Promise (Venture Capitalist Book 2)

by Ainsley St Claire

  “Exactly. I’m staying away from my foster parents, and you girls have been great to organize things so we don’t attract any unwanted attention. What a fucking mess. I’m embarrassed by this, and forget going on a date!”

  “You have too much to offer to be single. It’ll happen.”

  I take a deep pull on my latte and fight back the tears. Changing the subject, I reveal, “I know we have a few deals going with Charles’s friends, and I don’t know who they are and I’m happily out of the loop, but something weird happened on Saturday, and I don’t know if I’m crazy or not.” Emerson gazes at me expectantly, urging me to continue with her eyes. “Friday night, when we all went to Trick Dog, I specifically recall closing my computer down. Usually I’d take my laptop home with me, but I didn’t want to take it to the bar, and I knew I’d be in the next morning before seven. When I came in, my computer was on. It had run an update, but I didn’t think it could do that if it was turned off. Plus, the screen saver hadn’t kicked in. There wasn’t anyone in the office, but it’s been freaking me out a bit. Am I crazy?”

  “Have you told Cameron?”

  “He wasn’t there last night, so I left him a message. I don’t want to panic anyone, so I wasn’t specific.”

  “Do you mind if I text him and have him come over here?”

  “Sure. I mean, all I really can confirm is that my computer was left in my locked office overnight. I turned it off before I left and when I arrived, it was on.”

  We hear a ping from Emerson’s phone. “He’s grabbing Mason and Dillon, too.”

  “We could’ve just gone back to the office.”

  How is it that I’ve fucked up again? I don’t know how I’m ever going to recover from this. I wrote the exit clause in our contracts. My affair with Henry is a terminable offense, and now if I’m the source of the leak, that would do it again.

  Why is it that every part of my life is a mess?

  We watch the guys cross the street and approach us. Mason gets in line and orders drinks for the guys, while Cameron sets a device on the table and encourages all of us to put our phones next to it. I’m puzzled, but he explains, “This is a cell phone jammer. I got it from Jim. He wants us to turn the Bluetooth off from our phones and”—he turns to me—“we need to run a complete diagnostic on your laptop.”

  I stare at him. “Cameron, I could be overreacting.”

  “Tell me what happened,” he insists.

  Mason arrives and hands out the drinks as I walk them all through what I already shared with Emerson.

  Cameron shakes his head. “If you turned your computer off, it shouldn’t have turned back on. And even if you had inadvertently not turned it off, all of our computers should go to a screen saver after five minutes of inactivity and power down after four hours of inactivity.”

  “What do we do?” Mason asks.

  “I have a secure phone. I’ll step out and give Jim a quick call.”

  Cameron steps outside and Dillon turns to me. “Do you leave your computer at the office often?”

  “No. Hardly ever. I think this is only the second time.”

  “Sara, don’t worry about this,” Mason assures me. “This may provide us with a clue on who’s involved.”

  I nod and dab at the tears pooling in the corners of my eyes. Slightly above a whisper, I ask, “I’m the focus of a lawsuit with a man I had an affair with, and now I may be the leak in our office.” My hand falls to my mouth and I begin to cry.

  “Sara, Jim checked all of us out when he took over. We know you would never be the intentional leak. If they’ve taken your computer, we have a path to follow. We’ve been at a standstill for a while, and now we may know what to do for next steps.”

  Cameron returns and tells all of us, “Jim and members of his team are going to be at the office about five tonight. They’re going to replace Sara’s computer so she isn’t without one, then run diagnostics on everyone’s computer.” Combing his hands through his hair, he adds, “We may all need to lose our cell phones for a day or so.”

  “What do I do about Tina?” Emerson says in a panic.

  “Well, Jim thinks they may be using our cell phone microphones to spy on us. So moving forward, we need to use a jammer and not bring our cell phones into meetings. Particularly those at Charles’s house.

