Page 82 of Own the Eights Gets Married
“An apology for what?”
“For not making more of an effort to get to know you when you were growing up,” Howard said, clasping his hands behind his back as they continued down the sidewalk. “I worked a lot, especially when your mother and I first married. But you and I never got to spend much time together, did we?”
“You were always kind to me, Howard,” she answered, working to keep the surprise from her voice.
“But we’ve never talked, really talked, have we?” he mused.
The man was right. They hadn’t.
They’d each occupied different parts of her mother’s world. She and her mom had done pageants, and her mother and Howard had traveled, spent time at the country club, and attended numerous charity engagements and galas. When they were all together, the activity had centered on her mom.
“No, come to think of it, I don’t think we have,” she replied.
“But I have gotten to learn quite a bit about you these past few years,” he said as they rounded the corner.
She frowned. “How so?”
“Your CityBeat blogs,” he answered.
“You’ve read them?” she exclaimed, now unable to keep the surprise from her voice.
She would not have put Howard in the Own the Eights or More Than Just a Number target audience.
He nodded. “I have. I like to keep an eye on what’s going on there.”
“Why?” she asked.
“This may come as a surprise to you, but many years ago, one of the subsidiaries of my venture capital company gave Hector and Bobby the seed money to start CityBeat. My company is no longer associated with them, but I like to keep my finger on the pulse of past ventures.”
“I had no idea,” she said on a stunned breath.
“I know a good investment when I see one,” the man replied.
A good investment.
She could sure use advice when it came to that.
“How do you know what’s worth investing in and what’s not?” she asked, training her gaze on the sidewalk.
“In its simplest form, the equation is risk versus reward,” Howard answered.
“So, you want to take on the least amount of risk?” she pressed.
“Not always. When I read Bobby and Hector’s proposal years ago, I saw two college kids with a lot of potential but little business experience,” he answered.
“Then, why did you choose to give them the money?” she asked.
“Because, no matter how many times you run the numbers or pore over the forecasts, you’ve got to trust your gut. If it says yes, it’s worth listening to.”
She sighed. Unfortunately, her gut was all over the place.
She glanced down at Mr. Tuesday, padding alongside her. “I could use some investment advice. Could I run it by you?”
Howard nodded.
“I thought I wanted to invest in a company—more like merge with another company. Everything seemed perfect. The potential for long-term growth looked promising,” she began.
“I’m sensing there was a hiccup in thispotential investment merger,” Howard commented with a sly expression.
