10. Rashad
CHAPTER 10
RASHAD
R ashad woke the next morning more dedicated than ever to his plan. Over breakfast, he was going to talk to Nina and work out whether he’d be offering to buy her company or whether he’d just defeat her in the market. He wasn’t going to go easy on her, no matter how funny or insightful or beautiful she was.
Rashad took a quick shower to clear his head, dressed, and went up on deck. To his surprise, Nina and the kids were already awake despite the early hour. Kate and Miles were chasing each other around the dining table, giggling, while Nina set out a plate of steaming pancakes.
“Good morning, Rashad.” She smiled at him as she went back into the kitchen for a bowl of sliced fruit.
“Good morning. You really didn’t have to cook.”
“It was no trouble. You’ve been cooking for us, so it seemed like time to return the favor. Plus, I wanted to show you how good food can be when you follow a recipe.” Nina winked, and attraction stirred in Rashad again.
Be strong, he chastised himself. You have to get this over with.
“I’m sure the pancakes will be delicious,” he said, rather stiffly.
“Kids, breakfast!” Nina called over her shoulder.
“Can we eat here, Mommy?” Miles asked. He and Kate had built a little fort out of the lounger pillows.
“Is that all right?” Nina asked Rashad quietly. “I don’t mind, but if you don’t want them to eat away from the table, I’ll say no.”
“It’s fine; we’re outside so it’ll be easy to clean,” Rashad told her. Plus, it would be better if the kids ate separately. Having breakfast alone with Nina would give him an opportunity to get down to business without the kids’ sweet faces staring up at him.
“Thanks.” Nina prepared two plates and carried them over to the twins’ fort, then returned to the table with Rashad. They both dished up a few pancakes, though Rashad hardly felt hungry.
“I thought we could get down to business today,” he said.
“That would be great. After all, we’re running out of time.” Nina smiled. “Strawberries?” She held out a bowl of the bright red fruit.
“Sure, thanks.” If only they were sitting in a meeting room instead of around a breakfast table — though Rashad was beginning to suspect that nothing could make hurting Nina any easier. “I was up late last night thinking about how to proceed. It would make things easier if I knew a little more about your company’s internal functioning.”
“All right.” Nina nodded. “I can imagine the kinds of details you’re interested in, but let me tell you what I think is the most important thing about my company.” She poured a ribbon of syrup onto her pancakes, and Rashad was tempted to tease her about how no one over the age of five should have that much syrup. Instead, he gestured for her to continue.
“Please.”
Nina took a deep breath. “When I was a little girl, I had a favorite aunt. Aunt Katherine. She was always there for me growing up — she helped me with homework, took me out for special day trips, encouraged my dreams, everything. She seemed old and wise to me when I was young, but what I didn’t realize was that she was younger than we are now. When I was fifteen, she started moving more slowly and complaining of aches and pains. She went to a few doctors, but it was hard for her to afford testing, especially since our insurance didn’t cover much, and doctors were dismissive.
“Finally, one doctor made the effort to run the right tests and find a diagnosis for her. Within a few weeks, we had the results that other doctors hadn’t found for years: Aunt Katherine had breast cancer. Stage Four. She didn’t live long after that. If one of the first doctors she’d seen had run those same tests, they would have caught the cancer at an earlier stage, and she might have lived. If she’d had a primary care physician, she might have been screened even sooner. It was such a clear failure of the medical system that I was able to see it clearly, even at just fifteen years old.
“I knew, right then, that I was going to dedicate my life to helping people like my aunt. First, I imagined I’d become a doctor, which is why I studied biology in college. Yet the further I went through my studies, the more I realized that the problem isn’t a lack of well-trained doctors — it’s a lack of resources for people to monitor their own health and find affordable healthcare when they need it. That’s why I developed Heartbeat. I never wanted another family to lose someone to a disease that could have been cured if diagnosed earlier.”
“Nina.” Rashad shook his head. “I’m amazed. Truly. I’ve heard dozens of company-origin stories, but never one like that.”
“That’s because it’s not just a story to me,” Nina told him. Those beautiful blue eyes met his again, full of sincerity. “It’s real. It’s my Aunt Katherine.”
“Katherine…” Rashad paused. “Like Kate.” Puzzle pieces were starting to fall into place: he understood now why Nina charged so little for her app, why she worked so hard to do everything herself, and why she didn’t want to stop working.
“Yes. I named my daughter after my aunt.” Nina smiled. “I know Aunt Katherine would be proud of her little namesake.”
