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STEFAN
I nearly jump out of my seat when Hendrix comes barging in my office, blabbering about some chick that won’t leave his house. Why is that my fucking problem? We have so many other things to worry about today. The chick that he let come home with him last night isn’t any of my concern. Why does he always have these problems when we have something major going on? Doesn’t he realize that what he does in his personal life can affect our business? Fuck, I wish he would just grow the hell up already.
“Dude, you took her back to your house. Haven’t you learned anything?”
I swear, Hendrix is going to be the death of me if he doesn’t get his shit together.
His shoulders shrug as he paces my office. “I guess not. She was smoking hot and was practically dry humping me in the bar. What do you expect?”
Hendrix is my best friend, but a moron. He is the very definition of a womanizer. Literally couldn’t keep his dick in his pants if he tried. He has a different woman every night, but I don’t understand what satisfaction he gets from that. Don’t get wrong; I have one-night stands, but not every fucking night. When I need a release and work is insane, I go to a bar and find someone looking for the same thing as me. But see Hendrix, he has probably slept with all of Dallas by now. Hell, he has to be running out of options by now.
“That’s my point. Sure, she might want to screw your brains out, but that doesn’t mean she belongs at your house. She’s a stage three clinger, bro.”
He swats his hand in the air. “I told her I didn’t want anything serious. Now, my maid just called and said she is just wandering around my house, waiting for me to get home.”
My laugh escapes, and I quickly cover my mouth. “Listen, we have two hours before our meeting. Go take care of your personal shit and get the hell back here. We need this partnership. Don’t fuck this up for us.”
Glaridy Management is coming in to talk to us about taking Valdon Technologies to the next level. We are talking thrusting us into the billion-dollar territory. We have already surpassed nine-hundred million dollars and we want to get over the threshold. Glaridy is a huge investment company and with some added funding, we can do an upgrade to some of the software that could put us on the map to be able to sell. That’s always been the goal. Build it up to the best it can be, and then walk away for the right price.
Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy the business, but to successfully launch a company and grow it into a billion-dollar enterprise is a huge success, and with that money I could travel the world with no regrets. Whoever ends up partnering with us will make millions when we sell, so it’s a win-win scenario.
I have been working on the presentation for two weeks, once my assistant put the meeting on my calendar. This isn’t something to take lightly, and we need to go into this meeting with our best foot forward. Nothing else on our minds besides getting the partnership. Hendrix shouldn’t be worried about some woman running around his house today.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and typically the office is shut down for the last week of the year, but because of the meeting, we stayed open through the end of today. Our employees aren’t thrilled to be here, but they get time and a half.
I go back to typing back my reply to my parents in Grapevine. My mother is concerned that I might not be able to make it out there for the holidays, but I’m going regardless. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen my parents. Being the CFO and co-owner of our company keeps my hands tied often. Those people that dream of having CEO or CFO positions don’t realize just how much work it takes to get up here, and then to stay. The constant working with barely any break is starting to wear me down, but I push through because we don’t have that much longer until we can start the process to sell. We just have to get through this partnership with Glaridy.
I need everything to go smoothly today, so that I can go into the holidays knowing that our future is secured. A partnership with them could set us up to sell for a quarter of a billion dollars, and that’s more than enough to keep me financially stable for the rest of my lifetime. Hendrix, however, is the type of person to blow it in a decade and then bitch and complain that he didn’t get enough.
I love him to death, and he’s always been there for me, he’s practically my fucking brother, but he has become money hungry. He craves to be in the spotlight, and I’m just the opposite.
Me: Sorry, things have been crazy here. I’ll still be coming in for Christmas. Should be in sometime tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you!
My parents are very supportive of my career, and this year I want to do something to thank them. It kills me that they are getting older, and my visits have slowed down. Why anyone would schedule a business meeting the day before Christmas Eve is beyond me, but we have been waiting months to hear back from him. So, rescheduling it isn’t an option.
Mom: Alright dear. Will you be here for dinner?
I didn’t even think about that.
Me: Not sure yet. I think Hendrix wanted me to go with him to his families. Play mediator if needed. I’ll come over beforehand. Promise.
Hendrix and his family are complicated. We’ve been best friends for almost three decades, but his father isn’t happy about him not following in his footsteps. I get he likes the family to continue the tradition of being a firefighter, but it could be worse. At least he chose a profession that can make him a lot of money. At the end of this, if things go right, he won’t have to work passed the age of forty. Are there many people that can say that?
I get carried away responding to emails and my assistant pings in over the intercom on my phone to let me know our meeting starts in less than twenty minutes. Shit.
Me: You on your way back?
We can’t afford to lose this partnership, so his ass better be on his way.
“Denise, could you grab me a caramel macchiato and a bottle of water please? I’ll need a quick pick me up before we start,” I say, into the intercom.
We have been working on our pitch for the last two weeks, and Glaridy scheduled the meeting the day before Christmas Eve. Usually, most companies are on vacation this last week of the year, but he is all about his money. Sometimes, that can be a good thing though.
Hendrix: Stuck in traffic, about ten minutes out. If you have to, start without me.
What the hell? Sometimes, running this business seems a little one-sided. We own it together, but when I’m stuck doing most of the work and he reaps all the benefits, it starts to take a toll. I have mentioned it a couple of times, but Hendrix just blows it off.
I get up from my desk, and Denise already has the conference room ready to go with all the materials. It’s go-time. Being late to a meeting with someone like him would be a guaranteed no investment.
