Matthew Huntington met little Summer Maxwell in his seventh year while vacationing in the south of France with his family. Matt's family lived in a beautiful villa on the hill while Summer's rented a luxury apartment on the beachfront. They had come upon each other one sunny Saturday morning when they discovered that their respective yachts were docked next to each other on the marina. Mrs Huntington had taken an instant liking to the Maxwells when she realised that they were American and wealthy and had immediately invited them over for dinner the following evening. Matt was tiring of his little French friends and was glad to have someone to speak English to; he was thus very disappointed to find that the little girl with the puffy hair wanted nothing to do with him. Summer was very shy and reserved and found Matt to be too loud, too obnoxious, too arrogant and too bossy- all traits she still didn't appreciate in him!
At seven Summer already knew what she liked (dolls, planes and chocolate cake) and what she didn't like (bugs, dirt and Matt). She was a pretty serious little girl who enjoyed reading her books and listening to the grown ups talk. She found that adults were infinitely more interesting than kids and she couldn't wait to become an adult herself. Matt was just another silly child to her and she found his desire to always want to play annoying and child-like. Summer had always been an old soul and she still found Matt's child like enthusiasm to be very disconcerting.
Back in the States the two families kept contact and a genuine friendship was formed between the adults. Mrs Huntington and Mrs Maxwell would often visit each other on the opposite coasts and plan vacations for the families to take together. Summer spent the next four years dreading the summer vacation because she knew it meant at least three weeks of Matt's obnoxiousness and as the years went on she found herself liking him less and less. For his part, Matt could never understand why it bothered him so much that she didn't like him and found himself compelled to do things to get her attention through pranks and teasing. Summer grew tired of this pretty early and was thrilled when she learned of an art camp in upstate New York that ran at exactly the same time as the yearly Maxwell/Huntington French getaway.
Summer wished she had known back then that she would become an unwitting pawn in Matt's twisted game. Maybe if she had been a little friendlier to him while they were growing up... Summer was a busy girl; she worked hard at school at all her AP classes, interned for MaxAD and modelled on the side for her extra money. Summer, unlike most Upper East Side princesses, had a very strong work ethic and sense of family loyalty as a result of being raised the way she was. Summer ended her modelling in her final year of study at Columbia. She had decided long ago that she would not be a career model and went on to do her Master's degree at Stanford before settling into the role of advertising executive in the family business in New York. Summer worked hard and smart and was soon made junior VP.
Summer had watched her father turn what was a relatively small family business inherited from his father into one of the leading advertising agencies in the city and eventually the country. MaxAD targeted a very niche clientele and their ad campaigns were always on the cutting edge and extremely creative. Summer loved being part of something that she knew had been in her family for so long and was fully devoted to ensuring that her children would also have an opportunity to grow and work there.
This was why she had done everything she knew how to do when she discovered that the company was losing money. The current economic climate and some bad managerial decisions had put the agency in a perilous position. Summer was worried that people would lose their jobs and that the company would have to shut its doors. She worried about it would affect her father when he found out that the people he entrusted his company to upon his retirement got it so wrong. Summer went through all the records and tried to get further financing from the banks and was disappointed but not surprised when that did not pan out. Summer then decided to put in some of her own money and ended paying the salaries of some of their top talent out her pocket for three months. She felt emotionally depleted and was afraid that it would be a while before things began to turn around.
It was while she was in this general funk that she ran into Matt in a restaurant one night on her way to dinner. He looked handsome and a little arrogant as usual but he was happy to see her. Matt walked over to her table and sat himself down across from her. They just stared at each other for a while before Matt spoke.
"Dinner alone Summer? How very like you."
"Matthew, never a pleasure to see you. How are your parents?" She asked in as light a voice as she could manage given her mood.
" Always so cruel Sum- they're well." He replied in a cool voice.
" You know me," she responded, "now go away!"
Matt laughed a little at her blunt dismissal and looked at Summer again. She was beautiful with her hair straightened and pulled of her face and the elegant white wrap dress she wore but there was something in her eyes that told him things were not going well for her. He lowered his voice and said softly, "Is everything alright Summer?"
Summer was caught off-guard by his question and looked back up at him with startled eyes before catching herself and coolly replying that everything was in fact fine.
"You look incredibly sad Summer; you know can always talk to me right?"
"How do you expect me to know that Matt? We are not friends." She responded.
"That's only because you've never wanted my friendship Sum, but I'm here for you."
Summer was surprised by the way he said that so gently and by what looked like genuine concern in his eyes. She smiled at him softly and Matt once again realised that she would always be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, despite her bad attitude.
"Come by my office tomorrow night if you really want to help, please go now so I can finish my dinner." Summer said and smiled at him again. Matt smiled back at her and got up to leave.
They met up the next night in her office and Summer told him was what going on with the finances and asked him outright if he could help her find new financiers. It was at this point that Matt came up with the plan; he saw it as a way for each one to finally get what they wanted. He knew that Summer would resist at first but he was certain that he would be able to talk her into it.
"I'll help you Summer," he said out loud as they faced each other from opposite sides of her large mahogany desk.
Summer smiled at him at he suddenly realised that this could be the first genuine smile she had ever directed at him. He felt a little pang of guilt at what he was about to say next but brushed it aside.
" The market is difficult right now, to say the least, and if you weren't able to secure finance from the banks or even the government then that means that they all think MAXad isn't worth saving. You're obviously over indebted and aren't bringing in enough new clients to increase your income to a level where you become profitable again. These expenses are completely out of control!" He said in a somewhat bored voice as he paged through the summarised financial report she had prepared for him.
Summer grit her teeth with annoyance and replied, "I know Matt, that's why I'm talking to you."
"We invest in companies like yours all the time Summer. You're on the brink but with the right guidance and some adjustments to your business model we can get you back on track in a couple of years." He said with a small, confident smile.
"That's good, what's the procedure?" Summer asked.
"I can't show you favouritism Sum; you'll have to go through the regular selection process." He told her cautiously.
"I wouldn't expect anything more, you know that Matt." She bit out coldly.
"Great, I'll send you an e-mail tomorrow with all the relevant requirements from your end and we'll speak in the evening," he said as he gathered his briefcase and got up to leave. He didn't bother to say goodbye and neither did Summer.
Summer drove back to her apartment that night feeling a little relieved; it looked like things were going to be ok after all. Matt was a jackass but he was also an astute businessman and something of a finance wunderkind, she knew that if he said these problems had a solution then it must be true. She walked to small bar between her kitchen and dining room and poured herself a short glass of eighteen year old whisky and sipped it slowly as she walked across to her bedroom to get some much needed sleep.
