Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series

by Ainsley St Claire

  “Caroline tells me you have a new man,” she says. Sara is Caroline’s sister-in-law.

  “Maybe. It’s really new.” I smile.

  “Well, I’d love to hear about it. I think Trey wants to have a gathering out in Stinson Beach on Sunday. If we pull it together, I’ll let you know.”

  I nod. “Sounds great.”

  Mason clears his throat. “Shall we get started? I’ve asked Sara to join us since she’s had the majority of contact with the attorney in China. Please be sure to thank your sister for pointing us to the lawyer, Mia. And it was a total plus that she went to Princeton.”

  “I’ll try not to hold it against her,” I tease.

  “The Chinese Flirt site has been taken down,” Sara tells us. “But we think it will be going back up. It’s something we can be diligent about or just let go. It collects a lot of young people’s information, which would indicate that it’s government based.”

  I uncross and recross my legs. “Do we think the Chinese government stole our app?”

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Cameron says. “It’s a slimmed-down version of your beta app. So, it isn’t even what you released to pilot users here.”

  “That’s good news.” I look over at Sean. “That means that they don’t have the full algorithm.”

  Sean agrees with a tip of his head.

  “So, you think someone got a hold of the beta version of the app?” I confirm.

  “Yes. Just the version we gave away. And I’m not even sure they got in a back door. They just used what they could get and built from there.” Cameron taps a pen on the table. “But getting a Chinese company to admit that they stole something may be difficult.”

  “Exactly.” Mason stands to grab a napkin from the table. “So, we’re trying to determine how we can distance ourselves from the Chinese version.”

  “It’s a matter of how we make it clear we’re not out there collecting information for the Chinese government,” Cameron adds. “Because we all know that’s what the government-opposition groups will push out.” He takes a bite of the biggest turkey and bacon sandwich I’ve ever seen.

  “I wonder…” I muse aloud. “I’d have to check with my sister, but China is very gossipy, and my sister is well connected. We could put out notification through her network that the Chinese version is not affiliated with the US brand, and people should be cautious about putting their information into the app.”

  “I worry that it would be seen as misinformation put out by the Chinese government to destroy your app and have the opposite effect,” Mason says.

  “What are our options?” I ask.

  “What if we actually launch in China?” Cameron says. “It would mean a lot of work for Sean and me, and we’d need to bring in translators to vet our coding, but that might be the best way to show we’re something different.”

  I look around the room. Are they serious? “What’s to stop the government of China from banning us or taking over our local servers? That would be a lot of work wasted if they stop us immediately. I mean, the encrypted messaging alone would be something the Chinese government opposes. Infidels could congregate there and plot to take over the Communist party.”

  “Good point.” Mason nods.

  I look at the view outside and try to think. “I should talk to Toni Lo. She grew up in Shanghai and may have some ideas for me. I’ve only been to China once, and that was for my sister’s graduation and one of her concerts.”

  Cameron nods. “Regardless, before we can commit to moving to another market, particularly an international one, we need to get done with the beta phase of your app.”

  We shift gears to going through the code and identifying remaining fixes and changes that need to be made. It soon becomes a three-way conversation between Cameron, Sean, and me. And a little while after that, Cameron and Sean disappear down a rabbit hole, wrestling with a particularly tricky issue.

  Mason hooks his thumb at me, and I follow him out of the conference room and down the hall.

  “I need something sweet, and I know we have options in the kitchen,” he says.

  We walk to the office center where there’s a beautiful kitchen stocked full of enough groceries to feed the staff for a month. He rummages around for a moment.

  “Ah, here they are.” He pulls out a pastry box from a popular local French bakery.

  I look in and see lemon bars. “How are these still here?”

  “I asked Carrie to put them aside for us.” He takes a big bite out of one, leaving his lips covered in powdered sugar. “These are the best.”

  “You know they’re my favorite.” I take my own and bite in, savoring the sweet but slightly tart flavor. Fantastic.

  “Here, we can take these back to my office and talk.”

  I don’t need any others, but I know he wants to chat.

  Once we’re in his office, he takes a big swig of water from his water bottle. “How did things go with the State Department interview? I’m scheduled for Monday.”

  “Have you been deposed by Viv’s counsel?” I ask.

  “Yes. She’s a slippery one.”

  I nod. “After the deposition, I was prepared for her to be a bitch. But she surprised us all.”

  “What did she say?”

  “It’s what she didn’t say. She didn’t really ask me any questions.”

  Mason stops, his eyes wide. “Why not?”

  Shaking my head, I eye another lemon bar but I refrain. I want desperately to wear a cute outfit tomorrow for the baseball game, and too many lemon bars will mean it doesn’t fit. I share both Walker’s and Marci’s thoughts on what Tatyana might be up to.

  He shakes his head. “That would be fucking devious if she uses you.”

  I blow out a breath. “That’s what I’m scared of.” I study Mason and decide he’s safe. He’s forced to work with me since he’s an investor in Flirt and on the board at Diamond. “I didn’t have a ton of friends growing up,” I confess. “My mind didn’t work the same as kids my own age, and I was awkward. Viv knows my friends mean everything to me. Using me to lose the case for Nate would be an epic win for her. Not only would she ruin me, but all of my friendships, too.”

