“It’s a negotiation. You’re supposed to counter.” She tilted her head and grinned.
“I damn well know how to negotiate,” I growled under my breath and wrote down another figure.
We kept it up—passing the paper—writing numbers—until we finally arrived at one, we could agree on. I should have just written the first number on her employment contract when she accepted it without question. It was highway robbery, but it would have been a whole lot cheaper than what I ended up agreeing to. Once I reminded her that she needed to negotiate, she got a little fierce. I was used to people making much bigger jumps, but when she got close to the real number she had in mind, she didn’t budge much.
Hopefully she remembers to negotiate when she’s handling distribution deals without being prompted…
Melanie’s tenacity got her about twenty percent more than most of the people I hired straight out of college. Her resume was impressive, so I didn’t mind paying it. The part I liked most was the fact that she had been working every single day of her life since she turned fifteen. That showed drive and determination. It was hard to find dependable people that would come to work every day—especially in Carson Cove where there were a lot of rich kids that had never put in a full day of work before they walked across the stage and got their degree. They would have written down a number higher than her first one and felt like they deserved it.
“Okay, sign right here.” I pushed the employment contract across the desk.
“Here?” She pointed at the bottom—and our hands grazed.
“Yeah…” I pulled mine away, but not before our eyes met for a moment.
Fuck, that felt like a surge of electricity—or a lightning bolt.
“I need to read it first.” She leaned forward.
“You can.” I shrugged. “It basically says you’re my slave for the rest of your life, and if you do anything wrong, it can result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”
“Uh…” She raised an eyebrow.
“I’m kidding. It’s a one-year contract—with an option to continue it if both sides agree.” I leaned back and laughed. “Of course, it does say I can fire you if you screw up, but that goes without saying.”
“That’s fair.” She finished reading the contract and then signed it at the bottom. “I’ll try not to screw up.”
“Your job kind of depends on it now.” I winked and signed the contract underneath her name. “Okay, we’re all done. There will be a lot more paperwork for you to sign in HR, but you can do that on your first day.”
“And the—other thing?” She raised an eyebrow. “The wedding?”
“I’ll text you.” I nodded. “We’ll figure those details out another time.”
That was the end of our business discussion, and I was pressed against another meeting, so I had to wrap things up. I could have sat there and talked with her all day if I didn’t have other issues to attend to. I walked Melanie to the elevator and tried to make small talk while we waited for it to arrive. It really just became muttering about nothing. She still seemed a little nervous, even though she was employed, and the hard part was over. I was struggling not to let my eyes linger too long—I needed to get her out of my head because there was no way that a relationship
would ever happen if she was my employee.
Easier said than done…
“She seems nice.” Gina waited until the elevator closed to offer her opinion about our newest employee.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
“I just got a message from the lobby—Mr. Benson is on his way up for your next meeting.” Gina leaned towards her screen. “Then you’re done for the day.”
“Perfect.” I nodded. “Just send him in when he gets here.”
I hated to call Bryant and ask him to come to Alcott Inc., but there was a situation that needed his attention. I truly didn’t know how to deal with it on my own, or what the fuck I should do—considering the origin. Since he was the last person I had to see before I left the office, I went ahead and poured myself a glass of whiskey. A few minutes later, I heard Gina announcing his arrival by loudly saying hello.
“Hey…” Bryant pushed my door open. “Gina said I could come in.”
“Yeah, please do.” I motioned to him. “Would you like a drink?”
“Nah, I’m good.” He held up his hand as he sat down. “What’s going on? Why did you need to meet?”
“Well…” I sighed. “I have a situation.”
“Is there a problem with the company?” He raised an eyebrow.