by J. K. Coi
“Yes, and I also know that you understood more about these algorithms when you were still in college than he ever—”
“Shh.” She squeezed his forearm in warning, because if she slapped her hand over his mouth to shut him up someone might have noticed. “It doesn’t matter what he does or doesn’t know about algorithms, because he was obviously smart enough to hire people who do. The best in the business, in fact.” She nodded toward the other two guys, who were coming up the aisle to join him. They all took their seats at the table.
“Not the best,” said Ben with a grin, “because they didn’t hire you, and they didn’t hire me.”
“Flattery isn’t going to help your case with me. Now cut it out; they’re getting started.” She turned her head and smiled behind her hand as the convener stepped up to the front and tapped the microphone.
As the seminar got underway, someone sat down on the other side of her. When that space had been empty, she’d been able to ignore just how big and close and solid Ben was on the other side of her, but now that she was bookended in her seat, he seemed to take up more and more of the available space until she found herself taking short breaths to keep from reacting to his nearness.
He didn’t touch her in any way, didn’t send her sidelong looks or whisper into her ear. To every other person in the room, they were just two business associates sitting side by side.
A little thrill went through her at the idea of having an exciting secret, a reckless wild side that she could indulge, in the form of Ben Harrison. After her parents died, she’d spent a long time being afraid of losing anyone else. Fear and caution had ruled her life. This week was teaching her—in more ways than one—that sometimes calculated risks were worth taking. As long as she stayed in control, and as long as she didn’t risk more than she could afford to lose.
Ben spoke up and asked the panel of speakers a question. Surprisingly, it was the exact same thing she would have asked. Liz nodded in agreement at the answer, but felt there was still a gray area. She started to ask a follow-up question of her own. “Oh wait, I’m sorry,” she said to Ben when she realized she’d interrupted. “I didn’t mean to—”
He grinned. “No problem, Ms. Carlson. I was going to follow up with the same question myself.”
The seminar continued in that vein, due in large part to her and Ben. They hadn’t exactly taken over, but she had a feeling from the looks on the convener’s face that they’d definitely brought more audience participation to the event than had been expected. In fact, the seminar turned into quite a lively discussion, and Liz and Ben were actually answering as many questions as they were asking.
She hoped the panelists weren’t upset, but she didn’t think they would be. After all, this was much more memorable than listening to an hour’s worth of lecturing on what could have been a very dry subject. It made her realize just how savvy Ben’s suggestion had been to encourage free discussion when it was their turn to get up there later that afternoon.
When the hour was up, almost everyone was slow to move along, and there was a long line at the front to thank the panelists for a great experience.
Ben had been pulled into a small group, so Liz made her way to the door when someone called after her. “Ms. Carlson, please wait.”
She turned around as one of the panelists, James Kronan, approached. He shook her hand. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve been following your work.”
She blinked. Had she heard him right? “My work?”
“Yes. You’re the president of Sharkston Co. aren’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“I read about your programming initiatives in the material distributed in the convention packages with some interest. Your ideas are smart and innovative. When are you scheduled to release your product to market?”
Her heart thumped. “Well, that depends on our ability to raise the investment capital we’re looking for.”
“I understand that Tyson Wallace is considering your company for his annual endorsement. That should help your visibility immensely.”
She smiled. “That’s what we’re hoping, Mr. Kronan.”
“Good luck,” he said. “Although I have to admit, if I thought you’d take me up on it, I’d be trying to convince you to join my company.”
She laughed. “Perhaps we can negotiate a contract arrangement instead.”
“I’d be happy to discuss terms at your convenience.”
“I’ll remember that,” she said. “Thank you for your time. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
She could barely contain herself as Kronan said good-bye. Had anyone else seen that? She looked around. Someone had to have witnessed the president of Gemini talking to her like an industry equal.
Chapter Fourteen
Ben stood across the room, watching Beth. He didn’t know what James Kronan was talking to her about, but whatever it was had put a wide grin on her face.
How many people would kick up a fuss if he went over there right now and kissed her? Beth would. Beth would hate that. And truthfully, as much as he wanted her, he wanted to help keep that look on her face even more.
She had shone during the seminar. Her questions had been enlightened, and as the discussion became freer, her comments had impressed not only him but everyone else as well.
He excused himself from the people still mingling around him and went to her side. “Do you want to take some time now to go over our material?”
The smile stayed in her expressive eyes, making them sparkle like jewels as she looked up at him, but she shook her head. “I think we’ll be fine, and I should really find Daniel, see if he’s going to make it to the seminar.”
Something in her gaze held him in place for a moment longer, but eventually he nodded and stepped back. “I’ll see you later, then. Text me if you need anything.”
As Ben left her, Nolan was waiting for him outside the conference room. “We’ve got a problem,” he said with a frown.
