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- Herausgeber: December Drake
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Eva’s father is a genius. Silicon Valley’s radical tech visionary. But he gets caught up in his ideals, and forgets that he also must deliver.
He doesn’t see what Eva sees: his biggest investor, Isaac Sachs, has lost patience with his promises. The temperamental venture capitalist is ready to pull his investment. If Isaac does, their family’s startup could collapse. Eva is ready to try anything to make him stay.
But anything is a big word. Bigger than the very inexperienced Eva realized. And it encompasses far more than she expected.
Any time, any place. Anywhere.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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The Investor
December Drake
Copyright © 2025 December Drake
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
Contents
Eva stared at her freshman statistics homework for another minute without really seeing it. She allowed her attention to drift over the nearby landscape to the pair of ducks on their small lake. Her phone pinged and she grabbed it immediately, relieved for the distraction.
Custom News Alert: Two New Mentions for: Dad.
She tensed and frowned. Bracing herself, she opened the first.
Ron Haberfield Takes on the Mobile Phone Duopoly.
An up-close portrait of her father, deep in thought, filled the tech magazine’s front page. The overexposed photograph highlighted every line in his face, making him seem far older than his fifty years.
After selling two successful startups, tech founder Ron Haberfield is considered Silicon Valley royalty, the story’s caption read. But will his risky foray into hardware be his downfall?
Annoyed, she moved on to the second alert.
Haberfield’s Bold Challenge to the Mobile Phone Market Secures Seed Funding from Isaac Sachs, the Temperamental God of Venture Capital.
Eva chewed her lip, lingering over the candid shot of Isaac. Even in his mid-forties, he had the physique and jawline of an A-list actor. He probably could have been one. But his sharp, piercing stare as he turned to speak with an associate banished any suggestion of a Hollywood playboy.
No nonsense. All business. Uneasy, she set her phone aside and returned to her homework.
She’d just about finished when the familiar purr of an Aston Martin drew close. Slamming her laptop shut, she shoved back her patio chair and hurried into the house.
Eva rushed up the stairs to the second level, which her father had converted into a large, open floor office. A handful of his employees had spread out their laptops, facing three large screens.
“Dad,” she called softly.
Her father held up his hand without turning. He and two engineers were staring at the largest screen, but what they were waiting for, she couldn’t tell. Agitated, she toyed with the hem of her sundress.
Several seconds later, the launch screen of a popular mobile game appeared.
Her father shook his head. “The load time’s abysmal.”
“It’s the compatibility layer.” His lead engineer sat back, rubbing his face tiredly. “It had to spin up like a dozen virtual libraries on the fly, just to run that.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Her father’s blunt response drew the attention of the others. The room quieted.
“No one’s going to use a phone that takes fifteen seconds to load an app. Period. I wouldn’t use it. If the way we’re doing it now isn’t working, let’s find another way.”
The other conversations in the room slowly resumed. He paced away, and Eva hurried after him.
“Dad. Isaac is here.”
“Great. Send him up.”
“Did you get a start date from the manufacturer? He’s asked about it twice already this week.”
Her father blinked at her, then gestured toward the screens. “That’s the least of our problems, right now. We need to focus on improving the user experience first.”
“I know, but…” Eva dropped her voice. “He seemed pretty angry the last time he was here.”
Her father grimaced, and drew her off to the side.
“I’ve been through this twice before with my other companies. You were just too young back then. Now you can see what a startup looks like behind the scenes. Relying on venture capital always gets complicated. VC investors tend to have strong opinions. But they’re on the outside, looking in. Unlike us.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Let me handle Isaac’s concerns. Go ahead and let him know we’re up here.”
Defeated, she nodded and turned toward the stairs, even as dread settled in her gut.
Her feet twinged in her new heels as she gingerly descended the staircase. They were relatively low heels, but still far different from the tennis shoes she preferred.
Considering how long it’d taken her to get her father’s attention, she’d expected to meet Isaac on his way up. But she made it to the first floor without encountering him.
Frowning, Eva continued outside, noting his Aston Martin coup in the driveway. She continued around the side of the house, along the stone path that led into the back.
Isaac was standing by the lake under the weeping willow, his hands in his slacks. She should have been relieved that he’d paused to enjoy the scenery on their property. Yet, the tension in his body was visible from where she stood.
