Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series

by Ainsley St Claire

  I chuckle and nod. “I was going to lean on our group of friends to start with, but they seem more interested in being test subjects than helpers.”

  Emerson grins. “I think you’re right. Last night I heard Ryder and Claire talking. Everyone is quite confident that with your data-mining capabilities, you’re going to knock it out of the park.”

  “That’s a big vote of confidence—but they’re my friends. It’ll be actual users and strangers who’ll be honest about the app. I’m worried it could become two hours of questionnaires, like eTogether, and I don’t want that.”

  Cameron looks up from my code. “I think you might be able to adjust. Tumble is about how a date looks—it’s a hookup site. eTogether goes into personality traits for more long-term relationships. Distinguished goes for the successful. If you tweak your algo at these points, you should be able to make it smoother.”

  “I like it,” I say, and Cameron’s fingers fly over my keyboard to add the code.

  “How are you looking to launch?” Greer Giordano asks. She runs public relations for all SHN investments.

  “I was thinking of getting a hotel ballroom—maybe the Fairmont? Or I guess we could look at the yacht club. I was going to send out an announcement that asked for RSVPs, inviting people to come and bring a single friend.”

  “Oh, I like that,” Greer agrees. “I may have some venue ideas for a larger crowd, but I also think we should do this with a nice invitation.”

  “How will you make money on this?” Dillon asks.

  My head is beginning to spin a little. This is ballooning rapidly, but everyone seems so sure. “Well, I was thinking we’d offer it for free for the first three months, and after that, they have to pay for it.”

  “Are you set on that?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “I’m absolutely open to other options.”

  “You could offer it for free with advertising, or so many matches for free,” Mason muses. “We’ve had a few apps like this. We can work this out. I think we can pursue three options when you roll this out to other cities. I guess the biggest question right now is, are you open to outside investment?”

  I look around the table. I’ve worked with this team before. Even if I’m giving up some of my equity, that’s far outweighed by what they bring to the table. “I am open to SHN’s investment and all the help that comes with it,” I tell them. “It’s an app, so the development is there, and what I need is mostly going to be about a team and overhead.”

  “Mason and I talked about it,” Dillon says. “We think we can come in with five hundred million for a forty-percent share.”

  I’m blown away. That’s way more money than I expected. “How did you come up with your value?”

  Dillon runs through the numbers based on what the publicly traded dating sites are doing, and then the push to go national and possibly international. “The team you’ll eventually need is about two hundred employees. But the real value is in the algorithm you’ve written. People are going to be very interested in buying the app for that alone.”

  “Wow, okay then. I’ll accept those terms. Remember, I was going to do this small.”

  “Oh, but it will be so much more fun when we do it big,” Mason says with a wink.

  Before I know it, we’ve ordered in lunch, and things just snowball from there. By the end of the day, Greer is taking care of the testing with a launch party at the Palace of Fine Arts. She’s prattling on about engraved invitations for over two thousand guests, and she’s busy with a party planner so this can happen in less than three weeks. I’ve gone back and forth with Cameron, and the app’s code has improved significantly. Meanwhile, Dillon, Mason, and I have worked out a business plan. Emerson has found us office space we can sublet from one of their clients who just moved into bigger space, and she’s set out to hire the first twelve employees.

  It’s after five by the time we’re done. Mason walks me out to the curb to find Peter double-parked at the street.

  “How do you feel about the board’s decision at Diamond?” he asks.

  “I think it’ll be good to have a break. I don’t think they realize how much I do, though. Getting a finance person to step in won’t make the development people happy. However, I guess that’s not my problem right now. And with all that we’ve agreed to with my new app, I can deal with this mess with Viviana and have something else to distract me.”

  “Well, I think you hit the jackpot with another idea that will do well for you,” he says. “If we can achieve a modicum of success, I would expect you’ll have several companies interested in your algorithm at the very least. But going public may be a great option, too.”

