Unlikely Venture (The Venture Series Book 1)

by Luciani, Kristen

  “Mmm hmm. I kind of figured you’d come to that conclusion.”

  Jessica furrowed her brow. “Meaning?”

  Lisa chuckled. “Jess, you’re a serial monogamist. You aren’t the love ’em and leave ‘em type. I knew from the first time you told me about James there was something between you. The long distance thing isn’t ideal but I’m glad you finally let someone in. It’s healthy. It’s also about damn time!”

  “He’s a good guy. I don’t want to miss out on something great because of my fear of rejection. He’s not Drew. And I’m in this cab right now because I need to see him again. I got him a little keepsake, just something to remember me by.”

  “I understand, Jessie. Cute thought. But how are you going to find him? Do you know where he is right now?”

  Jessica looked at her phone. “As a matter of fact, I do. Gotta love Facebook.”

  “Great sleuthing, girlfriend! You’ve got the makings of a successful stalker!” Lisa laughed.

  “Okay, let me go. I’ll text you when I land.”

  “Good luck, sweetie. Can’t wait to hear how it goes.”

  “There it is.” Jessica alerted the cab driver and pointed to the tall gray building on the corner. “I can get out here.”

  She trotted across the street, hoping he’d be alone in his office. She greeted the security guard and gave her name. “Hi, I’m here to see James Callahan with LazerShark.”

  A few minutes later, James bounded off the elevator with a surprised smile on his face. “Hey!”

  “Hi, I hope you’re not busy, I didn’t mean to interrupt your work or anything but I wanted to bring you something before I leave.” Jessica held out the bag.

  James furrowed his brow. “Wolfgang’s Vault? In Oakland?” He opened the bag and pulled out an autographed Foo Fighters laminated VIP badge. “This is awesome, Jess! You went all the way to Oakland for this?

  “Yes, I really wanted to see you before I left.” She took his hand. “And since you’re as big a Foo Fighters fan as I am, I figured this would make a great excuse.”

  “Yeah, but how did you even find me?” James looked confused. “Did I ever give you my card?”

  “Um, no, you didn’t.” Jessica pulled out her iPhone and showed him the Facebook entry. “So I guess I’m officially stalking you.”

  James grinned. “Pretty slick, Jess.” He pulled her closer. “Thanks, this really means a lot to me. Every time I put it on, I’ll think of you.”

  “Perfect.” Jessica giggled. “I’m sure nobody will mess with you if you wear that badge around town.”

  “So when do you have to get to the airport?”

  Jessica sighed and looked at her watch. “I’ve probably got to go now.”

  James looked crestfallen. “Can I take you?”

  “I want to say yes.” Jessica paused. “But I hate the finality of an airport goodbye. We’ll be sitting there, sad, waiting, knowing that the moment is coming, watching the clock, wishing we had more time together.” She looked up at him. “I don’t want our last moments to be that depressing. It’ll be easier if I just leave and you go back to your office. Does that make any sense?”

  “It does.” James sighed, running his hands though his hair. “I don’t want to make this harder on you, either. It just sucks that you have to leave now.”

  “I know.” Jessica felt her eyes well up. Please don’t let me cry in front of him. “I promise I’ll text you when I’m at the airport. It’s just better this way.” She forced a bright smile. “I’m going to try so hard to get out here again soon. I’ll figure out how to deal with my boss.”

  “Okay.” James embraced her one more time. She breathed in his cologne, closing her eyes and drifting away into a sea of complicated emotions. His gentle touch sent a chill down her spine and she willed herself to remember the feelings he invoked. Keep it together, Jess.

  She tilted her face towards his and let out a shaky breath. “I better get going.”

  James dropped his arms, still holding her hands. “I know…”

  Jessica managed a weak smile. “I can’t stop thinking about you. You really changed everything.” She drew him closer with a deep kiss. And even though I’m scared to death to feel this way so soon, I’m happy. And hopeful.

