Train Me

by Mia Ford

  It wasn’t just sexual though, she challenged me. I found it refreshing to go to class and try to beat her to it, but she never seemed to be having fun. It was always a competition to her, while to me it was just a friendly game. And now we had found ourselves in this position. We had both started tech companies to build apps and games, and we had big ideas for it. We had both moved to Silicon Valley with this idea and very little money in our pockets, and she maintained her distance from me. But in the past four years that we had been here, I had not once bumped into her. It had to be a carefully constructed scenario, I could sense that she had been avoiding me like the plague. Probably because of my company’s success.

  I had the backing of wealthy investors within six months of starting Lonex, while I heard that Beverley was still trying to perfect her app. I paid attention to the business side, passing over programing reigns and responsibility to a dedicated team of experts. I focused on expanding my company, while Beverley still wrote her own code, worked with only two programmers and hadn’t found any investors yet.

  I wished I could reach out to her and give her some advice, but there was no way that she would have accepted it. In her eyes, I was still the womanizing basketball heartthrob who sweet talked his way into getting better grades. She thought I was an airhead, while she was the genius. And probably I didn’t deserve any of the success I had gathered.

  Now here we were. She was on the brink of bankruptcy and I was a billionaire. I didn’t have to talk to her to know that she was not a fan of this situation. But there was no way that I was simply going to sit back and allow Beverley’s company and hard work disintegrate into nothing. Whether we were friends or not, I still believed that she was the smartest person I’d ever met. Buying out her company was a no-brainer. Even if she didn’t look at it as a rescue, that was the only way I knew how to keep her afloat.

  It had been close to five years since I last saw her, we were both in our late twenties by now, on two different ends of the spectrum; but I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. I knew nothing about her personal life, I practically knew nothing else other than that her company was sinking; but just the prospect of seeing her again excited me.

  Our lives had changed drastically now, and she probably hated me more but I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if we could work together. If we could finally put our differences aside and work as a team. It would require a lot of effort, because Beverley was a tough cookie, but it would ultimately be beneficial to my company as well as to me.

  Now, all I had to do was make sure that our meeting the next day went according to plan.

  Chapter 3

  Beverley

  I was nervous the whole way to the Lonex office building. I’d brought Sasha with me for moral support, even though I was the sole proprietor of the company. He was more than happy to tag along; starry-eyed and fresh faced about entering the hallowed halls of the Lenox brand. I could tell that he looked up to Grant. Grant Jennings was his hero, as he was to several others in Silicon Valley. A self-made, good looking guy only in his late twenties who was the poster child of tech start-ups. Every guy wanted to be like him and every girl wanted to sleep with him. I’d read the articles, I kept track of him even though I carefully avoided him.

  We walked into the lobby of the building, which looked more like a hotel lobby than an office. People were lounging on purple couches and at the back there was a table tennis area. Beyond the glass walls at the back, I could see a swimming pool and some people eating ice cream. This was definitely a dream job for a lot of people, and I could sense that Sasha was getting excited.

  I walked towards the reception area, with Sasha trailing behind and the woman behind the desk looked up at me with a friendly smile.

  “We’re here to see Mr. Jennings,” I said abruptly, without any formal greetings.

  “Good afternoon, you must be Ms. Wade,” the woman said, the wide smile was still on her face.

  I could see everyone around here just looked exceedingly happy and carefree. When did they even work?

  “Yes, I am. Is he expecting us?” I said, and the sour look on my face didn’t seem to dissuade her.

  “He is, indeed,” she said and I caught her looking past me, her cheeks were turning to a bright red. I could sense him behind me, and then I heard his voice.

  “Beverley, how are you?” his voice was deep and it scorched my skin the moment I heard it. His voice had always thrown me off, and even after five years I didn’t seem to have recovered from that effect. I whipped around to find him standing in front of me, with his hands thrust into the pockets of his jeans.

  I had seen photographs of Grant online and in newspapers, shaking hands with business partners and investors, giving speeches and holding meetings. He was always dressed in sharp suits and yet today, he looked quite different. Very much like I remembered him from college. It was like he hadn’t aged a single day.

  The only difference was that he had grown a beard. A neat dark beard that was perfectly trimmed and shaped. His eyes were a painfully bright blue and his features were sharp and chiseled. He hadn’t lost his athletic body, and he towered over me with his wide shoulders and broad chest. Even through the gray t-shirt and jeans combo he had on, I could tell he was hiding bulging muscles and washboard abs. His hair was dark, like his beard and slightly shaggy. Not exactly the look of a ruthless billionaire.

  “Hello, Grant,” I found myself saying blankly, while he smiled at me. He had a knowing brilliance in his eyes, like he was somehow glad to see me. And why wouldn’t he be? He was about to buy my company, or at least make me an offer. It was his biggest victory against me to date. I could feel my knees buckling, and I tried to keep my back straight and my chin jut out.

  “Mr. Jennings, I’m Sasha Winnings. I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Sasha was gushing beside me and he thrust out his hand to Grant.

  “Hello Sasha and please call me Grant,” he said, turning to him for a brief moment before looking back at me again.

