“Open it.”
I did.
The title read:
HALSTON COMMUNITY VENTURES — FORMATION PLAN
I looked up.
“What is this?”
“A new company.”
“For what?”
“Small businesses.”
She leaned back.
“Every year, thousands of businesses fail because nobody believes they are large enough to matter. Family restaurants. Local manufacturers. Rural clinics. Repair shops. Small technology firms.”
She tapped the folder.
“I want to build an investment platform for companies Wall Street ignores.”
“That sounds admirable.”
“You’re going to run it.”
I froze.
“No.”
Eleanor smiled.
“Yes.”
“I have no investment experience.”
“You’ll have a chief investment officer.”
“I don’t know private equity.”
“You know people.”
“That keeps being your answer.”
“Because it keeps being true.”
She slid another paper toward me.
Salary.
Equity.
Board authority.
A hiring budget.
I stared at the final number.
“This can’t be right.”
“It is.”
“This is more money than I ever imagined making.”
