Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Shit.
“Got a minute?” he asks me cordially.
“Sure,” I say as I look left then right across my desk, looking for something to help me out here.
Sebastian enters and sits in the only guest chair, tucked into the corner of my little office. He leaves the door wide open, and I bet that was intentional on his part. I think he took what Bishop said to him very seriously.
I spy a half-empty bottle of water behind my computer screen and nab it. “I’m really sorry,” I explain to Sebastian as I open the top and pour some on my fingers while I hold them over my garbage can. “You caught me off guard just as I was getting ready to eat that cinnamon roll.”
“No worries,” he says, and casually crosses one leg over the other. Today he’s wearing a beautifully tailored navy blue suit, white shirt, and a butter-yellow tie. His fashion sense is impeccable, but he also has a background in that field as well as merchandising.
When I get my fingers cleaned off and dried, I turn in my chair to face him from across my desk. “So what’s up?”
“I’d like to offer you a full-time job over in merchandising,” he says bluntly, and I’m so shocked I can only blink at him. “I’d put you over in the manufacturing side of it and it would involve some travel. You’d report directly to Charity Priest. It’s a slightly higher paying job and obviously, the upward mobility within the franchise is much greater than in team services.”
I just stare at him.
Blinking.
Repetitively.
Sebastian fidgets with his tie and laughs nervously. “Did you hear me, Brooke?”
I shake my head hard to dislodge the disbelief clouding it, because I’d been so sure that he was going to hire Nanette. I mean, I’m not sure I could compete with blow jobs, plus I had that whole “assault by my boyfriend” thing to my detriment.
“Um…Sebastian…” I say, then stand up from my desk. I walk to my office door and close it. “We need to have a talk first.”
Sebastian bolts upright in his chair, looking wildly at the door. “Does it have to be done with closed doors?”
“Yes,” I assure him, because I don’t want anyone hearing this. “But I’ll be brief.”
He never relaxes, but sits ramrod straight in his chair as I sit behind my desk. “I’m very interested in this job, but I need to know if things are cool between us. I get you’ve got me reporting directly to someone else, but you’re still ultimately my boss.”
“Listen, Brooke,” he says, tugging at the knot on his tie again. “I am really sorry about that in the conference room. I’m going to be honest…I was flirting with you and was trying to gauge your interest. It was the wrong way to go about it, and I had no idea you were dating anyone, much less Bishop Scott. It was wrong and it made you uncomfortable and there’s no excuse. So yes, you’ll be reporting directly to Charity, not me. I can assure you that you will get nothing from me but sincere respect and professionalism. Besides, I like my arms unbroken.”
This last part has me smiling, and I cannot hear a hint of deception in his voice. He kept eye contact with me the entire time, and I think it might say something about his seriousness that he’s offering a job to a woman he made a very unprofessional move on. He must truly believe that I could do a lot of good for this organization.
“When would you want me to start?” I ask him, already trying to calm my excitement. I have to call Bishop and tell him. Then I’ll run down to my dad’s office. He’ll be thrilled, of course.
“Right now,” he says as he stands up from his chair. “We’ll get your office moved today. I’ve already talked to Bill and he’s prepared to go to New York in your place if you accept.”
Bill Roland is the director of team services and if I leave, would be the only employee left in that group. It’s a job he can handle very easily without me, but I’m sad that I won’t be going to New York with Bishop. That’s going to be the part that absolutely sucks about this deal.
But I need this to happen. If I want to make Phoenix my home, and I want to have a career that I could love, I need to take this offer. I stand up and offer my hand. “I accept.”
Sebastian gives me a warm smile as he gives me the briefest of shakes. “Excellent. I’ll get the paperwork started. Charity will want to see you, but I’m guessing you might want to tell a few people the good news first.”
“You read my mind,” I say with a grin, snatching my phone off my desk. I’ll call Bishop first, then go see my dad.