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I don’t want to leave, but I force myself to turn to Yaya and sign, “Text you. Night?”
Her smile looks unsure, but then she nods.
Baby steps.
* * *
Cancer patients shouldn’t be in boardroom meetings, but no one told Cullen that. Or maybe they did and he didn’t listen. The coding genius is sitting across from me, an IV drip dragging behind him.
A warm cap covers his bald head and he’s wearing fleece in ninety-degree weather.
Guy’s seven years my junior. Too young to have been through so much.
“Why are we back to this argument? Mr. Cullen and I ran through the projections with the R&D team. The gap in the market for aerospace satellite data is ripe for the taking.”
“It’s too risky,” Carmichael whines. He’s the one dad put on the board for the sole purpose of rejecting all my proposals. At least, that’s what I tell myself when the temptation to make an executive decision and kick him off the board becomes too great.
“Life is a risk,” Cullen says, his eyes glinting darkly. Sickness hasn’t knocked out that cocky Irish determination. Another reason why I like him. “No risks, no reward.”
“Big risks. Big consequences.”
“You can’t live your life being afraid,” Cullen snaps back.
I laugh silently.
Carmichael 0, Cullen 1.
I should buy this guy a beer when he’s better.
Clearly frazzled, Carmichael scoffs and pins me with an accusing look. “I don’t understand why he’sinthis meeting.” The old man digs his talons into the hand rests. “Cullen Tech is gone. I saw the acquisition documents myself.” His evil eyes land on me. “You got your toy, Sullivan. Why don’t you just play quietly in the corner?”
My back stiffens. If dad didn’t tell me to respect these old men around the table, I’d have security pick Carmichael up by his collar and toss him to the street.
Cullen grits his teeth, a muscle in his jaw locking.
I notice and try my best to ease the tension. “Correction, Cullen Tech and I are partners.”
“I don’t know of anypartnerwho paid as much as you did for a lousy company like that,” Carmichael mutters. “The board hasn’t agreed to greenlight this project. And say we do, by some miracle, you still need to pass this proposal to the National Defense Committee, and there’s no way they’ll say yes.”
“There’s always a way,” Cullen hisses.
“But is it therightway?” Carmichael fires back. “There are easier paths to making money.”
“You know what’s on the road to making easy money, Carmichael?”
He stares at me.
I wait.
His eyes narrow into a chilly glare. “What?”
“A crowd.” I drum my fingers on the desk. “I don’t like crowds. They’re loud. Abrasive. They lack innovation. A crowd wants to be told what to think. But me? Not much of a rule follower.”
Leaning back in my chair, I meet Carmichael’s challenging stare with a calm one. “This isn’t a meeting to discuss whether we go forward or not. This is a meeting to brainstorm ways in which the company we havepartnered withhas a better chance at success.”
My phone pings while Carmichael starts whining again. Glad for an excuse to tune out, I check the notification.
YayaOnDemand follows you back.