Page 7 of The Billionaire's Secret Kiss

Okay, maybe I could.

Our breakup hadn't exactly been amicable. In retrospect, I’ll admit that was mostly my fault. At the time, I hadn't seen it that way.

Aware that my potential investors were waiting for me in the other room, I grabbed a paper towel and wet it at the sink, hoping I could clean up my bloody nose before they realized what had happened.

I'd already fucked things up with Ella. I didn't need to fuck this deal up, too. My employees depended on me to get the funding we needed to finish development in time for our big payday. I wasn't going to let them down.

What they didn't realize, what nobody knew, was that I wasn't just here to sweet-talk Vance and Maggie Winters into investing in Endicott Technologies.

I was here for Ella.

I cleaned the blood off my face, determined that my nose had stopped bleeding, and walked back into Vance and Maggie's office. Maggie had moved to sit beside him at the desk, and their heads were together, leaning over his laptop screen as they spoke in hushed voices. The baby was asleep in a portable crib in the corner of the room.

Vance and Maggie made a striking couple. When he wasn't investing in up-and-coming tech companies, Vance Winters was a renowned sculptor. He looked the part with long blonde hair he wore in a low ponytail, a ton of tattoos, and a generally laid-back approach to life.

Maggie had originally hired on as his business manager. She was said to be sharp, with an excellent head for business. Between the two of them, they didn't miss much. In contrast to Vance's relaxed style, both times I'd met her, Maggie had been brisk and efficient. I was a man, so I didn't miss that she was gorgeous, but she didn't dress to play it up, and she never flirted.

She looked up when I walked back into the room, appraising me carefully. Any hope I had that we could get back to business went up in a puff of smoke when she said quietly, "How do you know Ella?"

Vance sat back and waited, along with Maggie, for my answer. I didn't even think about lying. I promised to keep the kiss a secret, but I wasn't going to screw this deal by being dishonest about Ella.

"We dated for three years in college," I said, keeping my voice low, so I didn’t wake the sleeping baby.

"And?" Vance prompted.

"And what?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You rushed out of here after her," Maggie said, "and it didn't look like she wanted to talk to you."

I did not want to do a postmortem of my breakup with Ella. Not with anyone, but definitely not with the two people I needed to invest in my company.

"Is this relevant?" I asked, trying to deflect.

"It is if you want our money," Vance said. "This isn't just about numbers, Noah. We know what you've done so far with your company. We understand the potential of what you're developing. We also understand that you want to keep control of your Endicott Tech. You’ve designed the software to disable an enemy drone in seconds. But that’s not new. Other companies have that. No one has been able to crack how to do it and still comply with the FAA's laws in the US. If your current tests pan out, you stand to make a ton of money. We'd love to get our hands on some of that money, and we don't want control of Endicott Tech to get it, which is a much better deal than you'll get from any other investor out there. But we have reservations.”

“You’re talking about the lawsuit,” I guessed.

That fucking lawsuit. Someday, I was going to kill Phillip Martin. He’d tried to destroy me more than once. In college, he’d accused me of cheating. That hadn’t gone far. I had witnesses to prove my innocence. Unfortunately, when it came to the lawsuit, Philip had been smart. I knew I hadn’t stolen a goddamned thing. That didn’t mean shit when Phillip had a stack of evidence that made it look like I did.

“Yes,” Vance agreed. “Normally, we wouldn’t have anything to do with a company, a founder, under suspicion of theft.”

“The case was settled with no admission of guilt,” I said flatly. I was so fucking sick of defending myself against this bullshit.

“I understand you paid Phillip Martin quite a bit of money,” Maggie said evenly.

“I did,” I agreed. “Per the settlement, I’m barred from disclosing the details. But that payment was about moving past the case and getting my company, my people, back to work. We needed to put our budget into development, not lawyers.”

A priority Phillip had been counting on when he brought the suit. His timing had been exquisite—for him. For Endicott Tech, it had been a nightmare. By the time we’d settled, I’d just wanted to get Phillip out of my life.

“We don't just invest in companies, Noah," Maggie said, leaning forward, her blue eyes fixed on mine. "We invest in people. So far, we like you. We’re inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt where the accusations of theft are concerned. You work hard, and you seem to care about your employees. That says something. We care about our employees, too. Do you think we would let Ella take care of our daughter if she wasn’t important to us?"

"I don't know you well enough to say," I hedged.

"Cut the bullshit, man," Vance said. "Ella's been with us for a while. She's like family. So tell me, when you approached us about investing, did you know Ella worked for us?"

Shit. This was it. I had to decide if I was going to cut the line and walk or come clean and see what happened.

I couldn't afford to walk.