  “It’s been such a long time!” he said, the smile still stretching across his face. I couldn’t smile, I could barely breathe. Just being near him again had a destabilizing effect on me. I wanted to hate him so much!

  “I haven’t been counting the days,” I said and he laughed. The same laugh. He threw his head back and his shoulders shook as he laughed at what I’d said and I could feel the back of my neck beginning to burn up.

  “I wasn’t expecting you too. It’s been though, four and a half years!” he said and I shrugged my shoulders. I despised him more now, because he looked so calm and casual given the circumstances under which we were meeting. As we looked at each other, I noticed the way his eyes looked in my body. If he was surprised to see me, or had noticed some change in me…he jus wasn’t showing it. He simply studied me with curiosity and I felt like I was burning up under his gaze.

  “Shall we go upstairs so we can have a chat?” he asked, like it was just an ordinary date in a coffee shop.

  “Lead the way,” Sasha interrupted us and Grant threw him a friendly look before turning back to me.

  “Beverley?” he said in a smooth self-sufficient voice and I clenched my jaw.

  “Of course,” I replied and he turned to start walking. Sasha walked beside him, enthusiastic to make conversation while I remained behind. I felt like I was losing my voice. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to conduct a serious meeting feeling like this.

  Grant was leading us towards a capsule elevator with clear walls. He pressed a button and the doors opened instantly and the three of us went in.

  In the closed confines of the elevator, I felt claustrophobic to be so close to him. Grant was smiling and making polite small talk with Sasha, while I lingered on the side trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. I tried to steal glances at him, but Grant wasn’t looking at me anymore. Thankfully!

  Chapter 4

  Grant

  Beverley looked different now, but in lot
s of ways she was still the same. Her blonde hair was longer and reached beyond her shoulders. She kept it open these days, and it fell like a sleek shining curtain around her face. Her eyes were still the same though, green and large and she looked defiantly at me. She was dressed differently as well now. She’d traded in her old college clothes for a pair of straight gray pants and a red silk blouse. Her shoes were gray pumps and she was carrying a large leather bag with her. There were no glasses on her face either.

  She followed me out of the elevator, and I had to turn occasionally to make sure that she was still there. She was avoiding my eyes, while I was constantly aware of her presence. It was like five years apart had made me more desperate for her. The moment I laid my eyes on her, I’d felt a movement in my pants. I had to do everything in my power to not take her into my arms.

  “After you,” I said and stretched my arm towards the board room I’d ordered to be ready for the meeting. I was slightly disappointed that we couldn’t be alone, and that she’d brought one of her employees with her. I’d just have to work around it.

  I noticed the way she walked as she went past me and into the room. She looked around her for a few moments and then took a chair, without me asking her to. Sasha sat down beside her and I took a chair across them. Other than the three of us there was nobody else in the room, since it wasn’t my intention to intimidate them.

  After there had been some silence between us, I cleared my throat. Beverley shot her eyes up to look at me, and I saw the rage in them. Just as I’d predicted, she was mad at me for what was happening to her.

  “I wish I didn’t have to discuss business when we haven’t seen each other for so long,” I said, directing my attention only to her. Just as I remembered her doing in college, she rolled her eyes at me.

  “Just get on with it, Grant. We don’t need to exchange any more pleasantries,” she said and I couldn’t help but smile at her. Even after all these years, Beverley had no time for formalities or corporate etiquette. She wasn’t a sellout like me. Sasha looked slightly embarrassed, but I didn’t care. He didn’t know our history.

  “How about I give you a number and let our lawyers take care of the rest? I don’t want this to be a negotiation,” I told her, resting my arms on the table. Beverley had hers folded on her lap.

  “Sure, whatever you prefer,” she said calmy and I reached for the file beside me. I flipped it open and slid it in her direction. Sasha was the one who caught it and pulled it closer to them.

  I could see his eyes widening as he read the number. Beverley had her head over the page but she hadn’t made a single move.

  “This isn’t what the valuation for my company is, this is way more than necessary,” she said in a strained voice. Sasha looked nervously from her to me. He wanted her to take it right then and there before I changed my mind, but Beverley wasn’t going to keep quiet about it.

  “I know,” I said and stapled my fingers. “But that’s what I think your company and hard work is worth to me,” I continued and she took in a sharp breath.

  “I wasn’t looking for any favors, Grant. I’m just in the market for a buyer, that’s it,” she said and our gazes locked. Her green eyes were narrowed and darkened, she had a scorn on her face and I wished that she would just relax. But I’d never known Beverley to just relax.

  “I’m not doing you a favor, Beverley. This is purely business. I can save the programs you’ve written and make a lot of money from them. This is for my gain,” I said and she looked at Sasha.

  “I need to think about it,” she said abruptly.

  “Bev, really, there’s nothing to think about,” Sasha cut in and I tried to suppress a smile. She whipped around to look at him and I could see that she was glaring. Sasha slunk back in his chair and she turned to me again.

  “I need to think about this, Grant,” she said in a formal business-like tone.

