CHAPTER 31
“I don’t want you to go,” Stella said before she kissed her again.
“I don’t want to go, either,” Violet replied and rolled on top of her. “But I have to get home. I only brought clothes to sleep in.”
She kissed Stella once more and straddled her.
“You can’t do that if you’re trying to leave,” Stella said, running her hands over Violet’s thighs. “And you slept in my clothes last night.”
“I know. I’ll change out of them so that you can have them back, but I have to get home to change, Stella. I have a very important meeting today.”
“I hate that our first date was on a Sunday night.”
“Saturday night was–”
“I know; work to prepare for today, which is meeting number two with Asset. Hopefully, this is also where they present you with their offer and you can accept it.”
“I’m a little worried,” she said as she climbed off Stella.
“Why? I thought they were very impressed.”
“I think they were. And they asked us for more paperwork than I’d need to buy a house, so I’m hopeful, but that’s not it.”
Violet found her bag on the floor and rifled through it, deciding she’d just wear her sweatpants and T-shirt home and not bother with the sweater.
“What is it, then?” Stella asked. “And you can keep the clothes, by the way. You already have one of my shirts. What’s one more and a pair of pants?”
Violet turned and said, “I forgot I had your shirt.”
“I’m deeply offended,” Stella joked.
“It’s in my drawer. I’ll bring it back.”
“Just leave it there. I can wear it whenever I stay over.”
Violet stood up fully, still holding her clothes, and said, “Confident you’re getting a second date, aren’t you?”
“You woke me up by kissing my neck, so I’m feeling pretty good about it, yeah.”
Violet just smiled at her and said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.”
Violet went around to Stella’s side of the bed then and sat down on the side, forcing Stella to scoot over a little, but she wanted to be next to Stella when she asked her question.
“Have you thought about it at all? I mean, I guess you have, given how you set up our date last night, but have you ever thought about what might have happened with us had we been able to put our egos aside for a minute and just talk to each other?”
“Why? Have you?”
“Arlowe was asking me the other day. What if I’d been single? What if we’d met under different circumstances?”
“How so?” Stella asked, running her hand into Violet’s hair and pushing it away from her face, which had Violet leaning into her touch.
“Just that if we’d met in a bar or something instead of through school.”
“And you were single?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know what would’ve happened. I guess I’m just glad we ended up here. I would’ve loved that plaque, though. Would’ve looked nice in my cubicle at work when I was just starting out.”
“What? You would have taken it to work with you?”
“My first boss went to that school, actually. Weird coincidence, but he was Dutch. I told him that I went there, and it was fine, but it would’ve been cool to show it off because he didn’t get into the regular business program there, and I got into the much harder one meant for the more advanced students. ”
Violet chuckled a little and replied, “Well, for whatever it’s worth now, I’m sorry.”
“Babe, I’m kidding. I don’t care about that anymore,” Stella told her as she sat up.
“I know. I meant that I’m sorry for all of it; how I behaved.”
“Well, I’m sorry for my part in it, too.” Stella said and kissed her. “Now, can we get back to what you’re worried about?”
“I don’t know when their investment will kick in.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can stretch things for the next six or so months, but at our current run rate, we’ll be out of money in five.”
“What? You didn’t tell me that.”
“I may or may not be able to squeeze another month out of it, and I’m glad that they want to meet with us again, but at the same time, if they take a while to approve it and then not give us the money until after that, it could be cutting it close.
It’s my fault, really. I thought we’d be okay.
I thought we’d get Cerebral implemented quickly, but with the time Arlowe says it’s going to take to get it to work well, it might not make enough of a difference.
I don’t want to let them down, but I only have a little left in my savings.
I’ve been pulling from my trust fund. I still have some savings left from gifts I got as a kid, but that’s supposed to be my emergency money.
I guess this is an emergency, but it wasn’t supposed to get this far, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now.
