I search for a sign that his response has something to do with the fact that we had sex. But he looks like he always does when he provides feedback on my work.
“Exactly what I expected,” he says.
Oh wow. I should definitely buy a lottery ticket today. “Well…great. I’m glad.”
He peers at me over his laptop screen. “Do you know why I needed them today?”
The way he looks at me makes me feel like a math-challenged high school senior in trig class. But I know better than to fake that I know. Emmett Lasker smells bullshit better than a shark smells blood. “Not really.”
“It’s important to have all the data and trends about manufacturing and distribution of the prototype before heading into a meeting with potential partners. It helps us get the best deal. Bernie has some good ideas, but he doesn’t have a financial mindset. That’s where we come in, and we can’t go into a war without ammunition.”
That makes sense. Unlike some venture capital firms, GrantEm Capital doesn’t merely provide funding to ent
repreneurs with big ideas. The firm also hand-holds them, making sure that everything they do meets all the regulatory requirements, the deals they make are fair and scalable and so on. Most ventures fail spectacularly. But our support ensures that the entrepreneurs we fund have the best possible chance at success.
“Do you think the portable water filter and desalination device he wants to make are viable?” I ask, curious about exactly what Emmett envisions with this venture. Bernie Schumacher’s idea is huge, and if it takes off, it’ll change the world in ways I probably can’t imagine, similar to how before Amazon came along people couldn’t have visualized how online commerce and publishing would be transformed. I understand numbers and projections, but I don’t always see how an idea, investment and timing can all mesh into a lever that revolutionizes an entire sector.
“No telling at this point, but I hope so. Clean water is scarce in a lot of the world, and easy access would make all the difference in a lot of people’s lives. Just imagine what could happen if people don’t have to waste their entire morning walking two miles down to a river to get water. I mean, children have to do this. If we have this, they could go to school instead.” Emmett’s eyes shine.
Anybody else, and I’d say he was thrilled with the possibility of making the world a better place. But with Emmett, I can’t decide if he’s excited about the vision of how this venture he’s funding might improve the quality of people’s lives or if it’s all the money he could make if it succeeds. Given his demon-boss nature, probably the latter.
“Water doesn’t sound sexy,” he continues, “but only because people like you and me have enough. To someone who doesn’t…”
He sounds like he truly believes in the idea. Despite knowing his profit drive as well as I do, even I buy into the vision he’s weaving. It makes me want to be part of the team that makes it possible.
The man is a devil. He probably keeps a pitchfork somewhere in this office. But the late-afternoon sunlight pouring in through the windows behind him creates a gorgeous golden halo around his body. It’s difficult not to just become mesmerized with him. He’s so beautiful, like an angel. This is why even though he’s a pain in the ass to deal with, he can still get my libido worked up.
I don’t know how long I stare at him before he says, “So. The Excel model.”
I shake myself, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. I clear my throat. “Yeah. Um…right here. Let me share it with you.” I enable the collaboration tool so he can look at the file and make corrections at the same time and I can see what he’s doing.
“No need for that.” He comes to the couch and sits down next to me. “Let’s just look it over together.”
All my senses go on full alert. The blood in my veins heats, rushing faster, warming my skin despite the cool air in the office. I keep my hands steady and open the file.
He leans toward me, his body closing the gap even though I angled the laptop screen so he wouldn’t have to lean quite this close. His hot scent revives and then begins to stoke the sexual frustration from my dream.
Good God, Amy. Be cool, girl, be cool!
So far he’s been acting like nothing unusual happened last night, which probably means we’re on the same page and he scrubbed it from his memory. I don’t want to disrupt our mutual fake amnesia by doing anything that might remind him of that sex. It might annoy him enough to have him consider moving me to another team. His half-brother Grant Lasker’s team is full, but there is a junior partner, Sam Andersen, who could use another associate working for him. That would be career suicide.
Not because there’s anything wrong with Sam. But having Emmett Lasker dumping me in Sam’s lap would signal to everyone that I didn’t measure up to his expectations. It would shatter the reputation I’ve built from all the stellar deals I’ve executed. Everyone in the industry would pity me, and they’d whisper about what I must’ve done wrong to earn such a shocking demotion, barely an inch away from getting fired. People would question my ability, my dedication, and headhunters—and interviewers at other firms—would want to know why.
“Emmett Lasker felt dirty and used because I caught him doing something private at night, which led to us having sex, and afterward I ran out on him” isn’t something I would ever be able to share. I wouldn’t even be able to hide behind an NDA, because then they’d really speculate.
Think of something that will kill that empty achiness that’s starting.
On cue, my mind flashes an image of Rick’s naked penis. Smaller and not as impressive as Emmett’s. Now that I think about it, not as well formed, either. And sort of pathetic and sad when it’s limp, just hanging between his legs like a not-so-well-filled sausage.
I grimace, all the inappropriate thoughts about Emmett gone from my head. I forcibly push the disgusting image of Rick’s penis out of my mind, too. I’m in the office—what the hell is wrong with me?
“Good,” Emmett says slowly, as I click through all the tabs. “Good.”
I relax. Maybe this is one of those rare weekends where the stars of twenty galaxies line up. Having tomorrow off is going to be amazing. Excitement is already bubbling, like I’m a kid before Christmas.
I’m definitely buying that lottery ticket!
“Glad you like it. So what’s this version for?” I keep my tone smooth and professional. “To show the partners the venture’s solid even if we have a recession?”