CHAPTER 19
Violet and Arlowe wrapped their initial meeting with Monique at Cerebral, and Violet thought that it had gone well while Arlowe appeared to be over the moon about the whole experience.
“She’s ridiculously smart,” Arlowe said in the kitchen post-meeting.
“Who? Me?” Enya asked when she walked in from the bathroom down the hall.
“You too, but no. Monique.”
“With Cerebral?” Enya asked after she sat down in her chair.
“Yeah. I think we’ll be able to tackle this thing just the two of us if she works as fast as I do. The implementation will take a while, obviously, but for now, we can at least get everything connected and whatnot.”
“Did you just say whatnot?” Sarai asked when she walked in from the garage.
“Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that, Sarai?”
“Nope. Just curious. What are we talking about?”
“The meeting,” Violet said.
“Oh, yeah. Enya, Arlowe was giddy like a schoolgirl. You should’ve been out there to see it. She was all about this Monique. It was like, ‘Monique, you’re so smart. Monique, you’re so amazing.’ I think our little Arlowe has a crush.”
“Yeah, I do… on her brain. She’s married with three kids, Sarai. Not exactly my type, either. I do think she’s going to be really helpful getting this thing implemented.”
“That’s great. How long until it’s useful?” Sarai asked.
“Minimum a couple of months,” Arlowe replied, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“Hey, how’d your night go last night?” Enya asked her.
“Can we keep it focused on work right now, please?” Violet asked. “This is a really big deal for us.”
“We can’t have a little break for some small talk? And that’s me asking for that. Am I getting sick or something?” Enya joked.
“Well, it would be a brief break.” Arlowe sat down next to her. “I went out. Made out. Left.”
“You made out with someone?” Enya asked.
“In the corner of a dark, sketchy bar. It was hot, but that was all I wanted.”
“Did she want more?” Enya asked.
Arlowe nodded and said, “I’ve got her number in case I change my mind.”
“Arlowe, why do you do this?” Sarai asked.
“Do what?”
“Act like we’re still twenty-two,” Sarai replied. “Go out to pick up women and–”
“Have sex sometimes?” Arlowe interrupted.
“Because I want to. It’s not like I’ve met the woman of my dreams. If and when that finally happens, this all stops.
Well, I hope she and I still go to a bar and make out in a dark corner because that’s just a good way to keep the passion in the relationship. ”
“How are we all still so single?” Enya asked. “I mean, we’re smart, accomplished women, and I’d argue we’re all at least moderately attractive. Why can’t we find anyone?”
“Arlowe did, it sounds like,” Violet replied.
“For sex. She was looking for one night,” Arlowe said.
“She told you that?” Enya asked.
“She’d gone there to meet someone on some app, and they never showed. They’d planned on hooking up, so that was what she was looking for. I appreciate when they’re upfront. I try to be, too.”
“At least, Violet’s getting some,” Sarai noted as she sat down.
Violet followed and took Arlowe’s coffee cup, stealing a sip from it before handing it back.
“I’m surprised you didn’t go out again last night,” Arlowe said.
“Needed a break?” Enya asked.
“You could say that, yeah,” she said with a little smile.
“Going to see her tonight?” Arlowe asked.
“I don’t know. I was thinking about maybe going out tonight.”
“With Stella?”
“No, with you all. To celebrate the new software we just bought with cheap drinks and happy-hour appetizers.”
“What if we go to the club instead?” Arlowe suggested. “Dancing, good music, and they have food, too.”
“A club?” Violet asked, thinking about the cover, the expensive drinks and food, and the fact that the music wasn’t her style.
“Why not? More fun than some bar. And we’re celebrating, right?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” Violet said.
She heard her phone ping from where she’d left it inside the garage and stood to retrieve it.
“I bet it’s Stella sexting her,” Sarai teased.
“Yeah, that’s why she’s jumping out of her chair to go check,” Arlowe added.
“You’re all assholes,” Violet said as she walked.
When she got to her phone, she checked the screen, but there wasn’t a notification there, which meant it wasn’t a text or a social media account. She unlocked the phone and opened her email app after seeing a notification there.
