Showdown: Tech Billionaires

by Ainsley St Claire

  “It seems like you quit.”

  I sigh. “It feels more like I was fired. I’m sure I’m replaceable.” For the girls’ sake, I hope that’s true.

  He shakes his head. “You’re not replaceable. Those girls love you so much. They think you’ve just come back to San Francisco to see your mom. They’re worried about you. And Nate is a mess. Jim needs him to move to Maui. We’ll have more control there than we do in Whistler, but he’s dragging his feet.”

  “I realize I withheld information from him, and that’s my fault…” I take a deep breath because the tears are falling again. “But I can’t stay if he thinks I had anything to do with Cecelia’s death.”

  “He was just angry. You and I both know he didn’t mean that. And it’s likely not even true. Cecelia’s superpower was guilting people into doing what she needed done.” After a pause, he adds, “If you’d declined, she might have called Christina Daniels—can you imagine what a mess that would have been? Call your killer to watch your girls?”

  My stomach turns at the thought.

  “Her death was not your fault, and Nate knows that,” Trevor repeats after a moment.

  Trevor sounds convinced, but I’m not so sure.

  We’re driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, and I can make out the house in the distance. It’s a distinguished piece of property. “Have the break-ins slowed while we were away?”

  He nods. “Once they realized Nate and the girls weren’t there, they backed off. Rumor has it that you guys are on some remote island up in Alaska.”

  I giggle.

  “I get that they want pictures of Nate,” Trevor says. “He employs a lot of people, has some huge government contracts and a huge bank account, and he’s good looking. Though not as good looking as me, of course.”

  I smile. “Of course.”

  Trevor turns serious. “But the girls should be off-limits. They didn’t choose this life, and they certainly didn’t choose to lose their mother. They don’t deserve to have their grief spread out in all the tabloids for the world to see.”

  I nod in agreement as we pull into the driveway.

  Chapter 22

  Nate

  Just when I don’t think today could go any more wrong than it already has, my cell phone pings.

  Trevor: Lilly’s at the house but only because she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. She’s packing her things and will leave in the morning.

  My breath catches. Fuck. I let my knee-jerk reaction come out of my mouth before I could even think about it. Of course, Lilly’s not the reason Cecelia’s dead. She’s right. Cecelia would have found someone else if she hadn’t stayed. And it still angers me that Cecelia dumped her protection detail. She knew better.

  I’m grateful to know Lilly is safe at the house in Sausalito, but I still have to figure out a way to get her to listen to me. I have to fix this. I try to call her, but she doesn’t pick up.

  I don’t sleep all night. Between stewing about this and Bex’s three nightmares, it’s just impossible. I finally get up and make coffee long before dawn, and I sit in the living room to watch the sky gradually brighten. I’ve spoken to Cecelia for hours in my head. Why was she so desperate to go to Las Vegas that she’d leave her daughters with a virtual stranger? If we were investing in Lilly’s startup, I know Cecelia vetted her, but that didn’t mean she’d be good with the girls—even though she’s turned out to be incredible.

  I pull out the box of Lilly’s personal papers she left behind and go through it carefully.

  Her father is a world-renowned professor at Stanford in the software engineering department. He’s very popular with his students, but I know a lot of people who are great at their job, but not so hot as a spouse or parent.

  Her mother got a raw deal from her dad. It seems he told Lilly that if she wanted more money for her mom, she should take him to court. There’s a copy here of the letter she sent back. I’m impressed that she stood up to him, reminding him that he’d once loved her mother, and she deserved respect and dignity.

  The box also includes a stack of correspondence from Lilly’s stepmother, who seemed to track what Lilly was eating, as well as any other expenses she deemed relevant, and deducted them from Lilly’s mother’s alimony payments. She did this even while Lilly was away on a full ride to boarding school. Wow. I see why Lilly called her the bitch. I have some other thoughts on what I’d call her. Why does Lilly’s father allow her to be treated like that?

  Lilly was waitlisted to get into Smith, but when she got in, she got a full scholarship. Her grades were stellar, and she took multiple math and science classes at MIT as an undergrad.

  She was waitlisted again for MIT’s graduate electrical engineering program—most likely because she came from a liberal arts college. But her grades were off the charts. The pictures I find from her graduation don’t include anyone but her, except for one with a classmate.

  Then I see handwriting I recognize. Cecelia’s. It’s a thank-you note.

  Lilly,

  As I told you that day, your presentation at the Women in Tech Shark Tank was so moving. I could see your passion for this work you’re going to do, and it will change people’s lives. I’m honored to be your first investor. Your dedication to improving the outcome for stroke patients—especially women—is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I’m proud to invest and lend my name to a company that will help those who desperately need it. I look forward to working with you all the way to success.

  Cecelia Lancaster

  Beyond that is all the initial research she and her friend Mackenzie did into debilitating strokes and the brain bleeds that cause memory loss, particularly in women.

  I look up into the sky and want to scream loud enough that Lilly can hear me in San Francisco. I fucked up. I’m now yet another person in her life who has let her down. I feel like such a colossal shit. I have to fix it.

