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I went back to the staff room in a corner office. It was a cool space, with a kitchen and pair of sofas, a big screen TV on the wall and a couple of old video game consoles against the other wall. I could have used an office there as one of my own, but I didn't want to intrude on John's kingdom. He'd been using the office for years and had it before we joined forces for Chatter. We both liked to keep our offices separate, but with Astra Investments, we were going to eventually buy some office space that was purpose-built for the new company. We'd both work out of the one office and close up the old office spaces, although I suspected John would keep this office just for the nostalgia of it.
I fixed myself a cup of coffee and sat on one of the sofas, taking out my cell and texting Alexa the results of the meeting with Pete. I could tell the news wasn't well-received. She must have hoped we could easily take care of the videos but that wasn't going to be the case.
They didn't matter to me, of course. Nothing could harm my feelings for Alexa.
Finally, after about ten minutes while I read my Facebook feed, John came into the break room. "Hey, come on back," he said and waved me to follow him. "My three o'clock appointment is finished."
"Great," I said and followed him to the other side of the penthouse where he had his office. Once inside, we sat in one corner near the wall-to-ceiling window that afforded a magnificent view of the campus.
"It'll be hard to give up this office space," I said and glanced around.
"It will be, but I'm excited about getting a space for Astra. Speaking of which, I just got a call from Adam Pierce, who works with Seneca Investments. He's asking a lot of questions about the joint venture and Astra. He seems a little skittish about working with us."
"Really?" I said and frowned. "How come?"
John shrugged. "We've got nothing but great ratings from the businesses we've worked with and our credit is spotless. Something has him spooked. I wonder if he hasn't heard about the video and is reluctant because of that. It's all over the gossip columns..."
"Did he mention it?" I said, my back straightening in affront. "Did he actually mention the video?"
"No, no," John said and held up a hand. "He didn't say anything about Alexa. It was just this sense that we were a risk and he had to make sure we weren't going to be a problem."
"We're clean," I said with a little more force than I intended, but I was mad. Reputation was everything in the world of business. If you had a bad rep due to financial mis-dealings, your future was bleak. Chatter was clean, both John and I were clean. There was literally nothing that could make either of us or our past financial dealings look bad.
"I know it, and you know it, but for some reason, Adam was really concerned. He drilled me for an hour, going over financial records, tax filings, and our personal finances. He did mention that you had been in jail overnight..."
"What?"
John sighed. "I guess he checked with the court register and saw that your name was on the docket. I told him that it was just a misunderstanding with your former brother-in-law, but he thought it was serious that you had been taken in and kept overnight, even if you weren't charged."
"That's ridiculous. Did you tell him that I was only defending myself?"
"I did. I told him your brother-in-law -- former brother-in-law -- hit you when you confronted him about cheating on your sister, but he said that you still had been taken in, so police thought you were equally guilty." John shrugged. "I don't know why he couldn't get it through his head that you weren’t charged, and it was a one-off incident in an otherwise spotless record. He said he was just doing due diligence. Maybe he was."
I sat in silence, fuming that Eric might be the cause of us losing out on partnering with a really great firm. Damn him. I tried to think of what else Adam could be concerned about when it came to John's and my business histories. We were good guys. Sure, there were a lot of shady characters in the startup and technology industries, but we weren't among them.
"What can we do to calm his nerves?" I asked. "Should I talk to him and explain? Should I get Pete to talk to him?"
"I offered for you to do just that, but he declined. He said he wants to review the documents I provided and talk it over with his board. He'll get back to us, but if he backs out, we'll have to find someone else with deep pockets to go in on this with us."
"Who else do we have lined up?"
For the next hour, John and I went over all those who might be potential business partners in our venture.
When I finally left the office, I felt disheartened. While there were other firms we could partner with, none had the direct experience and reputation of Seneca. I wanted to work with Adam and his partners so badly...
"Don't lose hope," John said and patted me on the back. "They may still decide to work with us."
"Maybe, but if he's concerned about my past, and if he's learned about the video of Alexa, he may think we're too risky."
John walked me to the elevator. "When are you coming back into the city?"
I pressed the down button and exhaled. "I plan on staying there all week, to help Alexa get through this next while with her nausea. I can come in any time, so let me know if Adam wants to meet again or if we have to start looking elsewhere."
"I will," John said and gave me a final pat on the back. "Don't worry. It will all work out. We have a ton of money and expertise. Someone will want to spend our money and use our knowledge."
"I hope so," I said and entered the open elevator. "If not, we're going to be two very bored guys."
"Not going to happen. Give Alexa my love."
