by Leigh James
Silicon Valley Billionaires
Lauren
Leigh James
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Gabe
About the Author
Special Thanks
Also by Leigh James
About Jack’s House Publishing
Silicon Valley Billionaires: Lauren
by Leigh James
Copyright © 2017 by Leigh James.
Published by Jack’s House Publishing, LLC
Cover design by Kristina Brinton
ISBN:978-1945340086
Sign up for Leigh’s mailing list at www.leighjamesbooks.com.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For Wendy Myler
Chapter 1
The day began as both ordinary and extraordinary. The sun shined through the windows of my office as I assembled my lab kit—special gloves, laptop and notes. All of it would have to be decontaminated before I entered the lab, but that was part of my daily ritual. The California sunshine and the fact that I had work to do were normal, but to me, that didn’t make them any less remarkable. I brushed my long blonde hair until it hung neatly over my shoulders, and smoothed my black sweater under my lab coat, preparing myself. Today would be the day my prototype finally worked.
I hoped.
Nodding at Stephanie, my assistant, I headed briskly to the lab. We were running another test that day. Hopefully, this would be the test that proved my invention could do what the world so desperately needed it to do.
But there were one thousand, two hundred failed tests before it.
I went through the doors to the enclosed space, where I would be sprayed down with decontaminants to ensure the sterility of the lab. Everyone who worked at Paragon Laboratories entered through this space. The entrance was similar to the tube travelers walked through at airport security, where they were asked to put their arms over their heads to be scanned. At Paragon, people put their arms over their heads and were sprayed with an odorless sanitizer, ensuring no fibers or bacteria from the outside world invaded our precious testing ground.
My lab workers greeted me as I entered. At eight in the morning, most of them had already been here for hours. They were running preliminary tests, assembling data, and generating the reports necessary to keep our investors and the FDA apprised of our research.
At the end of the day, I would review all the new material, compile it, then have it electronically locked on my laptop so no one could access it without my direct permission. I always made sure our technology, valued at eight billion dollars, stayed secret. But the dollar amount associated with my invention didn’t interest me, even though I owned the majority stake in Paragon. My invention was my life’s work, my life’s mission, and its ability to help people was the only thing that mattered to me.
I headed directly toward Eva, our head researcher, deep V forming between her eyebrows as she read the data on her computer.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She looked up, startled. “Nothing. Sheesh, Lauren, you scared me.”
I looked past her to her screen, searching for signs of trouble. “Why are you frowning like that?”
“Because my eyes are tired, and I’m scrunching up my face to compensate, okay? Nothing’s wrong. We haven’t run the test yet. We set everything up. We’re just waiting for you.” Her face relaxed into a smile. “Are you excited?”
I shrugged. “I think I’m more anxious than excited.”
“It’s going to go well. All the signs have been pointing to this.”
We’d run thousands of tests on our prototype, a patch that would scan cells in the human body for signs of disruption, doing the work of a CAT scan and other expensive tests for a fraction of the price, in a fraction of the time.
A thousand tests on our prototype, and not one had worked. Not yet.
Still, every one of those failures had brought me closer to success. Our most recent round of trials had come close. Since then, we’d been working around the clock to update the prototype. I knew what didn’t work, and I was so close to finding what did.
So close, I could taste it.
Eva tucked one of her curls behind her ear and looked at me expectantly. “Are you ready?”
I nodded. “Let’s begin.” I licked my lips nervously, then set up my own computer. I had a private one, separate from the network, on which I kept my own calculations and observations, as well as the most up-to-date configurations of the patch. I maintained this information off the grid to protect it from internal and external hacking threats.
My sister, who knew me better than anyone, said I did it because I was a paranoid control freak. She wasn’t wrong.
I grabbed a small headset off the table and turned on the microphone. “Finn, go ahead.” My directions were piped into a sealed room where the prototype would be tested. The room was adjacent to ours and visible from the lab.
Finn, one of my long-time lab workers, gave me the thumbs-up. He put his gloves on, hit a button on the wall, then a door automatically opened. Test Subject 1,201 entered the room, wearing a johnny. Finn had the man sit down, then assembled the various wires and suction cups on him that would monitor his breathing, heart rate, and stress levels. The test subject sat patiently as Finn arranged the myriad devices.
Finally, Finn seemed satisfied and turned toward us, waiting for instruction.
“Go ahead,” I ordered.
I held my breath as he picked up the patch, removed the backing, and gently placed it on the test subject. Screens lit up above the testing room, ready to display the information from the patch to the rest of us.
“Are all his signs normal?” I asked Eva as data from the monitoring equipment scrolled down her screen.
