Page 75 of Purely Novel Intent (Mile High Romance)

“But I do work for you.” I piece together what he’s saying. “Is there a conflict? Are we breaking any rule you haven’t told me about?”

“There’s no rule that prevents us from being together. I don’t have direct control over your employment, although we would probably make most HR departments nervous.” He steals a glance at me.

“Is that why you didn’t tell me?” I place a hand on his chest. “You didn’t want me to feel pressured by your position.”

“That never even crossed my mind. Maybe it should have, but I don’t exactly have logical thoughts when it comes to you.” Chris picks up my hand and kisses my knuckle.

“Then why?” I frown.

“Charlie didn’t want anyone to know it was me who put up the seed money.”

“He didn’t want anyone to know his brother helped with funding? That doesn’t make sense.” I shake my head, trying to wrap my head around why Charlie would make that request.

“Well, you don’t know the whole story.”

I cock my head, and Chris takes another deep breath.

“Charlie wanted the company to succeed on its own merits. He didn’t want people to attribute the company’s success to me.”

“Why would anyone attribute Charlie’s success to you just because you put in some money?” I draw back, not following this conversation at all.

“Because, until recently, if I told other investors to put money into a project, they’d probably do it. At the very least they’d take a serious look. Charlie didn’t want people to look at Engage just because I recommended it. He wanted them to look at Engage because the company is that good.”

I roll this information around in my head but still can’t make sense of it. Chris seems to sincerely believe what he’s saying, but why would he have that much influence?

“I’m one of the most successful angel investors in Denver, Lisa.” He answers my question before I can ask it, and I realize I must have cocked my head again. “Charlie was afraid if I was too involved, people wouldn’t give Engage the credit it deserved. He didn’t want anyone investing because I told them to, but because he earned it. So I put up the money he needed to get things going, but as far as anyone else knows, there is no lead investor, just a bunch of family and friends.” He squeezes my hand. “Most people assume I’m invested, but they don’t know to what extent, and I haven’t directed anyone else to make an investment. I’ve only commented on how proud I am of what Charlie has built.”

“So you aren’t a landlord at all?” I hesitate. “You’re an investor?”

“I do own several buildings, and I like to work on them myself when I can. You’re right about me liking to work with my hands.” He kisses my knuckle again. “But my primary business is investing.”

I bite my lip as I digest this. I’m vaguely aware that this is the perfect opportunity to tell him about my primary business, but he still seems somewhat distraught. I need to understand what Chris is telling me before I can bring up my secrets, and right now I’m not sure I’m following everything. Did he just say he was one of the more successful investors in Denver? If that’s true, why does he still seem to be chasing the approval of his family? Is that why he said until recently?

“What changed?” I ask.

“Huh?” He seems surprised.

“You said until recently people would do what you said. What changed?”

Chris seems to retreat inside himself. His eyes drift downward, and his whole body grows stiff. He’s quiet for so long I think he might not answer, and I’m just about to snuggle against his chest and forget the question when he finally speaks.

“My last deal is in danger of failing, and the investment community knows it.”

“So people are wondering if you still have the Midas touch?” I tease.

That earns me the smile I’m shooting for, albeit a weak one. “Something like that,” he says. “But I’ll survive that. The company I funded might not.”

“What happened?” I stroke his cheek, bringing his gaze back to mine.

“Another company filed an almost identical patent, right before we filed ours. If it stands, our company won’t get the funding it needs, and it would fail. Kurt, the guy behind it, put his whole life into this company. He’d be ruined.”

I can see the pain in his eyes, and I know that he’s bearing this burden personally. I’d give anything to take that away.

“You said ‘if.’ Is there a chance it won’t stand?” I ask.

Chris gives a quick nod. “I’m pretty sure the patent they filed is ours. That someone stole the information and passed it off to this other company. If I can prove it, maybe I can save the company.”

“Why would anyone do that?” I ask.

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