  When she opened her eyes, the sadness on his face was heart wrenching. This torture has to end.

  “I’ll see you soon.” Jessica squeezed his hand one more time and hurried out of the building as fast as she could. She ran to a waiting cab and slid into the backseat as the tears flowed.

  JAMES WATCHED THE taxi peel away from the curb. His heart ached with the reality that Jessica was gone, at least for the foreseeable future. I should have insisted on taking her to the airport. At least we’d have more time.

  Deflated, he went back up to his office. Since it was Saturday night, he figured he would be left alone to lament since focusing on work was impossible.

  No such luck.

  Chris bombarded him as soon as he sat down. “So, what was that impromptu visit all about?”

  “What? When did you even get here?” I’ve only been gone a few minutes.”

  Chris smirked. “I know. You two looked pretty cuddly so I wasn’t about to intrude.”

  James slumped over his desk. “I’m not in the mood to work right now. Come to think of it, I’m not in the mood for your questions either. No offense.”

  “None taken. I know you don’t like to kiss and tell. Guess I’m just hoping that one day I’ll break you.”

  “There’s not much to tell, anyway. She stopped by on her way to the airport.” James shrugged. “Nothing earthshattering.”

  Chris sat down next to him. “Listen, I know the circumstances suck, but you met a great girl. Things will work out. You’re finally back, man. And in the meantime, we have a lot to take care of in the next few days that should keep you occupied.”

  James sighed. “Okay, so where are we with this Blue Coat presentation?”

  “We’re in real good shape, Jay. I’m meeting with the accountants next week so we can review all the numbers one last time.”

  “So, what do you think is going to happen when we finally get in front of Emerson?” James tapped a pencil on the desk. “I mean, you’ve already met with the rest of the team. What more do you think he’ll want to know?”

  “Well, the first couple of meetings I had with the team covered our financials, our business plan and our strategy for the next few years. They have more than enough information to make an investment decision. But he wants to get a feel for us as business partners. I guess he wants to see how we work together, what we’re like as people, strategists, I don’t know. He’s a freaking Forbes wonder, I’m sure he’s got a whole checklist on us.”

  “So, tell me more about him. What’d you dig up? I’d like to get a little insight on the guy who may become the primary investor in our company.”

  “Ah.” Chris grinned. “Well, there’s the public resume—graduated summa cum laude from Stanford, financial genius and all around-business mastermind.” He paused with a wicked smile. “But I did some additional investigation and uncovered some interesting stuff that isn’t part of his company bio.”

  “And? Don’t leave me hanging.” James leaned forward with interest.

  Chris paused for dramatic effect. “Evidently there was a different company a while back, one that Emerson founded with another partner, a guy he knew from his college days.”

  “Okay. Get on with it, Chris.”

  Chris smirked. “It’s all in the buildup, Jay. Wait for it.”

  James rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair. He twirled the pencil between his fingers and pointed it at Chris.

  Chris yelped and covered his head with his hands. “Be patient! I’m almost there!”

  “How often have you screamed out that line?” James chuckled.

  Chris folded his hands behind his head. “Ahhh! Never had any complaints before, Jay. So if you’re done making snide commen
ts, here it is. From what I hear the partner starts messing around with Emerson’s flavor of the month and he finds out. Doesn’t confront them, though. Instead, Emerson manages to pull a fast one on his partner and re-incorporates some kind of a shell company without him. While the partner’s all hot and bothered with this chick, Emerson transfers all the company assets to the new company and boom, the guy is out on the street. I can’t figure out how he was able to pull off the whole switch. He must have had pretty freaking awesome-slash-scumbag lawyers, but somehow, he did it.”

  James let out a low whistle. “Was the girl really worth it?”

  “From what I hear, she was a ten. I bet Emerson didn’t even care about her—he was probably banging five others at the time. It was a control thing.”

  “You think it’s true?”

