Page 21 of Black Velvet

This is pathetic.

I'mpathetic.

I've never acted like this, not even when I was still in high school and such behavior would have been considered normal.

But I've also never wanted someone like this, and I've never been afraid of rejection. This is new, and I have no way of knowing how to handle it.

It's been too long, too long since I’ve had a normal date or liked someone for me to approach a man. To date and flirt like a normal person, to seduce one by relying on my charm and looks, and not because I've been bought for a few hours or a night.

I never expected this to happen, but here I am, a twenty-two-year-old girl who doesn't know how to get a man's attention if she doesn't offer herself with a purchase agreement.

I guess, then, I know what I'll have to do.

Chapter 14

Damon

It has been two days, but it's still hard for me to focus. I hate it on many levels. I don't have time for this. I can't afford to have half, or even most, of my head occupied by a girl. An escort girl, for God's sake.

I have to be present, focused on this, here, the two men at my desk and the paperwork surrounding them.

Scott is sitting next to Dean, my longtime financial advisor. He's a short, skinny man, who looks younger than he actually is with his schoolboy haircut and the glasses that seem way too big on his face. His short blond hair is ruffled, as it always is, and his eyebrows are creased in concentration as he goes over the paperwork that Scott just handed to him.

Both of them are sitting at the large white desk that takes up half of my conference room, while I pace up and down inside the glassed area. When I acquired this office space, I wasn't even quite sure what I would need it for. I have never worked in an office before. All of my adult life has been based in my ever-changing homes. All I needed was a computer and access to the internet to get things started.

I hired Dean when my interest income grew to the point that taxes were a painful endeavor. It annoyed the hell out of me to see so much of my money flow right back into the hands of a state I don't trust, but I wanted to make sure not to get in trouble with the government either when I tried to make the most of my investments. I needed a tax accountant and advisor, someone who had my best interests in mind but knew the rules of the game better than I do.

Dean was that guy, and he has proven himself over the years. I would almost call him a friend, if we had anything in common other than our shared interest in my finances.

"This is all looking good to me," he murmurs, without once looking up from the papers.

Scott is visibly relieved and casts me a nervous smile. I'm his main seed investor, and I can see why this is unsettling for him. We've overturned his business plan plenty of times, telling him that there is a general interest, but no commitment from my side if he doesn't get his shit in order. He's a few years younger than me, a college dropout who didn't see the point in sitting through classes when he already knew what he wanted to do with his life. He pitched his idea while he was still enrolled, just to keep his parents quiet, but he dropped out as soon as I gave him my okay to support his endeavor. It was energy-sapping for both of us that his plan needed revision after revision for me to trust in it.

"Good work on the balance sheet," Dean adds, now looking up to give Scott an encouraging smile. "Looks like you finally got what we were saying."

"That's what I thought," I agree, having read all of the paperwork before I called both of them in here. "This finally looks like something we can work with."

Both of them cast me a quick smile, Scott's face ridden with tension while Dean’s is still displaying cautious agreement. I know he will want to check again and make sure that the paperwork actually holds water before letting me sign anything.

I'm showing trust in an idea that Dean barely understands. The internet of things is as complex as it is promising, and I'm fortunate to have a cautious accountant like him on board, someone who restrains my young enthusiasm.

Scott, on the other hand, can hardly contain his excitement. He's been nervous every time we meet, but today he seems especially unraveled. His pale face is flushed, and he's sweating despite the cool temperatures in this room. His hair is light like Dean's, but with a red tint, like the stubble on his chin.

I side-eye him as I walk back to the table, supporting myself on the clean white surface as I lean over the papers spread out across the table.

"That's quite a big equity stake you're giving up there," I tell Scott. "Are you really sure about this?"

Scott nods, pressing his lips together.

"I need the early-stage funding," he says. "Otherwise, there's no business to have stakes in."

He sighs, his entire body relaxing for a split second before he adds, "I'd rather have less of an equity stake in my company than have no company at all."

I nod. "Fair enough."

"Mr. Graves is taking a higher risk than normal venture capital funding would require," Dean interjects. "Since there's no existing project to evaluate for funding."

I raise my hand in a calming manner.

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