34. Lex
“Who’s ready for the city of the future?!” Anne-Marie cries, clearly hoping to incite an enthusiastic reaction. Wearing black slacks and a turtleneck, she looks like a tech founder cosplayer.
To the crowd’s credit, they offer a polite round of applause. It isn’t the most energetic response of the day, but it isn’t the most subdued, either. As expected, Anne-Marie’s presentation is more aspirational than informative.
All three guys are backstage while I wait in the audience. I sit near the front, close enough for Declan to find me if he needs an anchor in the crowd. As Anne-Marie bows a final time and turns to exit stage left, Nate rises from his seat a few rows away. He looks back at the crowd, a satisfied smile on his face–until he sees me.
“Come on, brother.” I wave him over. “Join me.”
There’s an empty seat to my left. Nate looks like the last thing he wants to do is be in my presence. I watch him war internally before his curiosity wins out. Grumbling, he makes his way over and takes the open seat.
“Don’t be so disappointed in yourself,” I tease, knocking my shoulder against his. “I’d have taken the offer, too, if it’d been you asking.”
“Father’s going to be displeased.” He sighs and pinches his brow, his body slumping minutely.
“Trouble in the ranks?”
Nate’s off-handed comments about our father, and the thinly veiled references to how close they were while I was kept on the outside, used to eat at me. Years of focus on my business, and a small fortune in therapy, had worked wonders. I no longer feel a pang of jealousy for the position my brother happily stole.
Nate grunts in response to my lighthearted question. “He’s pushing, per usual. He questions whether we should even focus on this sector.”
“Ah, yes. He’s still in deep with oil and gas, I assume?”
He eyes me as though the answer is obvious. I chuckle, glancing up at the stage as the emcee returns.
“Pay attention, Nate,” I urge, looking meaningfully toward the three men on stage.
Nate’s brows furrow as he looks at me, then the guys. The crowd claps as the emcee steps away, Declan moving toward the middle of the stage. His hands are in his pockets, his posture confident and relaxed. In a tailored black suit and crisp white shirt, his maroon tie accenting his glittering green eyes, he cuts an impressive figure in the spotlight.
Shane and Linc stand further back, flanking the modest display of prototypes we brought. Linc fidgets with his sleeve while Shane is poised and calm, stoic as ever in his gray suit and black shirt, open at the collar.
“Thank you.” Declan smiles at the crowd, his voice amplified through the mic clipped to his lapel. “It’s an honor to be here.”
As Declan introduces himself, the guys, and Solum Technologies, I can’t help my grin. He’s come so far in the last few weeks; he owns that stage. His eyes flick to mine and he smiles, ducking his head. Fuck, he’s cute when he’s not a raging asshole.
“What’s the story, Lex?” Nate urges, leaning toward me.
Keeping my eyes on the stage, I shake my head minutely. “Just listen.”
He huffs, but takes my direction. Linc winks at me as my eyes wander to him and Shane. Smirking, I wink back. Declan gestures toward them both as he describes the early history of their business, and they raise their two earliest prototypes.
“Three years ago,” Declan explains, “we were close. We thought we were ready. But we weren’t willing to compromise on the quality of our product. After all, something that failed in high heat or wind, both increasingly common conditions across the globe, wouldn’t do.”
Nate finally has a sense of where Declan’s story is going. His knuckles are white as he clasps his hands together, leaning forward to plant his elbows on his knees.
“We suffered a significant setback, it’s true. In the end, it was all worth it because it brought us here, to this Summit, with the best news we could offer.”
Shane and Linc are building a small structure on stage with the latest prototypes.
“Today, we launch Solum Technologies’ first product: Terra. This versatile material combines all the best qualities of its traditional counterparts. It’s flexible like steel, strong like brick, and acts as a natural carbon sink like wood.”
Nate glances sharply at me, his lips pursed. The single prototype Anne-Marie had shared was almost a more modern brick and mortar–a small block paired with a special adhesive mud. Though it was carbon neutral to develop it, the guys hadn’t quite figured out the composition to take it to the next level before she made off with their formulas.
“To accommodate everything from single family homes to multi-story office buildings, pre-made pieces interlock for a clean, dry construction. For increased durability, it can be poured in a custom mold like concrete, with reinforcing materials that could support up to thirty stories.”
A low murmur spreads through the crowd as Declan grins.
“And that’s just based on last week’s test, which showed a 15% improvement in durability over the week prior.” His tone turns teasing, “At that rate, we’ll be building entire cities with Terra by the end of the year.”
Soft chuckles surround us. The smile feels etched into my face; I couldn’t wipe it away if I wanted to.
“How is this possible?” Nate mutters, brows drawn.
“I told you to dig,” I whisper.
Shane and Linc had finished their structure. The small wall was my idea, though the next part was all Linc.
“Watch this!” he cries, his enthusiasm ramping up the crowd with just two words.
