Obsession: (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #5) A Billionaire Russian Mob Romance

by Ainsley St Claire

Seeing Dillon and Sara, I ask, “How did you guys beat me?”

  “We told Jim our plan, so your driver went the long way,” Dillon explains.

  “Y’all are too much.”

  Todd leans in close. “So, what happened today?”

  I tell him about our two new clients, and he says, “I can see why that’s a big deal. Congratulations.”

  CeCe has sparkling wine passed around, and she leads a wonderful toast. The night goes much later than it should, but we have a fantastic time, and the view is outstanding.

  As I begin to grow tired, Todd explains to the group, “I think my girlfriend is turning into a pumpkin. If you’ll excuse us, I’m going to get her home and tuck her into bed.”

  Later in the week, Agents Woods and Baron arrive at the office. Constance delivers a note, and we go through the same routine as we did the first time they showed up without notice.

  When Sara joins me to speak with the agents, they advise me to sit down. My stomach does a complete somersault, and my heart beats triple time. “Marci’s on her way. Should we wait for her?” I ask.

  “We’re just here to give you an update.”

  Sara puts her hand on my arm in reassurance.

  Agent Baron continues, “We delivered our warrants for Kuznetsov’s arrest, along with several of his associates. It looks like they’ve fled the country to Havana.”

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This is never going to be over. “What does that mean?”

  “The good news is that our inside man is still busy with the new organization. You aren’t even on their radar. In fact, I think some would throw you a party.”

  “Why a party?”

  “Because of the mess you created—”

  “He created the mess. I just reported it,” I retort.

  “Because of you reporting what was going on at BrightStar, it enables a regime and power change. The new regime isn’t interested in you in the least. They like human trafficking, prostitution, drugs, gambling, and extortion.”

  I close my eyes again. Part of me is thrilled that they’ve moved on to someone other than me, but the other part is torn over all the lives they ruin.

  Marci arrives and they fill her in. “Well, that’s good news. Thank you for delivering that in person.”

  They nod and leave. I speak briefly with Sara and Marci, then just sit in the conference room and think. The silver lining in all of this is that Todd and I moved our relationship from just friends to so much more

  A weather alert pings on my phone, sunshine for this weekend. I smile and text Todd.

  Me: Sun will be shining. Tomorrow we’re touring Golden Gate Park. Wear your walking shoes.

  Todd: I’m glad you told me. I would’ve worn my heels and been miserable.

  Me: I’d love to see if you could walk five feet in a pair of three-inch heels.

  Todd: Without even trying, I already know I can’t.

  Me: Dinner and a movie tonight?

  Todd: Sounds perfect. See you shortly.

  Me: Love you.

  Todd: Love you more.

  I smile to myself. I never thought I had the capacity to love anyone like I love him. I’m so happy with where we are. Sure, I’d like more, but baby steps are fine for now.

  I have the rideshare drop us at the zoo. It’s a beautiful day, perfect for exploring exhibits. When we arrive at the primates area, one of the zookeepers asks if we’d like to go behind the scenes.

  “I’ve never been behind the scenes.” I’m so excited. We’re invited to hold a few of the new baby patas monkeys, and we give them bottles and feed them small pieces of fruit. I’m over the moon.

  When we walk outside, I catch that they call Todd “Mr. Wellington,” so obviously it was a bit planned, but I’m good with that.

  As we head over to a loud exhibit of monkeys, Todd takes me by the hand and turns to look at me. His eyes are trained on me like I’m the only woman in the world. The only thing he wants. “I realized something the other night.”

  “What did you realize?”

  “Your life is always crazy.”

  I’m not sure where he’s going with this, but I play along. “I suppose you’re right.”

  “I came to San Francisco with a completely different plan. You’ve made my life exciting—although I could’ve done without a hospital visit.” I smile at the joke. He reaches into his pocket. “There’s no one in the world who I think I could ever love as much as I love you. You’re beautiful on the inside and the outside. You’re the yin to my yang. I know we’ve been through a lot, and we’ve only been together a short time, but—” He drops down to one knee, and the world stops around me. I cover my mouth as I watch it all unfold. “—would you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

  People have stopped around us, watching with eager eyes.

  I can’t imagine my life without him. “Yes, I’d love to marry you.”

  People around us cheer, and he slips a huge emerald-cut diamond on my ring finger. “If you don’t like this, I’m happy to exchange it for something else.”

  “I love it, and I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  “I think we need to go home and celebrate.”

  “I love the way you think.”

  This man has seen me at my absolute worst. He’s protected me, and he’s allowed me to grow. He’s everything I ever wanted and more.

  I’m the luckiest woman in the world.

  Venture Capitalist: Flawless

  Book 5.5

  (Coming April 2019)

  PROLOGUE

  Parker

  One month ago

  “Dude! Are you coming with us for a drink?” my coworker James asks.

  It’s been a rough day. I’ve worked for SHN for over a year, and Pineapple Technologies has just gone public. We were their sole investor, and we’ve been celebrating all day as the culmination of our hard work comes together. Now the team wants to gather for drinks after work at The Downstairs Bar. We seem to hang out there often, mostly because it’s close.