  “I hate this,” I cry. “I’ve made such a mess of all of this.”

  Mason pats my arm. “Don’t waste too much time stressing out over this. We’ve got it under control.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Sara

  “You must be making this up,” Greer says.

  I lazily stir my vodka tonic. “I wish I were.”

  “He was sleeping with how many women?” CeCe scoffs. “What is it with men in this city? I bet there are men who are celebrating that he was sleeping with seven women—his wife plus six others.”

  Hadlee and Greer nod in agreement.

  CeCe continues, “We can’t become man-haters, but some of them sure make it really hard.”

  Hadlee laughs. “Maybe you should lower your standards.”

  “Emerson and I set the same standards, and she found Dillon. I’m sticking to my guns.”

  I’m confused, so I lean over and say, “Spill it. What are your standards?”

  “Oh, that’s easy. They must have car insurance and can’t live at home.”

  “I agree that they can’t live at home. No mommy issues. Car insurance can be difficult here in The City.”

  “Nope. Not an excuse. I don’t want to be tied to The City. I don’t want to be anyone’s chauffeur.”

  “Okay, car insurance is an absolute must.” I turn to Hadlee. “How was your date with the program manager?”

  She chuckles. “It wasn’t as dramatic as yours. Derek was a nice guy. He recently got out of a five-year relationship with another man.”

  CeCe says, “Why are you dating gay men? In my experience, we don’t have the equipment they’re looking for.”

  “I know. I didn’t know the relationship was with another man. His parents want grandchildren.”

  Greer laughs. “Has he ever heard of surrogates?

  “I get the impression that they don’t know he’s gay. He told me they’re conservative Christians.”

  I take Hadlee’s hand. “Promise me you aren’t thinking of getting involved with him. It seems like you’d be walking into a loveless relationship.”

  “Sara, don’t let Henry’s mess keep you away from finding a good guy.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry. It isn’t Henry. I have other issues.”

  “Is it your childhood? You’ve mentioned foster parents in the past. What about your biological parents?” CeCe asks.

  I have the inner debate about sharing my story with my friends, then decide they aren’t really my friends if I can’t be honest and vulnerable with them. So, I delve into the story of my mom being married to my biological father and that I have four full brothers and sisters living up in Seattle.

  Hadlee comes over to me and gives me a big, warm embrace. “Fuck her!”

  CeCe joins her. “What a bitch. Remember, they’re the ones who are missing out, not you.”

  “I know.” I lift my glass. “To my best friends in the whole world.”

  When I get home, a little buzzed from the liquor, I decide it’s time to finally e-mail Catherine.

  Dear Catherine,

  I know you don’t wish to hear from me; however, since you dropped the bomb that you’re married to my biological father and I have four full siblings, you can’t imagine my disappointment. I’ve reached out to you to find out about you and understand why you left me with Father Tom. I’m sorry it’s inconvenient that you lied to your family and left me to be raised by the State of California. I know you want to have nothing to do with me, so you get your wish.

  Goodbye, Catherine. I won’t reach out to you again.

  Sara

  Before I have any second thoughts or sober up, I send the e-ma
il. Then I crawl into bed with my clothes on and sob uncontrollably. I cry until the tears no longer fall.

  When I wake up the next morning, I’m dehydrated, and I’m tired from the restless sleep.

  But the sun is shining. Life will get better. I may not be able to bond with those who are genetically linked with me, but I do have wonderful foster parents.

  I decide to call them, needing to hear their voices. “Carol, it’s me. Any chance you and Jim are free for lunch today? My treat?”

  “Of course. We’ve missed you, and you work so hard. We can’t wait to see you. How about noon?”

  “I’ll pick you up. I know Jim loves Hamburger Haven, so maybe I should pick you up about eleven and we’ll beat the crowds.”

  “We’ll be ready.”

  “Carol, I love you. Thank you.”

  “Is everything all right, Sara?”

