I gaped up at him. “What do you need me for?”
“I need you to clean up Dane.”
Two
Ava
* * *
I stared at my brother, confused. “Clean up Dane? I wasn’t aware he was dirty.”
Aidan leaned on his desk, looking serious. Dane Scotland was one of the Tower VC partners. There were four in all: Aidan here in New York, Alex in Dallas, Noah in L.A., and Dane in Chicago. We’d all grown up in Chicago together, where the four of them had first become partners. Dane was a computer geek, the programmer who had created the software that had launched the business.
Dane and I also had a history that was… too X-rated to share with my brother. But I wasn’t going to think about that right now.
I hadn’t seen Dane in years. I thought about him more often than I wanted to admit, wondering if he was okay. Because I was definitely okay.
Definitely.
Why had I just said Dane was dirty? This was my brother I was talking to.
“We have a situation,” Aidan said. “Have you ever heard of Okada?”
I frowned, “Um, I think it’s a computer company.”
“Computers, software, and cell technology, yes. It’s based in Japan. It’s one of the fastest growing companies in the world, headed by a genius named Kaito Okada. Okada is apparently a big fan of Dane’s. Or, more specifically, he’s a fan of Dane’s software skills.”
I rolled my eyes, because it was too hard to resist. “A nerd fan club. Great.”
“Actually, it really is great,” Aidan said. “Okada has some major top-secret developments they’re working on, and they want investment capital.”
“This is such a gripping story, Aidan. Please tell me more.”
He shook his head. “You have an attitude problem, you know.”
“I’m aware.”
“Okay, fine. Okada is willing to give Tower VC the opportunity to invest. But only if Kaito Okada can come to Chicago, meet Dane in person, and do the deal directly with him one on one.”
I was starting to get it now. “So Dane has to meet with this amazing genius from Okada, and it could make Tower a lot of money.”
“A lot of money,” Aidan repeated drily. “A lot of money. It’s a little like getting a secret meeting with Steve Jobs while he was developing the iPhone.”
I shrugged. “Okay, fine. So what’s the problem?”
“I think you remember what Dane was like when we were teenagers.”
“Sure. Glasses, bad wardrobe, no social skills.” He’d also been cute and hot in a geeky way. And insanely good at sex, though I wasn’t going to mention that, because again, my brother. “You’re saying this Japanese CEO won’t like him?”
“Dane isn’t exactly the way you remember him. He’s changed his appearance a lot.”
I snorted. “Has he finally started wearing deodorant?” Because riffing on Dane was the only thing I could do. It was habit. If I didn’t insult him, then I had to think about the other stuff, and I wasn’t ready for that.
Aidan shook his head. “I’m not getting into it. Dane looks different than he used to, but his social skills haven’t improved. He doesn’t talk much, and when he does, he’s hard to get along with. His girlfriends have dumped him over it.”
I felt my nails dig in to the arm of the chair. Girlfriends? Dane had girlfriends? “Someone actually went on a date with Dane?” I said, keeping up the act. “I’m amazed.”
“He’s had a few serious relationships, yes. But they haven’t lasted. He also pays no attention to his grooming or his wardrobe. He rarely leaves his penthouse. In short, he’s in no shape to go into one of the most important meetings in the history of Tower VC and impress Kaito Okada. He’s also completely unwilling to do anything about it. The last time I talked to him about it, I was told to go fuck myself. That’s where you come in.”