Venture Forward (3 page)

“You’ll have your pick of eligible bachelors.” Mia flashed a sly smile. “When was the last time your nutty schedule freed you up for a date?”

“It feels like I’ve been on plenty of
first
dates. I haven’t really been focused on romance since Kevin and I split. Not that I was focused on it with him, either.” She fiddled with her bracelet. “I think I’ll ride this one out on my own for a while. I’m not ready to deal with another romantic hassle.”

“It would be good for you to get out a little. Don’t let work become your life. You’ll miss out on so much, and you’re too fabulous to stay single. Celibacy isn’t fun. Maybe you’ll get lucky at the bachelorette party.” She grabbed her vibrating phone. “This is Mia.”

The concept of getting lucky had taken on a whole new meaning. The fairytale was just beyond her reach, and she wasn’t really willing to jump up and grab it anytime soon. Her heart was in no condition to handle another pummeling, and, as someone carrying more baggage than a luggage carousel, she was better off flying solo.

“Yes, I’ll pick it up. See you in a few.” Mia stood and grabbed her bag. “I need to run to the office for a file. It’s on our way to the boutique. Do you mind? I need to review it before a meeting this afternoon.”

Oh, Lord.
“Um, why don’t I just wait down in the lobby? I, uh, have a few calls I can make and then—” No way was she willingly walking into the lions’ den. Her pulse raced at the prospect of a second chance meeting with Paul Emerson, and it wasn’t in the good way. Forget about the piercing blue eyes that made her heart darn near stop beating, and the way his muscular body felt flush against hers. He was the enemy, dammit!

“Relax, Paul’s not up there. He’s across town at a meeting with Chris and James.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do I really need to answer that?”

“No.” Avery bit her lip while her mind screamed
“Yes!”

“Jeez, I know you’re pissed at him for not funding CrowdRok, but he’s not a bad guy. Your paths may cross again, so it wouldn’t be horrible to leave the past in the past. He might even be able to help you out one day. Don’t burn bridges, love.”

Unfortunately, their paths had crossed one too many times recently.
She chewed her thumbnail as they walked back to the Blue Coat offices
.
Mia was right, but the rejection still stung. It was never just business; it was
always
personal, especially where Tara was involved. Paul, on the other hand, was cold, calculating and ruthless — all business, all the time. Partnering with him would be a mistake of epic proportions. They’d never see eye to eye because their values were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Well, maybe that wasn’t a completely accurate assessment. To be on the spectrum, he’d at least have to
have
values, which was questionable.

Avery’s pulse quickened with each passing second. The elevator crept toward the Blue Coat offices, her nails clicking against the brass rail. He hadn’t recognized her on the beach, and she wasn’t eager for him to make the connection. Things were complicated enough that he was Mia’s boss and Avery’s archenemy. It was better all-around for her to be the anonymous girl he’d dragged out of the surf.

They entered the airy reception area, her first time visiting the Blue Coat domain. Jesus, the guy may be a colossal asshole, but he had impeccable taste. Mia had mentioned he’d spent hundreds of thousands on décor to give the space a distinctive look, definitely money well spent. Strong accent colors had been selected to represent Blue Coat Capital’s reputation for bold risk-taking in disruptive startup concepts. Fine, straight-grained white oak finishes gave the space an aura of sophistication and warmth, a sharp contrast to the man ruling the Blue Coat empire.

A pretty, brunette girl popped out of her chair and flashed a toothy grin at Mia. “Here’s the file. The messenger said to get it to you immediately. It was a good thing you were close by. Otherwise, Paul would have had me combing the city to find you.”

“Thanks, I’ll take a look.” Mia waved at Avery. “Alison, this is my friend, Avery Hunter.”

“Oh, CrowdRok! I just
love
your site. I watch all the competitions. It’s great to meet you!”