“He’s perfect. Everything is steady. Nothing should interrupt the output of information.”
I watched the screens above the test room. Finn sat, calmly monitoring the report on his computer. Eva continued to watch her screen. Test Subject 1,201 sat back with his eyes closed. He didn't know the specifics of the trial, but he knew we were testing a medical diagnostic device. Per my legal team's protocols, he’d signed a ten-page nondisclosure and confidentiality agreement. Still, he looked relaxed, probably happy to earn an easy thousand dollars for his participation.
I wished I could relax. Instead, I stared at the monitors and waited. A full minute passed. I grimaced, hating the feeling of disappointment forming in my stomach—a feeling I knew all too well.
It’s just another problem you need to eliminate. I tried to soothe myself as the seconds ticked by. If it doesn’t work this time, it’s still something you can fix. You’re so close.
The monit
ors flickered and came to life. Data suddenly started streaming—the data I’d been waiting for.
“Oh my God.” Eva moved to stand beside me. “It’s working.”
The patch read the test subject’s cells. Any red flags would be highlighted. Once I perfected the reports to weed out imperfect but harmless mutations, I would be able to tell whether this man had cancer, pre-cancer, or any other number of diseases.
For the first time, after years of research, testing, FDA compliance reports and one-hundred-hour work weeks, the patch finally worked.
“Yes, it’s working.” I wrapped my arms around my chest as if I were trying to give myself a congratulatory hug. “It’s finally working.”
I went back to my office and watched the sun make its way across the sky. I looked briefly at the picture of my parents on my desk, thinking how thrilled they would be with my success.
Thrilled, but not surprised.
That was how I felt too. I’d been working toward this day for six years. I’d pushed everything else to the side—school, sleep and any semblance of a social life. I’d dropped out of MIT my junior year because I’d known then that I was meant to do this work. Before taking on investors, I’d used a large portion of my inheritance to fund my research. It was worth it—creating this technology to help people would make the world a better place. That deep belief and single-minded determination had gotten me through the past six lonely years.
Stephanie buzzed through on my intercom, interrupting my reverie. “Your sister’s here to see you.”
“Send her in.”
Hannah, my younger sister, bounded through the door and pulled me in for a hug. “So excited.”
“Uh. Hi.” I laughed and tried simultaneously to breathe through her tight hug. “I guess you heard about the test.”
“I ran into Eva and accosted her.” She pulled back and studied my face. “Don’t be mad, okay?”
“I’m not mad. Eva knows it’s okay to tell you. You and only you.” I smiled at Hannah fondly. Three years younger than me, with the same blonde hair and blue eyes I had, she was also highly intelligent—but that was where our similarities ended. Our co-workers found me reserved and cerebral, while outgoing and chatty Hannah charmed them. Her personality was why I’d hired her as Paragon’s director of publicity. She gave Paragon’s interviews, which were few and far between, and closely monitored any stories about us in the press.
“Are we going to take this thing public finally?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet. We need to do more extensive testing to confirm these findings. We need to be sure that we have enough successful clinical trials completed to obtain all the necessary FDA approvals. After that, we need to do another round of fundraising with our investors and raise the capital to bring the patch to market. Then we’ll finalize a plan about announcing the technology to the rest of the world.”
“But our secret won’t be a secret for that much longer.” Her eyes glittered. “It’s so exciting—the whole world’s finally going to know what a genius my sister is!”
“Calm down.” I patted her shoulder. “We still have a long way to go. And I’m not really keen on sharing anyway.”
Hannah tilted her head, scrutinizing me. “But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Why aren’t you more excited?”
I smiled, trying to reassure her. “I am excited. I just want to take it one step at a time. And the prototype’s been my baby for so long, it’s going to be hard to let it out into the world.” I got up and walked over to the window, looking out at the acres of carefully maintained lawns surrounding our building. “I like being under the radar. You know that. Once this goes public, everyone’s going to know who we are.”
Unlike other entrepreneurs, I didn’t crave the spotlight. I shied away from fundraisers and promotional opportunities. I’d never given an interview, and I refused to comment publicly about Paragon and the research we did.
Still, I loved running my company. It had been difficult for me to reach out to our board members and the venture capitalists that funded our research, but I’d known it was necessary to make my vision a reality. I’d built an amazing team of investors, directors, and employees. We prided ourselves on the work we did there. We all wanted to make the world a better place.
I would do anything for Paragon and for the prototype. But fame didn’t interest me, and money only did to the extent that it could fund my research.
Hannah came up beside me. “Maybe you can…relax a little now?”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. “What on earth does that mean?” Of course, I knew precisely what she meant, but I wasn’t about to take the bait.
