The last of the chairs scraped against the floor as the meeting wound down. Tom Drexel shook Elliot Marrs' hand with the kind of polite dismissal that signaled the deal wasn't happening.
Elliot's tight smile told Lex that he knew it too.
Natalie lingered by the window, arms crossed, watching the city lights flicker to life as dusk settled over Manhattan. Lex stayed seated, casually flipping through his notes—none of which had anything to do with Elliot's pitch.
"You really couldn't help yourself, huh?" Natalie finally said, casting him a sidelong glance.
Lex smirked, leaning back in his chair. "I wasn't going to sit there and let him embarrass himself. The guy's in over his head."
Natalie let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "And you think scaling down will magically fix his business?"
Lex set his pen down, tapping his fingers lightly against the table.
"No," Lex replied. "But it'll buy him enough time to pivot. And in the meantime, it buys me a seat."
Natalie arched a brow, tilting her head slightly. "You've got an angle for everything, don't you?"
Lex met her gaze with a faint smirk. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
She studied him for a long moment, the faintest flicker of amusement tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"Alright, Latham," Natalie said, pushing off the window and walking toward her seat. "You want a seat at the table? I'll throw you something."
Lex raised an eyebrow as she pulled her phone out, scrolling for a moment before sliding it across the table toward him.
Lex glanced down at the screen. Two startup profiles hovered in front of him.
One was a dating app called "Rizz"—slick branding, minimal downloads, but decent engagement in niche markets. The other was a mobile game company, "Red Lantern Games," with one title in beta and barely enough funding to survive another quarter.
Lex picked up the phone, scanning the brief descriptions. "You've been sitting on these?"
Natalie shrugged, taking her seat across from him. "They're too small for my dad's fund. Rizz pitched six months ago—good tech, but no buzz. As for Red Lantern? They've got a decent concept, but no cash to scale."
Lex's eyes lingered on Flare's profile. The dating app market was flooded, but timing was everything. Social media was on the cusp of evolving—people just didn't know it yet.
"These are exactly what I'm looking for," Lex said, handing the phone back.
Natalie smirked, tucking her phone into her blazer pocket. "I thought you'd like them. I'll send you the founders' emails. If you can get in, good for you."
Lex's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why pass them off to me?"
Natalie leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.
"Because if they crash, I don't want it tied to my dad. But if they hit?" Her smirk widened. "I'll take credit for putting you in the room."
Lex laughed under his breath. "Fair enough."
She stood, grabbing her coat from the back of the chair. As they walked toward the elevator, Natalie glanced at him casually.
"Still thinking about that movie role?" she asked.
Lex chuckled softly. "Consider it yours. You just bought yourself more than one favor."
The elevator doors slid open, and as they stepped inside, Lex could already feel the pieces starting to shift.
**Flare and Red Lantern weren't gold mines—**not yet. But they were the kind of long shots that could turn into something bigger.
Barnie wouldn't see them coming.
By the time he did, Lex planned to own every piece worth having.