“That is the absolute limit of what I can do without triggering a disclosure issue,” Marcus added.

“Thank you, Marcus,” I said.

“Just get it sorted out,” Marcus said, standing up. “We want a clean launch.”

He walked back toward the main table, leaving Derek and me alone in the corner.

The waiter brought over a plate of dessert, placing it between us.

The chocolate looked rich and dark, but neither of us moved to touch it.

“She’s doing this because of the Bishop family dinner next month,” Derek said.

“The Bishops?” I asked.

“Mrs. Bishop’s son just got a partner track at a private equity firm in Boston,” Derek said.

“Mom has been talking about it for weeks,” Derek added.

“She hates that we didn’t take the corporate route,” I said.

“She hates that she couldn’t explain what we did to her friends,” Derek said. “Now that we are in the news, she needs to own it.”

“She wants to tell them she bought us our success,” I said.

“She wants to be the savior of Solar Reach,” Derek said.