I never planned on going public. I never planned on sharing what I’d made with other companies—only customers. I’d always wanted to be in complete control of Paragon’s present and future. As its single parent, I knew no one could love it and care for it like I could.
If I partnered with Dynamica, I would have another person to answer to—Gabriel Betts. If he became unhappy about something I did, he could criticize me as an equal. But that wasn’t what worried me. The idea of trusting him, relying on him, and the possibility that he could fail me worried me the most.
I trusted myself because I knew I would never fail—because all my failures were leading to success, and I would never give up. But I couldn’t put that sort of trust in someone else. Not many people were as driven and single-minded as I’d been.
The sky darkened as the options ran through my head. I had a duty to present Gabe’s offer to the board, and they had a duty to analyze it and advise me about whether to accept it. Their answer would be yes, we should partner with Dynamica and reach international customers more quickly than we’d ever planned. We’d make more money to invest back into our research, and then we’d make more amazing things to help people.
They would say yes, and they would be right. We should partner with Dynamica.
But I kept thinking about Gabe. His easy laugh. Those shoulders. How he’d said I was lovelier than my pictures. I imagined working with him on a regular basis, seeing the twinkle in his eyes, seeing that dimple. Having a reason to call him. Often.
And all I wanted to say was no.
“What are you doing home?” Hannah asked, stupefied, from across the kitchen.
I coughed and looked at the clock. The fact that I was home from work at six-thirty on a Friday night shouldn’t be remarkable—but it was, and I knew it. I also knew the reason was going to push my sister into a state of ecstatic rapture.
“I have a date.”
She clapped her hands together. “Is it with Gabriel Betts? I knew it. I knew it!”
“Calm yourself. It’s not with Gabriel. It’s with Clive Warren.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Huh? I thought he moved to China.”
“He did, but now he’s back. He’s been hounding me to go to dinner for the past six weeks. So I’m going.”
Hannah poured herself a seltzer and frowned at me. “Since when do you go on dates?”
Since I can’t stop thinking about Gabe Betts. I figured that was a clear sign I needed to get out more. Or at least once. I also wanted to prove to myself that I could have a meal with an attractive, intelligent man without breaking into a cold sweat. I’d failed to do that at my lunch with Gabe. I clearly needed practice with social interaction.
And if I happened to like Clive Warren on a personal level, so much the better. So much the better because that would put another layer between me and Gabe Betts, who seemed to pop into my every alternating thought since I’d met him.
“It’s not really a date—not to me anyway. I want to catch up with him about his latest patent. He’s been texting me twice a week. I figured if I finally had dinner with him, he’d stop.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You’re just going to get him all excited. Once he gets a taste, he’ll text you every day. He might even start sexting you.”
My nerves started to thrum. “Ugh, don’t make me nervous—you know I don’t even know what that word means!”
My sister’s face softened. She knew that between the two of us, she was the worldly and sophisticated one with the boyfriends and the trendy clothes, and I was the bookworm with neither. And that was the way I preferred it. “Aw, don’t be nervous. You’re going to be fine. I only met him once, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. He’s not as hot as Gabriel—hey, how did lunch go, anyway?”
I shrugged. “It was fine. He wants us to partner with his company for international distribution.”
Hannah’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “That’d be great, right?”
I shrugged again. “I have to present it to the board. I have a feeling they’re going to say yes.”
“So, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
“You suck at lying.” She put her hands on her hips. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I sighed, deflating. “I just don’t know if I can trust him.”
Hannah nodded as if she understood. She was the person in the world who knew me best, so she probably did. “But you don’t have to trust everything about him. You just have to trust that he’ll perform his side of the contract. He’s probably capable of that, right?”
“Probably.”
“Then it’ll be okay. Plus, maybe he’ll bring his hunky self around the lab every once in a while. That wouldn’t suck!”
I rolled my eyes. “You aren’t doing much for my nerves right now.”
She looked me up and down and sighed. “This probably isn’t going to make your nerves any better, but is that what you’re wearing to dinner?”
I wore a simple white sweater and black skirt, which I had paired with black tights and flats. “Yes.”
“That,” she said, pointing up and down at my outfit, “is the opposite of sexy.”
I crossed my arms against my chest. “That’s fine with me. I wasn’t going for sexy.”
Hannah groaned. “Where is Clive taking you?”
“Some steakhouse.”
She looked incredulous. “Doesn’t he know you don’t eat meat?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t feel it was necessary to burden him with personal information about me.” Hannah groaned again as I looked back at the clock. “I have to go. The driver’s probably already out front with security.”
Hannah stalked back to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. “I’ll be holding a vigil, waiting for you. I have my cell phone, and I have wine. You call me if you need anything.”
I collected my coat and headed for the door. “Got it.”
“Hey,” Hannah called from the island. “Try to have fun. It won’t kill you. I promise!”
“It just might,” I muttered to myself as I went through the door.
The pretty hostess nodded at me. “Ms. Taylor? Mr. Warren’s already waiting for you at your table.”
I had a vague sense of déjà vu. The fact that this was happening to me twice in one week was nothing short of miraculous. Two different men, two different restaurants. It was an all-time personal record for me.
I spotted Clive, resplendent in a dark suit, before he saw me. He looked handsome and meticulously groomed, his dark hair gelled carefully, his tortoiseshell glasses immaculate. He even had a dark purple cloth in his pocket, which seemed a bit prissy, but what the hell did I know?
“Lauren!” He jumped to his feet and hugged me warmly. “So glad you could make it.”
He held my chair out, and I sat down stiffly. The steakhouse was very opulent, with red velvet banquettes, heavy draperies, and ornate chandeliers. I felt underdressed, but there was little I could do about it.
I forced myself to smile at him. “This is very…nice.” I actually found the restaurant ostentatious and distasteful, but I kept that to myself. “Thank you for inviting me.”