  “Just give me ten more minutes and I’ll be right there.” As a software analyst at SHN, it’s my job to review other people’s code, test it, and check their math. Currently I have eighteen companies looking for funding from the venture capital firm I work for. Each company would prefer three to five million dollars each. I’m the first step in the cog for them to get funding.

  Shutting down my computer, I see several of the partners still in the office. They work harder than anyone else here.

  A few minutes later I arrive at the bar and see one of the partners, Emerson, sitting with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s breathtaking with her long blonde hair, delicate features, and piercing blue eyes. I can’t help but stare. She smiles as she talks and it reaches her eyes.

  I’m so busy watching her that I’m not paying attention to where I’m going and almost stumble and fall. Finding my friends from work, I nod my hello. “Who’s that woman Emerson’s talking to?”

  James looks around and spots to the two women. “I don’t know, man.”

  “She’s hot.”

  James looks at her again and says, “I suppose, if you’re into that kind of girl.”

  “What kind of girl are you into?”

  “Well, last night was a twofer.”

  “You banged two girls in one night?” My voice pitched high in disbelief. I know San Francisco has more straight females than straight men, but I’ve yet to meet a real woman who will just sleep with a guy because he’s there and has a pulse. I know they must exist somewhere, but the fact that he got two women to sleep with him—he’s a chubby guy with greasy hair—I find it difficult to believe.

  “This town’s screaming full of single women looking to have itches scratched. I just happen to be the guy willing to do it.” James makes it sound much simpler than it really is.

  Well, unless you pay for it, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.

>   I roll my eyes. What a jerk.

  “Well, I think she’s hot.”

  “You know Emerson. Why don’t you just go there and introduce yourself?”

  Easier said than done. Aside from the fact that Emerson is one of the partners in my firm and my boss, I would never be so brazen to assume I wouldn’t be interrupting anything.

  I drink my beer and listen to the guys talk about baseball. They’re my coworkers, and I like most of them, but they’re not really my friends. James is great to work with, but that’s where my adoration for him stops.

  Only half listening to the conversation, I watch as the woman who has enraptured me finishes her conversation with Emerson and shakes her hand. I like that she’s tall, and aesthetically, she’s damn perfect. Her lithe body fills out the suit she’s wearing beautifully. I’d love the chance to get to know her better.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Parker

  I’m late for work. I don’t normally oversleep, but I worked all weekend to prepare for a meeting with my manager, Cameron. He’s one of our founders, and I like working for him. He’s probably the smartest guy I’ve ever met, and he lets me do my thing and gives me as much rope as I need. I haven’t hung myself—yet.

  There are four companies I’ve reviewed that I’m going to pass along for others to vet. I’m fairly confident that three of them are sound investments for SHN, though I’m on the fence about the other one. I keep going back and forth on why I’m struggling. I do know that, despite my thinking the technology is something that will work, the proposals will go to several other groups within SHN and can be kicked by any of them. I want to talk to Cameron about it during our meeting so he’s up to date on what my thoughts are.

  Exiting the elevator, I’m looking at my phone and walk right by reception before I hear, “Excuse me. Excuse me, sir?”

  I look up and it’s the blonde-haired beauty from the bar last month, the angel who haunts my dreams. I don’t know what to say, but she comes running over. “Hi. My name’s Constance. Do you work here?”

  I nod, still not knowing if I can speak to her or why she’s stopping me. Her voice is even better than I ever imagined. She’s wearing a tight pink turtleneck sweater that highlights the pink in her delicate cheeks, and she’s shorter than I am even in her heels. My cock stirs in my pants.

  “May I see your badge?” she asks. “I was instructed that the new policy allows no one to pass without an ID badge.”

  We’ve had some issues with some sensitive information being hacked or shared, and I’d heard our security team was recommending we push out some new policies and procedures. Maybe if I had been on time today, I’d know what those policies are.

  Her smile reaches her eyes and my stomach turns. She’s even more beautiful than I remember. I can’t get past her ice blue orbs, lost in their depths. Her strawberry shampoo invades my senses and makes me want to reach out and touch her blonde hair. And at that moment when our eyes meet, I’m sure the world stopped spinning. Everything else falls away until we are the only two people left on the planet.

  My breath catches, a dozen questions I want to ask her flashing through my mind. I want to know where she lives, if she has a boyfriend, or a husband, or—God forbid—kids. I want to know everything, but nothing comes out of my mouth as I stare at her like I’m an idiot.

  I finally reach into my pocket and flash her my ID; it’s a terrible picture, so I hate to wear it. I try to smile, but it’s so forced that I’m sure I look like a jerk. Great first impression!

  “Thank you. Have a great day,” she singsongs as I walk away.

  I finally find my voice—sort of. “You too,” I mumble.

  Have a great day? Perfect, I’m screwed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Constance

  I know it’s only my third week at SHN, but I like it here. I enjoy the work, and I like the people. After I finished my bachelor’s degree at Harvard, I wasn’t sure I wanted to move back to the Bay Area. My mom drives me crazy about my father, and she needs me. He comes and goes in and out of her life, and my aunt and I are the only ones who are there for her.