  I stand on my tiptoes and throw my arms around Mason. “Thank you. It’s based on Diamond’s algorithm, so we’ll see. I only expected this to be a diversion, not the main event.”

  He smiles. “Sometimes the most creative minds can’t help but be serial geniuses. Look at Nate. He has his original company, which has branched off from prosthetics to AI. Now he’s running his fiancée’s company. He’s putting Russian tech on the market as open-source software, which is allowing many companies to develop cool applications that work well together and make us all look good. And then to keep busy, the guy became the major owner of the Prospectors because he loves baseball and couldn’t get a seat.”

  “Being compared to Nate Lancaster is a huge honor.” I’m not blowing smoke. Nate truly is a legend, and there’s a reason he’s done well.

  “You look exhausted. I hope Diamond’s issues haven’t been keeping you up all night.”

  I lean in. “Actually, working on Flirt kept me up. I haven’t been this excited about something in a long time.”

  Mason gives me a questioning look. “What are you doing working at Diamond Analytics when you should be doing things you find fun?”

  I shrug. Maybe he’s right. I wave goodbye as I open the car door. “Tell Caroline we need to get together for drinks at the Tiger Den soon.”

  He nods, and we agree to meet in a few days to finalize the contract. But we’ve ironed out the deal. This will be fun.

  After Peter returns me to my place, I take a quick shower and crawl into bed. Excited or not, I don’t want to think about Diamond, Viviana, or Flirt for the next ten hours.

  Chapter 4

  Mia

  “Are you ready?” Claire calls from the other room.

  “Just about.” Somehow the day of my app-launch event has arrived already, and Claire and I are getting ready in a hotel suite just around the corner from the Palace of Fine Arts. I had a blow-out this afternoon. My hair is usually long and straight. It doesn’t hold a curl for even a second when there’s a hint of humidity. My stylist is fantastic when it comes to giving me great-looking hair, but all I can manage on my own is to pull it back.

  I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing. As I emerge from the bathroom, Claire looks up from her cell phone. “Wow! You look fantastic.”

  “Thanks. I just hope tonight’s launch is well received.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be? Are you nervous? You shouldn’t be. I talked to Greer, and she and the party planner have an incredible event set up—tons of things to get people to interact and get your app off the ground.”

  “I know. You should see the agenda Greer gave me. I think she has the details down to the second. I was stunned.”

  “How do you like the team you hired?”

  “Emerson was amazing. She pulled a few solid candidates who’d worked on a different kind of app, and they’ve done an incredible job getting Flirt up to speed. They’ve also worked with Cameron before and are developer rock stars. They have a lot going on with this preliminary launch. Really, I’m more the figurehead, and they’re running everything. It’s rather nice.” I laugh.

  “I can’t wait.” Claire stands and tucks her phone in her clutch. “I’ve got eight people from my office who’ve committed to joining us tonight.”

  I look at her in a panic. I thought we were
inviting two thousand people, and we assumed maybe half would come with a guest. Once again, this could be a bigger crowd than I planned for.

  She wraps her arms around me. “Don’t you dare worry about tonight. This is going to be a hit.”

  “Okay. I can do this.” I take a deep breath. “Peter is already running point for security, and Roger is waiting for us.”

  Claire nods. “Do you need a shot of tequila or something before we leave? I don’t ever think I’ve seen you this nervous.”

  I wipe my sweaty hands on a towel. “Do you think designing a dating app is really about me being a nerd who’s desperate to meet a guy?”

  Claire snorts. “No. Any guy looking at you knows you’re the entire package—brains, beauty, and brawn. Nothing about you is desperate.”

  I sigh. “I don’t feel like any of those things tonight. But I’ll tell my trainer you think I’m strong. I’m definitely not—even slightly.”

  We head out, and barely two minutes later we walk into the Palace of Fine Arts. The room is breathtaking. The walls are covered in red velvet curtains, and Greer has Flirt’s logo—a gold cherub—on everything. High-top tables where people can stand dot the edges of the space, and there are twinkle lights everywhere.