  Chris shrugged. “That’s the word on the street. Supposedly Emerson had tons of cash and could have done anything he wanted, but he built Blue Coat with the sole purpose to cripple his former partner, to show him he was in control and to force the guy down a rabbit hole for trying to get one over on him. Pretty elaborate revenge plot, huh?”

  “Great, sounds like he’s a real class act. Remind me again why you like Blue Coat so much?”

  “He’s good, Jay. Brilliant. He knows his shit and has money to burn. He built the best team in the venture capital world because he can pay. He’s got great creds plus he knows the numbers, the market, and the technology. He’s also a visionary and believe me, he can open up a whole lot of doors for LazerShark.”

  “You know what, Chris? I don’t love the idea of working with someone like him but I trust your judgment. So long as we make sure he doesn’t get controlling interest, agreed?” James raised an eyebrow. “No matter what line of bullshit he feeds us?”

  “Agreed. I’m not about to turn over all our work to this guy. Give me a little more credit than that. But we really need this investment and Blue Coat is the one company that can put us on the map long-term. Plus, they do a lot of work in New York. There may be some opportunities for us to travel. You can connect with Jessica…” Chris nodded as he trailed off. “This could be very good, for all of us.”

  “And if we don’t like what we hear, we walk, right?” I’m still not great with the idea of working with this guy, but Chris is usually right about this stuff. I know we need Emerson’s backing to take LazerShark to the next level. And if there’s a shot I could see Jessica, that’s just a bonus. New York isn’t my favorite place but I’d go in a heartbeat for a chance to spend time with her. I just need to relax and trust Chris. He knows the business and he’s not going to steer us wrong.

  “Yes, yes, we walk. I promise. But it won’t come to that.” Chris balled up a piece of paper and aimed it at James. “Quit worrying, things are starting to happen for us.”

  JESSICA POWERED ON her laptop, anxious to meet with the partners about her work in California. I have one shot to convince them that this consulting practice can be huge for DMC. Not just because of James. I’ve put so much time into this and I deserve a chance to run it. If I happen to manage the work from California, would that be so horrible?

  The short answer was yes, at least from Charlie’s perspective. But maybe his perspective doesn’t matter anymore.

  It would be a perfect scenario.

  But first things first. Jessica had a roomful of partners to convince and she had to admit the numbers were not very impressive. Landing Secure Transact as a client would have helped her case, but she wasn’t giving up on them just yet. There was too much potential; she was determined to sign them, somehow.

  Could this laptop be any slower?

  Minutes felt like hours. After a great deal of silent swearing, her email inbox appeared on the screen. She scrolled through all of the spam and company announcements. The partner meeting was in two hours and Jessica decided to get some coffee before Charlie arrived. It was too early to deal with the third degree without an adequate amount of caffeine in her system.

  She grabbed her wallet and headed to the lobby. Argh. There he was, making a beeline for her. Mother eff.

  “Jessica, I need you to review a project plan this morning. It’s for a client downtown. The manager in charge needs a senior on the engagement and I told him you’re available.”

  Jessica shot him a blank look. “I don’t understand. I’m working on—”

  “Not anymore.” He pulled out his iPhone and scrolled as he spoke, ignoring her confusion.

  “But the partner meeting—”

  “Ended an hour ago. We decided to meet early this morning since Justin had to catch a flight to Chicago.” He continued staring at the device in his hand and Jessica’s bewilderment converted to anger.

  “After all of the work I prepared for that meeting, you just conveniently left me out of the conversation?” Jessica clenched her fists, feeling the nails dig into her skin. It hurt like hell, but it was nothing compared to the pain she wanted to inflict on that asshole.

  With a callous smile, Charlie looked up from the screen. “The direction I got from Justin and the others was that we can’t waste any more time and money on something that isn’t going to yield us much return. So far, your projections are weak at best.”

  “I told you that Secure Transact will—”

  “But you couldn’t make the deal.”

