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It had been hours since she’d walked right up to him and given him a hug like they were old friends and told him Tasha was hanging around her flat like a sad puppy.
Had she truly missed him? Had she decided it was a mistake to not see him again?
He was the one acting like a dumb pup. He knew he should have told her then and there that it was all for the best because he needed to work and wouldn’t have time to see her again.
Here’s my number. Tell her to call me if she wants to talk.
Yep. That had been his dumbass response. He should have played it cooler. He should have pretended like he didn’t care what she was doing, but he’d had his card out, holding it like he would die if she didn’t take it and give it to her cousin.
“You must be Eddie Nash’s kid.” The words were spoken with a strong Aussie accent. “Damn, but you look like him.”
That was something he didn’t like to hear. Dare turned and there stood Auggie Oakley in all his glory. He’d never met the man, but he’d seen him on TV and the covers of magazines. The billionaire financier liked to pretend to be a man of the people, pulling himself up from his family’s hundreds of millions in real estate to build a couple of billion-dollar businesses. He wore jeans and a Henley and well-worn boots. His reddish hair was a bit shaggy. Only the hundred-thousand-dollar watch on his wrist bespoke of the money this man wielded like a weapon at times.
Oakley would be his rival in persuading Huisman. He stood and held out a hand. “Unfortunately, I am.”
A booming laugh came from Oakley’s mouth, and Dare found his hand pumping up and down. “Oh, I like you. You’re not an uptight arse like your father. Must be your mother’s influence.”
His mom. Fuck. He didn’t like to think about his mom and liked it even less that Oakley knew enough to mention her. Or did he? It was a given that he had a mother. It didn’t mean Oakley knew who she’d been and why his father went to lengths to pretend she’d never existed. “She was definitely more pleasant than my father.”
He winked. “That wouldn’t take much.” He backed off and sat down in the seat across from Dare’s. “I heard you’re taking Lance’s place. Sad about him. I’ve known Lance for years.”
Thank the universe someone had thought to call and tell him Lance had died. His father had acted like the man had simply inconvenienced them all. He hadn’t mentioned the car accident that had taken his long-time employee’s life. “I didn’t spend much time with him, but I know he did some great work for us over the years. I hope you don’t mind if I attend in his place. I didn’t realize the two of you were friends. My father made it seem like the invitation to your place was more of a business courtesy.”
Oakley waved that off. “Nah. I knew him but we weren’t mates. Smart lad, though. Always had his ear to the ground. I’m happy to know you’re coming out to my place in the mountains. I like to size up my competition.”
“Competition?” He hadn’t expected Oakley to be so upfront about it.
“Sure. We’re both going to try to get in good with this Huisman bloke, right?” Oakley sounded like they were talking about a football rivalry or a friendly bet they were making. “You looked over the foundation’s financials?”
Of course he had. “They’ve done well the last couple of years. A lot of it comes down to backing medical grade-lasers they’ve started using in neuro. After they got FDA and EMA approval, the stock in that company went through the roof. The foundation got a nice slice of that pie.”
“It was an excellent investment,” Oakley pointed out.
“And you would like some of that money to fund your pet projects.” Dare stated the obvious since it was exactly what his father wanted him to talk Huisman into.
“It’s always better to invest someone else’s money,” Oakley admitted. “And honestly, we don’t have to compete. We can talk about joining forces. My biomed wing has some interesting projects going. Projects that could use some of the work your firm is funding. I think we’ve got pieces of a puzzle that we could bring together and make a lot of money with.”
“I thought you were changing the world.” It was what he always said in those interviews.
Oakley shrugged. “I can change the world and make money at the same time. I assure you that’s what Huisman’s doing. Huisman’s flush with cash, and he seems to have a need to show off what a charitable man he is. Probably because his father was a complete bastard. You heard about that, right?”
