Obsession: (Billionaire Venture Capitalist #5) A Billionaire Russian Mob Romance

by Ainsley St Claire

  I hear him before I see him. “You own a classic car?”

  I smile at Todd. “Well, it was my granddad’s, and it had some sentimental value to me when he passed a few years ago. I don’t need a car often, so it mostly sits here. It gives me a car when I need it though.”

  Walking around the car, he runs his hand lightly over the chrome and thoroughly checks it out. “I’m impressed. This is quite a car. I’m sure your maintenance costs are pretty high.”

  “Don’t be impressed until she starts. She can be a bit temperamental when I neglect her, but my granddad tried to keep her in great shape, and I try to get her out at least once each weekend, even if it’s just a quick spin around the block. I have so many fond memories of hanging out with my granddad and going for drives. I love her, and I’m not ready to give her away.”

  “Well, let’s light her up and see if she wants to go down to Hillsboro.”

  Now I’m nervous. I say a silent prayer to the car gods that she’ll start, then turn the key. She struggles for a moment but finally starts. I let her idle a moment, listening to her purr.

  “Her engine sounds great. Now can I be impressed?”

  I want to do a happy dance that she’s doing so well.

  We make our way to Hillsboro, making light conversation along the way. When we arrive, the Arnault family’s dogs run to greet us. There’re so many tails wagging and bodies running in every direction around us that I have no way to account for sure just how many there are now.

  We hear CeCe yell, “That’s enough. To your bed!” and they slowly disperse as a pack, heading to where she points.

  I wipe slobber and dirt from my pants as I turn to Todd. “Sorry, I should’ve warned you that the dogs greet everybody like that.”

  “No worries. I love dogs. I grew up with a lab mix, and I miss her every single day,” Todd volunteers.

  “My mom had chihuahuas. They were cute enough, but not my favorite.”

  CeCe gives us both hugs and shows us inside. We aren’t the last to arrive, but most everyone’s already here.

  I introduce Todd to the few people he’s never met. “This is Annabel, Mason’s girlfriend.” Her eyes light up as if I just presented her with a giant gift. She doesn’t like me much, but then again, I’m not sure I like her either.

  Margo and Charles are, as usual, very gracious toward Todd, welcoming him to their home with open arms.

  Charles asks, “I understand you’re an investment banker?”

  “I am. After school, I was lucky to land a position with Morgan Wealth Management and have worked my way up.”

  The two of them continue their conversation, and I excuse myself. At the bar, I pour a bourbon with a large ice cube for Todd and a glass of fizzy water for me.

  Annabel saunters over. “New boyfriend?”

  I put a plastic smile on my face and pretend she doesn’t irritate me. “Nope. He’s a friend.” I add a lime wedge to my drink and leave her standing there.

  Todd and Charles are still in a deep discussion. CeCe sidles up next to me. “How are things going with Todd?”

  “Fine. I’m enjoying it until he gets a girlfriend.”

  She stops and turns to me. “Why can’t you be the girlfriend?”

  “I don’t think he likes me like that. Plus we live in the same building. It could make things awkward if it didn’t work out.”

  She smiles like the cat who ate the canary, and I know she’s up to something. “I have faith in you.”

  I shake my head at CeCe, then walk over and hand Todd his drink.

  “Thank you. I should’ve been more gentlemanly and gotten us drinks.”

  Before I can answer, CeCe asks, “Todd, how are you enjoying San Francisco?”

  “It’s great. Cynthia’s showing me around, and she even helped me close my first major deal on Friday night.”

  CeCe gives me an “I told you so” look. “Can you tell us anything about it?”

  “You might know him, but he’s somewhat young and inherited oil money. Rumor was he was looking to invest in medical technologies, and we have a client looking to break out a new product line in that area, so I brought the two together. It’ll most likely make the financial papers in a few weeks.”

  “Hmm…San Francisco is relatively small. I think I may have gone to high school with him—he was a few years ahead of me. Is his wife named Gabrielle?”

  “That could very well be her name.” We all laugh. Leaning in, I say only loud enough for CeCe to hear, “She is a huge fan of yours. I guess she sits on some board, and Metro Cosmetics is a donor. She appreciates all you do.”

  “San Francisco really is a small town, so unlike New York City,” Charles shares.

  Margo walks up and puts her arm around her husband’s hip in an affectionate way. “Todd, do you have any food allergies, or anything you don’t or won’t eat?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I pretty much eat anything that’s served to me.”

  “Tonight’s dinner is liver and onions,” Margo says with a straight face.

  Clapping his hands together, he smiles broadly, knowing she’s giving him a hard time. “I like it.”

  I roll my eyes and the group snickers. Todd fits in well. I’m glad he decided to join us this evening.

  “Actually, I have rib eyes on the grill for everyone. Medium rare okay?”

  Todd nods. “I’m easy.”

  “Well, I try to mix it up a bit. Tonight we’ll also have baked potatoes with all the fixings, plus sautéed mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, and a ton of other sides.”

  Todd looks at me. “Do you guys eat like this every week?” We all nod. “I need to get invited over more often.”