  “Not yet, but—”

  Charlie leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Jessica, let me tell you something. You may think you have all the answers, but I’ve worked long and hard to get where I am today. I don’t have to implement your recommendations, nor do I have to like them. I am in control of this effort and my responsibility is making money, not wasting it.”

  Jessica opened her mouth but no words came out. It didn’t sound like he was resigning anymore. What else happened during that meeting? What the hell was he talking to Jackson about that day if it wasn’t about quitting his job? Tell me the partners didn’t convince him to stay!

  “Do you have something to say?” Charlie glared at her.

  Jessica hesitated. What am I going to do now? He’s pulling me off this project and sticking me downtown. Doing that will destroy all the progress I’ve made and my chance to lead the practice will go up in smoke. And I’ll never get back to California either… Panic rose in her throat but she caught it just before it bubbled over. No way. I’m not giving him the satisfaction. He’s not going to see me fall apart.

  She needed a meeting with Justin. It was that simple. I have to convince Justin I can get this practice off the ground. I’ll do whatever it takes for that opportunity. She shuddered as a foreign numbing sensation crept down her right arm. Oh God, this stress is going to bury me. I have to be strong. There’s too much at stake.

  JESSICA’S IPHONE BUZZED as she left Starbucks. She smiled for the first time that day. James. “Hey, how are you?”

  “I’m good. Glad I caught you.”

  “Oh? So desperate to speak to me?” She took a sip of her latte.

  James chuckled. “Definitely. So how’d your meeting go?”

  “Well, it went, but without me because Charlie rescheduled it and forgot to let me know about the change in time.” Jessica gritted her teeth.

  “That sucks. I’m really sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

  “Yeah, well, what can you do?” She tried to be nonchalant and changed the subject, not wanting to tell him the outcome of the meeting. “Anyway, enough of that. How’s everything going with your pitch prep? Are you ready to dazzle this investor or what?”

  “Yeah, we’re ready. Although I don’t know how much I trust this guy we’re meeting. He seems pretty shady. He’s the principal of the firm. Chris keeps trying to assure me that he’s okay, but I’m still not convinced. Guess I’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Hey, you’re going to be a hit, trust me. I’ve spoken to a lot of start-up companies and I know what to look for!”

  James laughed. “Thanks for the pep talk.” His vo
ice turned husky. “So anyway…I keep thinking about what a great time I had with you, and how I can’t wait to get you alone again…”

  Jessica felt her cheeks grow warm and her body prickled with anticipation at the implied meaning of his words. Wow, how can he do that to me from three thousand miles away? God, it’s been so long.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that too.” She bit her bottom lip. Mmm…a lot more than I care to admit.

  James let out a low whistle. “Well, I guess we have that in common. Seriously, Jess, I really can’t wait to see you again.”

  Jessica’s heart fluttered. She wanted to stand there and talk to him for hours. Just hearing his voice made her melt.

  Her phone vibrated again. Charlie. Dammit! “James, I’ve got to run. Charlie just called. He must need me to get him some coffee or something.” She grimaced. “I really need to find him before he sends security after me.”

  James snickered. “I understand, don’t worry about it. Can I call you later?”

  “Absolutely.” Jessica’s heart thrummed and it was not in the good way. Taking a few deep breaths to relax, she walked upstairs and found Charlie sitting in his office reviewing some papers. Her anger rose to the surface as she watched him.

  “You called?”

  Charlie frowned at her. “Where have you been? I was looking all over for you.”

  “So sorry, I was in the ladies’ room.”

  “Oh, uh, well, okay.” Then he looked back at the papers on his desk.

  “Did you need something?” Jessica’s voice dripped with disdain, making no effort to hide her feelings.

  Charlie handed her a stack of documents. “You’ll need to review these before heading over to the client tomorrow morning.”

  Jessica’s eyes widened at the reams of paper. “I have meetings scheduled with some of my other clients, I can’t just—”

  “Cancel them. This takes precedence.” Charlie turned back to his computer and began typing. When she didn’t respond, he met her eyes. “Anything else, Jessica?”