“What the hell?” she asked after reading it.
“Was I right? Was it Stella?” Sarai asked.
Violet looked up and saw all three of them walking to their respective desks in the garage.
“Uh… No. It’s not Stella. It’s Asset Capital.”
“Asset Capital?” Enya asked and sat down in her chair. “Who’s that?”
“Do you remember when we were trying to get Series A funding a while ago? They were one of the VCs I went to. They didn’t want us.”
“Then, why are they emailing you now? Do we somehow owe them money?” Arlowe asked.
“No. We had one meeting with them maybe seven years ago now. They were last on my list of companies I thought might be interested in investing. Not because there’s something wrong with them, but because they were the best VC firm who was investing in companies around here.
I thought they’d be too big for us. The meeting went well, but they decided to invest in some baby software tech thing because it had a much bigger market. ”
“Yeah, people keep procreating for some reason,” Sarai said.
“They want a meeting,” Violet shared. “Now. Well, not now like right now, but soon, as in present day. I would have thought they’d lost my number, or rather, my email address.”
“What does their email say? And why do they want the meeting now?” Sarai asked.
“Nothing specific. It just says that they’ve been following the company, and they’re interested in talking now if we’re looking for a new investor.”
“Which we are,” Enya said. “This is amazing. Just out of the blue like that? Sarai, your marketing must be working.”
“I mean, we had some really good click-through rates on the targeted ads I ran a few weeks ago, but nothing major. This is good news, though, right, Vi?”
“It’s great news if it works out, but I need to update the investor deck. I haven’t done any work on that in a minute, and we’ve added a few features since then.”
“Plus, we’ve got Cerebral now. That’ll help. Makes us look like a grown-up company to have software like that. I can help you add that in if you want,” Arlowe offered. “When do they want to meet?”
“It’s up to me,” Violet said. “They didn’t put a date or anything in here.” She reread the email again. “It’s the same person we dealt with before. I remember their name because it was interesting.”
“What’s their name?” Arlowe asked.
“Antoinette Flow, but she goes by Ant.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Sarai laughed.
Arlowe joined in. Then, Enya laughed along with them. Finally, Violet had to join in.
“I know, right? I feel so bad for her,” Violet said.
“Could you imagine growing up with that name?” Arlowe asked. “Ant Flow? As in Aunt Flow? As in–”
“Yeah, Arlowe. We’re all there already,” Sarai said, still laughing.
“Anyway, it’s her email signature,” Violet continued. “And she was the one who said no to us the first time. I wonder what’s changed. One good, targeted ad campaign wouldn’t be enough to get them to message me on their own.”
“I don’t imagine a lot of VCs reach out to companies directly. They wait for us to do that,” Enya said.
“I know. But I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth here. We need the money. Even if it’s to keep us solvent for the next year or two in order to get the next versions of the app out, increase our market share, get the game functioning, make prototypes for the hardware, and we have to–”
“You really think we can do all that with only four of us within a year or two? We’re struggling to keep the app up and running as is.
It’s just me here. I’m coding the new features while squashing bugs.
I’m also de facto in charge of customer support.
Now, I’m implementing Cerebral, too. I can’t move much faster, and I can’t make hardware, Vi.
We’ll have to hire someone, and probably a bunch of someones.
You’ve seen how long it’s taken other companies that are way bigger than ours to build working hardware, and sometimes, even if it works great, it still doesn’t sell. ”
“Yes, but their hardware is being built for the masses and to do multiple things. Ours is incredibly targeted and–”
“I know. I want it, too,” Arlowe said. “I just don’t know that one or two years is long enough. We need probably three minimum to get a prototype working, and maybe five to ten for the whole thing to work right, have all the right vendors, and–”
“Arlowe, this is really good information for that investor deck. So, let’s add it all in there and see what they’re willing to give.
If anything, if we can win them over, we might be able to get other investors to chip in, if they can’t give us everything we ask for, just by using their name.
