The Audi zood down the road and the radio kept music going on in the background.
"Gray was chill." Matt nodded to himself like he just made a great proclamation. "You really will leave him as CEO?"
"Yeah." I said. "Why should I remove him when he's already doing a good job?"
Matt nodded again. He was quite fond of doing that. "But why did you introduce as your business partner?"
I grinned. I knew he'd circle back to that.
"Because I want us to do this together."
There was a beat of silence in the car.
"My goal is to take my father's empire into my hands within five years and I need soone I trust by my side. You are that person."
Matt paused. "Why five years?"
"A goal is just a dream without a ti limit, bro. You know that."
"That's fair." He nodded to himself. Again. "Alright. I'll be the man you can't trust. But I better get a crazy salary." He joked.
"That, my very good friend, is the easiest part." I laughed. All this was just... a formality. Matt was actually the most loyal person I know.
"So," he yawned, stretching in his seat, "how's things between you and Mila?"
"A bit slow but that's okay."
It's been a week since the whole Erald Isle thing.
Our texts have been few and far between as she had returned to her busy schedule, probably trying to recoup whatever she had lost, and I acted busy like I had told her I would be.
"We'll be eting for a cup of coffee at Cafe de la paix tomorrow though." I told Matt.
"Nice." Matt grinned. "So, when will you make your move to get into the exclusive club?"
"Tomorrow." I replied.
"How?"
"Simple." I grinned. "I'm going to buy my way in."
[][][][][]
There I was at Cafe de la Paix, sipping my espresso as I watched the steady stream of well dressed cafe goers co and go.
These people clearly had money to burn and I was burning mine along with them.
I glanced at my watch. Mila will be here soon and today, things will finally move in the direction I wanted. Hopefully.
The door chid as soone entered, and I glanced up to see Mila step inside. She spotted and waved, a bright smile on her face as she made her way over.
"Hey, stranger." She greeted as she sat in the chair across from . "Hope you didn't wait for too long?"
"I did." I grinned to show I was joking. "In fact, I was starting to think you'd forgotten about ."
"Impossible. How could I forget you?"
"Well, I am impossible to forget." I laughed.
She smiled, her eyes softening as she settled in. "It's been a crazy week, huh? I've barely had ti to breathe."
"I get it." I said, leaning back in my chair like soone that had also been busy throughout the week. "Sa here, but I'm glad we could finally catch up."
We spent ti catching up, talking about how her week had been, what I'd been up to.
I didn't even have to lie since I'd actually had things to do but I kept things vague of course. I'm not about to tell her I just got an inheritance.
But as we spoke, I could tell there was sothing on her mind. She seed distracted, her fingers idly playing with the edge of her cup.
"So," I said, after a pause, leaning in slightly. "What's really going on, Mila? You seem like you've got sothing weighing on you."
She better do. I needed to solve her problem for her to solve mine.
She sighed, her shoulders sagging just a bit. "It's... my brand. My costic line. It's taking a bigger hit than I expected."
I raised an eyebrow even though I was beginning to smile inside. "What kind of hit?"
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking down at her coffee.
"The new product line didn't sell like I thought it would. We put so much into the design, the marketing... but the numbers just aren't there. I'm taking huge losses right now."
She sighed, looking away.
And this, ladies and gentlen, is the opening I'd been waiting for.
"Mila, listen." I said, projecting a calm and reassuring voice. "I believe in what you're doing. Your brand has potential, real potential. It just needs the right push."
She looked up at , eting my eyes with curiosity. "What do you an?"
I leaned forward and spoke confidently. "I'm willing to invest in it. Ten million dollars in cash. I can help you turn this around."
Her eyes widened in shock. "Ten million?" She hissed. "Are you serious?"
"Completely." I said, keeping my tone even as if ten million was nothing to . "I see the value in what you're building, and I'm willing to back you up. It's an investnt."
For a mont, she just stared at , speechless. Then her expression shifted into one of pure excitent. "Nico, oh my god! I don't even know what to say. That's... that's incredible."
I smiled. "You don't have to say anything. Just make sure my investnt isn't in vain."
She laughed as if she couldn't believe her luck. "I will! I promise, I'll make sure you won't regret it."
I smiled even though I was already regretting it. In fact, I began regretting it the mont I hatched the plan.
Do you know how hard it is to give up ten million dollars? And all I had was fifteen million dollars.
Now, I was waiting for her to pop the question.
That was when she leaned in closer, her eyes shining with gratitude. "What can I do to repay you? I can't just take this money without giving sothing back."
Bingo. The personal nature of my investnt ant she views herself in my debt. We both knew the only reason I invested in her business is because I know her personally.
I waved a hand as if dismissing the idea. "You don't need to repay . It's an investnt, not a loan. Just focus on making your brand the success it deserves to be."
Useless platitudes but she nodded, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Still, I want to do sothing for you."
I paused for a mont as if sothing just occurred to . "Well, now that you ntion it..."
I sipped from my cup. "I've been looking for a place to unwind, sowhere exclusive, sowhere where I can really relax. You wouldn't happen to know of any good spots, would you?"
Mila's face lit up, as if she'd just rembered sothing. "Oh! Actually, yes! There's this place I go to. It's super exclusive. The Pine Press Country Club. It's where all the big nas go to get away from the public eye."
I raised an eyebrow, acting intrigued. "Pine Press, huh? Sounds like just the kind of place I've been looking for."
She nodded eagerly. "It is! But you can't just sign up. You need to be recomnded by two mbers to even be considered."
I leaned back in my chair, smiling. "Really? And you're a mber, I assu?"
"Of course." She said proudly. "And I can definitely get you in. I'll be your first recomndation."
I acted like I was surprised. "You'd do that for ?"
She laughed, reaching across the table to playfully tap my hand. "Are you kidding? After what you're doing for ? It's the least I can do!"
I smiled at her. "I appreciate it, Mila. Really."
"No need to thank ," she said, waving it off with a grin. "I'll pull so strings and make sure you're in before the end of the week. You'll love it there."
"Looking forward to it." I replied, keeping my tone casual but inside, I was grinning.
She would do this favor to return my favor and just like that, I'll be in the big leagues.
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