Unlikely Venture (The Venture Series Book 1) by Kristen Luciani Page B

just weren’t compatible, and even though deep down I knew something was off, I still went through the motions. In the end, we both wanted different things out of life and when I realized he wasn’t as committed to our relationship as I was, I walked away.” Okay, not a total fabrication but that’s as far as the story is going right now.
    “He made a huge mistake letting you go.”
    “That’s what you say now, but maybe he was on to something.” Jessica shrugged and let out a deep sigh as James chuckled.
    “Anyway, that’s really when I became a total workaholic.” She took another drink. “I threw everything I had into my job and took a break from the dating scene for a while. If I worked hard, I could get a promotion. No risk, lots of reward. It was just safer.”
    “I know what you mean. But it gets lonely.”
    “Yeah, it does.” She nodded. “How about you? Any relationship devastation to speak of?”
    James smirked. “Isn’t there always? When I was a junior, I started my first business with a guy I’d known for a few years. His family had a lot of government connections. We were building an aerospace system we wanted to pitch for use at NASA. I was always a space buff, so it was like a dream for me to build something that could be used by our astronauts. At the same time, I started dating a girl pretty seriously. She spent a lot of time with us since we worked almost non-stop, and one weekend when I was laid up with a broken ankle, he went skiing with her and her friends and they hooked up. I didn’t find out until about a month later, though.”
    “Oh no . What did you do?”
    “Well, I did something very therapeutic when I caught them together at his apartment.”
    Jessica leaned forward, her eyes wide. “ What ? Did you confront them?”
    “Nope, I destroyed the prototype we created. I know, it was really immature but I couldn’t be around him anymore. We hadn’t officially filed for any patents or anything. So I torched it.”
    “Good for you.” Jessica clapped her hands. “I would have done the exact same thing!”
    “It wasn’t my brightest move, but I let anger get the better of me. They betrayed me and that’s something I couldn’t handle. It’s my thing, I guess.” Sitting up, he pointed to a red kayak in the distance. “Hey! There’s the hot dog kayak! I thought it was an urban legend!”
    Jessica held a hand over her eyes, seeing the red kayak approach the fans in the cove. “How does he keep them hot?”
    James grinned. “I have no idea. Want to try one? I can’t promise it’ll be the best you’ve ever tasted, but it’s still a hot dog, so how can it really be bad ?”
    “I’m in! Dirty water dogs are the best .” Jessica waved her arms. “This is officially the coolest first date ever !”
    James paddled over to the red kayak and paid for two hot dogs, handing one to Jessica. She bit into it and moaned.
    “How is it?” He watched her reaction.
    “Bun’s kind of wet. But it’s still delish , so don’t worry. I can’t remember the last time I had a hot dog! Mmmm, so yummy.”
    James took a huge bite of his hot dog and started paddling back towards the cove. The announcer’s voice came over the radio. “Up at bat next, Rick Fairchild! Will we see a fair ball from him today, folks? Bases loaded…”
    “Yes!” James grabbed his glove. “This is it!”
    “What are you doing?” Jessica watched him with confusion as she popped the last of her hot dog into her mouth. Fans throughout the cove all had the same idea as James. Guys with baseball gloves were balancing on the sides of their kayaks, awaiting the announcer’s call.
    The announcer’s excited voice bellowed from the speakers, “And he swings !” Click! “Look at that fly ball, headed right for McCovey Cove! I hope the fans out there are paying attention to this one!”
    The ball shot out of the stadium like a missile. The crowd roared, watching the eager fans hoping to capture the fly ball. It