He leaned away from me with a look of confusion on his face.
“Maddie, why would I be insulted? I want the same thing.”
“You do?”
“Yes, of course. Why else would I agree to pay a king’s ransom to spend time with you?”
As he finished speaking, he reached down and slipped his hand into mine. Disbelief suspended me in the moment as he raised my hand towards his mouth and placed a single, perfectly moist kiss on the back of my hand. Electric shocks raced up my arm and sent a primal pulse to my brain, setting my carnal urges on edge and my desire to keep things ‘professional' in serious jeopardy.
Grey withdrew his lips from my flesh and lowered my hand back into my lap before releasing it.
“Let’s discuss the details over dinner,” he said with a grin. “I have a proposal that I think you’ll find tempting.”
12
Fringe Benefits (Grey)
We dined at Chef Claude’s that night. After we were seated, he came out to the table and chatted with us. Nice guy. I know Maddie thought I was rude to him when we ate at the bar the first night I came to town. But if anything, I hoped she noticed the result. I operated by a simple rule, never take crap from people.
Ever.
If you give another person the slightest clue you think you’re less important than they are, it’s over. Now that Chef Claude went out of his way to glad-hand me, I was certain the point wouldn’t be lost on Maddie.
After ordering, I turned my attention to the issue at hand. She’d caught me a bit off guard. Not only was she a knockout, but the business idea she’d come up with was a damn good one. I watch startups fail all the time. Mostly it's because they just run out of money before they can make a go of it. Of course, when that happens, it’s great to be in the position I’m in. My companies have acquired more businesses on the verge of bankruptcy than I can remember. But that’s where the real bargains are in life. When people are desperate, they’ll do almost anything. And while Maddie might not be desperate just yet, I figured it wouldn’t be long.
I sensed an opportunity and there was no way in hell I’d leave town without making my intentions known.
I took a sip of my vodka rocks. The alcohol stung my taste buds as I swallowed it with a hard contraction. It was about the only thing that could have washed away the taste of her skin from my palate. Not that I wanted to be rid of it, mind you. I had to be, otherwise I’d never make it through the meal.
Placing the icy beverage down on the table, I looked across the table at her as she lifted her wine glass to her lips. Her fingers wrapped around the long, slender stem of the glass as she tilted it up and took a healthy swig of the deep purple liquid. I studied her throat muscles and watched as they contracted while the alcohol made its way inside her. Finishing, she placed the glass back down on the snow white tablecloth, made eye contact with me and smiled.
“So,” she said, as she cleared her throat a bit. “You mentioned you had a proposal you wanted to discuss with me?”
I nodded and leaned back in my chair.
“I have to tell you I’m impressed,” I said.
“Impressed?” she replied.
“Yes, with you, Maddie. With your business idea.”
“Oh,” she said. I noticed her skin turn the shade of red I’d grown accustomed to seeing when I said something that caused her embarrassment. “Thank you, Grey. That’s kind of you. I’d be a liar though if I told you it’s gone smoothly. It's been anything but.”
“Yes.” I nodded in agreement. “I’m well aware of that. But that still doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea. Far from it. You need some help though.”
“Help? What do you mean? What kind of help?”
Placing my forearms at the table’s edge, I leaned forward and folded my hands together in front of my face. As I tapped my fingers together, I said, “So how do you intend to grow your fledgling operation from this point on? What's your plan? Do you have one?”
She broke eye contact with me for a moment. Taking a lock of her hair and spinning it round her index finger, she continued, “Funny you should mention that.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
Maddie grimaced as she stammered, “Um, I was hoping to get a referral from you. You know, assuming you’re pleased with how things went.”
I stopped my fingers mid-tap and held them pressed against one another.
“Sure Maddie, I’d be happy to give you a referral,” I replied, as I smiled and leaned back in my chair.
Her expression brightening, Maddie straightened up in her chair and began to speak before I interrupted her with a warning.
“Even so, I can tell you right now you’re going to need a lot more than a referral from me, or anyone for that matter, if you hope to make a long-term go of this as a business. You need working capital. A plan to grow. Do you have any idea how to put that in place?”
Maddie’s face froze. I watched as her lips pressed together. She shook her head.
“No. I don’t.”
With a half-shrug, I reached for my drink and took a pull of the clear liquor. Placing it down, I continued, “Well, you need those things if you hope to have any chance to make it. For instance, without sufficient cash reserves, you’ll be bankrupt in a few months, if not sooner.”
While I spoke, Maddie twirled her hair in tight spirals, releasing it every few seconds before starting all over again. At last, she puffed her cheeks and exhaled.
“Bankrupt?” she said. “I mean, I know I’m struggling a little, but I don’t think I’ll go broke that fast.”
“Ah yes, the eternal optimism of the entrepreneur. Maddie, I’ve seen this more times in my life than I care to recount. You can choose to accept my advice or not. Ignore it at your peril.”
And honest to God, I meant it. I enjoyed watching people succeed in business and if I could profit from it, all the better. This circumstance was even more enjoyable, given all the ‘fringe benefits’ I expected to accrue if she listened to the rest of the advice I was prepared to offer her.
As I ruminated, Maddie continued to twirl and twist her hair until at last she stopped and with a hint of desperation in her tone asked, “Okay, well, what can I do?”
I leaned back and casually interlaced my fingers together across my chest.
“I’ll tell you that I think you’ve got a solid business idea here, Maddie. I mean it. There’s definitely a niche you’ve found and I think it’s one that could be quite lucrative. I’ve got lots of wealthy friends who'd be willing to pay a pretty penny for a high-end concierge service. It solves a lot of problems. However, you need three things to keep going. One, of course, is money. The second is a business plan and third, a partner you can trust.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Partner?”
“Yes. I’m talking about a business proposition, Maddie. You’ll get the money you need to not only meet your short-term cash needs, but also to grow the business over the next year to eighteen months. In addition to the capital infusion, I’ll put together a complete business plan and I’ll do all of this for a fifty-one percent equity position in the business.”