  “Daddy?”

  I look up and see Katrina at the doorway to the living room.

  “Good morning, baby.”

  “I’m worried about Lilly’s mom. Is she going to be okay?”

  I’m confused. What’s wrong with Lilly’s mom? “Did Lilly say something to you before she left?”

  “No, but I got the feeling she was telling me goodbye forever.”

  “Oh, baby.” I open my arms and pull her in. I debate whether to tell her the truth, but Cecelia and I always thought we should, as much as possible. “It’s my fault she left,” I say with a sigh. “I said something that greatly upset her.”

  Katrina begins to cry. “You need to tell her you’re sorry. You need to beg her for forgiveness.” She pulls away from me, tears streaming down her beautiful face. “I need her. Make her come back.”

  I look up to find Bex standing there, and she’s clearly overheard because she’s also upset. “You can’t take Lilly away. She’s the only one who cares about us. I want to go live with her.”

  “I’m sorry.” I look around the room at the mess I’ve made with all Lilly’s essential papers because I can’t even look at my girls.

  “I want to go see her. I want to leave now.” Bex stamps her foot.

  “We need to go to Maui, but I promise to try to get Lilly to join us.”

  Katrina stands, yanking herself away from me. “I’m not going to Maui without Lilly.”

  “Me neither!” Bex follows Katrina out of the room. “I hate you!”

  I scrub my hands over my face. Maybe I can use this as an opening to talk to Lilly.

  Me: I’m sorry about all this. The girls miss you. They’re upset that you’re gone.

  I don’t see the dots rotating. I can see the message was delivered.

  Me: I miss you, too.

  The dots begin to rotate, and my heart rates picks up.

  Lilly: Tell the girls I’m the reason their mother is dead. They won’t miss me for long.

  That feels like a knife in my gut—reminiscent of the night I came back from my poker game to find that Cecelia was n
ot in our room and wasn’t answering her cell phone.

  I can’t let that happen again.

  Me: I made a terrible mistake. I don’t think anything about what happened to Cecelia is your fault. It was a knee-jerk reaction. I promise I’ll never say anything like that again. I realize you gave up everything for my family and me. I’m sorry I behaved so poorly. Can you forgive me?

  There are no dots rotating, and she doesn’t respond. Sorry isn’t going to be enough.

  I pack up all her private papers and write a note, which I place on top. She may not see it until she opens the box, but at least at some point I’ll be able to tell her I believe in her and I’ll always love her.

  Amy appears as I close up the box. “Would you like an omelet this morning?”

  “That sounds perfect. Thank you.”

  “I understand from Rod that you’re leaving for the airport before lunch.”

  “Yes. That’s the plan. I’ll leave a team here for four weeks to make sure nothing happens. Does that work for you?”

  “Of course.” She’s quiet a moment, and I can tell there’s something more she wants to say. “I understand Miss Lilly has returned to San Francisco.”

  I nod. “That’s what I’ve been told.”

  “Would you like some help getting the girls’ bags packed?”

  “That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.” I return to solving the problem at hand and text Trevor.

  Me: I have a box of personal papers Lilly left behind. Can you tell her I’ll send them to her at the house?

  Trevor: I can’t. She left this morning. She called a rideshare, loaded her stuff up, and left behind her phone with the SIM card sitting next to it on the kitchen counter.

  Me: Why didn’t you stop her?

  Trevor: I offered to take her wherever she wanted to go, but she brushed me off.

  Me: How are we supposed to reach her?

  Trevor: I don’t think we are.

  How did I fuck up this badly? Amy puts an incredible herb and cheese omelet in front of me, just as my appetite disappears. “This looks outstanding,” I tell her anyway.

  “I hope it tastes good.”

  I walk to the base of the stairs and ask the girls if they want some breakfast before we leave.

  Katrina appears on the landing. “Where are we going?” she asks, her hands on her hips. I’m stunned at how much she looks like her mother right now.

  “I told you, we’re going to Maui. It’s for our privacy and our safety.”

  “You can go without me,” Bex yells from out of sight.

  I feel utterly lost. How am I going to get the girls to move? Things here are precarious at best. Jim wants us gone. He’s over with Caroline and Mason at the Four Seasons. Maybe I can get them to help convince the girls.

  I pull them into a group chat:

  Me: The girls are refusing to leave Whistler until Lilly’s back. Can you help me explain to them why it’s important that we go?

  Jim: Can you apologize to Lilly?

  Me: I’ve tried, but she doesn’t respond, and now she’s left her phone at the house. Trevor watched her drive away in a rideshare.

  Caroline: I’m on my way.

  Now all my friends know I’m an ass, but they’ve probably known that for a long time anyway.

  I eat my omelet as my mind works overtime. I have to get her back, but how am I going to find her?

  The front door opens, and I hear Caroline. I point upstairs, and she heads for Katrina. “Hello?”

  “Hi,” Katrina says.

  I stay in the kitchen and listen.

  “I hear you two are planning on staying here in Whistler until Lilly returns,” Caroline says.

  “She won’t know how to find us if we leave,” Bex whimpers.

