Welcome to Lake Ventures (New Haven Book 2) Read online

  Emily shook off the anger and opened the file that contain her resumé. She checked over everything, making sure that all of the details where there.

  Qualifications, check.

  Experience, check.

  Everything was in there, except for the lying, cheating, scumbag ex-boyfriend being her ex-boss of course.

  Emily brought up a list of companies in the area that would be suitable for her skills. Even though there were no jobs advertised Emily still thought she should send her resumé, just in case.

  She typed up a covering letter and emailed her application to a number of businesses in the city. She would be printing out a few hard copies, for the businesses she couldn’t contact, and would send them through the post. It was still too early in he morning to do that so she decided to check out the apartments that were up for rent.

  Emily needed her own place. Since her family had moved, she’d stayed with her Nan until she finished her degree. It was nice staying with them but she was twenty-three now, almost twenty-four, and a bit old to be living with her parents.

  It would be a little while before moving could happen though. A job was needed first and Emily wanted to be able to pay for the apartment herself. She wouldn’t have had a problem if Jeff hadn’t taken everything. Including her best friend.

  Oli had offered Emily a job at his law firm, within the accounts and finance department, but she didn’t want to rely on him for a job. It wasn’t fair because he would be creating the vacancy just for her.

  Even though she appreciated the offer, it wasn’t what Emily had spent the last five years training for. She decided that if she took the job, it would only be if she couldn’t find work elsewhere.

  Emily continued looking for places to rent and made herself some breakfast.

  “Hiya love! Did you sleep ok? Sorry I missed you yesterday. I got back, not long after you, but you’d already gone to bed.” Kim said as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Hiya Mum. It’s ok. We got back in good time. A bit earlier than I expected actually. I was done in though, I just had to sleep.”

  “I understand, love. I’m just glad you got here ok. How long have you been up?” Kim had seen Emily’s Macbook and empty cup and plate on the table.

  “Since about four. I’m hoping it doesn’t take me too long to get used to the time difference. It already feels like late afternoon to me.”

  Emily’s body clock thought it was around three in the afternoon. She would have to try and force herself to stay awake that night so she wouldn’t be getting up too early again. It had taken her a few days, the last time she’d visited for the week, to get used to the timezone. That was the week Holly had been thrown into the pool at Riss’ house.

  Marissa Kennedy was one of the girls Holly had met at school. She and her cousin, Kayla were nice girls and had gotten together with two of the guys in the group they hung out with. Kayla was with Kyle and Riss was with Ryan.

  Ryan was the one who threw Holly in. In all fairness, he didn’t know she was scared of the water and couldn’t swim, but Emily had almost blown a gasket when she came out of the bathroom to see Alex holding Holly up in the water and walking to the shallow end of the pool with her in his arms.

  It was amazing how Alex had gotten Holly to calm down quickly too. The last time she’d been thrown into a pool,she’d passed out after having a panic attack, even though the water was only shallow. Ryan had thrown her in the deep end of the pool and Alex had dived in to save her.

  Thinking of that time reminded Emily what came after that, when she and Holly had walked outside.

  Nick.

  The cocky bastard had threatened to put her over his knee if she spoke bad about his brother, Ryan. She knew he wouldn’t actually do it.

  At least she didn’t think he would.

  No, that’s just bizarre.

  There was something in his eyes though. The way he looked at her. When she and Holly had stepped outside, he looked right at them and his gaze fixed on her with intensity.

  Emily remembered that, even though she was seething and had wanted to punch him in the mouth, his stare had made her feel uneasy. Not in a bad way, that would make her want to run a mile, but in a way that made her skin prickle with goosebumps. His grey eyes had focused on her from the moment he saw her, occasionally glancing at Holly when he spoke to her, but lingered on Emily until she drove away.

  Probably just to piss me off some more.

  “Em, are you ok love?” Emily heard her Mum say.

  “Oh yeah, I’m fine.” She replied as she put her thoughts to the back of her mind.

  Kim was smiling at Emily as if there was something she knew that Emily didn’t.

  “Have you found your own Alex?”

  “Alex? What are you talking about?”

  “You had that look on your face, the same as Holly did when she first met Alex. Have you met someone?” Kim raised an eyebrow at Emily.

  “What? No, of course not.”

  “So Big-Wig’s a no-no then?” Kim asked before bursting out laughing.

  “Holly told you.” Emily shook her head. “No. He was a tosser. I’m glad I don’t have to see him again. I was just thinking about sending out my resumés and looking for a place of my own.”

  “You still don’t want to take up Oli’s offer?”

  “No. If he can make a position for me, then he should give it to somebody who wants to work for a law firm. Somebody who’s qualified for that. I want to get a job for myself and pay my own way. I didn’t move here to mooch off you.”

