Page 68 of Daring Destiny
It’s the most perfect moment of my entire life.
twenty-seven
Astrid
A Few Days Later
Anotherlongdayofdifficult, entitled clients has me reconsidering my profession.
For the millionth time.
I mean, is it me or are people super assholey these days? My entire day was spent listening to a pharmaceutical multimillionaire client and his enlightened-my-ass wife talk about vibes and cleansing spells. They expected me to have memorized every single chemical used in the finishes of all five new-construction homes I walked them through.
Oh, I remembered each and every stat. Peter Vander, Seattle’s award-winning green architect built them so I had the specs. But, seriously? The woman was drinking vodka in her forty-ounce, personalized Stanley Quencher H2.0 Flowstate Tumbler and, by the end of the day, could barely stand. Give me a fucking break.
I’m looking forward to being home with Brennan. He signed his contracts today and our plan is to celebrate by playing pool at The Zoo and eating shitty, fried food.
Except, the moment I walk through the front door of my houseboat, I can tell immediately something’s off.
Way, way off.
Brennan sits on the couch, staring at his phone. His shoulders are slumped and there’s a heaviness surrounding him. Tears well up in my eyes because I can tell he’s hurting. Normally, if he’s not working, he’ll greet me with an enthusiastic kiss. Or, at least a lopsided smile. Tonight, he barely looks up. My stomach falls to the floor. I hope his brother hasn’t relapsed or something.
Slipping off my shoes, I place my purse and keys on the counter. “Hey.” I walk over to him and run my fingers gently through his messy hair. “Rough day?”
“Yeah.” He glances up. There’s a combination of frustration and defeat in his eyes. “You could say that.”
I sit next to him. Close enough so our legs are touching and he leans into me, like he’s trying to find some comfort. “What’s going on?”
“Well.” He takes a deep breath and looks down at his clasped hands. “Apparently, the board found out about Reuniverse. I guess word travels fast. Somehow, they found out about our meeting with Jason Deveraux and claim Reuniverse is a CognifyAI asset.”
“What?“ I can’t keep the shock out of my voice. “It was a last-minute dinner. How did they even find out? More importantly, why do they care?”
He shakes his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t fucking know. Their position is, because I’m the CEO of CognifyAI, anything I develop—even outside of the company—is the company’s intellectual property. As such, they want me to sign over Reuniverse.”
Holy fuck. I feel a flash of anger on Brennan’s behalf, but on mine too. Reuniverse is our company. It’s not a side project; it’s something we’ve poured our hearts into. It never occurred to me CognifyAI could swoop in and take it. I feel a knot of frustration tightening in my chest.
“How ridiculous,” I spit out. “We built this on our own. It’s not like you used any of CognifyAI’s resources. Theycan’ttake it.”
“They can try.” Brennan shakes his head. “They’re saying my brain is one of CognifyAI’s resources. Also, because I have a fiduciary duty to CognifyAI they’re citing a clause in my current contract they claim forces me to transfer Reuniverse to CognifyAI’s control. They say if I don’t play ball, they’ll sue me. If they follow through on their threat, it’ll tie up everything for years. And, make it impossible for Jason’s group to invest in Reuniverse.”
“So, you’re damned if you do damned if you don’t?” I lean back, trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying.
He snorts out, “Essentially, yes.”
“Wait. Maybe we should call Jason. His team seemed to be quite serious. They want this to happen.” I think back to our discussion at dinner.
“I know.” Brennan sighs. “Jason’s kicking himself for not investing in CognifyAI when he had the chance and seemed to be practically foaming at the mouth to get a piece of Reuniverse. I’m realistic, though. If this turns into a legal battle, he’s not going to touch it. No one wants to buy into a lawsuit of this magnitude.”
I can see the devastation on Brennan’s face and I hate it. I take his hand and squeeze it gently. “There has to be a way around this. Your lawyer is great. Let’s try to calm down a bit. We can’t let the stupid, greedy board steamroll over you.”
“They seem to think they have the upper hand.” Brennan lets out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “By the tone of the meeting we had today, they’re playing hardball. They’ve torn up the agreement we were supposed to sign and are making new demands. All because they want me to assign Reuniverse to them.”
“No way. They’re tying Reuniverse to your new contract?” I ask, incredulous. “As in, you don’t get to stay on as CEO unless you give them our company?”
“Pretty much.” Brennan’s jaw tightens. “We went round and round on it for six solid hours today. No compromises. They’re calling it a ‘best and final offer,’ but it feels like blackmail. If I agree, I’m locked in for five years. Golden handcuffs. They own Reuniverse. And now they want me to warrant I won’t work on anything AI-related outside of CognifyAI for a decade.”
I can’t help my frustration bubbling up to a boiling level, but I need to keep calm for Brennan’s sake. “They can’t force anything. Reuniverse is half mine and I don’t have to sign over my ownership interest.”