  “You’re here,” Greer says with a wide grin.

  “This looks amazing,” I tell her.

  “Thank you.” She turns, and I see several members of my staff running around. “I had great help from your team.”

  “Any changes to the agenda?”

  “They may try, but it’s pretty locked up.”

  “How many people are we expecting?” I ask.

  “I think close to three thousand, and we have food for four.”

  My eyes bulge.

  “Don’t worry. The app can manage it,” Cameron says from behind me as he kisses me on the cheek. “Plus, it’s a good-size control group, and I think you have a few friends showing up who are married.”

  “Totally,” Claire nods. “My brother and Tinsley are coming, and of course, Mason is coming with Caroline. Everyone wants to be supportive.”

  I take another deep breath. I can do this. I hate public speaking in front of strangers. People like my board and my friends are fine, but with people I don’t know, I’d rather sit quietly in the background. I’m not the one in my family who craved centerstage.

  I feel another hand on my back, and I turn to see Nate and his fiancée, Lilly. They both give me a hug.

  “We’re so excited to be here,” Nate says.

  “I invited two people—one of the guys I work with,” Lilly says with a grin. “He’s super nice and a little shy, and I also invited a guy we met recently. He’s the sports agent for Jeremy Hamilton.”

  I’m a data nerd, so I love sports stats, and I’ve been following Jeremy closely—since long before he landed with the Prospectors. I smile. “Jeremy Hamilton’s amazing. I’d love to just talk to his agent at some point.”

  Lilly nods. “I’ll introduce you. His name is Axel, and he’s new to San Francisco from Orange County.”

  “I’ll try not to hold that against him,” I snicker.

  “I know,” Lilly’s eyes twinkle. “Anyway, I thought Flirt might be a great way for him to meet people.”

  I nod and wave as they move into the crowd to mingle. So many of my friends are here to support me. I feel truly honored.

  Monica from the Flirt team appears wearing a headset with a clipboard in hand. “You ready?” she asks.

  “If I have to be,” I say.

  She winks at me. “You got this.” I follow her up to the stage and hear her say, “I’ve got her.”

  A wireless microphone is attached to my dress, and I walk to centerstage and look out over the people in the room. It’s a vast sea of faces. My stomach drops. Monica gives me the thumbs up to start.

  “Welcome, everyone!”

  The crowd claps, and I hear a few of my friends whoop and holler from the back.

  “Thank you all for coming to help me with the launch of a new dating app.”

  The crowd roars.

  “So many people I know have been successful in every part of their life except love. Then my boyfriend decided to dump me over text. When I went looking through the dating apps, nothing seemed to fit. So, I developed Flirt—it doesn’t have two-hundred questions, but there’s a little more to it than swiping left or right. I’m counting on those of you who are single to be my test group. When you sign up, I want you to report what works and what doesn’t. This will help my team with the algorithm and make a better app.”

  A murmur of excitement ripples through the audience.

  “Now, tonight the room is full of people willing to participate in this experiment,” I tell them. “The bracelets you received when you arrived have all been activated. They’ll be sending data to our system as Christina Monroe from our team leads you through a few activities. This will help us fine-tune the app. Please don’t be shy. If you meet someone and exchange digits, that’s fantastic. On your way out, you’ll get the download information to join our test group. Keep the feedback coming, and then we’ll notify you when we go live and Flirt opens up to the public. For now, have fun tonight and meet a few new people!”

  Christina takes the microphone from me and divides the single men and women into two groups. While she walks them through five different ways to meet people, I walk to the back to where my development team is watching the response and my married friends are mingling.

  “This is fantastic,” Toni Lo gushes. “I can’t believe how excited people are about this. I thought you had a good crowd at the Tiger Den.”

  Toni is always there to support me, and I adore her.

