Chapter Five
Liam
The October air was crisp as I made my way toward the tall glass building with Simon at my side. This New York City office building housed several businesses, but the one we were here to visit was GalvaTech, a small electronics company on the tenth floor.
As angel investors, Simon and I had been in negotiations with them for the past few months, and I was hopeful we were finally close to an agreement. I wanted to invest in the company. They weren’t a big operation just yet, but I could see the potential for growth.
This was our first in-person meeting, though I’d already exchanged several emails and phone calls with the owner.
Once we stepped out of the elevator on the tenth floor, we were faced with a glass door to the office of GalvaTech.
Just inside the reception area, an older man with white hair and an easy smile waited for us.
“Welcome,” he said, shaking both our hands with undeniable enthusiasm. “I’m Samuel Starling.”
The name matched the email correspondences.
Samuel Starling was the founder and driving force behind GalvaTech.
After a few quick pleasantries, he led us through the workspace beyond the lobby.
The office was clean and efficient, lined with private offices and a large conference room enclosed with glass walls.
Employees bustled about, but none of them paid us any attention. Samuel led us straight to the conference room where a man was already seated at the long table, waiting for us. He stood when we entered and smoothed a hand down his tie.
“This is my stepson, Parker,” Samuel said, introducing him. “He’s our Chief Technology Officer.”
After another round of handshakes and introductions, we all sat at the table.
Simon and I were on one side, and Samuel and Parker sat on the other, right across from us.
Parker had dark hair and grey eyes, and he looked tense, maybe even nervous, which I understood.
Taking on an outside investor wasn’t always an easy choice to make, but sometimes it was a necessary one to help the company reach its next stage of growth and ensure long-term success.
“I thought it was important that Parker be here,” Samuel said, gesturing toward his stepson. “Since he designed the prototype for the new product that prompted your interest in GalvaTech, he’s able to answer technical questions better than I can.”
“Before we get to the actual product, why don’t you tell us about your company,” Simon said to Samuel, taking out his iPad and jumping right to business. “We of course did research on our end, but we’d like to hear the specifics from you.”
Samuel nodded and leaned back in his leather chair.
“Well, I started GalvaTech about twenty years ago. Back then, we just made tantalum capacitors, which were used primarily in automotive systems and medical devices. After a while, we branched out into other electronic components. The company has grown slowly over the years from its modest beginnings, but I believe our new product has the potential to make the company more competitive on a global scale.”
“Why don’t you walk us through the particulars,” I suggested, turning to Parker. I already had a pretty good understanding of what the device entailed, but I wanted his take as the inventor.
Parker shifted in his seat. “Well, what we’ve created is a new kind of portable electronic car charger.
It’s a level three, direct current, fast charger.
That means it delivers power directly to the battery of an electric vehicle.
This allows it to charge much faster than a level one or level two charger. ”
Simon typed a few notes onto his iPad. “And what makes your charger unique, besides speed?”
Parker grinned, his expression lighting up. “Our prototype is much smaller and more compact than others on the market. It can fit easily into the trunk of even a small EV. This allows for a level of convenience that hasn’t been accomplished in the industry before.”
There was pride in Parker’s voice, and he had every right to feel that way.
I agreed with his assessment. What he’d created was an amazing feat and the kind of innovation that could shift an entire market.
But what impressed me the most was how intuitive this electronic car charger had the potential of being.
It wasn’t just another piece of tech. It solved a problem for those with electric cars who were reliant on charging stations.
Parker made the solution look effortless.
I could already picture the rollout, the marketing angles, the potential partnerships, and the ripple effect it could have once consumers realized how much they needed the device. It was smart, scalable, and exactly the kind of product that could push GalvaTech to the next level.
And I wanted to be a part of that. I was excited enough about the portable charger and how it would impact the market to invest big money into this company.
“We have a functioning prototype,” Samuel said, adding on to what Parker just said. “But we need capital for production and to create a strategy for a successful launch. We were thinking about five million.”
My eyebrows lifted before I could stop them.
