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Because before sheleft…
My twin sister had himfirst.
2
“Don’t keep me in suspense,”Tris drawls over the Bluetooth in my car. “I take it you saw an investment you liked inLA?”
I shift in the driver’s seat of the Tesla Roadster I bought earlier this year, navigating the early-morning weekend traffic. “A new networking app. The demo they showed me was unreal. I’ll pitch it Monday at our partners’meeting.”
“You know Holt’s pitching a second round of funding for that health services company he’s sweeton.”
I shake my head. “We need to cash out and free up funds for new ventures. We’re a VC, Tris, not entrepreneurs. We have to get in and get out at the righttime.”
My company invests in early-stage ventures and helps them scale. Me, two other partners, Xavier and Holt, plus Tris—our corporate counsel and also my brother—run theshow.
Since I started with the firm two years ago, Holt and I have disagreed on most things. I’ve built my reputation of being strategically impulsive. I have big ideas others don’t. I take bold risks, but they’re calculated. It’s what I love about my industry. I get to help make things real, make products that change lives, turn smart kids into millionaires or sometimesmore.
“Well, I’ll see you at brunch. What are you doing until then?” Trisasks.
“MeetingXavier.”
“Wait,what?”
“Got to go,” I say, clicking off as I pull up to Xavier’s house and park in the private lot around thecorner.
Our industry never sleeps, but it’s still unusual for our senior partner to invite me for coffee at his brownstone on a Saturdaymorning.
His housekeeper shows me into a masculine study, full of dark wood and leather-bound volumes. Scattered in between are pictures of family in brightframes.
“Benjamin.”
I turn to see our senior partner, more casual than normal in a dark sweater andchinos.
Everyone in the industry, and in the city, knows Xavier Cousins. Valedictorian of an Ivy League business school, and one of the first black leaders of a major venture firm, he's built his reputation—and his fortune—by balancing patience withdecisiveness.
I wanted to work with him, to learn from him, as soon as I finished gradschool.
Growing my trust fund fiftyfold was enough to get me on his radar when he expanded his Manhattanfirm.
“Thank you for coming thismorning.”
He gestures to two wingback chairs by the window, and I sink intoone.
"You nominated me for this award. It means a lot tome.”
“A nomination isn’t a win,” he says. “You’re capable, ambitious, butyoung.”
“I’ve made this firm more money in two years than anyone has in the lastfive.”
“I’ve noticed. And as I’m sure you’ve noticed, there have been rumors about my retirement. Though I can’t confirm the timing, I am thinking about succession planning. I want to see you do well, but you need a lot to move up to the nextlevel.”
“I have a HarvardMBA.”
“You need more than that. You need a life outside of work. Holt’s ten-year anniversary is comingup.”
A laugh escapes as I think of our other partner, but it dies when I realize Xavier’s not laughing withme.
Holt might have a circle of high-powered friends, but he lacks the vision and integrity to lead the firm into a new generation. His decisions are conservative because he can’t stand a blemish on his record—to the point he’ll get his hands dirty in order to saveface.