  He puts his arms around my shoulders, and it feels natural, but the jolts of electricity from his touch make my nipples hard and my panties wet.

  Todd sits between Charles and me, and I sit in my usual spot next to Mason. We’re always careful to not discuss business at the dinner table, since more than the partners are present, so conversation is light and fun.

  “Margo, dinner was outstanding, and the homemade cherry pie is the all-time best I’ve ever had,” Todd shares with great enthusiasm.

  “Our housekeeper’s an amazing cook.” Margo’s beaming at our newest guest.

  “Please be sure to tell her that dinner was superb.”

  Cameron and Dillon both chime in with their agreement.

  Leaning back in his chair, Todd pats his stomach. “I’m stuffed, thank you for including me.”

  “You’re welcome anytime, Todd.”

  As dinner breaks up, Margo shows Todd the living room so he can get some work done while the partners, Charles, CeCe, and Trey all head into Charles’s office.

  The chairs are arranged in their regular places. Taking my seat, I notice Jim Adelson, our private investigator, is also here. That’s never a good sign. The last time he joined us, he’d found a mole in our company.

  I don’t question anything, just sit and wait for the meeting to begin.

  Chapter ELEVEN

  Cynthia

  Charles starts the meeting by telling us about Visionaire, one of our investment companies that will go public this week. Apparently after the markets closed on Friday, a hacker took some of their proprietary information and put it out on the internet into the public domain. Jim and his team are trying to track where the information’s coming from. This is very disturbing to our bottom line.

  Jim explains, “I think our mole’s taking a new approach.”

  “What makes you think this is the mole and not a bad hacker?” Mason inquires.

  “There’re three markers that indicate these are from our mole. First of all, a typical hacker would go after the software design, employee lists including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and other highly private information.”

  There’s a collective groan around the room. “Taking only the software designs and the patent and leaving other critical information signifies they’re going
after Visionaire’s product. Second, they flooded the user groups and social media with hate and discourse. And finally, they wanted it to be known it was a hacker who hijacked the information. That means somebody other than a random hacker targeted them.”

  “What do we do?” Sara questions.

  “Well, it’s instantly going to affect the stock price when they go public,” Dillon sighs.

  “Why do you think that?” Mason asks.

  “Taking the patent and software design and putting it on the internet allows others to break down the software and dilutes the uniqueness, letting competitors replicate their design while still differentiating just enough,” Charles answers. “Usually it takes years of them playing with it before that happens.”

  “Fuck!” Cameron exclaims.

  My thoughts exactly.

  I listen to the back-and-forth debate, and I wonder how many of our other clients have been hacked. We’ve been targets for a while, and this can’t be unique to Visionaire just as they went public. We recently had our legal secretary arrested for feeding confidential information to an outside source. She’s in a federal jail awaiting transfer after negotiating a deal of eighteen months in a minimum-security facility. The mole has been hitting various venture capital firms across Silicon Valley. It’s been detrimental to all of us, but to SHN more specifically.

  After we’re done with that conversation, we walk through our P&L and a few other small issues that Emerson has with the new problem employees. Then it’s my turn on the agenda.

  I’ve thought long and hard about what I’m going to say to the team, ultimately deciding to tell them the truth within the confines of the restrictions around my testimony.

  “Many of you know that when BrightStar closed, I came to work here at SHN. Wednesday, the FBI came to ask me a lot of questions regarding the closure. Sara was generous with her time and helped me fend them off until my attorney could arrive. On Thursday, I spent seven hours being interviewed by the FBI. While I don’t want to share too much information with you that could make you vulnerable to a subpoena, the FBI closed BrightStar down due to some treasonous actions by one of their investors and the managing partner. They were told by a whistleblower, and I’m the whistleblower.”

  There’s shocked silence at first, and then everyone starts asking me questions all at once. All I can do is keep repeating, “I can’t tell you without risking you getting subpoenaed.”

  Charles sits back and watching as everyone else clamors away at me. Finally he asks, “How do you expect this to affect SHN?”

  I look down at my hands, which are trembling slightly. My heart is racing, and I take a few deep breaths, hoping to slow it down. “Honestly, I don’t know yet. They asked a lot of questions about my role within the company, about how I came to you—”

  “You came to me, and I put you in touch with SHN,” CeCe interjects. “You had no idea this is where I was going to refer you.”

  “I imagine they may want to contact a few of you. At least you, Mason, and possibly everyone in this room. I’m not asking anyone to lie about anything. Talk about my work, or client’s I’ve worked with. We have nothing to hide. The truth is, when I discovered what was happening, I reported it anonymously to the FBI through my attorney within five days.”

  “This is crazy. Are you going to be okay?” Emerson asks.

  “Well, my lawyer assures me that I won’t be wearing an orange jumpsuit quite yet.” I’m trying hard to make light of the situation, not wanting to let on just how much it’s affecting me.

  “Sounds like that’s a good idea. Orange wouldn’t be your color.” Emerson smiles at me warmly.

  The meeting breaks into small conversations, and Mason turns to me. “Cynthia, keep us posted. We’re here for you if you need anything.”

  I nod, appreciating all that everyone has to share.