I need that money for myself, you know? It was supposed to be for me to live off of, but I’ve put pretty much everything I’ve got into–”
“Hey,” Stella said, running her hand over Violet’s cheek. “It’s going to be okay. Asset will come through.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Will you let me help?”
Violet bit her bottom lip and asked, “How would you do any more? You emailed two VCs. Only one reached out.”
“I’ve got another one I can reach out to, but there are other options, you know?”
“Like what?”
“We don’t have time to talk about it right now. I know you have to go. But just be open to the idea of something else, and I’ll think about it today, okay? Can we talk tonight?”
“We’re dating; we can talk whenever you want.”
Violet kissed her quickly.
“We’re dating, huh?” Stella asked with a smile.
“Obviously.” Violet winked at her. “I’ll text you after the meeting.”
“Wear my clothes home, babe. Save some time.”
Violet smiled softly and asked, “Do you really think it’s all going to be okay? Be honest, Stella.”
“I do.” Stella kissed her this time. “I’ll walk you out. Do you want me to make you coffee or anything?”
“No, I’ll get it at home, but thank you.”
“Come on. Let’s get you on the road so you can go get that money.”
◆◆◆
“I can’t believe it,” Arlowe said. “We got it. They’re giving it to us.”
“It’s an investment, Arlowe, not a gift,” Enya stated and unlocked the front door.
“Semantics. What matters is we’re getting money for the business,” Arlowe reminded.
They all walked inside, and Violet was still in shock.
Second in-person meeting after several phone calls, even more Zoom meetings, hundreds of emails, and what felt like thousands of pages of documents later, and they’d been told that Asset Capital was going to invest. It wasn’t a massive round, but it would keep the lights on and allow them to move at a faster pace for at least a few years.
The paperwork still had to be reviewed and signed, but Violet had a lawyer who they reached out to for this kind of thing when they needed.
He wasn’t exactly cheap, so they didn’t have him on retainer to save a little money, and on the drive home, she had to check their accounts to see how much balance they had liquid.
Violet knew that if she paid him to review this agreement, that was the equivalent of about two weeks in company’s running time, which shortened how long they could last without this investment.
“When will the money hit our account, Vi?” Sarai asked, sitting on the sofa and kicking off her shoes.
“Not tomorrow,” she said as she sat down next to her.
“I’ve got to get the lawyer to review it, but since we’re not on retainer, he won’t prioritize it.
I can ask him to move it up on his list for a little extra money per hour if I have to.
It’s not a big document or anything, but if he suggests changes, there could be a back-and-forth, and that could get pricey, so we’ll see. ”
“But weeks, not months, right?” Arlowe asked her.
“I don’t know, Arlowe. My guess is at least a month or two. Also, remember, they’re not investing the full amount. We’re only getting a small portion upfront. We have to earn the rest. That’s the part of the agreement I want the attorney to review closely.”
“I know. It’s the carrot in front of the stick.”
“Why do you look worried and not happy, Vi?” Enya asked. “You were quiet on the drive home, and you don’t seem excited like the rest of us.”
“Um… Well, because we need this money a lot, and if there are any issues with it, I don’t have a backup plan.”
“We won’t need one now,” Arlowe said.
“I hope not, but I should’ve had one. I’m the CEO; it’s my job. But I was so focused on keeping the doors open and then the Cerebral thing, which I thought would make a difference faster, that I failed to pay attention to the fact that we only have about six months of runway left now.”
“Six months?” Sarai asked.
Violet sighed and said, “I guess my backup plan was to ask my parents for money, which I’ll still do if I have to because I don’t want to shut this place down, but that’s my last resort.”
“Vi…” Sarai patted her thigh. “Honestly, if we were doing so badly that you had to do that, I’d probably suggest we admit defeat.
It’s been eight solid years of this; ten since we started working on it officially.
I know some companies take forever to get profitable, but that’s no excuse for us to have drained your trust fund. ”
“I’m the first investor. I knew it was a risk. I hoped it would pay off and I’d make that money back and then some, but I’ll have to dip into my personal savings soon or ask my family for money. That’s where we are. We need this investment now, and I just hope it’s not a slow process.”