  “Oh honey, she knows where the estate in Maui is, and when she’s finished doing what she needs to do, Trevor and your Uncle Jim will deliver her right to you.”

  “What if she doesn’t want to come back?” Katrina says so faintly that I almost miss it.

  “I really hope that doesn’t happen, but some people come into our lives for different reasons. Lilly may have come into yours to help you and your dad find the light after your mom died.”

  “We still need her,” Bex cries.

  “I know, sweetie. But you also know that someone was on the patio trying to take pictures and listen to your conversations. You need to move on to where it’s safe.”

  I can’t hear anything else. They’ve moved away from the top of the stairs. My heart is breaking. Once again, my girls are hurting, and this time it’s all my fault.

  “I’m going to take these plates up to the girls,” Amy says, interrupting my thoughts.

  I nod. Jim and Mason walk in and sit with me at the table.

  “You know you fucked up royally, right?” Jim asks.

  I wouldn’t put up with that from anyone other than these two.

  I sit back in my chair. “It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

  “So, in other words, you’re dumber than a mouse? Mice can at least learn to change their behavior.” Jim shakes his head.

  I roll my eyes.

  “What are we going to do about it?” Mason asks.

  I can’t look at them. Outside is gray and ugly—there’s more mud than snow at this point. “I don’t know where she is. You invested in her company, which fired her this week. Perhaps you have something that could tell us where she’d go.”

  Mason nods. “Yeah, the company is in William Bettencourt’s portfolio, and I’m not sure they had sound legal reasoning to fire her. I have him and Sara working through the paperwork and her contract.”

  “Good, because all the research is in the box she left behind, and the idea was hers. She pulled Mackenzie in because of her biomedical background. But Lilly was developing the device and the software.”

  “I’ll pass that along to William,” Mason says. “But what am I going to do about you?”

  “I’m going to track her down, and in the meantime, I’d like to do everything I can to help her, and maybe that will send the message I’m trying to convey. She didn’t deserve to be fired. Her father is a first-class asshole, and based on the correspondence she’s saved, he’s left her mom without alimony. He knew she couldn’t hire an attorney without money. I’ll get my attorney involved, and we’ll go after him. If we have to garnish his wages, we can do that.”

  “That would be a start,” Jim snarks.

  “What do you want me to do?” I growl.

  “Get off your ass and go to her,” Mason nearly yells.

  “Okay, let me lay this out for you. Her best friend fired her right before I accused her of something so ridiculous, I can’t even believe it came out of my mouth. She’s left the house in Sausalito, and she didn’t even take her phone. Her father ignores her very existence. Her mother—wait! I may know how to find her.” It hits me. “I need help from Trevor.”

  Jim and Mason look perplexed. My mind is moving faster than my mouth—the opposite of my usual problem. I send a text to Trevor.

  Me: Lilly’s mom is in a nursing home. Can you look for her?

  Trevor: What’s her name?

  Me: I’m looking.

  I search through the box and the power of attorney gets me my answer. Thank goodness.

  Me: Helen Duval. She’s 62 years old and is a stroke patient.

  Trevor: I’ll let you know.

  “Trevor has her mother’s name and will look for her,” I announce. “She’s in a nursing home somewhere in Napa. I can’t remember which town.”

  Caroline comes in and puts her hand on Jim’s shoulder. “I’m sending up Uncle Jim. They’re not willing to budge for me.”

  “I’ve got this,” he says.

  Caroline takes the seat Jim has vacated. “They’re the hardest negotiators I’ve ever encountered. When Lilly comes back, you should triple her salary. She gets them moving without much issue.”

  “Trust
me, they made that clear before I called you in earlier.”

  “Bex informed me she plans on moving in with Lilly, and I don’t think Katrina is far behind,” Caroline reports.

  “They made that clear this morning, too.”

  Jim is back downstairs in less than five minutes. “Man, if my kids are half as determined as those two girls, I’m screwed. It’s like Cecelia on steroids.” He runs his hands through his hair.

  “May I offer a suggestion?” Amy says.

  We all look up. I’d forgotten she was in the room. “Of course.”

  “I watched Lilly interact with the girls. She always gave them something in exchange for what she needed. For example, to get Bex to wear her coat outside, she told her she could wear her sneakers instead of her boots. When Katrina wanted to listen to music and not do her schoolwork, she agreed, but told her that the next day, she had to make it up plus do all the bonus questions. Katrina listened to the music while doing her schoolwork and got it done the first day, plus the bonus questions. Lilly definitely had the magic touch, but you can use her technique.”

  “But what do I offer in exchange for getting on the plane to Maui?”

  She shrugs. “That’s easy. You tell them you’re going to San Francisco to find Lilly and bring her back with you.”

  I look at Mason and Jim.

  “That’s an idea…” Jim says.

  “That’s a great idea. And I think I know how I want to sweeten the pot.”

  Everyone looks at me expectantly.

  “I have to talk to the girls about it first.”

  Caroline’s brow furrows.

  “Jim, we’ll all be on the plane, but we need to detour down to San Francisco before we go to Hawaii. I’m hoping it isn’t for long.”