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Chapter 1
Chris
My date smiles brightly as she opens the door, but it falters a bit as her eyes track lower. I glance down, wondering what doesn’t meet her approval. My jeans and button-down shirt might be considered a little informal, but my business casual look doesn’t break any dress codes, especially in Denver. Given her stylish outfit and perfectly applied makeup, she must disagree. This is why I avoid blind dates.
I extend my hand. “You must be Erin. I’m Chris. Nice to meet you.”
She offers a lifeless hand that seems like it might break if I squeeze it, a huge pet peeve of mine regardless of gender, but I give her a limp handshake to be polite, hoping my smile doesn’t look as forced as it’s starting to feel.
“Shall we?” I offer my arm to escort her to the car. First impressions aside, I’m still a gentleman. She takes my arm and lets me lead her down the walkway, but she stops abruptly when she sees what’s parked in the drive.
“I thought you drove a Porsche.” She wrinkles her nose as her eyes land on my truck. Her tone isn’t condescending, but it isn’t complimentary, either. I must look disgusted because she quickly amends her comments, pointing at her skirt and heels, saying, “I’m dressed for a car I don’t have to climb into. I may need some help with that.” She points to the passenger door.
I swallow back a groan and help her into the truck, and we drive several miles in silence, neither of us sure how to recover from that first awkward exchange.
“So, you work with Sarah’s husband?” Erin prompts. She already knows I do, but she’s trying, so I play along.
“Erik provides data storage for several of my companies.”
I’m pretty sure she knows that, too, but it's doubtful she knows I was roped into this date because of it.
I believe data for my most recent venture, Swop, was compromised by our closest competitor, Sling. I can’t prove it, but when Sling filed a patent application that virtually mirrored our own, putting ours in jeopardy, well, what other conclusions can be drawn? Erik thinks I’m being paranoid, but he agreed to humor me and look into whether his company was the leak if I finally went out with his wife Sarah’s colleague. So, here I am.
“Sarah mentioned you invest in start-up companies. Didn’t you fund that app that lets you merge photos to create a new picture? Fusion? That really took off, didn’t it?” Erin asks.
I try not to grimace at that reminder. Financially speaking, Fusion was a huge success, but at its core it’s just an app that lets people make silly pictures. It doesn’t benefit anyone in any way, and I’m tired of funding things that make money but don’t do anything to improve people’s lives. Fortunately, the revenue from that project is allowing me to be more selective in my endeavors.
“It did take off, yes. We were lucky to be part of it.”
“What are you working on now?”
“I can’t comment on things in the pipeline. SEC guidelines.” I shrug, trying to look guilty about not being able to say more. Though true, that’s more of a convenient excuse to keep the conversation from turning to my new investment strategy, which so far hasn’t taken off.
Now that I can be more discerning with my investments, I’ve been leaning towards opportunities that put people above profits, something most of my counterparts find odd. Up until this hiccup with the data at Erik’s storage facility, I thought I’d be pioneering a new way to build innovative companies. Now I’m just trying to keep Swop from imploding, and shielding my other projects from the fallout. So far, the damage seems limited to Swop, and I’d like to keep it that way because my brother’s project could be in the crossfire if I don’t keep this contained.
As we drive, I indulge some of Erin’s curiosity about my work, and for a while, some of the initial tension fades. But a few blocks from our destination, I veer off course, and Erin immediately corrects me. “The restaurant is straight.”
“I know. I just have to drop something at my brother’s office. It's right here, so it’ll only take a minute.” She frowns but otherwise doesn’t protest as I pull into the nondescript parking lot where Charlie’s fledgling company, Engage, is occupying space.
It’s well kept, with no chipped paint or crumbling sidewalks, but it doesn’t scream “up-and-coming new venture,” and not for the first time, I wonder what kind of impression investors will have when they come to check things out. Charlie’s stubborn nature may help him persevere when it’s all said and done because starting a new company will certainly test his resolve, but only he would refuse a spot in a modern building specifically designed for start-ups in favor of the plain little one-story box I own on the outskirts of the tech center. He thinks my little building makes him look frugal, like he’s spending his start-up dollars wisely. Except they’re really my start-up dollars, and I’d be happy to spend them on a more sophisticated office instead of letting him have this one for free.
“Is this another of your ventures?” Erin asks.
Technically, it is. I’ve put up the money and the building to help Charlie get going, and I’d be happy to do more. But my stubborn brother wants to go the rest of the way on his own, without relying on my name or my connections to push things forward. I keep telling him no one will believe I’m not involved given that I’m one of the most successful Angel investors in Denver, but he thinks people will take him more seriously if he doesn’t use my help. I’d never let him fail, but if Charlie has his way, I’ll sit on the sidelines until he’s successfully raised the rest of the money he needs.
“Nah, I’m just the landlord,” I downplay, as I into a spot.
“How long will you be?” Erin’s frustrated tone sours my mood further.
Between the wrong clothes, the wrong car, and making a quick stop, I seem to have pushed her patience to the limit before we’ve even sat down to dinner. Okay, in hindsight it may have been a bad idea to run this errand while on a date, but since the office is on the way to the restaurant, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Obviously, I was wrong.
“I just have to drop this off.” I gesture toward the legal envelope in my hand. “I’ll be right back.”
The lobby is empty, no surprise really since Charlie doesn’t have a receptionist, but the whole building seems quiet. Too quiet for the staff meeting I thought was supposed to end right about now, which is partly why I timed my errand for the end of the day. He can relegate me to the sidelines, but that doesn’t mean I won’t check up on my brother.
I walk down the hall to the conference room, assuming that’s where everyone will be, but it’s empty. Strange, the office is unlocked, the lights on, but it’s silent. Maybe they’re in Charlie’s office? I turn and head in that direction but pause when the telltale click of a keyboard echoes from the office next door. I peek my head around the corner to investigate.
The woman sitting at the desk is deep in thought and takes no notice of me standing in the doorway. She stares intently at the screen as her delicate fingers fly across the keys, pausing only briefly now and then as if searching for a word. It’s not quite dark out, but the primary source of light in the room is the screen on her laptop. It casts her face in a soft glow, just enough to highlight the faint pink of her cheeks.