My sister frowned. “You could…take a vacation? Go to a spa? Go on a date?”
I snorted. “I can’t do anything frivolous like that. It would be a waste of my time, and you know it.”
“Enjoying life isn’t a waste of time. You haven’t taken a vacation in six years. You should go to the Caribbean and drink adult beverages, preferably the fruity ones with little umbrellas. And you should bring a hot guy.”
“Enough,” I snapped, then immediately felt bad. I turned to her and forced myself to look conciliatory. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so sharp with you. My baby sister.” I tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
She frowned again. “I’m serious. The phrase ‘you need to get out more’ has never been more on point.”
“This is the only place I want to be. If I took a vacation, or even if I just went home early, I’d still be wishing that I was here. This is where I’m meant to be.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Well, lucky for you, it’ll be here when you get back.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She smiled, mischief in her eyes. “Oh yes, you are. You have a lunch today, remember? With Gabriel Betts.”
“What?” I pulled up my schedule, and there it was, for today at one o’clock. I cringed. “Can’t you do it? I don’t have time.”
“I can’t do it. He wants to talk about technology, remember? That’s why we agreed that you’d be the one to meet with him.”
I held my cell phone and looked at her pleadingly. “But that was three months ago. Today of all days, I can’t leave the lab. Call him and cancel. Please.”
She grinned. “Actually, today of all days, you can leave the lab. Your prototype worked. For the first time ever. There’s absolutely no reason you can’t go to lunch. Besides, Gabriel Betts is hot. He’s a billionaire technology geek too, so who knows? You two might really hit it off.”
I glowered at her. “Stop it.”
“One o’clock at Grove in the Valley. Take a driver. Take security. You might wanna put on a little more lip gloss.” She smiled sweetly as I seethed. “He really is gorgeous. Google him and see for yourself.”
She sashayed out of the room, and I went to my computer, furiously googling Gabriel Betts, the CEO of Dynamica, a Silicon Valley-based company that produced lab-related technology that was used all over the world. I’d never met him before, but based on the pictures I found of him online, my sister was correct. He was absolutely gorgeous.
Still seething, I went to put on more lip gloss.
Chapter 2
“This is it, Ms. Taylor.” The driver pulled up outside of Grove, and a valet waited to open my door.
“Would you like me to come in?” asked Timmy, my personal security guard. I counted the rolls on the back of his beefy neck while I tried to gather my courage.
Five. Five neck rolls. “No. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be right outside.”
I didn’t doubt it. Timmy and his fleet of men protected me twenty-four-seven. At first, I’d thought it was crazy when my board of directors insisted on that level of security, but as time had gone on and the potential for our device had grown, I’d understood their concern. Only I could perfect the science behind our technology. The investment in our security team ensured my safety.
I accepted the v
alet’s hand. “Ms. Taylor, your table’s ready inside.”
Out of practice when it came to interacting with strangers, I smiled at him awkwardly and headed into the restaurant. Hannah had eaten there several times with one or more of her many male admirers. In her words, “the food was awesome.” I usually ate a salad from our cafeteria at my desk for both lunch and dinner, so I had no idea what “awesome” meant these days. Luckily, the smells from the open kitchen were wonderful, so I resigned myself to being pleased. At least with the food.
The young hostess had multiple piercings and tattoos. “Ms. Taylor?” I tried to look at all of them at once while she waited patiently. “Mr. Betts is waiting for you.”
She brought me to my table, and I saw Gabriel Betts from behind, sitting and waiting. I hesitated for a moment. He looked large and muscular, almost too big for the small table. I swallowed hard, remembering his handsome face from the photos I’d scrolled through online.
What the hell was I going to talk to him about?
He must have felt me staring at him, because he turned around and flashed me a wide smile. “Lauren, I’m so happy you could make it.”
I forced myself to smile as he stood up, towering over me. I shook his hand, noticing how large and strong it was. I gulped. “It’s my pleasure, Gabriel.”
“You’re taller than I expected,” he said. “And even lovelier than your pictures.”
I took my seat, blushing furiously. “Um…thanks.”
He had short, thick dark hair, dark brown eyes, and just enough lines on his face to make it interesting rather than just blandly handsome. In person, he was what my sister would deem extremely gorgeous.
Or even worse, sexy.
I tried to stop staring at him. I reminded myself that I was the CEO of a large company that employed more than one hundred workers; that I had security guards because my head was filled to the brim with trade secrets worth billions of dollars. I couldn’t turn into a quivering, salivating Chihuahua just because Gabriel Betts was tall and handsome. I could manage to have a normal conversation with this man over lunch.