  “Well, we figure we’ll see some drop off after tonight, and successive drop off after that, but we hope to have a core group of about a thousand users to gather information with,” I explain.

  I don’t realize Sean Grant, my lead developer, has approached until he speaks. “Actually, we think we’ll have about two thousand from this group.”

  My palms begin to sweat again, and if I weren’t wearing silk, I’d rub them on my dress. “Wow, no pressure there.”

  He winks at me. “Naw. This is the fun part. Data is already beginning to pour in. We’re going to be busy for the next few weeks.”

  “Good thing sleep is overrated.” I shrug.

  I visit with my married friends, and we end up sharing stories of how we’re managing the FBI asking questions about our relationships with Viviana. It’s clear they’re focusing on Nate and me, which isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing. Jackson teases that we’re probably paying for an exceptionally long and luxurious vacation for Walker Clifton, the US Attorney for the Northern District of California, and his wife, Marci, who happens to be my attorney.

  “I say we make a bet on where they’ll be going with all that bonus income,” Landon says as we laugh.

  “All right, I’m in for a hundred dollars, and think they’ll go to Bora Bora and stay in the huts on the water,” I offer.

  “I’m in,” Caroline says. “I’m going to go for a week in the Champagne region of France.”

  There is a collective “Ohhh” from several who know that’s right up Marci’s alley.

  Mason turns and looks at Caroline. “My wife is very smart, but I think they’re going to Japan to go skiing.”

  By the end, we have all sorts of options. “You may want to check with Elena, Toni, Ryder, and Claire before you leave,” I tell Landon. “I’d bet they have some ideas. They’ve not seen the FBI yet, but they’ve been notified, and Marci is working with them, too.”

  “Damn, she’s busy,” Tinsley says.

  As the party winds down, people begin filing out to get their free downloads of Flirt. I move to a back room to meet with Sean, where we’ll look through our data and watch people begin to populate the app.

  “We had over a hundred couples exchange contact information tonight,” he says as I enter.

 
I nod. “That’s roughly ten percent, so that’s right with our estimates.”

  He walks through the next steps his team and I will be taking tonight and over the weekend, and we agree to meet on Monday afternoon to see where we are.

  When we emerge, the main room is nearly empty, except for a few hangers on and several of my friends.

  Landon brings out two magnums of champagne. “I thought we could celebrate to your success today.”

  My hand goes to my heart. “You’re the sweetest thing ever. Thank you.”

  My friends and the guests they brought gather, and glasses of bubbly circulate.

  “To Mia and her new adventure! May she flirt her way into many hearts,” Mason toasts.

  “Cheers!”

  “Thank you all so much for being here tonight. It should be me toasting you. Without your help, I would have had a dozen people show up. Any success I have is because of your love and support.”

  We hang out for a while, and I meet several amazing people from around the City.

  “Mia, this is Theo King, chief of staff for the Mayor of San Francisco,” Walker says.

  “Mia, this is Angela Price. She works for my firm,” Marci says.

  “I’d like to introduce you to my head of design, Ginger Andrews,” Caroline says.

  “Mia, this is the gentleman I mentioned before, Axel Remington,” Lilly says.

  My heart stops beating. With day-old scruff and piercing blue eyes, I’d swear he was related to Chris Evans. I’m sure I blush. “So wonderful to meet you. I’m an amateur sports statistics nerd, and I love watching Jeremy Hamilton. Thank you for bringing him to San Francisco.”

  Axel’s eyes grow wide. “You’re welcome. He’s a great guy. I’d be happy to introduce you to him sometime.”

  I smile as perspiration rolls down my back. “He doesn’t strike me as a guy who worries about his stats.”

  “No, he definitely doesn’t. He’s a good kid with lofty goals that I think he’ll more than meet.”

  “Mia, before I head out—” my friend Trinity begins. “Oh hello.” She looks him up and down. “My name is Trinity Buchanan. Are you downloading the Flirt app?”