Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Beth’s not half your age,” I laugh. “She’s only ten years younger, and you know you love that baby more than life itself.”
“You right,” Nelly concedes. “But I didn’t see myself starting a family at fifty.”
She reaches into her purse and fishes out a pink mini fan, plopping it onto the table and turning it on to oscillate over her face.
“I’m literally in menopause,” Nelly mock sobs. “When they say it’s like fire shut up in your bones, I bet they meant hot flashes. Lemme tell you. Changing diapers while having hot flashes is not it. Why’d y’all let me do this mom thing this late?”
“You know you’d do it again for Beth,” I tell her. “Like come on, you’re so gone for that woman.”
“What we won’t do for love.” Kashawn sighs dreamily.
“Whatever,” Nelly grumbles, but she can’t hide the smile that creeps over her face or the sheer joy in her eyes every time she talks about Beth and the baby.
I can’t help but think of my earlier conversation with Zere.
“You’re happy, though, right?” I ask. “No regrets?”
“None,” Nelly replies without hesitation and pulls the fan closer to her face. “Ecstatic. I can’t imagine life without that lil’ stink bomb now.”
We order our food and get down to business while we wait for it to arrive. I never would have imagined I’d be in the venture capital space, but when Nelly, my soror and mentor, approached me about getting Aspire off the ground to help Black women entrepreneurs, it was an immediate yes.
“I hope we have a superstar founder in our second round like we did in the first,” Nelly says.
“Hue has surpassed every expectation,” I agree.
The fledgling cosmetic company’s hero product is a foundation designed for women of color. Lots of companies have been doing that lately, but this product uses AI to customize the absolute perfect match for your skin. It’s been getting massive media coverage and the sales to go with it.
“I have a feeling this’ll be our first unicorn,” Nelly says with a gleam of pride in her eyes.
A unicorn investment valued at a billion dollars is indeed rare, especially in the first round for a small fund like ours.
“We really need to play it up to potential limited partners,” Kashawn says. “Speaking of, anyone new we need to be pitching? Talking to?”
Maverick Bell flashes in my mind. He expressed some interest, but who knows if he was even serious. Maybe he’d had a few drinks by then. There was a literal line of people at the bar waiting to speak to him. He probably got pitched so many times that night, he won’t even remember our conversation.
Meanwhile I have replayed the brief exchange in my head several times. Not a sexy-flirty-I-wonder-if-I’ll-take-you-home kind of thing. I felt connected to him in a way that I haven’t with anyone else, specifically around Mama’s condition. Even in the midst of wall-to-wall partygoers, with music blasting and liquor flowing freely all around, he saw me. Recognized there was a part of me completely removed from that scene and anxious about my mother.
I remain quiet and fork Paschal’s famous greens into my mouth. If I breathed a word of Maverick Bell’s interest, my partners would pounce on it and force me to follow up. I can’t call that man. First of all, he was probably talking out the side of his neck. Making conversation. But even as I think it, I know the thoughtful man who shared his experience with his grandfather isn’t that cavalier.
My second reason for not wanting to reach out…
The memory of Zere’s pain this morning clamps down on even the thought that was forming. I can’t reach out to Maverick. Ever. That’s it. That’s all. End of story.
“I think we should host a showcase,” Nelly says. “Bring our best-performing round-one founders in along with prospective limited partners, and even those who have already committed. Leverage the success of round one to raise money for round two. We want to cast vision and make these rich folks feel comfortable trusting us with their money.”
“And we could have Hannah from Hue share how well things are going,” I add. “Her revenue is already bonkers. It’s an incredible return for her investors and a great track record for our fund.”
“Let’s do it.” Kashawn gulps down the last of her sweet tea. “My assistant can help organize it. She’ll call your offices to get the ball rolling.”
“I’m gonna order some of that 1947 chicken for Beth to go,” Nelly says. “She’s home with the baby. That’ll be a treat.”
“How’s she adjusting to not working?” I ask.
“It’s harder than she thought it would be,” Nelly says. “There’s a touch of postpartum. She may go back to work in a year or so, but right now, she just wants to focus completely on Gabby.”