“Thanks so much. That’s really nice of you to say, and we definitely appreciate the support.” Avery flashed a quick smile, her eyes scanning the lobby. An unsettling feeling made her skin crawl. “Mia, um, I’m going to run to the ladies’—”

A sharp voice from the hallway sliced into her words. “Ali! Do you have the documents from Xcelsior Capital? We need them for the meeting with Ken. He’d better get his ass up here in the next ten minutes. I’m not waiting around all afternoon.”

No fucking way.
Avery’s heart thumped so wildly her ribcage ached from the force. Her mind begged her to flee before he appeared, yet her feet were firmly rooted to their spot on the Spanish-tiled floor.

Paul stormed into the lobby, sifting through papers. He shook his head and let out an impatient sigh. “The terms of this contract weren’t changed based on our last meeting with Vargo Tech. Get it to A.J. as soon as possible so he can get those jackasses in their legal department to update it.” He tossed the folder into the trash and looked up, his penetrating gaze settling on Avery.

Recognition seeped into his chiseled, god-like features. Ice-blue eyes narrowed in her direction, making breathing a sudden chore. A crisp white dress shirt stretched over his broad chest; charcoal gray pants settled on his hips, highlighting every cut and rip that had been plastered against her only a few short hours earlier. God, he was so unbelievably hot, but what a viper.

“I’ll give it to him as soon as he gets back from his meeting.”

“I thought you were meeting offsite?” Mia shot him a quizzical look. “Chris and James are here?”

“Yeah, I asked for a change in venue. I got held up with my last call.” Paul’s eyes remained on Avery as she shifted uncomfortably in her four-inch heels, barely acknowledging the burning sensation of toes being pinched together. She felt like a bug being smoked under a magnifying glass, but it was strangely… arousing. Dammit, she hated herself for even letting the thought percolate.

“How typical. By the way, this is my friend Avery Hunter.”

Paul folded his arms, a smug smile on his bronze face. Avery tried to ignore the tingling sensation that zipped down her spine as his biceps rippled under the fabric.
So much for anonymity.
“Nice spread in
Disruption
this month. CEO of CrowdRok. Graduated from Carnegie-Mellon, biomedical engineer turned entrepreneur, all before the age of thirty. Loves college basketball as well as
surfing
, I believe.”

Avery shuddered at the chill in his stare, goosebumps shooting up her arms and down her legs. “You have a pretty good memory.”

“And how’s
your
head these days, Miss Hunter? Memory still fairly intact? No nasty bumps to speak of?”

Her breath caught. Bastard. “Yes I’m fine, thanks. Mia, I really should get back to the office, so I’ll just—”

“Hey, it looks like I’m just in time for the party!” A deep voice yanked Avery from the acidic thoughts simmering in her mind. Thankfully, they’d overtaken the R-rated ones.

“Avery!” Ken Jackson leaned in for a quick kiss. “Great to see you again. It’s been so long. I was disappointed to hear about you and Kevin.”

She bristled at the mention of his name and forced a smile, squirming under Paul’s venomous stare. “Nice to see you, too. That World Series ring looks good on you. Congratulations.” Ken was one of Kevin’s teammates and one of the very few people she’d missed in the break-up.

“Thanks.” Ken squeezed her shoulder and smirked at Paul. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic.”

Paul rolled his eyes. “Can we please get started? I have other meetings, and we’ve already been waiting too long.” He ran a hand through his light-brown hair, turning his attention back to Avery. “It was a pleasure. Good luck with that surfing hobby.”

Avery pursed her lips and glowered at Paul’s retreating back. Alison and Mia stared at her, wide-eyed.

“What the hell was that all about?” Mia hissed.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Avery hedged, flicking a piece of lint off her skirt.

“I’m going to get a bottle of water. It was nice meeting you, Avery.” Alison headed toward the kitchen, leaving Avery and Mia alone.

“Okay, spill it.”

“Fine, but can we get out of here first?”

By the time they’d made it to the building lobby, Avery managed to recount the whole wipeout scenario.

“Wow, so he saved your life, and you blew him off? All because he passed on funding CrowdRok? Don’t you think that’s taking the grudge a little far, considering your success? Look at the way things turned out. You obviously didn’t need Blue Coat.”