Her stomach sank. Steeling herself, she pasted on her best smile, and joined him at the lake’s edge under the tree’s shade.
“This is my favorite spot. I like to do my homework by the water. Sometimes it’s too distracting, though.”
God. She was babbling. She hid her wince.
“What’s your major?”
Eva looked up in surprise, and found Isaac studying her dress, his eyes traveling slowly down her body. He must have been shocked to see her in other than her usual jeans and sneakers.
The mid-length sundress was one of the few dresses she owned, and it was difficult not to fidget under his attention. Yet, the weight of his gaze made the awful heels worth it.
“I’m double-majoring, in Biology and Ornithology.”
“Ornithology.” His piercing eyes sharpened as they returned to her face. “The study of birds. I don’t hear that one very often.”
Having all of his intensity suddenly focused on her set her stomach fluttering. She sucked in a sharp, nervous breath, and caught his gaze briefly dropping to her chest. Her toes curled in her shoes.
This wasn’t a crush. She couldn’t have a crush on the one, powerful investor holding their fate in his hands. Isaac was just interesting, that was all.
That was why she’d lingered in front of her mirror, trying on dresses. Maybe she’d wanted to be interesting, too, in his eyes. Even if only for a fleeting moment.
“Do you keep birds as pets?”
“No. Since I like them all so much, I could never make up my mind. My sister used to tease me about it.”
“Your sister?” Isaac glanced around. “I didn’t know you had a sibling.”
“I haven’t seen her since I was ten. Nine years ago.” Eva gazed across the lake. “When my parents split, they divided everything, right down the middle. Even the kids.” With a slight laugh, she shrugged. “My mom moved out of the country with my sister and never looked back. It’s like we were just property.”
Isaac stared at her, his eyes hard. “That’s fucked up,” he finally replied.
“And probably more than you wanted to know.” She cleared her throat, her face burning. “Anyway, I’m sure you breezed right through college.”
“Dropped out after one semester.”
Her mouth fell open. “You must have worked hard then, to be so successful.”
“That’s just what the business journals want you to believe. If by success, you mean my great-great-great grandfather built a railroad, then yes.”
“Wow. So like, Vanderbilt money.”
Isaac laughed quietly, and nodded. “That’s right. Vanderbilt money.”
He stepped closer. “I consider myself more of a curator than an investor. I have a good eye for value.” His gaze took in her dress once more. “You look nice today, Eva,” he murmured.
Her stomach flipped again. His compliment had frozen her, and she gaped at him. “Th-thank you,” she whispered.
He backed away, a ghost of a smile teasing his mouth as he gestured toward the house. “Shall we?”
Eva nodded, her mind racing as she tried her best to walk through the grass in her heels with dignity.
Had he been flirting with her? It felt unreal. Still, he seemed more relaxed than when he’d arrived. Maybe it would be enough to keep him calm when talking with her father.
She tried to think of something else to keep him engaged as they entered the house. But after years of being home-schooled by private tutors, she’d already exhausted her social skills.
Isaac’s tension returned while she led him up to the second floor. His expression had visibly cooled by the time he reached the office.
“There’s the magic man.” Michael, her father’s new Chief of Sales, stood and shook Isaac’s hand. “Here to watch history being made?”
Eva found a seat in the corner and perched on it, gripping its edge as Isaac responded to Michael with clipped replies.
She hoped Michael’s nervous, try-hard energy wasn’t as apparent to Isaac as it was to even her. Isaac’s presence didn’t feel like a calm meeting. It felt like a mounting storm; a silent ultimatum.
She could sense it. Michael could sense it, or he wouldn’t be babbling as she’d been ten minutes ago. Now, she wished she could rewind it back to those socially awkward moments by the lake.
Eva glanced toward the third floor, longing to escape to her own room. She hadn’t felt so miserable in a long time. But it was a nostalgic misery, from the time of her parents’ divorce: she was in the middle again, caught between running away, and trying to distract the adults from tearing each other apart.
“What start date did the manufacturer agree to?”
Dread settled in her stomach when Isaac’s question landed. Michael swallowed and glanced at her father.
Irritation flickered in her father’s eyes when he turned. “The current focus is on creating a usable product. We don’t have anything we can confidently ship to consumers right now.”
“The factory is already booking seven months out.” Isaac shoved his fists in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “Are you saying you still won’t have a viable product in that time frame?”
