Unlikely Venture (The Venture Series Book 1) (2 page)

Within seconds, she stripped out of her suit and pulled on a dress the saleswoman selected. It looked perfect. It was also the most expensive option in the dressing room.
Figures
. It was just that kind of day. Her phone rang as she admired her appearance in the mirror.

“Hey, Li. Can’t really talk right now. I’m in a fitting room.”

“Why are you shopping? Don’t you have that huge client meeting now?”

Jessica let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, I do, but some guy practically steamrolled me in front of Starbucks and knocked a full cup of coffee
all over me
. Can you believe it? Completely destroyed my suit, and since I needed a super quick change, here I am, in a fitting room.”

Lisa giggled. “I’m sure Charlie will love hearing that story.”

Jessica scowled. “Yeah, it gives him another reason to hammer my ass.”

“Screw it, Jess, don’t drive yourself nuts over this. Shit happens. Hey, so what did the guy do? Was he hot at least?”

“He didn’t even
apologize
! He said I wasn’t watching where I was going! So yes, he was hot at first, but now? Total asshole. Listen, let me go, I need to zip up and get out of here. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Good luck! Text me all the juicy details!”

Jessica emerged from the dressing room a couple of minutes later with her hair freshly fluffed, feeling much calmer in a form-fitting tweed dress belted around the middle. She spotted the saleswoman and sailed past Blue Eyes. “Thank you again
so
much for your help. Do you have the receipt for me to sign?”

“Oh, well, actually this gentleman already paid for it.” She gestured to the handsome stranger who was taking in the scene with amusement. The saleswoman held out a shopping bag that contained Jessica’s original outfit and whispered to her, “You might want to at least tell him your name, dear. He seems like a very thoughtful young man.”

Jessica’s eyes widened and she blushed, again feeling a little embarrassed at her behavior. Shit, did he overhear her conversation with Lisa? No, he couldn’t possibly have heard her call him a total asshole.
Oh, please don’t let him have heard that
! Whatever, it wasn’t like she’d ever see him again anyway.

Clearing her throat, she held out her hand. “I’m Jessica. Thank you so much for taking care of this, but I insist on paying you back.” She studied her nails to avoid his penetrating stare. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. It wasn’t your fau—”

He shrugged and grasped her hand, his touch sending a little shiver down Jessica’s spine. “Please, don’t worry about it. I know you’re in some kind of rush, I was just trying to help out.” He winked and walked in the direction of the fitting area with three suits and several ties over his arm.

“Wait. You didn’t tell me your name.”

He turned back to Jessica, a lopsided grin lighting up his tanned face. “That’s because you didn’t ask. Good luck with your meeting, Jessica.” To the shock of both Jessica and the saleswoman, he disappeared into one of the rooms.

Oh my God, I feel like such a bitch right now. He bought the dress for me after I treated him like that?
She shook her head in wonder.
So far from perfect and it didn’t seem to faze him at all. Drew would never have—

Jessica’s phone rang for the third time, startling her out of the thoughts. She couldn’t avoid the confrontation any longer. Torn between wanting to run back to the stranger whose name remained a mystery and rushing out the front door, she made the safer choice to preserve her livelihood.

“Charlie, hi, yes I know I’m late, but—”

“Jessica, do you have any idea how much effort it took to set up this meeting?”

She cringed as Charlie’s abrasive tone assaulted her ear. “I do know, and I’m on my—”

“I don’t want any excuses. This is your
job
, and you better start remembering that.”

Jessica stood on the sidewalk after Charlie hung up, shuddering to think of what else might be in store for her that day.
It’s barely ten o’clock in the morning, for chrissakes.

THE BLACK ACURA Integra sped along I-280 towards the Palo Alto business district, Bose speakers blaring the Foo Fighters’ greatest hits. James Callahan weaved in and out of lanes to make up time, preoccupied with thoughts of Jessica whatever her last name was, and the way she looked in that dress. He wondered if she made it to the meeting. With her sharp tongue and fiery green eyes, he was sure she’d kick ass in any boardroom. James couldn’t remember the last time he allowed a girl to permeate his thoughts with such persistence.

