Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22588 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 113(@200wpm)___ 90(@250wpm)___ 75(@300wpm)
George didn’t recall ever having a care for anyone else, but there was something about Anna-Beth. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but she made him want to care. When he tried to think of her marrying someone else, or at the very least being forced to marry someone else, he felt angry. There was no way he could allow those thoughts to fester.
Anna-Beth finished with the files and he was about to ask her, when she picked up one of the piles and started to read through them.
She didn’t stop for lunch, and by three, he was ready to break, but then she got to her feet and stretched. “I’m done.”
George got up from behind his desk. “Why three piles?”
“Simple, these are definite ‘no’s. Some of them, are just … no good, others are actually using other people’s technology but calling it their own. These are the ‘yes’ pile, because some of their ideas are incredible. And this is where I would need to see and talk to them.”
“Why?”
“Their proposals are good, but not great, so now it’s about getting to know the person behind it.” She nibbled her lip and then he watched as she seemed to withdraw into herself. “I mean, for you to look at. You don’t have to believe me. This is just what I would do and I don’t know anything.”
He banded an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. To silence her, he kissed her hard, tracing his tongue across her bottom lip. “Stop with the doubt.”
“George, what if I mess this up? What if I get it all wrong?”
Staring into her eyes, he didn’t know why but his gut was telling him there was no way she could mess this up.
“How about I put the call to the first person on the ‘maybe’ pile, and we have them come in today?”
“Today?”
“Yes, and then maybe you’d stop doubting yourself so much.”
There went the nibbling lip again. He reached out and cupped her cheek, using his thumb to pull her lip from between her teeth. “Stop being so nervous. There is only going to be one way for us to find out, and it’s not going to be by standing here worrying about it. So far, we’ve not invested anything other than your time this morning and this afternoon. If you were back at my home, you’d be cooking dinner or dusting. What do you say?”
She took a deep breath, but he still saw the nerves. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I don’t even know why I am so worried.” She forced a laugh, and he kissed the top of her head.
He moved to his desk and put the call through to his assistant to set up the meeting, from the name on the first file. A quick glance down and he frowned, seeing it was a food truck.
“A food truck?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“A lot of people love great food, and if they are as good as they claim, then I have no doubt it could be successful.”
George kept the smile on his lips, but he had his doubts. The food truck, for him, would have been on the “no” pile. This was not a good way to start.
His assistant came back less then ten minutes later and said they would be arriving in twenty minutes. He got her to organize the conference room.
Anna-Beth was nervous, and if he was being honest, so was he. This was probably not a good idea. He was starting to see what her parents and brother saw, and maybe Anna-Beth was right.
“Do you want to see the others I thought might be good ideas?” she asked.
“After we deal with this one.”
He saw her shoulders slump.
Anna-Beth pulled out of his arms, and George walked back to his desk. He couldn’t help but keep glancing up at her as she worked on her cell phone.
He didn’t know how he could be so wrong about this. She’d shown an eye for talent, and while she’d been looking through the files, he’d done his research. Every single company she invested in was doing exceedingly well. She was a silent partner.
The twenty-minute wait was over way too fast, and George walked with Anna-Beth into the conference room, and the smells were incredible. He wasn’t expecting the men to turn up with food, even though it was a food truck idea.
Introductions were made, and he watched Anna-Beth talk, and then it came to the testing of the food. George was going to decline, but he watched as Anna-Beth started to taste.
The slumped shoulders changed and he saw the smile in her eyes, that sparkle he’d seen when she was talking about the companies she had helped.
He decided to try, and with one taste he was blown away. The traveling food truck had so many ideas for all through the year, from special menu ideas to seasonal, and they had even set up a social media presence.