He goes to the opposite end of the stage, then runs toward the wall, which Shane was bracing from the opposite side. I tense, knowing what’s coming, as the crowd gasps. When he draws close, he launches himself at the structure and plows straight into it. With a loud grunt, he bounces lightly away. The wall slides slightly, pushing Shane back, but it doesn’t flex. Not a single block out of place.
Immediately, the crowd cheers. Nate scoffs, running a rough hand through his hair as Declan explains how the materials would save installation time and reduce maintenance costs.
“This is bad, Lex,” he mutters, glancing over his shoulder. Likely looking for dear old dad.
“I can see how you’d see it that way. Tell me, Nate…did you get the school contract from the State?”
He stares at his hands, his body stiff. Drawing a hand over the stubbled lower half of his face, he nods once.
“Did you test it in heat and wind, like Declan mentioned?”
“Of course we did.”
“With a third party?”
His eyes search mine. “I…I don’t know.”
“Find out. The product Anne-Marie stole was flawed. After three months of targeted development, this one isn’t.” I gesture toward the stage where Declan is thanking the audience.
He turns and bows to Shane and Linc, hands pressed together in gratitude. The crowd goes wild, several in the rows surrounding us rising to their feet. The guys are beaming, arms around each other, as they bow together.
As one, they look at me. I stand and clap enthusiastically.
“Bravo!” I call.
Their answering grins and laughter fill me with an overwhelming sensation of warmth and joy. My smile wide, I turn to Nate as the guys leave the stage. They’d be heading out to our meeting place near the press room before they host a QA session on the secondary stage.
Nate reaches out and grips my arm as I go to move past him. “Lex, I…what do I fucking do with this?”
“I tried to warn you.” I keep my voice low, aware of the crowd settling in preparation for the next presentation. “Nate, I don’t care if PL becomes the best VC in the country. If you and Reginald make fifty times the fortune I do, it won’t bother me. But that product is dangerous.”
I clutch his wrist, squeezing to make my point. “You build schools with that and you’re taking responsibility for the people who use them every day. One heat wave, one high wind warning, and you could find blood on your hands. It could happen in two years or not for twenty–”
“It doesn’t matter,” he insists. “I know it doesn’t matter. The outcome is the same.”
Nodding, I search his gaze. “No payout is worth someone’s life, Nate. Would Reginald agree?”
He steps back, his hand sliding slowly off my arm. Resting my hand on his shoulder briefly, I sigh.
“Good luck, brother. Do me a favor?”
Dazed, he blinks. “Uh, sure. Yeah. What is it?”
Gripping him firmly, I look him square in the eye. “Do the right thing. Whatever it takes, no matter how hard Reginald pushes you to take the easy way out. Even though it’ll be hell…do the right thing.”
“I will.” His jaw clenches as he swallows, eyes fierce. “Lex, I promise you I will.”
Outside the press room, three gorgeous men wait. As one, they turn to watch me approach. They look so happy, so full of joy. I can’t help but smile in response, laughing as Linc rushes forward to sweep me into his arms.
“We did it!” He swings me up and in a circle, releasing me with a soft sigh. “Lex, thank you. I can’t fucking believe it.”
“I can,” I tease, smoothing the rumpled shoulders of his navy suit coat.
“How’d we look?” Linc couldn’t have reminded me more of an eager lap dog if he tried.
“Competent.”
Linc grunts at my teasing, rolling his eyes. Shane laughs, the sound so free and unrestrained it dazzles me. Ever the gentleman, he reaches out and squeezes my hand, though his eyes rake over me with blazing want.
“Linc’s right,” he says softly. “Thank you.”
“That was all you, gentlemen,” I insist.
Turning to Declan, I step into his personal space under the guise of straightening his lapels and tie.
“You were magnificent, Mr. Wilde,” I murmur, looking up at him through my lashes. “How did it feel?”
He rests a hand on my hip, the other tucked into his pocket. “Unbelievable. I can’t…I don’t have the words–”
“I’m proud of you, Declan.”
He stills, his fingers flexing against me as he searches my eyes.
“You’ve overcome so much, worked so hard.” I step back, heart aching at the loss of his touch, but needing to include all of them. “I’m so incredibly proud of each of you. What you’ve accomplished…it’s astonishing. I feel fortunate to simply witness your rise.”
“You need to stop talking,” Linc chokes. “I don’t think it’s in the PR strategy for me to bawl my eyes out in front of the press.”
Laughing, I hug Linc tightly. Truth be told, tears are threatening for me, too.
“Go on.” I lightly push on Linc’s shoulders, pointing him to the press room. “Go bask in their attention.”
“All downhill from here, huh?” Linc grins.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “Oh, sweet summer child. This was the easy part. We get home and the real work begins.”
In tandem, their grins stutter. They glance at each other, then back to me.
“Don’t think of that now.” I flap my hands at them. “We’re still in Paris for two days! Keep basking, keep basking.”
Declan tosses me a wry grin. “I don’t know whether to be excited or scared.”
“Both,” I answer sagely. “Definitely both.”