I followed her over the edge moments later, thrusting deep one last time as I spilled inside the condom, hot pulses of release that left me shuddering. “Theresa,” I groaned, burying my face inher neck, inhaling her scent—sweat and sex and that faint floral perfume that drove me wild.
We collapsed together, tangled in sheets and limbs, both breathing hard.
I discarded the condom, and Theresa’s head rested on my chest, my arm curved protectively around her shoulders. Her skin was flushed, a light sheen of sweat making it glow in the dim light of the hotel room. I drank it all in as the aftershocks of our passion still rippled through me.
“The board meeting is Thursday,” she said after a long silence.
“I know.”
“Even with this evidence, it might not be enough.” Her voice was steady, but I felt the tension returning to her body.
I tightened my arm around her. “Then we’ll find another way. You’re not alone in this anymore.”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
THERESA
I staredat the financial models until the numbers blurred, swimming across the spreadsheet. Just forty-eight hours until the board meeting that would decide everything. My head throbbed with a headache that had taken up residence behind my right eye sometime around 3 AM.
The morning sun slanted through the blinds of my office. I’d been here all night, fueled by an unholy mixture of desperation and coffee. The evidence Patrick had gained lay spread before me—damning proof of Arthur’s conspiracy with Axiom Ventures to strip CarideoTech for parts.
I ran my fingers over the edge of a revealing email from Arthur to QuantumTech, promising them our glucose monitoring patents at a bargain price once they’d completed their takeover. My stomach churned.
And yet...
I leaned back in my chair, the leather creaking in protest. The same naggingthought surfaced again: it might not be enough.
Even if I exposed Arthur as the duplicitous snake he was, even if I showed the board exactly how he’d plotted for eighteen months to destroy everything Marco and I had built, they still might vote to sell. Fear is a powerful motivator, and nothing scares investors like uncertainty. Arthur’s offer—likely with a low evaluation—would at least give them something. A bird in hand versus the promise of a flock in the bush.
I needed more than proof of Arthur’s crimes. I needed an alternative.
Marco would’ve come up with a plan. He always had a plan, a vision, an angle. He could charm investors with nothing but a prototype and a smile. He made people believe.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my fingertips against my temples.Think, Theresa. What would Marco do?
He’d find another investor. Someone who could outbid Arthur. Someone who believed in our mission, not just the profit potential.
My eyes flew open.
Leonard Ashley.
The name materialized in my mind like a life raft in a storm. Leonard Ashley, the investor we’d met in Aspen just before Marco died. The one who’d been ready to commit thirty million before everything fell apart.
Arthur had told me Ashley had backed out after Marco’s death. He’d been so matter-of-fact about it, so regretful. “These thingshappen, Theresa. Without Marco, he’s lost confidence in the vision.”
But had he? Or was that just another of Arthur’s lies?
I straightened in my chair, my heart speeding up. Ashley had been interested in our technology—genuinely interested—but it was the technical details that had sealed the deal. The regulatory strategy. The market positioning. The stuffI’dprovided.
If Ashley had been willing to invest thirty million for a minority stake before, maybe he still would. Maybe he just needed to hear from me.
My finger hovered over the intercom. This was a Hail Mary, a desperate shot in the dark. Ashley was notoriously picky about his investments, and Arthur had had months to poison that well. But what choice did I have?
I pressed the button.
“Lisa, I need you to get me a meeting with Leonard Ashley. Today.”
