Page 17 of Nefarious
“Oh, yes. A big nerd.”
“So what did you do?”
“I got her phone number and sent a text to her during a class. It was funny watching her glance around trying to guess where it came from. When she figured it out, she marched right up to me after class.”
This was canon. The mythological genesis of Dane’s friendship with Val was based in this socially inept attempt to ask her out. It was half right. She loved to tell tales of how woefully pathetic he’d been when he’d sought her out, how she’d had to remake his entire image once they’d founded the company. And he did start dressing sharper to appeal to investors, which in turn made him far more popular with the ladies. But he’d never lacked the confidence or ability to talk to girls before he met Val. He simply hadn’t been interested in any specific women enough to drag his attention away from the video games he was trying to create. Okay, so the giant nerd part was one hundred percent accurate.
So was the part where he pursued Val to no avail which is why he’d never bothered to correct her version of events. The end result was the same: He’d fallen under her spell. But for months, no years, that frustrating girl had never given him any reason to hope for anything more than a partnership, barely even a true friendship.
Well, not never. Once. Close enough.
Anthony’s jaw hung open. “Well? What did you say? What did she say?”
“Why? You want to crib my best material? I’m afraid you need to get your own.”
“Would you believe I already tried? I sent her an email, but she shot me down dead. She said it was against policy to flirt over corporate resources.” He sucked in his breath, terror writ large in his eyes. “Oh, God. Not that I—”
Dane raised a hand. “Hey, I’m not the corporate policies police. Besides, who doesn’t abuse email?”
Anthony exhaled, but the sheepish wrinkle in his brow never quite relaxed. He twisted his mouth. “I thought we had a connection, when we were paired up. I guess it was just me.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something. Maybe she’d be willing to talk over chat.”
“The training machines don’t have an app installed.”
“What’s to stop you from downloading one?”
Anthony furrowed his brow. “But wouldn’t that violate Sarbanes-Oxley?”
How had Val stumbled on the two most ethical kids?
“Use your phone.” Dane stood up and pushed his chair back in. “Nobody expects interns to follow all the policies to the letter.”
He strode out of the room, smiling. Val owed him. Big.
Val,
I’m attaching this interview I came across from years ago. I have to confess I’ve always been curious about those early days when you first met. You always claimed you had no interest in Dane. Wonder when that changed.
Best,
Noelle Constance | CEO Fleetwood Capital LLC
Finance Weekly:It’s been said you met Dane in a Finance class. Do you mind sharing the true story behind your amazing partnership?
Val Montgomery: Not at all. It was our junior year in college when I first laid eyes on Dane Russ, although it’s true that he’d seen me first. What people don’t know is that I was taking a class Dane was helping teach for Independent Studies, and it had stumped me—Introduction to Programming. Every day, growing more and more frustrated at the failure of my code to compile, I was about to punch the monitor. One day, in the middle of Finance, a message popped up.I’ll help you with programming if you’ll go out for coffee with me.
FW: From Dane?
VM: I wasn’t exactly sure at first. I looked around the class, eliminating potential sources of this awful come on. The obvious answer hit me as soon as I noticed the tragic nerd casting furtive glances my way.
FW: This is Dane Russ you’re talking about? A tragic nerd?
VM: Nerd would be an understatement. He wore a T-shirt that must have been some kind of obscure inside gamer humor. Or possibly some obscure indie band. He’d clearly ignored any advice on how to style his hair. I swear, if he wore glasses, they would’ve been taped on the corners and sliding down his nose. But he didn’t wear glasses, and his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. I’ll admit, even then he had potential. With his dark hair, he had a vague Clark Kent thing going on.
FW: How did you respond?
VM: I walked directly up to him and asked him something like, “Is this how you get dates? Bribery?” And then he introduced himself and offered to help me with my homework.
