Slipperless Series (Book #1)(8)

But more important than getting my dick wet was having her respect, especially when it came to someone in a role like hers. Because the simple fact was that whatever momentary pleasure I would gain from a conquest of her paled in comparison to the rewards I reaped in other ways by restraining myself from my desire to have her.

I paid her, and paid her well mind you, and I had no doubt in my mind she would give almost anything to defend me. There was no way to put a price on that kind of loyalty so why would I want to ruin it by taking a chance on a roll in the hay? I’d be a fool. Even so, we both enjoyed the banter, hints of what could be if circumstances were a bit different. If nothing else, it kept things spiced up around the office.

In any case, we kept it professional, with flirting optional.

“Thanks sweetheart,” I said, as I took from her. Spinning it around, I gave the papers a quick perusal to make sure there were no glaring omissions. As I leafed through the stack of pages, I noticed Holly fidget with her clothing a bit in my peripheral vision.

“Did you need something my dear?” I asked, without looking up at her.

“No, I just wanted to know if I can’t get you anything. Some coffee?”

I turned away from her as she spoke. Passing through the threshold to my office, I muttered, “Mmm, hmm. That’s fine.”

“Gabe,” she said, one last time. “Your coat.”

“Uh huh,” I grumbled, as I continued without stopping.

A few seconds later, I slid into my chair and rolled it under my desk. Leaning into the firmness of the leather, I placed the documents outlining of the details of my company’s biggest project to-date in front of me.

It was a breakthrough and sure to be worth nearly a trillion dollars in market value down the road. Even so, there was a lot to overcome in the meantime. Regulators, endless testing, clinical trials and the occasional behind-the-scenes payoff were all part of the world I did business in. Most people would be shocked to discover cutting edge life-saving protocols were no more free of corruption than any other industry where billions, if not trillions, were at stake.

But that was the way of the world. Mine anyway.

Even so, getting to a stage where those issues reached a level of practical concern would require a significant amount of money. By my back-of-the-envelope math, I pegged the number at about five times the value of everything I owned. Needless to say, I was looking for investors with deep pockets and an appetite for risk.

Nothing about this would be easy, quick or cheap.

I scanned the responses I’d gotten to my initial feelers. I had contacts around the globe but the best prospects appeared to be in Asia and the Middle East. The good news was that it looked as though we’d get the funding we needed and, even better, without having to give up any equity.

I’d insisted instead on a royalty share agreement, heavily loading payments in the early years. Of course, I didn’t have a single dime from anyone just yet but there’d be additional discussions and meetings to finalize things soon enough.

After an exhale, I leaned back in my chair. With this hurdle behind me, for now anyway, things looked to be on track. Just then, Holly rapped against my half-opened office door and as she did, I turned my head in her direction.

“Well?” she asked. “What does it say?”

I frowned at the question. As if there was any doubt about the viability of the Link Protocol.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“No, Holly, it’s something. What is it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, you seemed so tense about the proposal.”

I nodded. I had good reason to be. For that matter, so did she and everyone else. On the one hand, it’s not as if we needed this project to stay viable as a company but we had to have a springboard, a catalyst, to make us the undisputed leader in the marketplace.

I was the most competitive person I knew and I had no intention of not making that transformation happen. Of course, something of this scale would require the participation of the entire company. I couldn't do it alone. And not everyone shared my appetite for risk taking, including the woman standing in my doorway.

I’d learned long ago that people move at their own pace in situations like this. I always got them on board eventually but it was a mix of patience and firmness that got the job done.

“Well,” I began as I leaned back in my chair once more. “We’re looking at close to sixty billion dollars of R&D and marketing, including the investment of my entire personal fortune. I’m not tense so much as I am focused. You get the difference?”

“Right. Yes, I do,” Holly said, as she attempted to change subjects. “Would you like your coffee now? It’s ready.”