Boardroom to Bedroom

Chapter 3

THE ICEMAN'S CHALLENGE

Andrea's supposed five-minute pitch was gone. Fifteen minutes flew by, then thirty. She slapped economic reports on the table like she was laying out a war room spread. Numbers and charts were her battle plan. Pencils danced as she scribbled ideas on the whiteboard, her tablet flashing study after study.

Davies just watched. His eyes never left her. Not once did he cut her off. No phone buzzing, no watch-checking, nothing to say he wasn't there. Freaky, how present he was, even with the board still naked with ideas.

“We're almost done,” Andrea declared.

Her last slide popped up; a photo of kids grinning at a community center, with the playground just a dream.

“But if we get it right, investing here pays off huge. Your sleek condos might bring in fast bucks. But we know how the market works, the area will lose its allure, and prices take a tumble. We've seen the story a million times. South Market, the Mission, wherever Gates Tech sets up camp!”

She stared at him down, not budging. “My plan builds something for keeps, something that raises the whole place, doesn't crush it. And this isn't just wishful thinking, Mr. Gates. This? It's just plain smart.”

Davies stayed silent for a long time. He walked to the windows, his hands clasped behind him, taking in the city. She couldn't read him. The morning light made his face seem… hard.

“This city, Ms. Lin?” His voice was barely there. “It's always changing. That's the way of things when cash starts flowing. Towers rise, neighborhoods change, the city moves on. It's always happened this way.”

“People don't have to get the boot,” Andrea shot back, stepping closer. Close enough to see her reflection in the glass. “It's a choice. Your choice.”

“So, you think you can change my mind?” He turned, getting close. She caught a hint of his cologne; some fancy cedar fragrance. “With your community center and your 'good feelings'?”

“I know I can.” Her voice stayed even, even as her nerves did a dance. “Give me a shot.”

“I'm not doing charity, Ms. Lin. I rely on facts.”

“Then rely on this,” she said, as an idea sent shivers. “Give me thirty days to show that my plan not only makes more cash but delivers better results for the community than your condos. If I lose, I'm out. I'll even be the one to plan your building.”

That got to him. He raised a brow. “You'd plan for a company that used all your work to build something else?”

“If I'm completely wrong about what this community can do, then I deserve to learn that. But I'm not wrong. And thirty days is lots of time to give the community a space to show change”. Andrea’s heart slammed, but her face didn't give her away.

Davies stared, lost in thought. “What can thirty days provide you when two years didn't give you anything but hell from the property owner?”

Mark Wilson's name hit her like a ton of bricks, but she didn't let it show. “Mark Wilson is an old man with medical bills, OK? You're a billionaire who can afford to roll the dice on something great.”

“Great feelings don't print money.”

“Maybe that's the whole issue here.”

The words hung there, bold as heck. Andrea prepped herself for him to shut her down, call security, and end it all.

Instead, Davies smiled. For a second, he looked… almost good. Then it vanished, but Andrea saw and felt it. Even as every voice in her head yelled that Davies Gates was nothing but danger.

“Thirty days,” he said slowly. “What are your rules?”

Andrea's mind spun. She thought this would actually happen: She didn't plan on this. “I'll give you weekly news; kids, costs, how well this is all paying off. Fair look at the numbers…”

“Nope!”

She stopped. “Nope?”

“If I give a month to your project, Ms. Lin, I'm not sitting behind a desk. I'm sticking to you. Every day, for the whole month. I'm seeing what you're building and why you believe in it.”

Andrea's stomach dropped. “You want to shadow me?”

“I need to see what's going on, not read reports. He leaned over the table, arms crossed. “You say your plan is worth it? Prove it. Show me the people you're doing this for and why this is better than building homes and making profits.”

“You'll be switching worlds…” she said, weirded out.

“I'll fit in.”

“The community won't like you…” Andrea said.

“Then you fix it. Win them over. Just like you're trying to win me over right now.” He dropped his arms, getting closer. “Or are you not really sure about your project?”

It was bait, and she knew it. Andrea's anger sparked, even knowing having Davies Gates around was asking for trouble. He'd see the fights, the deals, every time her ideas fell apart. He'd see her grinding for sixteen hours, hardly making rent, powered by coffee and hope.