  Emily didn’t want to rely on her family to look after her. They’d already helped her a lot after what had happened with Jeff and his business. She was lucky that she had still lived with her parents when she had broken up with him, because he’d left her with nothing.

  “Hey Princess!” Oli said happily as he entered the room and walked over to Emily to hug her. “We’re so glad you’re here. How are you feeling?”

  Emily smiled at her Step-Dad. He was a really great guy and she loved him a lot. He loved their Mum fiercely and treated her like she was a queen. That was good enough for Emily.

  “I’m great, Dad. I’m glad to be here too. I need my body clock to hurry up and change time zones though. I can’t be doing with getting up at all hours.”

  “You’ll get used to it in no time honey.” He said as he hugged her again. “Have you thought any more about taking a job at the firm? You know, just until you get settled.”

  “Thanks, Dad, but I really want to get a job on my own. You don’t need me anyway and I really appreciate you making room. Maybe you could offer an intern placement if you do actually need someone?”

  “You’re always thinking of others. You’re a good girl, princess.” Oli kissed her forehead before going to the kitchen for breakfast.

  “I’m going to go to the study and print some resume’s out now that you’re up. I didn’t want to wake you before.” Emily said, picking up her Macbook. “If Holly and Alex emerge from their cocoon at all today, tell her to give me a shout.”

  *****

  Nick walked into his office and sat down. He had a huge headache and not even the Advil he’d taken was helping.

  He’d gotten back, the night before, from some out of town business that had taken four weeks. Well, three weeks of business, two torture sessions, followed by a few days of relaxation.

  He usually had once-a-month sessions but sometimes, the episodes were so bad, he had to have once-a-fortnight sessions for at least a month. He couldn’t still go to the office when he had his sessions because they were out of town, and for a good reason.

  Nobody knew him there.

  No chance of anybody recognizing him in public and, possibly, spilling his secret.

  He got back to his apartment the day before and had drank… a lot.

  Hence the huge headache.

  If the damn painkillers would hurry up and work, he’d be able to focus on what the hell he was supposed to be
doing.

  Where’s my assistant? He was supposed to bring me my schedule.

  Nick picked up the phone and called his secretary.

  “Diane, have you seen Craig? He was supposed to bring my schedule but he’s not here.”

  Nick’s company had begun five years earlier and Diane had worked for him for the past four. She was an older lady, with a quick wit and a sharp tongue. If you said anything untoward, she would let you know immediately regardless of who you were. She’d kept Nick in line ever since she started.

  He liked her a lot.

  “Didn’t you read your emails whilst you were away? Craig gave his notice in over two weeks ago. His last day was Friday.”

  Shit.

  The vague memory of the email came back to him.

  Whenever he was away for his sessions, he would turn off his phone, only being able to receive emails so he could choose to read and respond when he felt like. The calls were Craig’s job when Nick was away. Now he had no Craig.

  “Do we have any resumé’s to go through?” he asked, rubbing his forehead. The pounding across his eyes was making him feel sick.

  “We have a few. Some are not qualified enough and there’s one that’s way over qualified. There a few that are ok though. I’ve organized them into groups to be interviewed. Do you want me to show them to you?” she asked.

  Diane was good like that. She knew what needed to be done and just got on with it.

  “Not just yet, thanks. Let’s see what else comes in next week and then we’ll schedule interviews for the week after. I’ll just try and sift through what work I’ve got here.”

  “Ok. Craig had your schedule all ready for you, so you’ll need to check that everything’s still as planned. Hang on…”

  Nick could hear some rustling and then pressing of computer keys.

  “Oh yes, you have a Ten am meeting with a company from Portland. They want to talk to you about investing in their sports company. They’re marketing some kind of ‘revolutionary’ new grip for the bottom of baseball shoes. Apparently they help the players grip to the field but still slide to the bases. Then…you have a phone call to make to your mother…” Nick groaned. “…And your brother called this morning. He’s going to stop by at lunch time. That’s all you have planned for today.”

  “Ok thanks, Di.” Nick put the phone down and scrubbed his face with his hands.

  His Mom had called. She was worried about him because he had ‘changed’. She was always trying to talk to him about it and he kept on assuring her that he was fine and he just had a lot of work. She knew he was lying though. He had changed.

  Nick shook his head to get rid of the thoughts that threatened to cloud his day. Even his headache wasn’t as bad as that.

  At least that would go away.

  Eventually.

  As Ryan would be dropping by for lunch, Nick needed his head to be clear for that.

  Ryan had finally gotten together with Marissa, ‘Riss’ who he’d pined over for years. Seeing them together made Nick realize what he was missing in his life. But there was no way he could have what they had.

  Sure he dated…a lot…but that’s all he did.

  Date.

  Nothing else. He could barely remember their names half the time.

  Ryan continually ribbed him for going from girl-to-girl, but he tried to ignore him. His dating habits suited him fine and served a purpose. He didn’t like the purpose but it was necessary.

