Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two (5 page)

Dylan sat uncomfortably as she waited for Keeve to speak. When there were no words from him, she broke the silence. “Is there something you needed me to do for you, Mr. Black?”

Keeve Black looked up from what he was doing to acknowledge Dylan’s question. “Please call me Keeve, Dylan. I know it’s your first day, but I feel confident that you will be able to handle the assignment I’m about to give you. There’s a new company struggling to get off the ground and we may be interested in investing in them for a controlling stake. I need you to look over their finances and let me know how deep in debt they are and if pulling them out would be worth it for us. The name of the company is Spectrum. They specialize in an app that can do virtually anything through voice recognition.”

“I’m not sure how I can be of assistance. I’m not a tech geek,” Dylan said with hesitation.

“Dylan, you don’t need to worry about the technical side of the business. I just want you to look at the financial side and let me know if it would be worth our time and money to invest in them. Something tells me that they are on to something. I just need to know if investing in the company will be a smart move for us,” Keeve said as he held up a thick file.

Dylan took the file. “Let me see what I can come up with. How long do I have to let you know what I find?”

“We need to move on this as soon as possible. We aren’t the only company interested in Spectrum. The sooner we can get a handle on their finances, the sooner we can make a decision how to move on this,” Keeve said.

“I’ll do my best.” Dylan stood, concerned about what she was getting herself into. She knew that Keeve wouldn’t have given her this assignment if he didn’t have confidence in her.

Dylan began looking at the file she was given. By the time the day was over, she was more confused about what the company actually did. She knew she wouldn’t be getting any more done today, so she decided to clear her desk and head home. Maybe she would have a clearer head tomorrow to tackle it again.

Just as she was heading out, Mason walked up to her desk. She could see that he had an envelope in his hand.

“Dylan, I wanted to give this to you before you left. It’s an invitation to a gala that is held every year by the Broken Heart Foundation. Keeve and I have attended every year and this year we were given two extra invitations. We would like for you to be there to show support. It’s being held next Friday. Bring a guest. It’ll be fun,” Mason said as he placed the invitation on her desk.

Dylan picked up the invitation and opened the envelope.

The Broken Heart Foundation cordially invites you and

a guest to their 9
th
annual fundraiser.

Friday, 28
th
of April

7:00 p.m. – 12: 00 a.m.

The Ritz – Battery Park

New York, New York

Dylan got excited looking at the fancy invitation. She had never been invited to a formal gathering. She wanted to ask Mason more about it, but he already disappeared out of sight. She would need to ask him in the morning.

In the cab drive home, all Dylan could think about was the invitation to the gala next Friday. She knew that she wanted Lilly to go with her. The invitation didn’t specifically request that the guest needed to be of the significant other sort, so she was sure Lilly would make a great date. Besides Lilly probably knew a lot more about these types of events than she did.

The apartment was quiet when Dylan entered. Placing her belongings on the couch, Dylan called for Lilly. “Lilly, are you here?” Dylan didn’t hear a response, so she decided to go investigate. As she was checking the apartment, she typed a quick text to her friend just in case she wasn’t in the building.

Dylan: Just got home. Where are you?

Lilly: At the market grabbing ice cream. Had a really shitty day. Need anything?

Dylan: Nope, I’m good. See you when you get here.

At least Dylan knew where her friend was. She wondered what could have made Lilly’s day so bad. Lilly always ate ice cream when she had a bad day. It must have been pretty awful if Lilly needed to stop and get some.

Dylan was getting ready for bed when she heard the door to the apartment open. She called out to her friend. “Hey, you.”

“Hey, girlfriend. Do you want some ice cream? You have your choice. Mint chocolate chip, Cookies ‘n Cream, or plain Jane Vanilla,” Lilly yelled back to Dylan.

“It must have been a really bad day if you got three kinds,” Dylan yelled back.

When Dylan got to the living room, she could see Lilly on the couch with her elbows propped on her knees holding her head. She walked over to Lilly and sat beside her friend.

“Lilly, are you okay?’ Dylan asked with concern.

Lilly looked at Dylan with sadness in her eyes. Just as she spoke, tears began to flood her face. “Peter and I got into a huge fight. I told him I never wanted to see him again. I didn’t mean what I said, Dylan. I was just so mad.”

“Oh, Lilly. It will all work out.” Dylan wrapped her arms around Lilly’s shoulders as she tried to comfort her. “Tell me about it?”

Lilly didn’t know what to say. “There really isn’t much to tell. He said he had to leave to go out of state and he didn’t know when he would be back. He didn’t know when he would be able to contact me. When I asked where he was going… he said he couldn’t tell me. The less I knew the better. I got angry with him for not telling me. I told him if he can’t be honest with me, there was no reason for us to be together. You should have seen his face, Dylan. I should never have said what I did.”

“Lilly, look at me…” Lilly lifted her head to look at her friend. “Whatever his reasons were, I know that he cares about you. You need to trust him. His line of work probably took him away to protect someone important and he can’t tell you the details. When is he leaving?” Dylan asked as she handed Lilly a tissue.

“Today. I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. I also texted him. I still haven’t heard back,” Lilly sobbed as she wiped her tear drenched face.

“Everything will work out, Lilly,” Dylan reassured her as she gave her friend a much needed hug.

Dylan wasn’t fully convinced that the explanation to Lilly of Peter’s sudden departure was correct. Peter worked under the direction of Richard, who worked for Rade. Dylan wished things weren’t so messed up between her and Rade. At least she would be able to talk to him and find out what was going on with Peter and put Lilly’s mind at ease. She could talk to Richard, but it would get back to Rade in the end anyway. Maybe it was time that she read Rade’s letter.