“What kind of problem?”
Nolan nodded politely as other conference attendees passed them on their way to lunch. “Have you been talking to that reporter?” he asked.
“What the hell do you think?”
“I think somehow she knows about Jeffrey Olsen, and she’s threatening to print the story.”
Ben stopped. “What? How?”
Nolan sent him a hard look. “You tell me.”
“No. Beth would never use that kind of information against a competitor, any competitor. It isn’t in her blood.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Let it go,” he snapped, not wanting to hear another word. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I’m not proud of the way I treated Olsen, but the police already cleared me of any responsibility for his death.”
“You know it’s not about the facts.”
“If it looks like we’re going to lose out on an investment opportunity because of it, I’ll back out and leave you—”
“You’ll do no such thing.” Nolan scowled. “Listen, you needed to know about the story, but maybe it won’t make any difference. This is a small industry, and you weren’t the only person to dump Olsen because of his bad business practices…you were just the last person.”
“We’ll see.” He wasn’t so sure about that, but surprisingly, it didn’t feel as important as it had once been to manage the threat. He’d already decided to find a better way of doing business even before seeing Beth again, but she had made him realize who he was doing it for.
She’d been right about his goals being out of whack. He’d always been driven by the need to prove himself to the father who had rejected him. Ironically, he’d always known that was the one man who would never be impressed, no matter how successful Ben became.
If he was going to be a real success, then he had to do it for himself, and the only way he would ever be satisfied is if he could still look himself in the mirror at the end of every day.
“On another note,” Nolan said. “I th
ink Sharkston is making Jemarcho an offer.”
“You mean Jemarcho is making them an offer?”
“No, I mean exactly what I said. I don’t think Ms. Carlson is looking for an investment for her programming platform anymore. She’s looking to sell it.”
Ben frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Beth want to sell now that she’s so close to getting it off the ground on her own?”
“Whether it makes sense or not, it’s true. I overheard her partner discussing it with Vargas over a table this morning while you and Carlson were in that morning session. And Vargas looked more than interested. You know he’ll jump on it. If he has the chance to buy the rights to that program of theirs, he’ll make a lot more money than if he simply took a percentage deal with either one of our companies, even at a generous interest rate.”
If Beth had truly decided to pull a fast one, he and Nolan wouldn’t be able to talk Diego Vargas into investing. If Optimus Inc. managed to get Tyson Wallace’s endorsement, they could find the money they needed somewhere else, but then they’d also be directly competing; not with a company like Sharkston whose profile and resources matched their own, but with Jemarcho Inc., a global powerhouse that had distribution connections all over the world. It would be a slaughter.
Ben ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Okay, let me handle it. I’ll see if I can talk to Vargas after the seminar this afternoon. He might still decide that what we can offer is better suited to his needs, and I might be able to convince him that he doesn’t want the expense and hassle of having to run and maintain the programming in-house. He doesn’t have the expertise and manpower for that—”
“He will if he hires Sharkston’s president on as part of the deal.”
“Is that what he said?”
Nolan shrugged. “It’s what I would do if I wanted to make sure the product I just bought launched successfully.”
Would Beth really be looking to sell and become just another employee of Diego Vargas’s company after all the work she’d done? If he didn’t know her so well, he would say no, but unfortunately he could see how that might appeal to her. She’d chosen to remain in Seattle because it was familiar and safe, denying the two of them a chance at a real relationship out of fear that the past would repeat itself.
He understood, but he was disappointed, too.
But after the last few days, he’d begun to think she’d conquered her fears. Starting her own business and trying to launch a brand new program had been a risk. Coming to Antigua looking for investment capital had been another risk. He’d started to hope that she was finally ready to take a risk on something more personal too, enough that he’d begun to think this could be about something more than just scratching an itch and walking away. Enough that he’d even considered opening himself up to the possibility of her rejection a second time around.
Idiot. The way she’d reacted last night—as if she’d been looking for a reason to mistrust him—and now this… Beth would always find a reason not to risk her future.
Or maybe it was just that she’d never be ready to risk it on him.
Either way, he could see failure staring him right in the eyes, a position he’d sworn he would never willingly put himself in again, not with her and not with anyone else. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He went to lunch with Nolan and then to his room to get some notes for the seminar. When he met up with Beth back in the conference room, her brother wasn’t with her, but she looked refreshed and energized. He could almost believe she was ready to take on the world.
“Is there anything we should go over quickly before we get started?” she asked with a smile.
“No, let’s just get this over with.”
She looked surprised by his short response, but he couldn’t bring himself to play these games with her anymore. Especially now that he knew she’d already given up, that she would never be brave enough to take a real chance…on him or anything else.