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel.
Dammit! Am I ever going to get out of my head enough to move on with my life? What the hell am I waiting for?
But he knew deep down it was the assortment of unresolved feelings that made him keep everyone else at bay.

Moving back to Palo Alto was the right decision for me. LazerShark is exploding and thanks to Chris, investors are coming out of the woodwork for a stake. Things with Mom are…better. Maybe I’ll get past this once and for all.

Traffic was light for some unknown reason and James was anxious to beat Chris back to their office. This little adventure was definitely going to cost him, in more ways than one.

Dave Grohl’s voice faded as his cell phone rang. Shit.
Not quick enough, Jay.
Stifling a groan, he answered.

“Jay, what the hell is taking you so long? I told you the accountants are coming at one o’clock and we still have to get through a ton of crap before they show up!”

James sighed at the exasperation in his best friend’s voice. “I know Chris, you’ve gotta relax. I’m on my way now.”

“What have you been doing? You were supposed to be here by eleven. Tell me you at least got a suit.”

“Yeah, I did, but I also charged something else on the account.” James reminisced again about how the dress hugged every curve of Jessica’s body and gave him plenty to daydream about in the past hour. The circumstances around their meeting weren’t ideal, but she was a knockout. Volatile temperament and hot as hell—a magic combination.
If
he was looking.

It’s probably better this way. There’s too much going on right now.

Running a premier online video gaming website commanded all his waking hours. When he wasn’t working, he was strategizing and mapping out the next three to five years. He was a planner by nature; this was a critical time for the company. LazerShark was well positioned to take over the digital gaming world, leaving no room for romantic prospects that carried more potential risk than reward.
Just move on, Jay. You’ve got plenty of other things to occupy your time right now, like the pitch meeting with Blue Coat Capital. Concentrate on getting that funding.

Chris laughed. “Let me guess: pocket square?”

James snickered. If only. “Actually, no, I charged a dress. Long story, but don’t worry, it looked great.”

“I’m not even going to ask, dude. I don’t want to know. Just get back here asap so we can go through the presentation again. Grab something for lunch, too, I’m starving.”

Like he’d even have time for a girl with Chris all over his case. James shook his head. Maybe the whirlwind that became his life would calm down after they had the check in hand. At least he could hope.

JESSICA EXITED THE conference room wearing a smug smile. Screw Charlie; she
owned
that meeting and he knew it. She was the only one on the team who knew enough about this client’s technology to convince them that they
had
to contract with DMC. After only an hour, they were ready to sign on the dotted line.
Finally
. It took months to get this meeting, and she just scored a major victory. Not that Charlie was gracious about it. Beyond introductions, he didn’t even acknowledge her.
God, it would be so amazing to finally call the shots at these client meetings. I’m so close, I can feel it!

Derek doesn’t look pleased.
She flashed him a toothy grin.
What a tool. I know you’ve been plotting against me for this promotion. But it won’t work. Nothing is going to stand in my way, not you, not Charlie and not my health. I just can’t let it happen. It’s the only way.

Michele Hanson, the head of technology for Barclay Investments, accompanied them out. “Jessica, Charlie, Derek, thanks so much for your time. We’re really excited to get started.”

“Michele, it’s been a pleasure. We’ll look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks to kick everything off.” Charlie shook her hand. As soon as Michele walked away, he glowered at Jessica.

“I need you to handle a recruiting event this afternoon over at Stanford. You have exactly thirty minutes to get there. Think you can handle it? I mean, you should be in good shape to get there on time since
this
meeting didn’t run over, right?” Crossing his arms, a mean smile spread across his face. “Please don’t take any detours.”