That was a bold ask. For a company of GalvaTech’s size, five million wasn’t pocket change.
It was a high-risk investment for a product that hadn’t hit the market yet.
Prototypes were one thing. Mass production and distribution was an entirely different beast.
Still, the fact that Samuel named that number without flinching said a lot.
He wasn’t throwing out a random figure. He genuinely believed the product could justify the funding.
And as much as the investor in me wanted to push back, the strategist in me couldn’t ignore the confidence behind his request.
Simon, however, wasn’t as easily swayed.
Not surprising, considering his more conservative approach to investments.
He cleared his throat and folded his hands on the table, his expression thoughtful but firm.
“At this time, we’re prepared to invest three million,” he said evenly.
“We’ll consider additional funding later, depending on performance.
But you’ll need to agree that Liam will oversee the product launch.
He’ll be present for the day-to-day operations for the time being, until that happens. ”
Parker frowned, and I didn’t miss the tension flickering across his features.
He clearly didn’t like the proposed condition, but this would be nonnegotiable.
With that much money on the line, Simon and I wanted someone onsite to ensure the launch went smoothly.
We weren’t just buying into a specific product, we were investing in a company and its future.
“That’s really not necessary,” Parker said stiffly. “We have a great team here. We can handle it.”
“We’re not criticizing your team in any way,” I said, doing my best to placate him.
“But GalvaTech’s growth has been gradual until now.
This launch is going to accelerate things quickly.
If the operational stress is too high and isn’t managed carefully, the company can become financially unstable and I can help make sure that doesn’t happen.
“This condition is non-negotiable,” Simon added, his tone leaving no room for argument.
A muscle ticked in Parker’s jaw, but he gave a short nod, backing down.
“We agree to those terms,” Samuel said, his tone brisk, as though he wanted to keep the meeting from derailing.
At the same time, Parker muttered under his breath, “She’s not going to like this.”
I opened my mouth to ask who she was, but the question died in my throat when a flicker of movement outside the conference room grabbed my attention.
My focus shifted to the woman walking by and every muscle in my body tensed with shock as I took in the familiar, dark, silky brown hair.
The strikingly poised and feminine profile.
The same graceful stride I remembered from that night two weeks ago.
My heartbeat stumbled, then found a harder rhythm as I watched Morgan approach.
She was wearing a dress, just like the night I met her, but this time it was conservative enough for the boardroom.
No sexy cleavage on display, no glittery sash, no trace of the flirtatious woman I had met at the bar.
Regardless, there was no disguising her killer hourglass figure.
I hadn’t meant for that night with her to be anything more than a distraction, a few hours of sexy fun to silence the noise in my head after walking out of Noah’s wedding reception.
Instead, she’d gotten under my skin in ways that no woman had in years.
For the past two weeks, she had randomly popped into my mind and I’d wondered what I had missed out on by leaving before she woke up.
I’d even questioned if she and that night had been as mind-blowing as I remembered.
Seeing her again, feeling that same visceral pull, I knew that it had been.
That night had been real. The chemistry, the conversation, all of it had been honest and unfiltered. The kind of connection that had the ability to sneak up on you and tear down walls you swore were impenetrable. She’d made me feel something again, and that unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.
I’d watched her sleep afterward, her expression soft, her hand resting against my chest like she belonged there, and that’s when I panicked and freaked the fuck out.
I didn’t do emotional entanglements anymore.
Not after Ivy, who I’d given my trust and my damn heart, only to watch her walk away with someone else.
Losing her hadn’t just gutted me. It had convinced me that wanting anything deeper than temporary pleasure was a mistake I couldn’t afford to make twice.
So, before morning came, I did what I’d taught myself to do best—I walked away. Before she could mean anything more.
But now, watching Morgan glide toward the conference room in that sleek black dress, my chest felt tight with something uncomfortably close to regret. I’d told myself ghosting her had been self-preservation. Looking at her now, I knew it hadn’t been anything but cowardice.
She hadn’t noticed me yet, even though she’d almost reached the doorway, and I braced myself for a reunion neither of us had ever expected.