But he'd also see the kids light up when they learned something new. Watch the moms take a breath with daycare they could pay for. Imagine older people having a space they enjoyed.

“Fine,” Andrea said, head held high. “Thirty days. You tag along, you see it all, then you tell me if my plan is better than yours.”

“And after you lose?” Davies' voice dropped, a bit suggestive. “You'll plan the building? Use your skills to make the kind of luxury homes you hate?”

The idea made her sick. But Andrea knew sometimes you risked it all to protect what mattered. “Yeah, if I lose, I'll plan your building.”

“Then we've got a deal.” Davies held out his hand.

Andrea looked it over; those perfect fingers, a hand that probably never held a hammer or mixed cement. Taking it felt like messing with a loaded gun.

She shook it anyway.

His grip was firm. It held on for an extra moment. His thumb brushed her wrist.

“I'll tell my people to write up the contract now,” Davies said, letting go. “Everything just how we want it.”

“No rules fashioned for my failure”

That smile flashed again. “Ms. Lin, if I wanted you to lose, I'd just knock down the building. The point of this is because I'm willing to be proven wrong.”

“Why?” The word came out before she could stop it. “Why would you want to be wrong?”

For a second, Davies looked…almost sad. “Maybe I want to know what it's like.”

Before Andrea could answer, the door flew open. Steve, Davies' half-brother, checked inside. “Dav, the board's losing it. We need to wrap up the numbers.”

“Tell them we're done for today.” Davies didn't look away from Andrea. I'll be busy for the next month.

Steve's eyes went wide. “Busy? Davies, what about the Singapore deal?, the Oakland project…”

“Pass it off.”

“You never pass things off!”

“Then I'm starting. Close the door, Steve.”

Steve looked confused and pissed. He left and slammed the door.

“Your brother doesn't look too thrilled,” Andrea said.

“My half-brother is the CFO. He worries about profit. It's his job.” Davies went back to his seat. “Be here Monday morning. Six a.m. We start at your office, and you show me what I'm missing.”

“Six a.m?” Andrea's voice rose. She started work at five, but Davies Gates seeing all that felt too up close and personal.

“You said you always wake up by Five a.m?”. He looked up, with a challenge in his eyes. “Or was that just to get my attention?”

“That's what I do.” Andrea grabbed her bag, rushing to get out of there. “Fine. Monday, six a.m, Lin & Associates. Dress like you're ready to work.”

“I don't do work.”

“Then start. Just like you're starting to pass things off”. She went to the door, then stopped. “And Mr. Gates? Thanks. For hearing me out.”

“Don't thank me yet,” Ms. Lin, his voice was low. You might regret this.

Andrea said. “But I at least gave it a chance, didn't I?.”

She had to leave before he replied. The elevator was weird. Had she actually made a deal with Davies Gates?

The lobby was brighter than she remembered. Maybe it was just the adrenaline. Alexa Park was by the front desk, she shared a small nod.

Andrea did the same and went outside.

She got halfway down the block before she had to stop. She fell into a chair at a coffee shop and pulled out her phone.

Seventeen missed calls from Emma.

Andrea tapped the dial, and her best friend immediately picked up. “Where are you? I've been trying to reach you…”

“Bestie, I just made a deal with the devil.”

Emma went quiet so long that Andrea checked to make sure she was there. “Okay, I’m listening. This better be a good story, because I already drafted a bail request.”

Despite everything; the fear, the questions, the knowledge that she started something massive; Andrea laughed. “Emma, I do not perceive jail as our biggest concern at the current moment.”

“Then what is?”

Andrea stared at her reflection in the window, barely realizing the woman staring back: nervous, crazy, with her eyes shining with energy.

“I do believe I went all or nothing to change the mind of someone who a lot of people don't feel can be changed.”

“And?” Emma asked.

“I just might meet my doom.”

Emma said, “could it be worse?”

Andrea laughed again, but it seemed a little crazy. Because in three days, Davies Gates was entering her world. And she had no idea what would happen when the Iceman met the world of the world she has vowed to protect.

She knew everything would change afterwards.