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“Personally, I find ambition admirable,” he said, eyeing me with approval. “I know not everyone does—trust me—but I can respect the drive.”
I laughed. “You can say that again. My parents do not get the appeal of my side hustle. And don’t even get me started on my ex.” I drained the last sip of my beer, cringing at how I had allowed the conversation to take a personal turn. I didn’t tend to drink much, and even the slightest bit of alcohol loosened my tongue and inhibitions.
“Your ex, huh? Not the most supportive, I gather?”
I lifted my gaze from my empty glass, finding Nathan’s deep navy eyes locked onto me. Every time he looked at me now, my entire body felt like a live wire, sure to ignite underneath his stare. With every exchange, he grew more at ease, while I found myself growing more nervous. I willed myself not to look away, suppressing the warm sensation that grew in my chest.
“He thought it was a waste of time,” I admitted. “It’s kind of the reason we broke up. He was sick of how much time I dedicated to it.”
He nodded as if he knew the situation all too well. “It can be frustrating being with someone that doesn’t get it.”
“That happened to you too?” I asked, hopeful, although I wasn’t sure why.
His fingers tapped against the tabletop. “The women I’ve spent time with in the past never understood the demands of my work hours. I’ve come to realize that dating isn’t an option for a person like me.”
“That’s kind of sad,” I muttered, before hastily correcting myself. “I just mean, what hope is there for any of us with ambition, you know?”
He nodded, assessing my face. “I wouldn’t give up on yourself that easily. It’s different for me–especially now that we’ve sold the company. I get a lot of propositions from women with less-than-ideal intentions. I’ve learned it’s best to keep it casual and move on.”
My breath caught in my throat at all the implications of what “keeping it casual” meant.
“What was it like? Starting your own company and it blowing up like that?” I asked, not only because the heat growing in my stomach demanded a topic change, but also because I was dying to know.
He took a slow sip of his drink, and I cursed myself again for nearly chugging mine. I needed to keep a clear head. I could not lose my cool around Nathan Shaw.
“Ben and I got the idea our sophomore year,” he started. “I designed the app and we released a beta version. We advertised it on campus, and it got popular fast, all thanks to Ben. He could sell sand in a desert if he put his mind to it. Pretty soon, our users skyrocketed. It wasn’t just our college—it caught on and twentysomethings everywhere were using it. After graduation, Ben and I had a ton of offers to sell, but we decided just to take a small round of capital and pursue growing the company on our own. Then the rest of the story you’re probably familiar with. We created what is now known as Pulse before we finally sold part of it. Now, here we are, merging with you.”
“Wow. I didn't know you turned down offers right when you first started,” I said, still hung up on that part of the story. It must have been more money than they'd ever seen before, but they turned it down.
“We had to. I knew the app was going somewhere, and we had only scratched the surface.”
Another fit of laughter echoed over from the other table, but I hardly registered it.
“Still. That's a big risk. If it hadn't gone the way you thought, that would have been life-changing money you turned down.”
“I knew I could do it,” he said. “I would have regretted it the rest of my life had we sold back then."
“Wow,” I muttered. “It’s amazing you were able to bet on yourself like that.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I knew we’d be something. It was the easiest decision ever to bet on myself.”
A comfortable silence settled over us as I processed his words. At such a young age he had ventured into uncertainty and it paid off. I was never going to win big if I didn’t take risks. Andmy dreams were worth it, weren’t they? I couldn’t stay at Love Linked forever. Not when my aspirations stretched far beyond what any singular company could offer me.
My attention jerked back to the table next to us as the women rose from their seats. I clattered out of my chair as Lila thanked everyone for coming.
“Don’t forget to sign up for our membership if you haven’t already and check out our website for upcoming events.”
I smiled and said a few goodbyes as the women filtered out.
Once the last of them left, I shot Lila an apologetic look.
“I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of time. I can’t believe I didn’t mingle at all.”
She brushed off my concern. “Don’t even worry about it. No one noticed you were gone with this one cracking everyone up.” Lila hooked a finger at Oliver who grinned in response. “Nathan, is your brother available for hire? I think we might want to make him a permanent fixture at our events. You should have seen the way he had everyone captivated.”
I glanced back at Nathan who winced slightly.
“He’s all yours,” he muttered.