Stunned, Jessica’s jaw dropped but she snapped it shut.
What a prick.
“What are you talking ab—”

Charlie leaned forward, dropping his voice. “Did you think I wasn’t slick enough to check on the status of your last meeting? I know exactly when you left that site and I know that you were half an hour late to this one. So, don’t insult my intelligence with your bullshit excuses. You’re lucky Michele was so understanding, but I most certainly am not pleased.”

“Charlie, I
can’t
go to Stanford. I need to get back to the office to review some materials for tomorrow morning. Why can’t you send Derek?”

“I need Derek to handle some meetings this afternoon. Go back to the office later. This is important. You’ll be meeting with the summer intern candidates. I need someone from the group to weed these kids out, otherwise we’ll be at the mercy of human resources. I need interns who can do more than pretty up a PowerPoint presentation. Got it?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Derek’s smug look.

Panic rose in Jessica’s throat. There was too much to do at the office. Interviewing
interns
, for chrissakes? She’d be there all afternoon with no reprieve. “How am I supposed to sign the rest of my clients when you keep interrupting my work? I need to meet with as many of these start-ups as possible while we’re out here. You
agreed
to it.”

“Listen Jessica, let me be perfectly clear. I’m running the show and you’ll do what
I
tell you to do. You don’t get to dictate priorities.” Charlie narrowed his eyes.

“I didn’t take this role to be your lackey. I’ll go to Stanford but I
will
get these clients signed.”

“I certainly hope so. The deadline is looming and the partners are expecting results.” Charlie pulled out his phone and stepped back into the conference room.

“Don’t worry, Jess. I’m sure meeting with the interns will be a productive use of your time while I close some more deals to solidify
my
promotion.” Derek snickered.

“The game’s not over yet, Derek. And I believe I’ve already won this round.”

“It won’t be enough, Jessica.” He folded his arms and shot her an icy glare.

She picked up her laptop bag and stormed out of the building, cursing Charlie, Derek and that damned intern program under her breath.

She noticed a black Town Car parked out front and clapped her hands in excitement.
Charlie’s ride? Oh, please, please,
please
!

“Hi there.” She sidled up to the passenger window. “Are you waiting for Charlie Locke with DMC?”

“Good afternoon, miss. Yes, I dropped him off here about an hour ago.” The driver gave a polite smile.

She surveyed the courtyard. Charlie was nowhere in sight. Stifling a mischievous smile, Jessica slid into the backseat. “Well, then, this is my lucky day. I work for Charlie and he told me to take his car over to Stanford.”

“No problem, miss. Should be there in about twenty minutes.” He pulled away from the curb.

Jessica’s heart pounded. She’d catch an earful for this stunt. But since Charlie would
always
find something to bitch about, why not take advantage of the situation?
I hope they get stranded here for hours!

She smoothed the front of her new dress, her thoughts involuntarily returning to the mysterious stranger with those ridiculously dreamy eyes.
Enough! Remember your priorities, Jess. If you want that promotion, keep your eye on the prize and away from all other distractions!
Besides, she was only out in Palo Alto temporarily. Even if she
was
in the market for a relationship, long-distance romance rated right up there with the flu and refried beans.

The Town Car pulled up to a picturesque building on Porter Drive exactly twenty minutes later. “Here you go, miss.”

Jessica signed the charge slip and stepped out of the car. The architectural design was so eclectic, with its unique mix of historical and contemporary buildings lined with lush green foliage. Grabbing the handle of her laptop bag, she headed into the building with ten minutes to spare.

The hallway leading to Career Services was lined with students dressed to the nines, confident they would be offered their dream jobs that afternoon. Jessica meandered through the eager crowd and found her assigned room.
Ten
interviews? She stifled a groan and reviewed the list on the conference table
. Jesus, I’m not going to get back to the office until dinnertime!
She grabbed a bottle of Poland Spring from a table and chugged it to silence her growling stomach before the first bright-eyed candidate arrived.