  The phone rang on his desk, breaking his thoughts.

  “Hi Nick. There’s a call for you from somebody called Darren. He said he was supposed to be meeting up with you this evening about a show? He said he’s training a new guy and he wants to know if he can make it earlier. Should I put him through?”

  Fuck! I forgot about that!

  “Yeah thanks, Di. Put him through. Hi Darren, how are things?”

  It was almost time for Nick’s new business meeting when he got off the phone to Darren, the Manager of a club he owned. He’d known Darren since they were in high school and they’d become good friends, which lasted all through college too. Darren had also been Nick’s first employee in the club.

  They were going to meet up before Darren had to go through training with a new guy. Nick didn’t want to go to the club to discuss anything, so he decided to have their meeting over dinner that evening instead.

  Nick was waiting for the business owner who had requested a meeting with him for that morning.

  Nick’s company, Lake Ventures, invested in small companies who were struggling to start out or who needed a lot of help. He’d put a lot of cash in many businesses over the years, from café’s and restaurants, to clothing stores and even nightclubs. They were private equity because the businesses were already established.

  Over the last two years, more would-be entrepreneurs were coming to him, hoping for an investment, or venture capital, to kick start production on a new product or business. Some where good, really good, and some were copies of things already on the market.

  His phone rang and Diane informed him that his appointment was there. After asking her to show them in, Nick stood to greet him.

  “Hi, I’m Brendan Collins. Thank you for meeting with me today.” The guy said nervously.

  “You’re welcome. I’m Nick Lake. Please take a seat.”

  Brendan sat in the black office chair, in front of Nick’s desk. There was only the two of them so Nick didn’t think the meeting room was necessary.

  “How can I help you?” Nick asked as he got out his notepad and his Parker pen.

  Brendan cleared his throat before talking. He was obviously nervous at speaking with Nick on his own. Asking for a large amount of money from a stranger couldn’t be comfortable.

  “As you know, my company makes studs for sports cleats. Mainly baseball, and soccer. Usually, the cleats have fixed studs of either metal or plastic. Now if one of those studs were to break, the whole shoe would need replacing which can be costly to the sportsperson.”

  Brendan had obviously rehearsed his speech a few times. The tone and inflections in his voice made him sound like he was reading from a teleprompter…badly.

  “We make screw in studs.” He continued. The cleats would have holes in the soles and then each stud would be screwed into place. If one happens to break, for any reason, it can be replaced without the need for spending a lot of money on a new pair.”

  “Isn’t that kind of product already on the market?” Nick asked. He’d played a lot of sports in high school, especially soccer, and he knew that replacement studs were around even then.

  “Yes, but ours are different. You see, studs aren’t just round anymore. Some are blades. They are situated on the outer edges of the soles, whilst the circular ones are through the heels. This gives better grip on different types of field.”

  Brendan got out some photos showing the product and the placement of the studs on the shoes. He was pointing and talking but Nick started to lose focus. His head was still pounding and he really needed to get some coffee.

  “So instead of having three different pairs, you can just change the studs.” Brendan finished. Nick didn’t know what he was talking about and felt bad that he’d zoned out in the middle of the meeting.

  “Ok, well that sounds like a pretty decent product you have. We obviously need to go over figures and terms. What is it that you’re hoping for?” Nick would have to try to get back to what Brendan had told him and, hopefully, not offending him. Not that he gave a crap about offending someone. If they came to him asking for money for a ridiculous idea, he just told them. There was no need in sugar coating a piece of shit. It was business and if they took the piss, then he called them on it.

  “We’re looking at a possible investment of two hundred thousand dollars. That would pay for further production of the new product and also for marketing. I want to be honest and say that marketing isn’t my strong suit, and I know that you’ve done amazing things for others with your own
marketing techniques.”

  He’s trying to butter me up here.

  “That’s a lot of money. I will need to see your financial reports for the past two years, your forecasted costs for the next and also a detailed report on exactly what my money will be used for. Telling me it’s for production and marketing isn’t enough. I need a detailed breakdown of what marketing you would have chosen and also what your production costs are. I assume you have brought some of those things with you?”

  He better have something to show me.

  Brendan reached into his briefcase again and produced a portfolio. He handed it to Nick and he opened it and flicked through some of the pages. Even at a glance Nick saw that the business wasn’t doing too well and it was obvious that whoever was running the finances, had no idea what they were doing.

  Nick pointed out a few things that concerned him, like the high marketing costs, admin costs and even packaging costs.

  How much does it cost to package ten studs? Not that much anyway.

  They went through more of the details in the financial reports and after another forty minutes, Nick had had enough.

  “Well I need to go over this a lot more. If you leave it with me, I’ll call you in about two to three weeks. I’m sorry it can’t be sooner as I’m currently in between assistants and I have a lot of other ventures to attend to.” He explained.