Venture Forward (11 page)

“Sometimes things work out differently than we plan. I had some family issues to deal with, so I left Pittsburgh after graduation. My career had to take a different turn.”

“Yeah, life’s all about the curves.”

Interesting. He seemed the type to dominate every aspect of his life. “I guess we all have crosses to bear. Life can be a real bitch sometimes, huh?”

“Yeah…”

Something in his eyes asked her not to press, so she downed the rest of the scotch, gasping as it sizzled her esophagus. “Holy crap, that’s harsh. I know it’s supposed to be the best, but my
God!
”

“It’s an acquired taste.”

“I don’t see the point in torturing myself until I actually begin to enjoy it.”

“And you expect me to ignore
that
?”

She giggled. “Okay, I fell right into it.”

“Hey, man. Where’ve you been?” A tall dark-haired guy lumbered over and slapped a hand on Paul’s back. Drunk. Sloppy. Must be the divorcee. “We were waitin’ for ya downstairs.”

“Great timing as always, Mitchell.” Paul rolled his eyes and turned to Avery. “I’m sorry for anything that comes out of this guy’s mouth.”

“Aw, come on, I can behave myself.” Mitch leered at Avery. “Do you have a name, gorgeous?”

“As a matter of fact, I
do
.”

He snickered and nudged Paul. “Cool.”

“I think it’s time to get going. You’ve had enough for tonight. Where’s A.J.? I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow.”

“He’s takin’ care of business downstairs with some Playboy-bunny wannabe. If he’s not careful, his picture’s gonna be plastered all over the papers tomorrow too. The governor ain’t gonna be happy.”

Paul turned to Avery, a questioning look in his eyes. “Can I give you a lift?”

“Oh
yeah
! I’m sure that’s all you wanna give her.”

“Can I get a minute, please? Go balance yourself against a wall somewhere.”

Mitch gave them a little salute and stumbled toward the elevator.

“I’d hate to leave you here alone. There are a lot of guys like Mitch just waiting for me to take off so they can harass you.”

“So…” She inched closer, unable and unwilling to keep the words from slipping out. Just add it to the ever-growing list of regrets. “Are you just concerned about my safety, or is it something more?”

“Definitely something more.”

Their lips were inches apart. The slightest movement would close all space between them. She swallowed hard, her fingers itching to reach out and caress his chiseled face, to run her fingers over his—

“Where the hell is Mitch? I told him I’d meet him up here ten minutes ago.”

Avery jumped at the exasperated voice behind her.

“You guys are killing me tonight. Just so you know.” Paul waved a hand at his other friend. “I thought you were making time with some lucky lady downstairs.”

“Come on, I’m the king of discretion. You honestly think I’m stupid enough to do anything that’s going to end up on YouTube?”

“I hope not. Blue Coat has had enough bad press lately. Just keep away from the paparazzi, okay?” He turned to Avery. “Avery, you remember A.J., my business partner. Well, he also happens to be the son of Governor Morgan and a constant target for the press because of his insatiable appetite for beautiful-yet-vapid women.”

A.J. smiled, exposing a row of perfect white teeth. He was tall and handsome, with deep-set brown eyes and dark hair. If she weren’t so captivated by Paul, she would have been completely smitten. “I resent that. The girl downstairs was a Rhodes Scholar.”

Avery snickered. “Well done. Nice to meet you, A.J.” Her eyes slid back to Paul. “I think I should get back to my friends. Thanks for the drink and the scintillating convo.” Close freaking call. Would she ever learn to control her damn liquor? With a little wave, she sauntered off, feeling his eyes burning into her. Wanting him like this… it was bad. As in,
impending disaster
bad.

“
HOLY SHIT! YOU HAVE
to see this link!”

Avery slid across the leather couch and peered at Mia’s phone. She swept her hair to the side and fanned her face. “Jesus, I’m so
warm
.”

“No, sweetie, you’re just drunk. Look at the article Chris just sent.”

Holy shit.

Peter Everly or Paul Emerson? Who Is The Real Monster On Sand Hill?

Her throat tightened. “Where did he get this?”

“
Venture Scope.
Somebody mentioned an exposé had been published, but this is the first I’ve seen of it. Paul’s gonna to bust a nut when he reads it.”

Avery’s stomach clenched, her thoughts spiraling out of control. “Does it say who wrote the book?”

“Yep, someone named T.A. Powell. Nobody seems to know who that is, though. Maybe it’s a pen name. It could be anyone. Paul’s got plenty of enemies. This won’t be good for Blue Coat.”

“I’m sure it’ll all blow over soon. It’s a novel, right? Isn’t it supposed to be fiction?” She chewed her thumbnail, chipping the polish. What if he saw the article? What if he discovered her secret?

“Yeah, fiction loosely based on fact.” Mia waved Jessica over. “Jess, check this out.”

An image of Paul’s face flashed through the cobwebs in her mind as the girls squealed over the article.
But he’s not the monster. Paul is not Peter Everly.
It was a horrible mistake!

