AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chameleon Therapeutics was a biotech I wanted to acquire, but I had gotten pushback from both Syd and Craig.
“Liam, I understand why they appeal to you, but I couldn’t help raise the money for that in the current climate.”
“I know I can make them successful for us,” I countered.
Syd took an audible breath on the other end before continuing. “No, Liam. We have to maintain our focus, and a business that’s not turning a profit doesn’t fit the mold. Nobody will buy in.”
Don’t fit the mold, meantno fucking wayin Syd-speak. He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand the importance of their work.
“Look, maybe next year after you’ve digested this organic foods push it’ll make more sense.”
I could tell he didn’t really mean it. It was an easy way to put me off and put some of the blame in my court because we hadn’t performed well in foods yet. This conversation wasn’t going to get me anywhere it seemed.
“Yeah, okay, Syd. Maybe I can find one that isn’t chewing through cash.”
“Sure. We can talk about it when you do.”
Translation: fat chance.
“Don’t forget you need to hit your numbers,” he repeated.
The message was clear.
I was going to have to go it alone on Chameleon. I felt in my bones that they had the talent and the right approach to make a serious dent in the cancer epidemic.
Every company was mimicking the other’s work. Chameleon had a completely blank-sheet approach to the problem.
My biochemistry degree gave me enough of a background to understand the basics of their approach the minute they’d explained it. It gave me an advantage over the financial whiz kids that dominated the Wall Street crowd. All they ever understood were spreadsheets. Anything beyond dollar signs, digits, and commas was a foreign language to those nerds.
And the financial weenies like Craig and Syd were a bunch of sheep, too cowardly to stray far from the crowd. That was why the venture capital community hadn’t yet appreciated the opportunity Chameleon represented. Group-think won out over intellect and punished the outliers.
I had promised to make a difference, and I always kept my promises. Syd or no Syd, I would find a way.
For Roberta’s sake, I would find a way.
Chapter 6
Amy
I had checkedand rechecked my spreadsheets and data. We’d gotten ourselves into a situation where we needed this investment badly. It certainly would be the key to success. It might end up being the key to survival.
Samantha and I had put a lot of our blood, sweat, and tears into this place, and it wasn't only us. We had over a hundred committed employees. We needed to be successful at this or we’d put all those families’ futures in jeopardy.
At my last job, I'd had aninfluencein marketing. But what I accomplished here was likely to make the difference between success and failure, or at least it seemed so today.
I made a quick pit stop in the restroom to check my makeup. The investor group was due any minute now. The visage looking back at me from the mirror wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't my best. Today was not a good day to have gone without sleep. But once the night had started with Liam, I hadn’t been able to stop myself. I squeezed my thighs together, recalling the sensations.
Down, girl.
It was time to get serious. A touch-up with some more foundation powder improved the situation. A swipe of lipstick and I was ready to go.
I double checked the coffee and water in the boardroom. Grace Lloyd, our controller, poked her head in my office to tell me the investors had called to say they were running about fifteen minutes late.
Grace was joining me in the meeting, and our strategy had been that Samantha would not be in the room——although she had been in the previous two meetings rather than myself. We couldn't have all the decision-makers in the room at one time. If things got too difficult, we needed to have a reason not to commit one way or the other.
With nothing left to occupy my time, my thoughts drifted back to last night. Sex with Liam had been completely different from any I’d had with my ex-husband, Matt, or anyone else for that matter. Was sex with a virtual stranger better or somehow different? It didn't make any sense. But nothing about last night made any sense. My first try, and I’d hit a home run——or found a home-run hitter was more like it.
I’d never had a more thrilling night. The only disappointment now was that by definition, a one-night stand meant one night only.
