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Victoria
“Then we have a deal.”
Those were sweet, sweet words to Victoria St. Clair’s ears. They were the words that formed the essence of her career. She stood up and shook the investor’s hand.
“You won’t regret this, Brandon. You’ll see—not only will this be an improvement on the traditional CT machine but it will make us both a killing in profit once we get it off the ground.”
“You drive a tough deal, Victoria… but it’ll be worth the compromises I had to make—we both had to make—I’m sure.”
“That it will.”
Victoria had been in this business for many years and she knew where she could push versus where she had to stand firm. This kind of work required a delicate hand and a spine of steel.
Victoria smiled warmly and shook hands with everyone in the room as her and Brandon’s people packed their stuff up. It was all she could do not to break into a victory dance.
She’d made some pretty good deals before, but this one was possibly one of her greatest achievements. Now that she could get Macy and her team of medical engineers the fundsthey needed, this project was probably going to be nearly as successful as the new design for heart valves that the St. Clair Foundation had patented.
She didn’t need to tell Luke to get going with the patent. Now that they had the funding, getting Luke and their other lawyers to work with Macy on the patent would be a simple matter. Luke was already striding out of the room, probably going to do it right now, even though it was after hours.
Victoria took pride in surrounding herself with people as dedicated as she was. As CEO of the St. Clair Foundation, it wasn’t enough to be good at her job. She couldn’t carry the company all by herself. Good people were essential, and Victoria was talented at picking them out.
Their little group left Brandon’s tall office building and gathered in the foyer. “Good job, everyone! It’ll be all hands on deck for a week or two, getting this deal settled, but I’m adding an extra five days of leave to everyone’s yearly allowance for this year. You’ve all earned it.”
Her staff broke out into cheers. Victoria grinned. She expected the best of her people, but she treated them well in return. It was a delicate balance, one she didn’t always get right, but she was constantly learning. That was the thing about people. You never really knew what you were going to get, but you could learn how to manage similar situations better in the future.
Jillian sidled up to Victoria. “You should go home. You look exhausted.”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Straight home?”
Victoria chuckled. Jillian knew her too well. “There are a few things I need to settle first, but—”
“Uh-uh, no buts. You’re dead on your feet. Any work you do now will just be work I have to redo in the morning. It’ll be quicker to get it done right the first time.”
Victoria knew that Jillian was probably right, but it was difficult to pry herself away from the work she loved at such a crucial time.
“I’m not speaking as your best friend. I’m speaking as your personal assistant right now, and if you don’t cooperate, I am going to assist you into bed myself.”
Victoria nodded in defeat. She was exhausted. Part of what made Jillian such a good assistant was her willingness to call out Victoria’s less-than-healthy behaviors, such as putting work before her own personal needs and working herself to a standstill as a result.
She had learned over the years to listen to Jillian—not doing so usually only ended up proving that Jillian was right. “Fine, I’ll go straight home. You’d better do the same, though.”
“Sure,” Jillian said unconvincingly.
Victoria shook her head. Jillian didn’t seem to apply her rules to herself, and no amount of arguing on Victoria’s part could convince her otherwise.
Victoria was at least thankful that Brandon had an office in New York, and that he had been willing to meet with her here. She would much rather go home than to a hotel in a different city.
Her euphoric mood dampened slightly as she stepped into her empty house. As she so often did when coming home after days like this, she thought of Natasha. The memory came with no small amount of bitterness, but whatever had gone wrong between them, this was the kind of day when she longed for what they had.
Not even specificallythatrelationship butanyrelationship. Companionship, someone to share her joy with, and whose joy she could share in return.
After her and Natasha’s fiery divorce, Victoria had been through a string of unsuccessful relationships, until she’d finally given up on the whole institution. It was better this way, but that didn’t mean she didn’t get lonely.
Victoria was tired enough to drop where she stood, just inside her front door, but she was also still buzzed from the adrenaline of the deal. If she tried to go to bed now, she would just end up lying there with her mind whirring. She needed to shut her mind off if she was to have any real hope of rest.