“
THE BUSINESS PLAN IS
solid, but we really need to start interviewing engineers to develop the sensor prototypes.” James peered at his laptop screen. “I’ve got a ton of resumés here, and I don’t know how to weed out any of these guys. I’m a technologist, not an engineer.”

“Did you already build the database?” Chris leaned over him and pointed at the screen.

“Yeah, it’s done. But we’re still missing the transmission piece from the sensor. I need a prototype to test.” James slapped his hand on the table and looked from Paul to Chris. “Any ideas? I’d hate to hire a stranger, but I don’t know if we have other options.”

A smirk played on Chris’s lips. “Emerson…”

Paul looked up from his iPhone. “Camden?”

“Avery’s an engineer.”

“Yeah, a
biomedical
engineer.”

“She’s still an engineer. I’m sure she can take a look at the schematics and give us some input. We don’t have to worry about her stealing the concept. It’s all in the family. What do you think?”

The mere mention of her name made his pulse race. He’d done little other than think about her since that night at the club. Yeah, he’d wanted to take her home. The thought of peeling her out of that dress made his groin ache, even now, days later. Fuck. When would it end? He didn’t chase women… ever, and it was damned clear she wasn’t interested. How much more convincing did he need? “Sure.”

“So you’ll call her?”

“What game are you playing? Why do I feel like getting her to help SportSensor is your secondary objective?”

“Stop being so paranoid. It’s a good move for us to talk to her. Maybe she’ll want to get involved.”

Avery… in that red dress… bent over the arm of his couch. Dammit! Focus!

“I’m sure she has enough on her plate right now. Let’s reach out to our contacts and see if we can find a consultant.” Paul tapped a finger on the table, averting his eyes.

“I’ll make a couple of calls.” James pulled out his phone.

“Hang on.” Chris held out a hand. “I think you should reconsider. Avery could give us a lot of insight before we waste tons of cash paying a consultant. Let’s get her feedback first. She loves this shit. Why are you being so resistant? Unless you don’t think you can handle it. I heard you guys were kind of cozy the other night. Not looking to mix business with pleasure?”

Paul clenched his jaw. Asshole. “Fine, I’ll make the call. Happy?”

“Very.”

James rolled his eyes. “Dude, why don’t you focus on your part of the puzzle and figure out how to
sell
the idea.”

“I’m a jack of all trades, Jay. Much more multi-faceted than a mere salesman.” Chris flashed an expectant look at Paul. “Just take care of it, okay? The sooner we get a prototype, the sooner we can get some traction with investors. They’re going to want to see a sample product before they write any big checks.”

He watched Chris’s mouth form the words, but all that registered was a vision of Avery sprawled across the conference-room table, clad only in those stiletto heels, beckoning him with those full lips…

“Paul!”

“I
said
I’ll take care of it.”

“
OKAY, MIKE, LET’S TALK
numbers. You’ve seen what Scott can do, and he’s got an enormous fan base in the CrowdRok community. That will translate to huge sales numbers. What’s the offer?” Avery flashed a smile at Mike Noble, the top Artist & Repertoire executive at BMX Records.

Mike laughed. “Scott, I hope you realize you’ve got one of the most cutthroat agents in the business working on your behalf.”

“Believe me, I know how lucky I am.”

Scott’s green-eyed gaze held an intensity that made Avery shift uncomfortably in her chair. The last thing she needed was some tabloid article pinning her to Scott Barnes. “Well, fortunately for you, Mike is a smart negotiator who recognizes the long-term value of acquiring new talent.”

“Indeed. I’m prepared to offer you three million dollars as part of the base five-year contract and royalties of thirty percent on all songs recorded with BMX over the lifetime of the deal.”

It was a fantastic offer, even more than Ally Maxwell’s contract
.
Scott’s eyes widened, and Avery stifled a smile
.
Please don’t drool on the table.

The iPhone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

“Gentlemen, would you excuse me? I’ll take this outside while you discuss details.” She stepped into the hallway. “Avery Hunter.”

“Hey, Avery. Paul Emerson.”

Her heart leaped just hearing that sexy smooth voice. They hadn’t exactly left things open-ended at Ruby Sky, and she’d decided her brilliant plan to orchestrate an accidental meeting wasn’t her best after all. But he was still calling. “Oh hi. How are you?”

“Great, thanks. Listen, I’m working on a new venture with Chris and James. I’m not sure if Mia’s mentioned anything, but we’re researching potential engineering partners to design and build some product prototypes. Before we go too far down the path, it would be great if you could take a look at the schematics. What do you think? Can you spare some time to be our engineering consultant?”

In between work and fantasizing about riding him on top of his surfboard?
Um, yeah, she’d probably be able to spare a few hours. “I’d love to help, except I’m down in LA working through a record deal.”

“Oh. That’s great. Congratulations.”

It was impossible to miss the disappointment in his tone. He didn’t even bother to mask it. What the hell was that all about? Did he actually want to see her again? Tingling sensations danced up and down her arms. “I’ll be back tomorrow. How soon do you need me?”