Page 1 of Big & Bossy

Chapter 1

Jackson

Relocating my headquarters to Boulder, Colorado was going to be a pain in the ass. It better be fucking worth it.

I needed sleep, and I needed a glass of whiskey.

“Jack,” someone called from behind me.

Put your fucking game face on. Pretend you aren’t two seconds away from throwing yourself off this goddamn building. Slapping a grin on my face, I turned. Before me stood Will, Head of Development, with a clipboard clutched to his chest. “Yes?”

“You asked for an update on the campus.”

“Shit, sorry, yes,” I sighed, leaning forward on the back of one of the shittiest office chairs imaginable. I hated the environment we were working in. The space came furnished but the lights were horrible, the atmosphere dingy. Not up to scratch for J.B. Tech. Not yet. “Update me.”

“Construction should be finished in the next day or two. Electricity was finished yesterday, water the day before that. Internet and elevators will be finished by Friday. All that’s left is the interior.”

“Are we up to code?”

“Yep, the Boulder City council has given us the go-ahead to open up.” Will clicked his pen, jotting something down on his clipboard before using the tip of it to shove his glasses farther up his face.

“Perfect. Thanks,” I said, standing up straight.

“You know, sir, we could look into hiring another company for basic furniture and decorators. It could be less costly. We could get in touch with IKEA?—”

“Absolutely not,” I seethed, directing my glare to the bridge between Will’s glasses. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you. I don’t care about the cost. I want L&V Interiors, and we will get L&V Interiors.”

“Yes, sir.”

At least business was good.

I was excited about Infinius—our latest development in the tech industry. Infinius was an AI-powered software that was becoming drastically more useful every day. People wanted to buy it, wanted to know what it’s capable of, and potentially invest in it.

But mostly, people wanted the chance to speak to me.

I’d made the jump from my family’s business within the private military sector nearly six years ago. “It’ll collapse,” they told me. “The tech industry is flooded.”

Sure, Mom. That’s why I had been on Forbes’ thirty-under-thirty for the last two years.

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After my graduation from NYU, I spent a few more years in New York working as my parent’s New York connection before moving back to Chicago and starting my own company. I’d visited Boulder a few times—once with Mandy before things went haywire, and the rest on business trips. Colorado had always been somewhat of a haven for me—I spent most of my winters in Vail, skiing or lounging around with Wade, my best friend.

Boulder had two things I needed more than anything.

The first and more sensible thing was that Boulder was tech-central. I’d never been one for the beach, so Silicon Valley was low on my list. But the mountains, the national parks in Colorado… those were what drew me the most along with the amount of tech companies.

The second and less sensible thing was easy in theory but difficult in practice.

Mandy.

She had moved back here after graduation.

And I hadn’t seen her since that night.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. The lone notification on my screen was one I got at least once a week like clockwork—a text from my mom, asking the exact same thing she always did.

Are you free this weekend, honey? I’ve found an excellent woman that I’d love to set you up with on Saturday.

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