  Mason rests his elbows on his chair, his hands clasped in front of him. “I know Nate pretty well, and while I can’t speak for him, I also can’t imagine you’d say anything that would destroy your relationship. He’ll know what Viviana and her attorney are up to.”

  I nod. I want to hug Mason right now, and I tell myself he has to be right. He’s not the only one who’s said that.

  “We all know Viviana admitted her guilt to Nate while he was wired,” he continues. “She can try to ruin everyone as she goes, but honestly, we’ll all see it for what it is.”

  I nod. “That’s what Axel says.”

  Mason smiles. “Axel is back in the picture?”

  “Yeah. We’re just having fun, though. Nothing big. He’s dealing with his sister and her four kids moving in, and of course, Jeremy is doing incredibly, and he has other clients too.”

  “Caroline and I are going to the game tomorrow. Will you be there?”

  “I think so. Nate’s helping me get seats for the team at Flirt as a reward.”

  “They must think you’re a supreme goddess for getting them tickets to watch Jeremy play. That’s quite the coup.”

  “It will be fun, and I want to keep them happy. They’re fantastic. Sean asked me what my plans were after this. He wants to stick around if there’s another project.”

  Mason sits forward. “Was he planning on leaving?”

  “He likes the development more than maintenance, so he usually moves around quite a bit. But I’d love to keep him occupied. He’s of the mind that I should hire a CEO for Diamond and let it run on its own.”

  “You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Mason says.

  “But if I let someone run Diamond, and I have someone running Flirt, I don’t know what I would do.” I pause a moment. “But I do have
an idea.”

  “Oh?” he says. “What are you thinking?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think this would be of commercial interest. But once we really talk about it, I’ll let you know.”

  Mason nods. “I knew you and Sean would hit it off. He’s a great guy, and one of Cameron’s go-tos. He’s helped us out of a few jams.”

  “I’ll keep you abreast as we figure things out. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We still need to go live here in San Francisco and then across the US—not to mention this crazy China idea we were talking about today.”

  He nods and polishes off his lemon bar. “Sounds great.”

  When I look at my watch, it’s after five. “I guess I should go free Sean.” I lean in. “He was very smitten with Carrie. Is she seeing anyone?”

  “Nope. She doesn’t have many friends here.”

  “Do you think she might like to attend the game tomorrow? We may have an extra ticket. She could sit with us and meet some of the Flirt team.”

  “I would think so.” Mason stands and stretches. “And I think she’s still here. She steps in for the receptionist after she leaves if we have people in the conference rooms.”

  “Great.”

  Mason and I wander back to our conference room, and Cameron and Sean are just finishing up. “Perfect timing,” I say. I text Peter to let him know we should be down in about ten minutes.

  I pack up, and we all walk out to reception. Carrie is there at the desk.

  “Hey, Carrie,” Mason says.

  She looks up. “Is there something you need?”

  “Do you have plans tomorrow?” Mason asks.

  Carrie’s brow furrows.

  “Mia’s company has an extra ticket to the Prospectors game. They’re going as a corporate outing.”

  She looks at me.

  “Mason mentioned you were new to San Francisco, so I thought you might want to join us. It’ll be low key, and you might meet a few more people your age. I mean, hanging out with your cousin and her husband can’t be that crazy.”

  She laughs. “Caroline is pretty crazy.”

  “True. I’ve seen her get into some trouble.” I chuckle. “No pressure. You can think about it and let me know.”

  She looks at Sean and smiles. “I think it might be fun. I can make it.”

  I pat my pockets. I don’t have a card on me. I turn to Sean. “Do you have a card?”

  “Sure.” He pulls out his wallet and hands it to her. “This has my cell on it. Send me your information, and I’ll let you know when and where we plan on meeting. We’re also going to hang out together afterward, if you want to plan on that as well.”

  Mason and I step away from the conversation, but I can tell we’re both listening. Cameron has disappeared.

  “That might be fun,” Carrie says.

  Sean adjusts his computer bag. “Great. Mia usually likes to get to the game early, but we can go whenever you want.”

  She shrugs. “I don’t have anything going on, so whenever.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Don’t forget to send me your information.”

  “I won’t forget.” She bites her lower lip and tucks the card inside her purse.

  Electricity is zapping between them, and I love it.

  “That was easy,” Mason whispers.

  I nod. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  Chapter 29

  Mia

  Once we find Peter and get ourselves into the back of my car downstairs, Sean turns to me. “You were amazing. Thank you for setting it up for Carrie to join us tomorrow. I think she may even like me a little bit.”

  “I’d say the chemistry was crackling.” I waggle my eyebrows. “What’s your plan?”

  “Once she texts me, I’ll let her know where we’re meeting.” A few moments pass. “It was really great that you did that for me. I’m not sure I could have made it happen.”