That’s not something we’ve had before, the name of a reputable VC firm. ”
“She’s right,” Enya said. “Even if they could only keep us going for a couple of years, someone else might want to help us out and get us beyond that once they hear that we’re working with Asset.”
“Let’s get to work on the deck,” Violet said.
“You can get started. I need to keep coding right now. Then, we’re going out. We’re hitting the club. Set the date for the meeting, Vi. We’re celebrating something even better tonight now.”
“I have a new dress that I can wear,” Enya said, sounding excited.
“Vi, invite Stella,” Sarai suggested.
“What? Why? We’re celebrating the business.”
“And you were probably going to text her anyway, so just ask if you could go over there after we all hang out.”
“Sarai’s right. You can continue the celebration at Stella’s place after, if you want,” Arlowe said, patting Violet on the shoulder.
But Violet hadn’t texted Stella. Well, at least not right away.
She had work to do first. After reviewing the investor deck that she hadn’t updated in a while, she made notes of the changes that she wanted to make and the data she’d need from Arlowe, Sarai, and Enya.
Then, Arlowe started dancing around the garage and told them that it was time for them to head out to the club she preferred over the bar they usually went to when they had something to celebrate.
An hour later, they were on their way in a shared-ride car so that all of them could drink to their good news.
Thirty minutes later, they had those drinks and some appetizers that cost more than double what they would’ve paid for at the bar for more food there and the same quality, but Violet was trying not to complain about how much money they were spending.
She knew they so rarely went out like this and needed to blow off some steam, and blowing off steam had her thinking about Stella.
Two drinks in, Violet was a little more up for the idea of inviting the woman to join them.
Violet Russell: We’re at Blue. I’ve had two martinis. Want to join me?
She didn’t have to wait long for a response.
Stella Ross: Blue, as in the club?
Violet Russell: Stupid name, I know. And yes.
Stella Ross: That’s ten minutes away from me. Give me fifteen. I’ll be there.
Violet smiled and looked back up at her friends.
“She’s coming, isn’t she?” Enya asked.
“She will be,” Violet joked.
“Who even are you right now?” Sarai laughed. “I have never seen you or heard you talk like this before. Sex jokes? That’s more Arlowe’s speed.”
“She’s right,” Arlowe said.
“I don’t know. She brings it out in me, I guess. Let’s go dance.”
Violet wasn’t sure how long she had been dancing with her friends, but Sarai had run to the bathroom, and Enya had needed a break, so she’d gone back to the table.
Arlowe was now dancing with some woman at the other end of the floor.
Violet, who usually wasn’t a dancer and definitely not someone who danced by herself, was about to head back to their table with Enya when she felt two hands on her hips and then arms around her waist.
“Hey, I don’t–”
“It’s me,” Stella said. “Do you have any idea how sexy you’re right now?” Her hands roamed over Violet’s stomach. “I didn’t know you liked to dance, Vi.”
Violet leaned back against her, placed her own hands on top of Stella’s, and replied, “I don’t usually. I’m celebrating tonight.”
“Yeah? What are you celebrating?” Stella licked below Violet’s earlobe. “And can we celebrate it more at my place after we dance?”
“A VC reached out to me today about maybe investing in the company.” Violet turned around in her arms. “And yes, we can.”
She kissed Stella hard, wrapping her arms around her neck and pressing her body fully against Stella’s, and waited.
Stella kissed her back with just as much passion and moved her hands to Violet’s back.
One of them went to Violet’s skirt, lifted it, and moved under, rubbing Violet’s outer thigh.
Violet’s lips moved to Stella’s neck then, and she slid them up to her earlobe.
“Want to get out of here? I’m not one for public sex, and I think your hand is on the move somewhere I desperately want it to be when we’re alone,” Violet said.
“What about your friends?”
“They know I texted you,” she said and nipped at Stella’s earlobe. “But if you really want to stay and have a drink with all of us, we can. I–”
“Your friends are great, but no. I want to go.”
“You drive. I took a car here.”
Violet took Stella by the hand and pulled her out of the club after waving at Sarai and Enya, who were still at the table.