  “Yes. I’ll tell you what’s going on when I see you.”

  “See you shortly.”

  I take a shower and dress casually in jeans, sneakers and a gray sloppy-necked sweater. My doorbell rings as I’m finishing up, and I have no idea who it could be.

  I open the door to a delivery man with two dozen yellow roses overflowing in a beautiful clear glass vase. I’m shocked that anyone would send such a large gesture that I forget there must be a card until I see it sticking out from between two flowers: ‘Stay strong. You’re an important member of our pack. We love you. Greer, Emerson, Hadlee, and CeCe.’

  I’m humbled, honored and grateful. I quickly snap a pic of the flowers and send a group message to the girls: You’re all the very best. You’ve made my day. Thank you for making me part of your pack.

  Each of them sends additional words of encouragement and lots of hugs and kisses.

  I pick Jim and Carol up, and we make it before the lunch rush. I hear all about a river cruise they’re hoping to take next spring in Eastern Europe. I offer to pay for the trip, but by their reactions, you would’ve thought I’d peed on their cornflakes.

  Our lunch arrives, and as they eat, I share with them about locating Catherine and what I’ve learned.

  “I’m angry. Not because she rejected me again, but because she wouldn’t sign her parental rights away. We could’ve been a real family, and she stole that from us, too.”

  Jim reaches across the table and rubs my arm. “Sweetheart, we are a family. You’re our daughter, and we don’t need a piece of paper to define that. You know that.”

  I start crying. “I’ve never told you how much I appreciated everything you did for me, and it means so much to me.”

  Carol gets up and sits next to me, putting her arm around me and holding me tight. “We’ve known, and you make us proud.”

  “It’s Catherine’s loss,” Jim adds. “Not yours. Imagine what this secret must do to her.”

  Through my tears, I tell them, “I love you both so much.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Trey

  I can only sleep when exhausted. My thoughts drag by in slow motion as I slink to a quiet spot and curl up next to the fire. I think only of Sara and what seems like will never be.

  Sitting with a tumbler of amber liquid, I watch the fireplace, the gas flames curling and swaying, flicking this way and that. It’s nice to feel the warmth on the outside. My drink, burning as I swallow, warms me on the inside.

  I miss her.

  It’s all my fault, and my head swims with regret. My blood feels like molasses as my heart struggles to keep a steady beat, my melancholy mood permeating every corner of my life.

  I don’t hear my mom enter the room. She sits on the adjacent overstuffed leather chair and reaches for me. “Sweetheart, is everything okay?”

  With a deep sigh, I murmur, “Hi, Mom. It isn’t right now, but it will be eventually.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m probably not able to fix it, but I can certainly listen.”

  “When you met Dad, you said you knew all about him. What made you stick around? Why didn’t you walk away and find some regular guy?”

  With a deep breath and a hint of concern in her voice, she says, “Well first, we met in prehistoric days.” Ruffling my hair, she continues. “We didn’t have crazy people stalking us for photos. Your dad grew up in the press, but it was always positioned press, so the world saw what the family and a public relations firm wanted them to see. But still, people thought they knew him, thought he was their friend. The worst it ever got was when his grandfather’s company sold and it caused the stock prices to drop. Someone accosted him while we were at a diner for dinner. It was scary, but your dad handled this irate man so well that he left our dinner table happy and still thought your dad was his friend. I knew right then that I was in love with him.”

  “I’ve heard this story. I’m tired of people who like me because they think they know me or that I can do something for them. I’m sad that the woman I love wants nothing to do with my life.”

  “People will come and go from our lives. Try not to discount every new person you meet as someone who wants something from you.”

  “I need to be better with that. This girl seemed to like me for me. Then this picture hit the tabloids, and she seemed to be okay with it, but shortly after, she disappeared.”

  “Honey, there’s always the possibility that her disappearance stems from something totally unrelated to you.”

  “I’ve seen her since and she ignores me.”