  Sean is a dynamic developer, has money in the bank, and is the go-to guy to build a robust software platform. It’s cute to see him flustered over a girl—though I totally know how he feels. Just because you’re killing it in one part of your life doesn’t mean you’ve conquered it all. “You’d have to be blind not to see the attraction between the two of you.”

  Sean’s phone pings. “It’s her,” he whispers.

  Then my phone pings, and as I look at it, my heart gets fuzzy.

  Axel: I got back late last night. My sister and kids are taken care of, and I want to spend the weekend together. I do have to attend a baseball game tomorrow. What would you like to do this weekend?

  Me: Tonight - Netflix and chill.

  Me: Tomorrow - Sleep in and go to the baseball game where I’m meeting my team from Flirt.

  Me: After the game, a gathering at my marketing director’s home for dinner.

  Me: Sunday - possibly a group of friends are gathering in Stinson Beach.

  Me: I’m hoping you can come to any and all of these.

  Axel: I’m packing now. Can SoBe hang at your place?

  Me: Shh. Don’t tell anyone, but he’s my favorite and I like him best.

  Axel: Wait a minute! I’ve heard you moan my name more than once.

  Me: And?

  Axel: You’re going to get a good spanking for that.

  Me: Promise?

  Axel: See you about seven? What sounds good for dinner? Greek? Mexican? Italian? Me?

  Me: Greek for dinner; you for dessert.

  I blush at the thought. I glance over at Sean, and he has a goofy look on his face. “All set for tomorrow?”

  He nods. “Yes. She doesn’t live very far from me. I’m going to pick her up and we can get a ride over together.”

  “Fantastic.” I look out the window, and we’re inching along. The traffic on Friday afternoon is dense and slow. I’m so grateful Peter’s driving, and I might as well take advantage of my captive audience. “Since I have you, I’ll tell you my idea for my next software. I can already see the main algorithm in my head.”

  Sean turns toward me eagerly. “Lay it on me.”

  “You’re familiar with Moneyball?” I ask.

  “Yeah, it was that Brad Pitt movie?”

  I nod. “It’s based on a true story, and now many professional teams use the philosophy. It’s about how to get the best talent for a team within your cost restrictions.”

  He nods.

  “It takes into account all the statistics and the data from a player over at least three years. It can also be dependent upon availability. If you get player A to play first base, then you can set up player B. But, if player A goes to the Rockies, there is no value in player B.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now, you could get Player A, B, and C who all work well on paper, but if they’re alpha jerks and can’t work with anyone, you’re screwed. When I was putting together the Flirt algo, I worked with a psychology program that looked at personality types. If you have a bench of fifteen players and all of them are strong leaders, you may not have a team that plays well together. You need a mix of leaders and followers and maybe a few who can float between.”

  “How do you determine that without a personality test?”

  “Good question. And I have an answer to that. But to start with, let’s just say we have that information. I want to integrate that into software that will help the recruiters for the Prospectors create the best team around Jeremy Hamilton.”

  Sean’s eyes widen. “Are you kidding?”

  I shake my head. “Nope. Baseball is math. Flirt matches personalities. I want to meld the two. And I don’t want to sell this to any of the other clubs. I want to design it purely for the Prospectors.”

  “I’m totally in,” Sean declares as we arrive at his apartment building.

  I smile. “I was hoping you’d say that. I know it will be hard with Carrie being there, but tomorrow, try to think about what we would need to do to make it work. I’ll talk to Nate about it. I think we can create a solution and convince th
e owners’ consortium to purchase it.”

  “Ah, man. See? I knew you had a few ideas going.”

  “A few, but this one may be the most challenging, and it would be just the two of us. And honestly, it isn’t going to make us much money.”

  “I’m okay. I worked with Peter Sutterland when he launched PeopleMover, so I’m okay to go without a salary from time to time.”

  “I would pay you for your work,” I assure him. “But there are no stock options. We’d be doing this for my friend.”

  “I’m good with that.” He opens his door and climbs out. “See you tomorrow.”

  I wave, and with a smile on my face, Peter takes me home.

  When I walk in the door, I have thirty minutes before Axel will arrive. I need to relax and take a bath.

  “And that, folks, was a one-hundred-and-ten-mile-an-hour fastball,” the announcer booms over the speakers at the stadium the next afternoon. “No one has yet to really hit that ball, but when they do, it’s going to sail all the way to Las Vegas.”

  The crowd goes crazy.

  “This is fantastic. These seats are incredible. I can’t believe how close we are,” Christina gushes.

  “We were fortunate to get so many seats behind home base,” I tell her. Nate has exceeded my expectations once again.

  I look over at Sean, and he’s struggling to watch the game because he’s so involved with talking to Carrie. They arrived together and seem to have really hit it off. I’m happy for him.

  My cell phone vibrates in my lap.

  Axel: You look delicious in that dress.

  Me: Thanks. Were you able to pull together the surprise?

  Axel: Yes. I think it’s going to be fun.

  Me: See you an hour or so after the game?

  Axel: I hope you don’t have to stay too late at the party. Last night was a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to a repeat.

  I blush.