“I couldn’t help it. When I saw him on top of me, it was all I could think of.” Okay, that was a big fat lie. There were a couple of other things that had crossed her mind when he was sprawled over her practically naked and way-too-stimulated body. “I’m so angry he didn’t believe in my vision enough to get involved.”

“Not everybody will love your ideas, but it doesn’t make them bad people. It just means you have different perspectives. Is that so horrible?”

“
I’m just very invested in this company. I worked so hard to make it what it is.”

“So it’s all about CrowdRok?”

“Well…”

“What else?”

“Look, he’s just an egotistical jackass. Do you know he actually had the nerve to try to pick me up at a venture capital event
after
he passed on CrowdRok? He didn’t even blink an eye when I told him my name.”

“He gets a lot of pitches—”

“Don’t make excuses. I was so angry, but before I could tell him to fuck off, he left with some bimbo who was falling all over him.”

“So you felt slighted he left with someone else? I’m confused.”

“No! It just confirmed my beliefs about him. He’s self-absorbed and controlling with no regard for anything except his own interests. A total womanizing prick. The rumors are all true. I experienced it firsthand.”

“You sound pretty scorned. Although, now it looks like you’re finally even.”

“Yeah, great
.”
Seeing him again today just validated what she’d suspected a long time ago. He didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself. And, despite her successes, the big question still remained. How much longer could she harbor all the anger before it finally destroyed her ability to find true happiness?

PAUL WALKED TOWARD THE
conference room for the Ticket Me pitch the following afternoon, his mind still reeling from the second run-in with the hot blonde who just happened to be Avery Hunter. Somehow, since she’d relocated her company to Silicon Valley, they hadn’t run into one another before that day on the beach, as unlikely as that seemed. She supposedly spent a lot of time down in LA, but, if that was the case, why bother moving the whole operation up north? And why the hell did he even care? Chick was a total crackerjack. But even though he was convinced his instincts about her were spot-on, they did little to quell his physical reaction. Those full breasts pressed against his torso, tight, toned legs wrapped around him, and her eyes… the ones that could sear his insides with one seductive flutter of those thick dark lashes… But she was still fucking crazy, and he didn’t do crazy. At least, not anymore.

Mia was mid-sentence when he walked through the door, making his usual late entrance. It was a power play but, hell, it was his show, after all. The principals of Ticket Me jumped out of their seats, practically stumbling into one another to shake his hand.

After introductions were made, he regarded the duo of young technologists. Their algorithm was worth plenty, but did they have any clue what they’d created? He suspected the answer was a big fat no, which was why the next few minutes would be so critical. Time to reel them in.

He held up a folder and pointed to one of the young men seated next to him. “Mr. Perry, I understand you’re the business end of Ticket Me.
This
is the business plan you’ve submitted for our review and approval? You have an extremely valuable product and absolutely no idea how to take it to market. I’m appalled you could come in here with such a lack of strategic direction. It’s insulting and, quite frankly, a waste of our time.”

John Perry’s face drained of color as the folder hit the table, papers scattering along the wood grain. Paul paused for a moment, his gaze sliding to Mia. She raised an eyebrow in response, but he wasn’t about to back down. Scaring them shitless was the most effective way to get them on board with the Blue Coat approach. They were technology geniuses with no idea how to run a business, and they needed Blue Coat to make their dreams a reality. Time to drink the Kool-Aid, boys.

John spoke up first. “Um, Mr. Emerson, we apologize for being unprepared, but uh, we thought that working with you would help educate us in building our strategy. You see, we just don’t have the ex—”

“Stop.” He stood up, bottle of water in hand, ready to swoop in for the kill. The young men had turned a frightening shade of purple. Paul methodically twisted off the cap and took a long purposeful gulp. He wasn’t in the market for friends. These guys represented dollar signs, nothing more. His job was to help them reach their highest financial potential and collect on the Blue Coat investment. Period. There was no room for warm and fuzzy in these pitch meetings.