  “Well, maybe the next time you see her, you can talk to her about it?”

  “I’ve already tried.”

  “The son I raised would keep trying until she bent to his will. Where did he go?”

  The dogs jump up and run to the front hall, barking and creating a ruckus. CeCe’s arrived. I know who it is without her even saying a word.

  “Dork?” she yells. “Where have you been? Why are you hiding here at Mom and Dad’s?”

  “I’m not hiding,” I say indignantly.

  “Really? You aren’t even responding to my texts. Your buddy Tim tracked me down to make sure you were okay.”

  “He wants the gossip on crazy Jill. And there’s nothing to share.”

  In a soft and caring tone, she asks, “Tell me about this girl who seems to have broken your heart.”

  “Nothing to tell. We had a few dates and had a great time. She was photographed—by crazy Jill, no less—and then she just disappeared on me.”

  “You told me you went out with her after the TMZ photo. Are you sure that’s why she’s MIA?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know.”

  Mom stands. “I’m going to bed. See you both in the morning?”

  CeCe gives her a big hug. “We’ll be here. Good night, Mom.”

  I lift my glass and say, “Good night.”

  CeCe pulls a chair up next to me. “What are we going to do about this woman?”

  “I’ve been sitting here working on a plan.”

  “Good. Can I do anything to help?”

  “No, I think this is something I need to do on my own.”

  “Dillon, Emerson, Mason and I were going to play a round of golf at Palo Alto Country Club tomorrow morning. Do you want to play for me, and I can join you in the clubhouse for drinks after? I’m not in the mood to get up that early, and my game sucks right now.”

  I peek at her. The idea of hanging out with Dillon and Mason is appealing. Getting clobbered playing golf, less so, but Emerson never rubs it in. “Sure, I’ll go. When is the tee time?”

  She leans in and kisses my head. “7:10 a.m.”

  “Thanks for giving me a good distraction.”

  Playing golf was what I needed. Emerson kicked our butts—as expected—and Mason, Dillon and I had fun. We meet in the bar afterward, where CeCe and a friend of hers I’ve never met join us.

  CeCe walks her over. “Emily, this is my brother Trey. Trey, this is Emily. She works with me and oversees the marketing on the Street
line.”

  Emily is pretty, tall and very lithe. Her hair is a trendy gray with a wide violet streak. Dressed casually in tight jeans and a violet sweater that matches her hair, she’s wearing a lot of makeup, but then she does work for a cosmetics company.

  She extends her hand wrist first. I’m not sure if she’s expecting me to kiss or shake her hand. I grasp her fingers from underneath and it feels wrong. “Nice to meet you.”

  She smiles like a cat with a canary in her mouth and breathlessly says, “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Nope. She’s not the girl for me. I’m swearing off girls who only want sex from me.

  The guys and I enjoy a local beer while the girls chat. Emily doesn’t participate, just plays with her phone.

  As the party breaks up, CeCe mouths to me, “I’m sorry.”

  I smile at her and mouth back, “I love you.” To most people, it may seem like my sister and I don’t get along, but in reality, she’s my best friend, my rock, and she means everything to me.

  I turn to everyone and say, “I’ll see you all at my folks’ tomorrow afternoon. Emily, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

  She smiles and bats her lashes. “I hope to see you again.”

  I watch Dillon and Mason exchange looks, and then I wave goodbye.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Sara

  I’m in deep thought when Annabel calls through the intercom. “Sara, Cindy Chou is on the phone for you. Can you take it?”

  “Of course. Did she say what she needs?”

  “No, only that it was personal.”

  Personal? What could that mean? “Thank you, Annabel.”

  I pick up my line and say, “Hi, Cindy. How are you?”

  “I’m great. I’m sure you’re curious why I’m calling. I ran into a guy I went to college with at Stanford, and he’s super cute and has a really great job. He told me he was hoping to meet someone, and I immediately thought of you.”