Free The Cabin by Carla Neggers Page A

preppy Harvard grad
    with his blond good looks, except he’d quit a local ju-
    nior college after one semester. He’d started an Internet
    company a few years ago and made millions, then went
    broke almost overnight. He’d had a fun idea, but no real
    business plan, no profits—and wildly expensive tastes.
    Now he wanted to start over. With Susanna’s help.
    “Destin…”
    He held up a hand. “No, wait. Hang on. I’m not here
    to pester you about money.” He grinned sheepishly, as
    if he’d known he’d pushed her too far with his various
    comeback schemes. He was charming, energetic and in-
    credibly self-centered, with a sense of entitlement that
    knew no bounds. He had on an expensive camel coat left
    over from his high-on-the-hog days. “I just wanted to
    tell you I followed your advice and wrote up a business
    plan. The whole nine yards.”
    “Good for you, Destin.”

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    Carla Neggers
    He scratched the back of his neck, eyeing her. “I was
    thinking you could take a look at it. As a favor.”
    Susanna shook her head, adamant. “You know I’m
    not getting involved in this project. I’ve told you. This
    isn’t what I do, even if I thought it was a good idea to
    help out someone from Gran’s neighborhood.”
    “One little look?”
    “No. I’m sorry. I can recommend people—”
    “I can’t pay anyone. Come on, Suze, you know the
    score. I need to do a deal, barter a little. I’ve downsized
    as much as I can. Hell, I’m about to have my BMW
    repossessed.”
    How he’d ever pulled together the attention span and
    backing to start a company in the first place was beyond
    Susanna. Luck, guts, flare, charisma, just enough skill.
    If he’d come to her sooner, she might have been able to
    help him save some of his personal wealth when the dot-
    com craze came crashing back to earth, but the same re-
    lentless optimism that had drawn Destin Wright into
    starting a risky business made him stick with it too long.
    He just hadn’t seen the bottom coming. When he hit, he
    hit hard.
    “I just need some angel money,” he said, unable to
    resist.
    “If you have a good idea, you’ll get it. But not from me.”
    “A hundred grand would get me off the ground—”
    “Not a dime, Destin.” She’d learned from hard expe-
    rience that she had to be very clear and very straight
    with him. Subtle didn’t work with Destin. “I’m not
    changing my mind.”
    “You could be a founding partner. Suze, you’re

    The Cabin
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    bored, you know you are. This’d be exciting, a new
    company, your business experience and smarts hooked
    up with my ideas and energy.” He paused, obviously
    waiting to see if his words were having any impact on
    her. When they didn’t, he sighed. “Okay, okay. You’ve
    got a full well, and you don’t want me dipping in my
    rusting, leaking bucket. I understand.” He was remark-
    ably good-humored for a man who’d been told no for
    at least the fourth time. He grinned suddenly. “I’ll just
    have to work harder to convince you. If you could take
    two seconds and peek at my business plan—”
    “I can offer you cookies and a cup of bad coffee,” Su-
    sanna said. “That’s it.”
    He dropped a shiny black folder on her desk. “If you
    get a chance,” he said, leaving it at that. He started for
    the door. “I’ll see you around the neighborhood. You
    know, people are starting to talk about how much money
    you have. I heard one guy say he thought it was at least
    five million.”
    “People like to talk.”
    “If you’re worth five million, you wouldn’t miss a
    hundred grand, even if you threw it down the toilet,
    and I’d—”
    “Destin.” She shook her head, unable to suppress a
    laugh. “Look, I’ll talk to some people. If this idea
    doesn’t work out, another one will. You’ll be okay.”
    But he barely heard her. He hadn’t come for a pep
    talk from her. He wanted free advice and money. He
    headed out, and Susanna sank back against her chair,
    wrung out.