They took their places at the front and watched as the room filled up with attendees. He was a little surprised at the number of faces in the audience. A few bodies even leaned up against the back wall when all the seats had been filled. The convention had been promoting their little competition, their pictures and bios had even gone up on the website the morning after he and Beth had agreed to do it. But Ben still hadn’t really expected so many people to take such an interest.
They’d already decided that he would be the one to begin, with a short introduction about himself and his company. He kept it light and brief, and then turned to Beth. She did the same, introducing herself and Sharkston Co. and then smoothly transitioning into the ethics discussion they had prepared. She mesmerized everyone with her smooth voice and confident delivery. Her smile was genuine, and she made eye contact with the audience as she spoke.
They played off one another perfectly, alternating being the one talking at just the right moments, and overall, engaging the audience in a lively discussion worth remembering. By the end of it, Ben was starting to think Nolan must have been wrong in what he’d heard earlier. The woman standing up here with him was passionate about her work and couldn’t possibly have given up on her dreams so quickly and easily.
As interesting as he was certain they’d been, theirs was the last seminar of the afternoon and dinner on a Caribbean island awaited. Most of the room cleared pretty quickly.
He looked over the shoulders of the few people sticking around to continue to make points they’d held onto during the formal discussion. One guy in particular hung back to talk to Beth. He wore business casual khakis and a plaid button-down shirt, and seemed pretty animated. She looked a little uncomfortable with the adoring attention and flinched as he alternated between pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and waving his arms as he spoke.
Ben watched out of the corner of his eye. The guy had taken her hand now. She tried tugging it back from his pudgy grip. During the session he was the one who’d been asking all the really specialized questions. After Beth answered the first one with an insight and knowledge even Ben himself could not have matched, the techie had looked at her as if it was love at first sight. Beth wasn’t as adept at managing pushy people as he had learned to be.
He couldn’t hear what the guy was saying to her now, but from the shuttered look of dismay on Beth’s face as she anxiously glanced anywhere but at him and hid her hand behind her back when he tried to grab it again, it may have been a dinner invitation…
She finally jerked her head around and lifted wide eyes to Ben for help.
Worse than dinner. She must be receiving an impromptu marriage proposal.
He chuckled and shook his head. Congratulations, he mouthed.
She glared back at him. Jerk.
Finally the man pumped her hand vigorously—twice—and turned to leave. Ben met Beth at the door, and they walked to the hotel lobby together, losing the last few hangers-on to the bar, from which raucous conversation and laughter emanated. He found himself glancing down at her over and over again.
As they neared the elevators she stopped. “Is your invitation to dinner tonight still open?”
He hesitated but when her expression fell, he said, “Of course. Why do you have to ask?”
She laughed a little hesitantly. “For some reason, I thought you might have changed your mind.”
He didn’t know his own mind anymore. “And you? How many times did you change your mind?”
“Only about a thousand,” she whispered, tilting her head with her gaze fixed on his mouth.
“No more. We see this through,” he said to himself as much as to her.
She nodded.
“Good. Meet me here in an hour.”
…
“Daniel, where have you been?” On a hunch, Liz had walked into the bar before going upstairs to get ready for dinner, and found him there nursing a drink. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with you all day, and you missed the seminar.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, “but I didn’t think you needed me there. I knew you would do great, you always do. So I spent some time talking to Vargas, and I need to talk to you about—”
“Ms. Carlson, it’s lovely to see you again.”
Laura Denham had approached. For the first time Liz noticed there were two glasses on the bar in front of Daniel. She returned the woman’s warm, friendly smile and shook her hand. “Laura, it’s nice to see you too. But please call me Liz.”
Laura took her seat next to Daniel, and her smile turned soft and shy. Suddenly Liz felt very much like an intruder. “Well, I had better go get ready for dinner,” she said, eager to leave the couple alone. “Daniel, why don’t we talk more first thing in the morning?”
He opened his mouth as if to object, but then he nodded instead. “Sure thing, sis.”
Laura clapped her hands. “Oh, are you going to the dinner show tonight? The resort has scheduled a special presentation just for the convention, and I hear it’s fantastic.” She glanced toward Daniel expectantly, and Daniel smiled shyly back at her. Liz had a feeling that’s exactly what the two of them would be doing tonight.
She said good night and headed to her room, smiling to herself all the way up the empty elevator. She had no idea where Laura Denham called home in her everyday life. Maybe she lived all the way across the country, and she and Daniel were destined to have only a short-lived affair, but it was still nice to see her brother smile. He deserved to have a little bit of fun.
And that’s exactly what she wanted to do tonight now that her work was done. The vote and the closing luncheon speech was tomorrow, but she and Ben had agreed to divide it up between them and she had a good idea what she was going to say.
If Daniel had indeed made progress with Diego Vargas, she could talk to her brother tomorrow, and now that she’d seen him with Laura Denham, she wouldn’t have to worry that he’d be sitting at a poker table all night.
