Chapter 1
Vee
“Please remember your meeting with Dr. Kristoff Torrez is today at 4pm. After that, you have the family dinner at 8pm at your brother’s loft downtown”. Eliza said without looking up from her tablet.
“Can you cancel the dinner? I really do not want to waste my Friday being hassled by my family to find a suitable husband. Is it not the 1600’s anymore where a woman had to be married with children to be taken seriously”.
“You are going to the dinner Vee. You do not have any plans for tonight, might as well go see your family. At least your brother, you know he is looking forward to seeing you”.
“I would love to see him as well but without our parents. My father will sit across from me to better be able to harass me about why I should have chosen the family business instead of starting my own. My mother will sit next to him hammered talking asking every ten seconds why I am not married at twenty-eight years old, and my sister will well be my sister, hiding from the fact that she flunked out of med school”.
“OH MY GOD! Seriously? How did you find out? “
“Uuggrrr..! I used to date the Dean. He called me to give me a heads up. I tried to get in touch with her, but she blocked my number. She has always been Dad’s favorite. My father is going to have an aneurysm when he finds out”
I walked over to the other side of my office. I looked out the big glass window of my office. The view from here was stunning. My window overlooked Central Park, from my office I could see the pedestrians, the couples and families who were having a picnic at the park and the Belvedere Castle. The castle was one of my absolute favorites to see when I was growing up. My brother and I used to go there after school to just hang out. I must admit that I miss my brother. Unlike me, he went in the family business. He went to medical school and became one of the highest paid Neurosurgeon in New York city. Growing up, being a neurosurgeon is all he ever spoke about, and I loved that about him. He knew from the very beginning that he wanted to follow dad’s footsteps to become a surgeon and he went after it. Me? I could not do it. I started just like my brother but after my first semester at school, I knew medical school was not what I wanted to do. I went back home for Christmas break and told my parents that I wanted to go into business instead of medical school. I thought all parents were supposed to love you unconditionally and support your dreams and goals. I was wrong.
My parents told me they will not support my foolish dream. I was a McAlester and for five generations now we have been doctors. My father gave me an ultimatum, either I went back to medical school, or they would stop paying for my school. I went back to school the next semester, spoke to my counselor about my options if my parents stopped paying my tuition. Within the next semester I was fully enrolled in NYU Stern School of Business. Turns out because of my grade I was qualified for several different scholarships and grants. The rest was paid with student loans co signed by Bentley, my brother. My last project at school was to build a business from scratch, from the business plan to securing funding for the business.
I submitted a business plan for my business GAP Management, secured funding and opened my doors 5 years ago. We have grown tremendously. We acquired our first deal, an abandoned five story apartment complex, with twenty units. We completely broke it down and built it back up turning the twenty apartments into 10 luxury lofts sold separately. I fought to make a name for myself, and I can say that I have accomplished more than that. Today, GAP is top three of the best management companies in New York.
“You are thinking about the ultimatum again, aren’t you? Every time we talk about your parents you get sad and quiet. Vee, you must forgive them and move on. Because they did not support you, today you are one of the most affluential people in New York City. That should mean something to you. Eliza said”.
“You are right. I feel bad for my sister. She clearly does not want to be a doctor but is too afraid of our parents to do something else”.
“You should help her then. Show her that she can do it on her own without their money”.
I turned around and took a good look at my assistant. Eliza was from a different world then us. She grew up with just enough. She grew up with her parents telling her that money was not everything. That happiness is not attached to money. To people without money, money is not everything. But to people like us McAlester, money was everything. We grew up with nannies and chauffeurs. I was driving a brand new, fresh off the lot Mercedes Benz G- class at 16 years old. Money was security to us; money is still security to us. It takes dedication and strength to leave everything and make a name for yourself.
“No, I will do not such thing. She needs to confront our parents and let them know that medical school is not what she wants. Then I will help her if they choose not to. I will not go behind my parents to help her”.
“Stop feeling bad for her then. You need to leave now if you want to make it to The South at 4pm for your meeting with Mr. Torrez. Traffic at this time in Manhattan is not great. I heard he does not like to way”.
“And where did you hear that from?”
“One of his assistants”.
“One of them? How many assistants does one need?”
“Apparently, he has two of them. A personal assistant and an executive assistant”.
“How many of them want to quit their jobs? I asked as I make my way to my private bathroom”.
I looked at myself in the mirror and decided not to put more makeup on. I was wearing a champagne-colored blouse, a mustard wide leg pants and nude with gold pumps. My 4-C natural hair was already looking like a bird nest, so I decided to make a low bun and fixed my edged. A sister needed to always look her absolute best! I double checked myself before leaving the bathroom. Eliza was standing by the door with my messenger bag. That was her way to tell me I was going to be late and to rush me out of the door. I smiled as I grabbed the bag from her and together, we made our way to the elevator.
“David is waiting downstairs with the car. Remember, Dr. Torrez is only offering twenty percent of his company for 20 million. He will not agree to more than that because he wants to stay in complete control of his company. He started his company ten years ago when he lost his daughter to cancer. Now he spends all his time at the hospital and his lab trying to come up with at least one experimental drug to cure cancer. He is very arrogant and can be a prick sometimes. Thread carefully Vee if you want to invest in T-Rex Pharmaceutical”.
“All of that to say that he is an asshole”.
“The worse of them all. Please do not tell him that in his face”.
“I will be on my best behavior mom! I yelled as the elevator door closed between us.”
I am meeting an asshole! Great! Just what I needed to add to an already bad day!
