Page 103 of The Renter
“Due diligence didn’t take that long with Shirts.”
“And look how that worked out,” he teases, and I swat his arm. “This deal is too big for a generic SAFE Agreement.”
“An acronym I do know—Simple Agreement for Future Equity.” I laugh.
“You know … Shirts was the only deal we’ve lost money on in the past few years, but I’d say it was worth it.”
I smirk, considering Adam and I may not have a relationship if I’d never been part of Shirts. If one good thing came from the Summer of 2017, it was the domino effect that led me to Adam.
He sighs. “Plus, we’re still fundraising. There are many ways to structure a deal, and for this one, I’m hoping to do it without banks.”
“Isn’t that unusual?”
“Typically, we get a smaller loan based on the LTV.”
“Another acronym.” I laugh.
“Loan to value ratio.” He smiles. “But I’m not liking any of the rates our bankers have shared with us. The deal pencils a lot differently when we factor in traditional financing versus UHNW investment.”
My eyes gloss over a little bit.
“Enough of a finance lesson for today.” He kisses my temple.
I’m relieved our dive into financial mechanisms is ending. “This conversation is bringing back trauma from macroeconomics and how that college course was the hardest B plus I’ve ever worked for in my life.”
He chuckles, pulling me in for a kiss. “To cut to the chase, fundraising is taking longer than we’d anticipated. We have a lot of partners in China, but the economy is changing there, and people are being tighter with their wallets than usual.”
I sit on his lap, straddling him, hoping to distract him. He needs to turn off his work brain.
“I love seeing this ring on your finger,” he says, swiping his thumb over the ring. “In some cultures, the right ring finger is the engagement one, you know.”
“I’m playing around with it. Whatever finger feels right, that’s where I wear it.” Over the past couple of weeks sincegetting it, I’ve worn the ring on various fingers, each one symbolizing a different aspect of what it represents to me.
“I’m happy to see it each day.” He leans into me, placing a baby kiss on my lips. “You’re all mine,” he whispers. I nuzzle into his chest, enjoying our cuddle.
“Now that you’ve met the parents, when do I get to meet your family?” I ask, my face resting on his chest.
“Kids love pools, right?” he asks softly, playing with my hair.
“You don’t know?” I laugh and lean back to look at him.
“Honestly, no.”
“Your niece is six, you said, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She should be a water bug, for sure.”
“Before the weather turns, I’ll get a pool day with Eric and Lily on the calendar.” He’s silent for a moment. “I wish I saw them both more. I need to be better about that.”
“A pool day will be great.”
“Lily’s mom is out of the picture, by the way.”
“Oh?”
“Pills.” He says it so clinically. “Eric’s had full custody for about a year now. I help them out, so if there are any money comments, it’s because Eric, like someone else I know, has a hard time accepting my help.”
