Lauren (Silicon Valley Billionaires 1)

Gabe glanced my way. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who pities you. It is sad about your parents, though. That’s all. And that’s not pity, that’s empathy.”

I knew Gabe’s father had passed when he was ten. He knew how it felt to lose someone. And I’d just practically bitten his head off. “I’m sorry. I know you understand, and I appreciate you asking about them. I’m just…rattled today.”

Gabe smoothly maneuvered through the traffic on the freeway. “Why’s that?”

“Clive Warren was at Paragon this morning for some unknown reason.”

His fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “What did he want?”

I shook my head, still trying to piece together why he had been there. “I don’t really know. He didn’t ask for me. He wanted some of his old board materials. He got them, then he left. I watched the security tape. It was weird.”

“He’s familiar with the security protocols, right?”

“Yes. We established our most updated systems while he was still on the board.”

“So he knew that you’d see him on the tape.”

I watched the darkening sky fly by, my brow furrowed. “That’s right.”

“He’s sending you a message.”

“That’s what I thought.” I felt a knot of worry in my chest. “But what’s the message?”

“I don’t know, but I told you he was an asshole.”

“Do you actually know him?”

“I’ve had business dealings with him in the past. I was never impressed.” Gabe was silent for a few minutes, lost in his own thoughts. “I don’t like this, Lauren. What exactly did he want to meet with you about last night? Tell me the specifics.”

I explained Clive’s recent patent to him and how he wanted to dovetail his technology with Paragon’s impending launch. “But I could tell, just from his explanation over dinner, that his technology is flawed, and that it wouldn’t be a fit for Paragon.”

“And you told him that?”

“I told him that we weren’t in a position to take on a partnership. I wanted to be upfront. I wasn’t blunt, though. I didn’t share my thoughts about the flaws.”

“It sounds as if he still didn’t like what you had to say.”

I snorted. “Of course he didn’t.”

Gabe glanced at me. “A guy like Clive doesn’t enjoy being told no, especially not from a beautiful woman.”

“The fact that I’m a woman shouldn’t have anything to do with it.” Despite my curt tone, his use of the word beautiful pleased me.

“Think of it as a double-ego whammy. You said no to his technology, and then you went home with me.”

I bristled at the innuendo. Going home with him sounded salacious. “You just gave me a ride.”

“He doesn’t know that.” He grinned some more. “I’m sure that he was extremely angry when we left. He’d be even more pissed if he saw you in that dress tonight—especially since you wore a sweater out with him. Seriously, he would pop a blood vessel.”

I blushed furiously. “I think you’re being dramatic.”

“Don’t underestimate the power you have. That’d be a mistake, and you don’t make mistakes.”

“You’re definitely being dramatic.”

He was still grinning. “We’ll see about that.”

The restaurant in Saratoga, halfway up a mountain, was less ostentatious than the steakhouse but far more romantic with candles on each table and a roaring fireplace in the middle of the room.