Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
She sits down with her pen in hand as she looks down at the notebook. She’s avoiding my gaze, and that should make me happy, but right now, it’s irritating. “Look at me, Bree.”
She raises her eyes with a stubborn look on her face and still says nothing.
I hold a hand up. “First, I want to apologize for yesterday.”
She doesn’t even try to hide the surprise, and for some reason, that bothers me. She has to know I’m not some kind of asshole that gets off on treating women poorly. “No matter how I feel about you or our past, I shouldn’t have treated you like I did. I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t acknowledge my apology, so I continue. “I wanted to ask you if you’d had time to think about my offer yesterday.”
Her forehead creases. “Your offer? You mean the one where you offered to buy out my contract?”
I nod. “Yeah, that’s the one. Have you reconsidered?”
She sits up a little taller. “Logan, let me give you something to think about. In the three months I’ve been here, I’ve brought your company into the black.”
I start to talk, but it’s her turn to raise her hand. “I’ve hired three full-time bodyguards and have them scheduled out for the remainder of the year. And we’ve hired four full-time installers, and at the rate we’re going right now, we need three more to keep up with the work that my advertising has brought us. It was your dream to be profitable in the first year, and I made it happen in the first three months.”
I’m about to dispute her claim when she drops a bombshell. “And this is without the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars your brother Miller invested into the company.”
I rear back, surprised. “What do you mean?”
She lifts her chin. “Zach didn’t feel right taking that money to protect Skyler, so he hasn’t touched a penny of it. It’s in a separate account, earmarked for you.”
She angrily leans toward me. “And so help me, Logan Brody, if you offer me that money to get rid of me, you and I are going to have problems.”
Anger doesn’t even begin to describe it. She’s furious just thinking about it. I hold my hands up, palms out. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
She jerks her head up and down. “Good, but if you need ideas on how to spend that money to expand, I have them.”
I know when I’m had. Zach and I had this dream and wanted to make it a reality, but our training did not equip us for this side of the business. If it was just Zach and me, we would be working out of a half-empty office with no clients and a team that didn’t know what they were doing day to day. There’s no doubt she’s made progress here, and I guess I’d better take advantage of the situation because in nine months, she’s gone. “Fine. I’d like to see the report.”
She nods. “I’ll email it to you when I get to my desk. Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
I open my mouth and then close it. I told myself I wasn’t going to ask, but after seeing the lines around her eyes, I know I’m going to. I gesture to her face. “Why are you having trouble sleeping?”
She pinches her lips together, and I shake my head. “Don’t lie to me. Just tell me. Why are you having trouble sleeping?”
She inhales and slowly blows it out. “Nightmares. I’ve been having nightmares.”
I wasn’t prepared for that answer. “What do you mean, you’re having nightmares?”
She shrugs. “It’s not your problem, Logan. While we’re here, can I go over a few things with you?”
Dumbly, with my mouth hanging open, I nod my head. I want to go back to talking about the nightmares, but obviously, she’s not having it. “Sure.”
She flips through the pages of her notebook. “Sam went on his first call yesterday on his own, and he did great. Are you okay with him getting his own assignments the rest of this week?”
I tilt my head to the side. I’ve been gone three months. I don’t even think I’ve met Sam yet. “What do you think?”
She rears back, blinking at me. She didn’t expect me to ask that. After yesterday, I can’t say I blame her. “Well, uh, I think he’s ready. And if he needs anything, he can call Alex or me.”
I nod. “Okay, sounds good.”
She flips through more pages and stares down at some notes as she speaks to me. “There is a fundraiser next Friday night. We sponsored three tables. Should I put you down for one ticket? Or are you bringing a date?”
“Uh, put me down for two tickets.” I’ve known about this fundraiser for a few weeks, and my brother Penn has been worried about me, so he set me up for a date with one of the nurses at his hospital.