The waiter poured water into a separate glass. Once the man left them alone, Kade took the straw and dipped it into the water, then placed exactly four drops into his scotch.
He raised his glass and spoke. “To your family,” he said, wanting to express his honest feelings before they delved into more serious business matters. “To their health and happiness.”
Ian clinked his glass. “Thanks, man.”
Kade inclined his head.
The waiter started to walk over, and Kade waved him away.
“Let’s talk first. That way we can enjoy the meal,” he said to Ian, hoping that whatever his friend wanted was something Kade could address and put behind them.
Ian sobered, leaning in closer to keep their conversation private. “Listen, I know you’re doing your damnedest to avoid a lawsuit with Julian that could derail Blink going public at a solid opening rate on the exchange.”
Kade inclined his head, listening. Neither confirming nor denying. For now.
“You know I’m more than willing to ride it out. I trust the three of you. But the reason I asked to meet with you alone is that my people have heard rumblings about a threat to the deal going through. Something beyond Julian’s claim on partnership.”
Kade narrowed his gaze. “Like what?” Because he was in the thick of it, and he hadn’t heard a damned thing … except the hidden landmine from his past.
But unless and until they completely shut Julian down, he wouldn’t dare use the date rape accusation against him. That would be a sure way to guarantee he received nothing from his supposed involvement in Blink’s infancy. He needed the leverage.
“Let’s just say there’s talk of something in your past coming back to bite you in the ass and derail the IPO. I don’t know what, but it’s enough to make me … and some of the institutional investors nervous.”
Fuck. Kade shoved a hand through his hair before lowering his arm and letting his fingers run over the glass of his watch. He wasn’t wearing the Patek, but the smoothness of the crystal beneath his fingers calmed him.
“Is there any truth to it?” Ian asked, then held up a hand before Kade could respond. “Let me rephrase. Is there anything for me to worry about?”
“No,” Kade immediately promised his friend. “Your money is safe. The company is fine. The IPO will go forward.”
Whatever was going on with that bastard Julian, Kade had no doubt he was behind the rumors, trying to rattle Kade and push him into over-settling. That wouldn’t happen. Kade would admit the truth himself and step aside before he’d let a company he’d worked his ass off creating be derailed. Nor would he let his friends lose out on gains they deserved.
“Fair enough.” Ian, always a man of few words, didn’t ask for more.
Kade understood Ian had flown all the way in to look him in the eye and get reassurance. Knowing the lengths he’d go to in order to protect Derek, Luke, and Blink, Kade had no problem giving it to him.
“Then let’s order food.”
For the next hour, Kade and Ian talked about the football team Ian was president of, the Miami Thunder, and their chances for another Super Bowl run. Ian filled him in on his family, and Kade talked about the excitement of taking Blink public.
They were waiting for the check when Ian asked, “So, anyone serious in your life?”
Good thing Kade had finished his drink, because he hadn’t been prepared for the question and would definitely have choked on his scotch.
“I’m seeing someone,” he said vaguely. Since the gala, Lexie had become increasingly entrenched in his life.
Not only because she was his PA and they spent even more time together, at work and outside of it, but because he couldn’t stop thinking of her. She filled his waking and non-waking thoughts in a way no woman ever had. None. Because she understood him on a level no one had bothered to reach before her.
He liked to think he got her the same way. On the outside, she was tough, capable of standing up to him at his most difficult and able to cope with a less-than-easy family life. The pain her mother’s illness caused her was never far from her mind. He often saw her eyes glaze, and she would go somewhere distant and painful. Kade knew how much it hurt to lose someone close to you. True, his mother had left by choice, but Lexie’s mother was gone just the same. And that was a hurt he could comprehend deeply.
Ian grinned. “That’s good. I want you to find what I did with Riley,” he said, breaking into Kade’s thoughts.
“Don’t rush it. We’re just beginning.” Kade wanted to believe they filled an empty space in each other’s lives, but any time he let himself have faith, fear returned, lodging in the pit of his stomach.
Ian studied him intently. “The idea of one woman for the rest of your life used to spook you. Don’t waste time on nerves or worrying about things you can’t control.” The man always had a way of seeing deeply and getting to the heart of the matter. “I did that, and I nearly lost the most important thing in my life.”
Kade didn’t know Ian and Riley’s history, but before her, no one woman had been able to pin Ian down. “How’d you do it?” Kade asked.
“Do what?”