Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“What?” I ask, opening up my container to reveal ooey, gooey, cheesy yumminess. “Ooh.”
“That’s the lobster one,” she says happily, pointing at my food with her fork, and then she answers my other question. “You’ve gotta bring your new man to my party! My actual party, not just the times we’re gonna celebrate me and my utter awesomeness.”
New man? I don’t think she’s really understanding the nature of this relationship, but she’s tipsy and it’s her birthday and I don’t want to pop her bubble at the moment.
“What are we doing for your actual party?” I ask, and Ami grins. “What? I’ve been sort of caught up in my own drama. I’ve missed the details. Sorry.”
“It’s okay, she’s not grinning about that. She looks like that because she’s got some news of her own,” Maggie whispers my way, even though Ami can totally hear her. As she opens her own container, she prompts, “Ames is thinking a swanky but cheap get together at… drumroll, please.”
Ami does her own drumroll, kicking her feet on the floor in a way that’s absolutely going to irritate our downstairs neighbor, before she squeals, “Los Ingobernables!”
It’s my turn to choke on my drink, and I cough repeatedly. “You think you can have something cheap at Los Ingobernables?” I ask. “That’s one of the hottest restaurants in the city!”
“And I just happen to have a favor I can call in with the sous chef,” Ami says mysteriously. Seeing my look, she shakes her head. “No, I didn’t fuck him. I only assisted in helping him do something, so he’s paying me back with helping with the party. Private room, fully catered, chef’s menu.”
My jaw drops, and I’m already looking forward to it.
“That’s going to be amazing,” I reply. “What else do you have planned for the month? It’s kinda impossible to top that.”
“I’ll figure it out,” she answers with a shrug. “Even if everything else is just ‘twenty day celebration till Los Ingobernables’, ‘fifteen days’, ‘ten days’, and so on and so forth, it’ll be fun.”
Suddenly, I’m excited for Ami’s birthday month celebrations.
Laughing, I lift my glass, and we toast. “Thirty days and counting!” Ami cheers, starting her own countdown.
It’s hours later when I finally wander off to bed after Maggie and I tuck a tipsy but happy Ami into a taxi. “You know,” Maggie says as she brushes her teeth, “I think we’re going to be okay.”
I meet her eyes in the mirror. “I hope so.”
As I lie down, curling up under my blanket, I sort of feel okay too. Or maybe even better than okay.
In one day, I’ve got a good job that’s got a promising future.
I’ve got good friends.
And maybe, just maybe, I’ve got a man, too.
Could I have stumbled into having it all, the whole enchilada?
Or is it the wine still talking?
CHAPTER 16
DYLAN
So while your idea has merit, I’m going to need a little time to evaluate all sides of the situation, I type, pausing before deleting half the sentence and sitting back in my chair as I pinch the bridge of my nose. Turning down an offer is often hard, especially one of this magnitude and potential. Turning down an offer from a friend is even harder.
When Austin approached me about a potential deal he’s trying to line up, I was intrigued. The car and truck market is at a point now where outside forces, both cultural and economic, are dictating changes. The traditional automotive manufacturers are going to have to adapt or they’ll find themselves on the scrap heap of history. But Austin has an angle on another plan, merging the cutting-edge flexibility of a startup with the major automakers’ distribution network.
If it works, he’s poised to be the driving force of the biggest change to the American car scene in decades. And while he’s got the money to push this through on his own, he’s trying to diversify his investors to maximize his profits and his potential.
So he reached out to me, because he knows that I’ve got my fingers on the pulse of more cash flow than he does and that I’ve got other investments that could be beneficial to the project.
But what he’s asking…
I’m excited to see your project come to fruition, I rewrite in the bland, clipped tones of business speak, and I wish you the best. The possibilities on what can happen in this project are more than needed for the market. But right now, I’m going to have to pass on getting involved personally. Please keep me apprised, and if the opportunity presents itself in the future, we can talk.
-Dylan
I hit Send, firing off the email to Austin. I know it’s passing up on an opportunity, and some people would say I’m losing out. But one of the things I’ve learned in my time in business is that while the old adage of ‘you win some, you lose some’ might be true, a lot of losses can be chalked up to spreading yourself too thinly. So if I’m not able to stay on top and see where and when to make adjustments to the projects under the firm’s umbrella, then a small issue can become a full-blown problem before I can react.