CHAPTER FOUR

When Rade left the cemetery, he had no more answers to his situation than when he came. He thought for sure visiting his brother’s grave would give him the answers he needed. It only left him more hollow. Somehow he needed to get past this thing with Dylan. It was tearing him apart not being able to get in touch with her. He thought for sure he would have heard from her. Unless it was because she didn’t read his letter. He knew there was a good possibility that she threw it away without even opening it. This was the only explanation as to why she hadn’t reached out to him. He needed to find another way to reach her.

Rade pulled into Manhattan shortly after midnight. The city didn’t change. He was still reminded of why he took off in the first place. Every place he passed where he spent time with Dylan only reminded him of her. Her silly laugh. The way her beautiful green eyes sparkled when she got excited. Lost in the thoughts of their time together, Rade was taken from his flashback when his cell rang.

“Hey, Richard, I just pulled into the city,” Rade told Richard as he turned onto Park Avenue. “I’m guessing you have an update for me.”

“I do, sir. Peter is on his way to St. Croix. He should be arriving in about an hour. He has instructions to contact me as soon as he has landed. I expect he will rest before he begins his assignment,” Richard said.

“Good. I’m pulling into the garage at the penthouse. I’m exhausted. Fill me in on his progress later. Say around seven or so.” Rade was ready to hang up when he remembered the coverage on Dylan. “Richard, who do you have on Dylan?”

“Josh is keeping an eye on her. I have new information on her as well. Seems she landed a job at BlackStone Industries.” Richard knew the company that Dylan was now working for was one of Rade’s biggest competitors when it came to investing in new technology and innovation.

“ Fuck, of all the places in New York City she could work, she had to get a job there.” Rade wasn’t happy with the new bit of information Richard laid on him. “If anything else comes up, call me.”

Rade hung up with Richard more frustrated than ever. He knew with Dylan’s talents she would have been able to get a good job anywhere. Never in a million years had he expected her to get a job with BlackStone Industries. They weren’t only his biggest competitor, but also the biggest pain in his ass. RIM Global was in negotiations with Spectrum to invest millions in their company, which would give RIM Global controlling interest. Everything was going as planned until Spectrum was made another offer by BlackStone Industries. Rade had been watching this company for over a year as their stock prices slowly plunged. The opportune time to take over the company hit about two weeks ago. Rade had made the company an offer they couldn’t refuse. That is, until BlackStone Industries countered with a generous offer of their own.

To learn that Dylan was now working for the same company that jeopardized his negotiations was unbelievable. It seemed no matter where Rade turned, something or someone was getting in the way of his plans. He needed to find a way to use this information to his advantage. Nothing would please him more than to see Dylan again. He would need to arrange a meeting with Mr. Black and Mr. Stone to see if they could come to some sort of agreement regarding the possible takeover of Spectrum. Hopefully he would be able to get Dylan to see him as well.

*****

The remainder of Rade’s day consisted of three additional meetings, numerous calls to BlackStone Industries, and wasted time reviewing and responding to emails, most of which were taken care of with a phone call. By the time he was ready to call it a day, his phone rang, giving him the news he needed. Keeve and Mason agreed to meet with him. The stipulation to the meeting was that the meeting would be held at RIM Global and a neutral party would be provided to record the negotiations of the meeting. Even though there was a slim chance that Dylan would be included to partake in the discussions, this was something that Rade needed to get off his plate. It wouldn’t be hard dealing with Keeve Black and Mason Stone since Rade knew them well. They might not want to hear what he had to say, but the takeover of Spectrum had been long overdue. It was time to close the deal and focus on other ventures.

Dylan was lost in the paperwork given to her on Spectrum. Everything about this company screamed good investment. The company had put so much time and money into the voice recognition app that it was close to being complete. She couldn’t see where an investment in this company would be bad, especially when it would be a quick turnaround for the company. It wouldn’t take much to get this company back on the right track. She knew how important Spectrum was to BlackStone, even though it could take years to reap the benefits. She thought it was well worth the risk. It was time to let Keeve and Mason know what she had come up with. The proof was in the numbers. Hopefully they would see what she did and go through with their offer. Gathering her notes and charts to back up her findings, Dylan headed to the conference room to have a brief meeting with Keeve and Mason.

“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.” Dylan was all nerves as she began presenting her findings. “I know that you both put your trust in me to look over the finances for Spectrum. I hope that what I have found will confirm your opinion.” Dylan handed them each a copy of her findings as she continued going over her report. “As you can see by my calculations, your investment in this company would be a very wise decision. I know you were only interested in the voice recognition app, but in order to further the development of Spectrum’s recognition app the entire portfolio would need to be absorbed. Even though most of the expense was dumped into the voice recognition app, I believe there to be an abundance of potential for the other prototype apps they haven’t even begun to really venture into. It would take a large investment to pull them out of their current financial predicament, but I believe it would be profitable for BlackStone to take the risk in order to secure the profitability of one app, especially since it is so close to completion and the possibility of additional revenue from future apps is endless.”

“Dylan, you have just confirmed our decision to move forward with our initial plan. You’ve done an outstanding job presenting us with your assessment. You’ve honed in on other aspects of the company we haven’t even begun to think about. We have a meeting set with an interested competitor next week. I think it would benefit us if you attended,” Keeve said as he looked toward his partner.

“I think that is an excellent idea, Keeve. This information should make for an interesting meeting,” Mason interjected.

“Just let me know when and I’ll be ready.” Dylan collected her notes and stood to leave. Just as she got to the doorway, she heard Mason.