  My undergrad degree is in English. Not exactly one that sets you on a path for a career, but I knew I wanted to work in the venture capital world. I think I inherited my father’s entrepreneurial spirit, so watching ideas move from a paper napkin to a full-fledged plan always intrigued and excited me.

  Moving from the napkin typically comes from money, or in most cases venture capital. That’s where I want to work and learn. Once I got that figured out, I did a lot of research and decided that I only wanted to work at SHN. Since I didn’t have a degree in technology or even finance, I knew I needed to start at the bottom, take whatever I could, and work my way up. I waited for the right opening, and when it happened, I applied and thankfully got the job, since I had no backup plan if things fell through. And I love it here.

  The main line rings. “Thank you for calling Sullivan Healy Newhouse. How may I direct your call?” SHN’s the premier venture capital fund in the Bay Area. It was founded by Mason Sullivan, business guru; Dillon Healy, finance expert; and Cameron Newhouse, technology wizard. They met in college and started the fund with their own money when they were all twenty-eight years old while working at various start-ups. For the first two years, they invested in early companies as hobbies. SHN became a real company when one of their client’s companies sold for more than quadruple their initial investment.

  “Constance?”

  My stomach drops. It’s my mother. “Yes, Mom.” She worked many years ago, and that’s how she met my father. After I was born, she worked occasionally, but has really only survived on handouts from my father or the generosity of others. She no longer understands the importance of a good work ethic. She can also be emotionally fragile, so I always tread carefully.

  “I talked to your dad today.”

  I close my eyes and take several deep breaths. My father’s the reason my mother’s so damaged. “That’s nice. I’m at work. Can we talk about this tonight?” Or maybe never?

  “Well, he just made my day, and I wanted to share it with you. He was so sweet. He came by, and we spent some time together…”

  I stop listening. I know what she’s going to say. It’s been this way my entire life. My father arrives in her life, and she stops everything for him. She gets so excited for the attention he pays her and promises he makes that he never keeps, and then she’s wrecked. He’s been married to another woman for years, yet he still comes over and sleeps with my mom regularly.

  My parents weren’t married when I was conceived, and in all my twenty-five years, my father has had zero interest in being a part of my life. He would make a promise to my mother about spending time with me, we’d spend hours preparing for our “date,” and then he’d never show. My first memories are of me wearing a pretty pink dress, having spent what seemed like hours getting ready, and the disappointment of his not showing. When she’d call him, he’d make a lame excuse and she’d forgive him, but after it happening time and again, I’ve chosen to never forgive him.

  I learned a long time ago that what he promises my mother is worthless. It was probably just to feed her what she wanted to hear so he could get on with the part of his life that doesn’t include her without any negative publicity.

  The only time my mom did have clarity regarding him was when he told her he was going to marry Lauren. She figured out he’d been lying to her for years. I think he promised her they would get married one day when he tired of his bachelor ways and his company was doing well. I was seven when he announced his engagement to Lauren; Mom and I moved to Hawaii for two years. By then he had founded and run one of the Bay Area’s largest companies and is now recognized as the pioneer of the microcomputer revolution, but he still came around sometimes. I could always tell, since my mom was happy and fun to live with around those visits. Then he’d ignore her for a few days, and she’d fall into a depression.

  He’s an ass as far
as I’m concerned. Fuck him and how he treats us. I know it sounds heartless, but my mother could’ve told him years ago to pound sand and she didn’t, so she’s made her own bed, and now she can sleep in it.

  “… so I thought you might do that.”

  “Wait, what? What am I doing?” She’s always rambling, and then the next thing I know, I’m going on a date with some guy she met randomly or sitting with some yogi she thinks will solve all of our problems.

  “Meeting your dad for lunch tomorrow. He works close by you and wants to see you.”

  “Mom, we’ve talked about this a thousand and ten times. He has no interest in me. He was only a sperm donor. I know he loves you, but he denies I’m his daughter despite paternity tests. He’ll never show up.”

  “Never say never,” she singsongs.

  “Mom, the other line’s ringing and I need to answer it. Have a good day, and I’ll try to call tonight.” The other line isn’t ringing, but I don’t want to get into this personal conversation while I’m at work.

  “Okay, honey. Have a good day, and call me when you get home.”

  I hang up and just sit there. My mother let that man treat her poorly her entire adult life. I decided when I was thirteen that I’d never do that to myself. She takes anything bad I say about my dad personally. He’s a narcissist and self-serving. He doesn’t want to make time for me, so I don’t make time for him.

  When I look up, I see Parker getting off the elevator. My heart beats triple time as I look into his earnest, gorgeous hazel eyes. The flecks of gold in his eye color seemed richer and brighter than usual. Parker Carlyle’s easily the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and I can’t tear my gaze away from his face.

  “Good morning, Parker.” My stomach clenches and my insides do a somersault, he’s so handsome. Unfortunately, he seems to know it. He never looks at me. I’m still embarrassed about my first day when I didn’t allow him to pass without a badge. I was only doing what I was told, but he’s never seemed to forgive me.