Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
But we’re real people, with hopes and dreams, fears and insecurities, and sex is a laughably small part of our relationship. I suspect that like most people, our relationship is built in the quiet moments cuddled on the couch, the talks about everything and nothing, the knowledge that you are the bright spot in someone else’s day and they are the same in yours. It’s the details, the minutiae, the seemingly innocuous moments that make what we have together special and uniquely ours.
Angeline’s words shake me out of my thoughts. “You’ve never cared what the world thought about you before. Why start caring now?”
I did not expect that. I blink, letting her words sink in and realizing that she’s right. For the last hour and a half since Cole called, I’ve been spiraling in the chaos, lamenting my lack of control and trying to get some sort of tenuous grip on what my next step should be. But maybe this isn’t a public relations nightmare to be managed? My personal life and relationships have never been and still aren’t anyone else’s business, no matter the number of partners in my bed or their very public jobs, so there’s no reason to treat them as such.
I give Angeline one of my exceedingly rare hugs, over so quickly that she doesn’t even have a chance to react or hug me back. “Thank you.”
Greg and Helena stop talking the instant I open the door to my office. Maybe they were discussing the Jessup contract or maybe they were discussing my love life. It doesn’t matter. I’m in control again.
“As I said in my email last night, the contract with David Jessup is null and void based on the bad behavior clause,” I start the meeting off, the boss of bosses once again. “Thank you for that stroke of genius, Helena.”
Greg and Helena sit in their seats in total shock, clearly anticipating something completely different, but the brilliant head of our contracts division quickly inclines her head in acknowledgement of the praise.
“We need to approach from two angles—one, how best to limit our exposure on the contract retraction, and two, what’s our next step to obtain the process we wanted from Jessup. Contract first. Helena?”
She nods gracefully, probably having spent a good portion of her evening going over the contract she wrote with a fine-toothed comb in preparation for this moment. “It’s iron-clad. Based on Brent Jessup’s well-documented comments, we more than meet the requirements for dissolution. Admittedly, your comments might be seen as a contributing or even inciting factor, but since we’re not trying to force the contract…” She pauses, glancing to Greg, who shakes his head. “I don’t foresee any issues other than petty arguments, which I’m more than capable of addressing.”
Helena is most assuredly capable, but more than that, I think she’s looking forward to going toe to toe with a fellow attorney who has so entirely fucked over his company with his actions.
“I trust you to handle that,” I tell her, meaning it. Turning to Greg, I say, “Okay, next steps.”
“To be clear,” he starts, “while the contract is still in place, we have a small amount of ownership percentage within Jessup Enterprises. If you’d like, we could force the issue, give us perpetual access to the patented process under our investment rights. However, going that route would likely result in a messy and prolonged battle within the courts as the Jessups fight us. It’s also not the best look for potential investments in the future who may see Blue Lake as prone to underhanded commandeering of assets as opposed to partnering for mutually beneficial growth. So, based on that, that isn’t the path forward I’d recommend.”
“What do you recommend?”
“We chose Jessup Enterprises because they have what we want already in existence. It’s a plug-and-play option, if you will. But we could create a similar process, different enough to avoid their patent but close enough to meet our needs,” Greg says. “More of a custom-build option. It’ll take time to develop, which is why we didn’t choose that route in the first place, but now that it’s fight time versus build time?” He holds his hands out like a scale, weighing both options. “I’d go with option two. Hell, we might even improve on the process and get a patent of our own that’d make theirs worthless.”
All of this started because I have an angel investment that I truly believe in and want to help grow to its full potential. For that company to achieve what it’s capable of, they need the unique data-mining process that Jessup Enterprises wrote from the very first zero and one. But if it was created once, it can be created again. Especially if you throw enough money at it. Nearly every business problem can be solved with dollar signs, a lesson I learned from Dad.