“It’s been fast so far,” Enya shared. “And the carrot, as Arlowe called it, it’s enough, right?”
“It’s enough to get us to the stick part of the investment, I think, yes.
By then, if we show them something, we’ll get the rest, and possibly more if they like what they see.
That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway. I’m still a little nervous that it won’t happen, but if we can hire right and use that initial money well, I think it can. ”
“I need engineers, Vi,” Arlowe said. “I know we can’t hire fifty, but can I at least get two with what we’re getting from Asset? I need time to implement Cerebral, and I don’t have much of that right now.”
“I think so,” she replied. “But we should start with assessing everything we need, so I’m thinking we go out to the garage and make a list on Sarai’s dry-erase board. We’ll narrow things down to our top ten priorities, see how much all of those cost, and go from there, picking what we can afford.”
“I need more in the marketing budget,” Sarai said.
“I could use a few more freelancers,” Enya added.
“Okay… Everyone, take an hour wherever you want in this house and come up with your own top-five list. We will meet in the garage after that and go over it. Rank everything because you’re not getting it all.
Also, keep in mind that you won’t get any of it until the money comes in, and then, we’re not going to do everything all at once. ”
“So, don’t go at it like kids in a candy store?” Arlowe said and stood up. “Got it.”
“I’m going outside,” Enya said. “I need some fresh air. I still can’t believe it.”
Enya stood and headed toward the back door through the kitchen.
“I’ll be in the garage, using my dry-erase board before you all borrow it,” Sarai said.
“And I’m going to my room. I need to think about something other than code,” Arlowe added.
Violet watched them all go, and she allowed herself one sigh of relief because, at least for now, they were okay.
Then, she went into her own room and closed the door behind her.
She splashed water on her face in the bathroom, not worrying about the makeup she’d put on for the meeting because her friends had seen her look way worse than this, and sat down at her desk.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, checked the time, and hoped it was okay to call.
“Hey,” Stella greeted on a second ring.
“Hey. Are you busy? I should’ve texted you.”
“No, I’m good. How did it go?”
“Ant Flow didn’t call you first and ruin my good news?”
Stella laughed and replied, “No, she didn’t. But it’s good news?”
“So far. They’re going to invest, Stella. It’s a small investment first. Arlowe called it a carrot. Then, we’d get the stick later if we do what we need to do.”
“Babe, that’s awesome. I’m so proud of you.”
Violet smiled. No woman had ever told her that they were proud of her before, and it felt good. Hell, she wasn’t even sure that her parents had told her that, and if they had, it was only because she’d done something they’d wanted her to do and not something that was important to her.
“Thanks. It’s not done yet. The lawyer still has to review everything, and that could take time, so I’m still worried about running out of cash first. Maybe they could keep us afloat with a one-time injection or something if we need it.
We’ll see. I’m just trying to be happy right now and worry more later. ”
“Well, I think that’s a good call,” Stella said.
“Can I see you tonight? I’d love to go out with just you; maybe have some good wine at dinner and then see a movie or something and not think about my job for a few hours.”
“I’d love that. I should be out of here by six. I’ve got a meeting with my boss in about fifteen about that big client we’re chasing, so, hopefully, that’s good news. If I’m going to be any later than six, I’ll text you, though. Want me to pick you up?”
“You hate driving,” Violet said.
“I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it.”
“Well, it doesn’t bother me, so I’ll pick you up. Is seven too early?”
“No. Come over whenever.”
“Okay. I’ll see you at seven. And if you wanted to wear what you wore last night, I wouldn’t be mad at you.”
“You said you wanted me to wear it for you when you could take it off of me slowly. Is that a possibility tonight?”
“It might be.”
“Do I have to wear the hat at dinner?” Stella asked.
“No, you can leave that at home and put it on when we get back.”
Stella laughed a little and said, “Hey, I can’t wait to see you.”
“Me too.”