“I’m sure she would be. And she’d be even prouder of you, for all the work you’ve done in her name.”
“I like to imagine that she would be.” Nina shook her head as though releasing the story from her mind. “Sorry, I know this story probably wasn’t what you had in mind when you asked for more details about my company. What did you want to know?”
Rashad opened his folder and, together, they began to go through the questions he had. Yet he couldn’t put Nina’s story out of his mind. He couldn’t stop imagining her as a young girl, losing a beloved aunt and swearing never to let history repeat itself. And he couldn’t stop thinking of Nina now, working tirelessly to make sure no one was denied the opportunity for quality healthcare.
Yet here Rashad was, trying to put Nina out of business so that he could have a higher profit himself. For the first time since he had put Health Trackr on the market in Al Soub, Rashad began to doubt his work. Perhaps Nina was right; perhaps there was something that mattered more than profit.
As they spoke, Rashad noticed that Nina was more open today than during their other brief conversations. She shared about Heartbeat’s profits and earning potential, though Rashad was certain she was still leaving some information out. The more he knew about Nina’s company, the more impressed he was. If she’d gone into business purely for profits, she might be the one trying to buy his company right now.
“And this kind of crowdsourcing for app development is another way we manage to keep costs as low as we do,” Nina said.
“That’s great. Thanks for the details.”
“What other questions do you have?”
A glance at Rashad’s watch showed that they’d been deep in conversation for more than two hours. Kate and Miles were still playing together without any fuss, which was impressive — Rashad might not know much about children, but the last few days had taught him that kids their age needed a lot of entertainment.
“Actually, I think that was the last one,” Rashad told her.
“Great.” Nina folded her hands. “That was efficient.”
In truth, there were more questions Rashad should ask — like how much she’d be willing to accept as a buyout. But he understood now that buying Nina out of her company would be just as much of a betrayal as putting her out of business. Heartbeat was like her third child, and there was no way she’d give it up without a fight.
“Rashad?” Nina bit her lip. “You look so serious.”
Rashad felt serious. For the first time in his business career, there wasn’t a clear-cut way forward. Unless… He almost dismissed the idea immediately, but he couldn’t quite put it out of his mind. What if he and Nina worked together? What if they could actually both benefit from this meeting, instead of just Rashad?
“I want to make you an offer,” Rashad said. He knew he should take more time to consider this and talk to his investors, but he didn’t want to give himself time to back out.
“An offer?” Nina sighed. “I’m sorry, Rashad. I thought I was clear. I’m not interested in a buyout.”
“That’s not the offer I want to make.” Rashad leaned forward. In the clear sunlight, Nina’s blond hair seemed to glow golden, and her blue eyes sparkled — but her beauty wasn’t the reason Rashad was doing this. He was trying to do the right thing.
“All right, continue.”
“What if we can go into business together, as partners instead of rivals?” Rashad took a breath as more of his plan came together. “We could help each other. If we compete in the open market, one of us would lose. And one of our companies would probably go out of business, meaning the loss of years of hard work. But together… together, perhaps we can build something better than either of us could create on our own.”
“Are you really offering for us to work together?” Nina asked. She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know… I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, but our business styles are very different.”
“I’m much more ruthless and profit-oriented than you,” Rashad filled in. “I’m not ignoring that. If we work together, we’d definitely have a lot to figure out. I just think it might be worth it.”
“You might be right.” Nina took a deep breath, then glanced over at her twins. “Can I have a little time to think about it?”
“Absolutely.” Rashad swept the paperwork back into the folder. “We can both take a little time to consider. How about we have a snack and take the afternoon off? I’m sure by evening we’ll both have a lot more clarity.”
“That sounds great.” Nina got to her feet and held out a hand across the table. Rashad took it, feeling the warmth of her small hand in his own. “Thank you, Rashad.”
“Thank you , Nina.” Neither of them let go for a beat longer than was strictly proper in a handshake. Then Rashad squeezed her hand once and released it.
“I’ll get started on something to eat.”
“I’ll check on the kids and join you.”
As Rashad went into the kitchen to prepare a spread, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d made another, much bigger, mistake. Going into business with Nina sounded like the perfect solution to both their problems — he’d eliminate his competition, and Nina would be able to keep her beloved company. Yet the two of them were polar opposites, and Rashad hadn’t even spoken to his investors yet.
There was a good chance he had let his admiration for Nina point him down a problematic path. Yet this might also be the best decision he’d made in years.
Only time would tell.