  “Of course, take your time. I’m in no rush,” I told her with a smile but that didn’t please her either. She slapped the file shut and slid it over to me again, before standing up. Sasha scrambled to his feet beside her, while I remained seated.

  “Thank you for your offer, Grant. I’ll keep you in mind, I have to meet with a few other potential buyers and I’ll get back to you,” she said and I continued to smile. I knew there were no other potential buyers. At least none that were offering her this much money. She was just being prideful. She didn’t want to have to resort to taking money from an old enemy.

  I nodded my head in silence, as Sasha and she fled away towards the door.

  “Beverley, do you mind we have a quick word?” I said and then looked at Sasha, and said “alone” politely.

  “I’ll get on back to the office, Bev. It was nice to meet you Mr. Jennings…Grant,” Sasha said before opening the door and disappearing.

  Beverley remained standing where she was, with a slightly surprised look on her face. She didn’t look like she wanted to be there alone with me. I stood up and closed the gap between us, and placed my hands on her arms.

  “It’s nice seeing you after so long, Beverley,” I said, looking her straight in her eyes and she looked like she was ready to slap my face.

  Chapter 5

  Beverley

  Grant’s hands on my arms felt like I was being burnt. An electric shock ran down my spine and after a few moments, I jerked myself away from him.

  “I don’t understand what’s so nice about all this. It isn’t nice for me,” I snapped at him and Grant’s eyes widened. The lingering smile remained on his face, and I couldn’t help but admire the chiseled features of his face.

  “Fair enough. The circumstances are shitty. I agree. And I wish I didn’t have to do this,” he said and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

  I couldn’t understand why he was being so nice to me. But then again, Grant had always been nice to me, even in college. And to me that was even more annoying. It was like he was trying to be charitable to a lost puppy.

  “Well, here we are and you’ve made an offer to buy my company,” I said and clenched my jaw. Grant was watching me keenly. He hadn’t looked away once and I was now beginning to blush under his gaze.

  “Beverley, my advice is that you accept my offer. I’m not doing you a favor, like you think. I want to keep your company afloat,” he said and I widened my eyes at him.

  “You want to keep my company afloat? How?” I said, and realized that my voice was raised.

  “By simply taking your company under my wing. I want you to continue heading your team, I want you to continue doing the good work you started. I know you just need more time,” he said in a quiet voice.

  “You mean, you want me to come work for you?” I said, placing my hand on my heart from the shock.

  “If you put it that way, then yes, but basically I want to give you the freedom to keep doing what you’re doing. There is a brilliant new product waiting to hit the market and I don’t want company financials to get in the way,” he said.

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t want to work for anyone, least of all you,” I said and Grant licked his lips.

  “I understand that it’ll feel strange, but trust me, nothing has to change. You can keep your office and keep going to work. You’ll have all the independence that you need,” he added and I rolled my eyes.

  “Other than that, I have to still answer to you,” I said. I didn’t want to look at him anymore. What he was proposing was a literal buy off. Working for him would give me no freedom!

  “Yeah, for major business decisions, nothing more,” he said and stepped towards me. I jerked my head around to look at him again. Our gazes were locked. I was squinting at him with a sour look on my face.

  “I am not going to work for you,” I said through gritted teeth, and I was surprised to find that his face broke into a smile.

  “I didn’t expect you to agree to it so easily. You’re as egotistical as ever,” he said and my mouth fell open.

  “E
gotistical? You think I have an issue with my ego? How can you even pass a judgement like that? What makes you think like that? We weren’t even friends in college. We were just classmates,” I said with a snarl and Grant slowly nodded his head.

  “You’re right. I don’t know you. We weren’t friends…but I wish I knew you,” he said and I stared up at him. I was in shock again. What he was saying didn’t make sense. Why did he wish he knew me? I was the geeky nerdy classmate who his friends jeered at. I was competitive and unfashionable and kept my distance from him on purpose. Why on Earth would he want to know me?

  “See, you look surprised. It seems like you have been quick to judge me too. You don’t know me either,” he said and I gulped. He was right. I didn’t know him, but I didn’t want to know him. Grant, for years, had been my ideal man. I knew that if I got close to him, I would never be able to get over him. No other man would be good enough if we even so much as became friends.

  “You’re judging me again,” he said in a softer voice. I watched, frozen in my place as he brought his face towards me. I couldn’t do anything, my limbs didn’t move. Grant did it slowly, allowing me the chance to push him away, but I couldn’t. I knew he was going to kiss me and I wanted it to happen.

  Our lips met and I gasped. I had fantasized about kissing Grant for so long, that I didn’t think this could actually be happening. I felt my skin sizzling as he kissed me and my hands flew up to his chest. I grabbed fistfuls of his t-shirt and his hands found my waist. Our lips were pressed together and I closed my eyes shut. I could feel the roughness of his beard on my cheeks. I could feel him pulling me closer to him. My hip bones pressed against his belly. I heard a moan escape my lips.

  Then something snapped. What was he doing? Was he actually trying to seduce me into selling my company to him? I let go of his t-shirt and pushed him away from me. My breath was ragged and hard and Grant licked his lips. He was smiling.