see if Walker is interested in joining us too.”

  “Sara, how did you think of this?” Charles asks.

  “Well, as I said, it’s a legal metaphor that is used a lot, but also my birth parents are quite religious, and spending time with my brothers and sisters, they talk a lot about religious meanings.”

  “I think you may have solved a big puzzle in this case,” Charles says.

  We continue to talk about that for some time before we move on.

  Dillon is next on the agenda. He passes out a financial statement for all of our portfolio, and it’s stunning to me that there is almost a trillion dollars in value.

  “As you can see, our business model is doing well for us,” Dillon says.

  “How are we for cash?” Cynthia asks.

  “Well, we have about twenty-five million that is somewhat liquid and still have a cushion for our payroll and expenses for six months. But that is if we don’t sell or take anything public. But as I understand it, we have
about six transactions coming at us. Sara, is that right?”

  Sara opens the portfolio notebook on her lap. “We have Page Software being sold to Moon Micro later this month.”

  “That should give us eighteen million,” Dillon shares.

  Mason stands and walks over to a whiteboard and starts to date and total what Sara and Dillon are saying.

  “We then have Tsung Software at the end of the month going public, if all things line up.”

  Dillon looks at his notebook. “That’s one of our largest sales this year, and depending on the company buying-back options, we’ll be well over a hundred million in profit.”

  “I spoke with the bank, and they’re ready once all the paperwork clears,” Mason says.

  “For next month, we have Fractional Technologies going public and Dream Logistics being sold.” Sara closes her book and looks at Dillon.

  “As long as we don’t experience what happened with Pineapple Technologies,” Dillon says.

  “Knock on wood,” William mutters.

  “We should double our bottom line,” Dillon confirms.

  “I guess that means you need us to come up with more investments?” I tease.

  “Obviously, we need to proceed with caution, but if we are able to roll the bulk of that income into new investments, that would be our goal. I know we touched on this earlier this week, but why don’t each of you share what you have going on.” Mason looks at William to start us off.

  Opening his own notebook, he walks through four companies that sound promising. “I also have a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to the big gorilla that most use today.” He turns to Cameron. “It seems rather revolutionary, and if you have someone from your team who can vet the software, it might be worth an investment. I think because they’re in a market with someone who has the majority of the business, they will be inexpensive but, if it does what they say, will be huge.”