  As I gather my things, Jim asks me quietly, “Can you stick around a moment?”

  Once most everyone else leaves, Jim crosses his arm in front of him with Charles and Mason sitting on either side. “Cynthia, I’m somewhat familiar with what happened at BrightStar. Is the FBI telling you that you could be in danger? Are they talking about a security detail? Do you already have one?”

  I keep trying to make light of the situation. “Jim, I have better than that. Apparently I have an FBI detail.”

  “If I put the pieces together, knowing what I know about BrightStar, I think you need a private security detail. Here’s my card. Please consider having my team give you the protection you need.”

  I don’t take his card, just stare at it. I’m hoping everyone’s making a bigger deal of this than is necessary.

  Mason turns to him and asks, “Do you think she’s in danger?”

  “If what I suspect is true, there’s a good possibility that’s the case.”

  “Good grief. Guys, it isn’t that big of a deal. I promised the FBI I wouldn’t try to slip past them. Trust me, they knew a lot about me in the seven hours we met. I’ll be fine. They’ve got me covered.”

  He pushes his card at me again. “My number, if you change your mind.”

  Reluctantly I take his card and slip it into my back pocket.

  “Cynthia, if Jim thinks you need a private security team, let’s get that together for you. Your health and safety are a priority,” Charles urges.

  “Really, thank you. I don’t think I’m on anyone’s radar, and they don’t care about me.” I’m not about to tell them that, despite the fact that I walked away with a lot of money from BrightStar, currently most of my assets are frozen. I make good money here, but I’m not sure how I’ll even pay my lawyer. Her rate is almost $900 an hour, and she’s working fifty hours a week for me. That adds up quick. The idea of adding a round-the-clock security team to that bill makes me nervous.

  When we emerge from Charles’s office, Todd looks at me with eyes full of concern but doesn’t ask me anything. We say our goodbyes to the Arnaults and walk to my car before he breaks his silence. “Would you like me to drive back?”

  I nod and hand him the keys.

  “How did it go?”

  “The meeting itself went well enough. One of our clients has been hacked, and their information has been put up on the internet.”

  He whistles. “That isn’t good for stock offerings.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  We talk a bit about the effects of what happened without me telling him who the client is or what they do.

  As we exit the interstate and start the trek to our building, he asks, “Who was that guy in your meeting who wasn’t at dinner?”

  “He’s a security expert we use. Nothing exciting.”

  “Why did Charles and Mason have you stay late?”

  I’ve been debating telling him what’s going on. It’s so much to take in. Finally, after watching the traffic on the highway, I decide I need to tell him something. “It has to do with my old company. There’s a lot going on with them, and it may begin to impact SHN. We strategized how to handle it.” That isn’t exactly the whole truth, but I don’t need everyone freaking out in my world.

  “Why do I think there’s something you’re not telling me?”

  “Everything’s fine,” I tell him, trying to play it off.

  “Is this security expert interested in you having some kind of security detail?”

  I can’t hide my surprise. “What would make you think that?”

  “I’ll admit there were a few whispers after the meeting. If they’re suggesting a detail, you should consider what the experts say.”

  “I’ll call them when I need it, and until then, I have you.” My attempt at flirting to divert the conversation falls a little flat. Todd just looks at me, concern overtaking his features.

  When we arrive at our building’s garage, Todd encourages me to get my car to the shop for a new starter and makes a couple of suggestions on positioning in the parking space. With the starter beginning to fail, he’s concerned I’ll need a tow soon
, and backing into my space would be one less thing to worry about with a tow company. Once we’re parked, he helps me cover my car and we head inside.

  I thank him profusely as we enter the elevators. I step off on the fifth floor, and we agree to catch up at some point during the week if our schedules allow it. With Visionaire going public, we’re completely swamped at the moment, trying to get everything lined up for a successful launch.

  Sarah has tons of filings with the SEC, the City of San Francisco, and the State of California. She’s the busiest in our office right now.

  Greer takes on the public relations role, making sure she understands everything so she can write reviews and descriptions for Wall Street to understand what Visionaire’s about.

  Emerson and her team are working with Visionaire’s leadership team to get everything taken care of, as well as crafting the messaging internally and externally with the data breach as they go public. Despite the mess, many people will become millionaires on paper within the first twenty-four hours. People like to go a little crazy buying things, and it’s important to note that in many cases, it’s a quick way to overextend themselves, since they’re rich on paper and can’t sell their stock options until the company allows them to sell.

  I’ll partner with Dillon to work with Wall Street and the brokers regarding what it is we want them to sell people. They’ll take an initial public offering of $16 and push it higher to hopefully $200 per share for the first day. We own 49 percent of the company and have invested roughly $6 million dollars over the years, so we’ll do extremely well.

  Mason and Greer will be with the CEO throughout the week, and in New York to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange on the opening of the day they go public. There will be a press junket and networking. It’s a lot of pressing the flesh and expensive meals.

  We do this often, but this will be one of our favorite public offerings. With all we have invested, we need this to go well. Our plan is to sell 25 percent of our options back to the company; even if it doesn’t reach the price point we suggest, we’ll still make our investment back, which we’ll use to fund other start-ups.