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I glanced up at Tom. His grin was wiped off from his face and he looked straight at Corey, silently sizing him up.
“Here’s your drink, ma’am.” Greg was back with a slender chute of a cloudy-white drink.
Before I could say anything to Corey or my guards, two elderly men walked up to me. “I hope you’re enjoying the evening,” said the taller man.
“Yes, Mr. Hernandez,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.
The beverage tasted like lychee juice with a hint of lime and mint. Silently commending Greg’s choice, I took another sip.
“I was hoping to ask you,” said Mr. Hernandez’s companion. He was a middle-aged man in a neat gray suit and thick spectacles. “How were you able to establish yourself so quickly in the field of electronics?”
“Brian helped me get the start-up funds,” I said. “That saved me months of work looking for investors.”
“It’s got to be more than that,” said Mr. Hernandez with a knowing look in his eye. “Jerry here is helping his nephew get on his feet by investing in his company. It’s been seven years and the young man’s still struggling.”
I glanced around me.
Corey and Caleb were listening to me attentively. Tom and Greg had stepped back a few feet, allowing three more men to listen in on the conversation.
I suddenly felt in control. These were the questions people often asked me. An eager audience made it even better.
“I suppose I got lucky with my research engineers,” I said, looking around at the men gathered before me. “They were fresh out of college and looking for jobs. We were all scholarship holders in school and came to know each other over the four years we spent at Silverlake U.”
“They were ready to join a start-up?” asked one of the men.
“I paid them double of what a regular job would offer them,” I said. “That’s how I enticed those guys to come work for me.” A soft chuckle escaped me. “Best investment ever, if you ask me. They’re the ones who developed the technology that’s allowing us to build chips at a price cheaper than those currently available in the Asian marketplace.”
“That’s impressive,” said Corey. “That’s the reason you wanted the investors to finance a research and development cell for the construction business too.”
Surprise flitted through me. He’d been listening to me during the meeting that morning.
“That’s right,” I said, nodding in his direction. “I believe we should always keep our tools sharpened. It makes the job easier.”
“Well said,” spoke up a familiar voice.
Glancing in that direction, I saw Noah standing behind Mr. Hernandez and his friend. He easily towered over them, staring at me with those cool silvery eyes. All the emotion I’d seen in them earlier was wiped clean.
“My nephew should have a talk with you,” said Jerry, Mr. Hernandez’s companion. “You have such a clear understanding of how a business works and he’s completely clueless. I’ve already invested twelve times of what Brian gave you. I’ll be on the streets soon if he doesn’t start earning back the money I gave him.”
“Why don’t you invest some money in my company?” I said with a light grin. “I can assure you there will be no losses.”
Jerry barked out a laugh. “You’re savage, Miss Amhurst, but yes, I think I will make an investment in Azalea Co. this week.”
I grinned, knowing I’d successfully bagged another investor to my electronics company.
“Azalea, how old are you?” asked another elderly gentleman.
“Whatever age she is, she’s too young for you, you old coot!” said Mrs. Grover with a snide grin.
The group surrounding me chuckled.
Glancing over at Corey and Caleb, I found them smiling as well. For some reason, my heart lifted at the sight of their handsome faces lighting up with such easy expressions.
My emotions confused me. Why was I feeling happy?
I looked at the drink in my hand, wondering if Greg made a mistake and brought me a spiked beverage.
“So, how old are you?” asked another guy, making everyone laugh again.
