Page 80 of The Billionaire’s Fake Fiancée
"There’s no shortage of enthusiasm and ideas in the Valley," he says. "Things have been frothy, and you see a lot of dumb money. But the music’s going to stop and not a lot of people will have a chair." He crosses his arms, standing on the makeshift podium. His eyes swivel from one corner of the room to the other, making sure he makes enough eye contact to have everyone's attention. "There will be dead bodies. And blood."
The last word is drawn out. An exaggerated, sinister tone, which sends a titter through the audience of fifty start-ups.
Kids.
The average age of the crowd is twenty, or maybe twenty-five. Jace realizes he is the oldest in the room.
A man in the audience asks a question, drawing his attention back to the room.
Nowadays, most anyone with a half-baked idea seems to make a beeline to the Valley, pitching their ideas to investors, trying to raise their first $100,000 to get their start-up off the ground. Hungry kids, happy to sleep six to a two-bedroom apartment, all firm in the belief that it will be worth it in the end.
Little do they know what they are getting into.
Everyone talks about winning in the Valley. No one speaks about those who go from having everything to nothing. Like him.
After Sienna had left, Jace had turned up at Natalie's wedding. Darren had noticed Sienna's absence, of course.
Yet, Jace had waited till the next day, till the festivities had died down and Natalie had left for her honeymoon, before giving his father the news. He'd surprised Jace. He wasn't going to disinherit him. Not yet. He was giving Jace one last chance to redeem himself.
Six months more to find a woman and settle down.
Only, Jace knows the one woman he wants is never going to agree to marry him.
Ironically, the money that Sienna returned to his account had thrown him a lifeline. But even that hadn't been enough. Sienna's debts were miniscule compared to the billion he needed to save his sinking firm.
Jace had used the money to buy out Eric's share in the company. A deal completed by email?strictly business.
Now he has nothing.
Nothing except his ability to speak and convince. That is why he's here. To pitch his idea for a start-up.
On the proverbial other side of the table.
Jace curls his fingers into fists at his side, his muscles tensing. It had taken a lot of courage to turn up here. But he knows he must do it. It's time he surfaced and faced the real world. Put the mistakes he's made so far behind him, and move on. He'd been cocky, and proud, and sure that he'd succeed. He'd never even entertained the thought of things going wrong.
Never thought I'd fall for Sienna either.
Jace is not giving up, though.
He's always known his Silicon Valley sojourn was fraught with risks. Only he'd always known his inheritance was a fallback.
But not this time.
This time he's determined to make it under his own steam. Once he'd made up his mind about that, it'd almost been a relief. He hadn't realized how much his father's money had been holding him back, not till he'd made this decision to break free of it.
Perhaps Sienna leaving him had been a blessing in disguise. It'd given him the opportunity to re-evaluate what he'd become. Eric's leaving had hit him hard. He shouldn’t have let his friend go.
He shouldn't have let Sienna leave either. He should have told her how he'd felt about her. He'd also not reached out to Karina and the guys since his return.
Me and my damned pride.
But Jace is determined to rebuild his business, find his future first.
He needed one pitch to go right.
Jace knows sometimes the difference between success and failure is a moment. A second and everything could change. All he has is hope.
The Frenchman has finished speaking, when the door at the back of the room bangs shut. The clap of heels is barely muffled by the fading carpet, as someone rushes up the room toward the podium.
