Chapter One
Nick
Choose your battles, Hart.Easier said than done when Triada Tech’s key investors, a group of high-powered men and women in designer suits, are seated across the table from my executive leadership team, all of whom look like they just rolled out of bed for an eight a.m. class.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was being pranked.
Fortunately, what the Triada team lacks in professional attire, they make up for in brainpower.
Thank Christ for small favors.
I make a mental note to have HR send another email about the dress code and stride toward the head of the table.
I’m almost to my seat when Mike Bishop, one of Triada’s original investors, blocks my path. “Ready for the launch?”
“Of course.” I scan the boardroom with a critical eye. Everything has to be perfect today. No mistakes. “Epos is going to revolutionize mobile payment systems worldwide.”
“Don’t get cocky, boy. There are plenty of people in the industry just waiting for you to fail.” He scoffs. “Hell, they’re betting on it.”
“Worried, Mike?”
“Not at all. Some people crack under that kind of pressure, but not you.”
Damn right. I savor that shit like fine scotch.
The media might describe me as a cold, calculating control freak, but they can’t deny I know how to get things done. So what if the gossip rags call me Hartless?
It’s just noise.
I didn’t become one of the world’s youngest tech billionaires by sweating the small stuff. I did it by staying one step ahead of the competition. No easy feat in an industry that moves at the speed of light, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
If that makes me an asshole, so be it.
“Will your brothers be joining us today?” Mike asks, scanning the boardroom. “It’s been a while since they’ve graced us with their presence.”
Don’t I know it. “Miles should be here any minute. Beck is tied up in R&D.”
“Ironing out the final bugs?”
More like avoiding people. “Relax, Mike. I’ve got everything under control.”
The older man chuckles. “Of that I have no doubt. You’re single-minded when it comes to the things you care about. Knew it the first time we met.”
He’s right. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do—nothing I wouldn’t sacrifice—to ensure Triada’s success.
Not when everything I care about—everything I love—can be stripped away in an instant.
He claps me on the shoulder and I step past him, ignoring the animated chatter of my employees, who are arguing the merits of some new Netflix adaptation I’ve never heard of. Not that it matters. No one has ever asked me about something as mundane as a TV show.
Fine by me. I’m shit at making small talk. It’s strategy where I excel.
Centering myself, I mentally review the meeting agenda and arrange my things at the head of the table. Laptop. Phone. Hydro Flask.
There’s a dark smudge on the glossy white table that the cleaning service overlooked.
If you want something done right…
I frown and pull a microfiber cloth from my jacket pocket. It’s meant for cleaning screens, but it’ll have to do. With a quick swipe, I erase the mark and tuck the cloth back in my pocket.
