Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
My assistant turned sharply on his heel and left my office, but there was a sinking feeling in my stomach that things were still off between us.
My eyes burned, and my neck was stiff. After the meetings, there was endless report reading and making notes for suggestions. I was ready for it to be done. To head home—
No! Dinner. I had dinner plans with Byron tonight. Date number four.
How could I have forgotten? It should have been the thing to keep me buzzing all day, but it had slipped my mind. Byron hadn’t been there to remind me about it, though. In fact, I’d barely seen him all day.
Kaylan and I shuffled to the top floor after the morning meetings to find that Byron had already left for his lunch-break errand. I had only a brief message waiting to remind me to eat, along with his proposal. When I returned from my lunch, he was back at his desk, but on the phone with someone and I couldn’t interrupt him. That seemed to go on for the rest of the day, with me constantly missing him.
But the day was finished, and we could catch up during a quiet dinner.
As I was getting the chance to shut down my computer for the night, there was a knock on my door. Byron stepped in, looking as tired as I felt with a new stack of contracts for me to review.
“Legal department dropped these off. I’ve marked the places where the changes were made per your instructions,” Byron announced as he brought over the papers and sat them on the edge of my desk.
“Thank you.” The smile that had been missing from my lips returned as I watched him. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day.”
“It’s been a busy day, sir.”
“Kaylan did fantastic this morning. You’ve done a great job training him.”
The little wrinkle between his brows smoothed. “I’m pleased to hear that you’re happy with his performance, but I can’t take credit. Kaylan is very intelligent and eager to learn everything he can about Courtland Enterprises.”
“We’re lucky to have him. Are you done for the day? Ready for dinner?”
Byron stared at me, and I got the impression that he’d forgotten we had a dinner date planned. His eyelids widened a heartbeat later, and I swore I could almost hear the memory clicking in his brain.
“Um…I have a few things left I need to see to before I can leave for the evening. Did…did you have a chance to review my proposal this afternoon?”
I sat back in my chair and spun it toward my monitor, as I turned over the best way to give him my thoughts. Straightforward had to be the best way. This was work, and I’d always been honest with Byron.
“I don’t think it’s the best option,” I stated, looking him dead in the eye. A muscle in Byron’s jaw ticked, and the silence stretched between us for several seconds until Byron nodded once.
“Could you please elaborate on where my proposal falls short?” he asked, and there was no missing the tightness in his voice.
“It’s not the direction that we want to go. While I think your proposal has some merits, I don’t believe that it’s going to provide the results we need in order to salvage the company without us needing to institute a hiring freeze and layoffs.” I held out my open hands to Byron, keeping my tone firm but gentle. “We need to hit a home run. Base hits won’t cut it.”
“But base hits are easier to get than a home run. If you put together enough base hits, you can still score. That’s how the game is won. With your proposal, it’s an all-or-nothing endeavor that possesses much higher risks for everyone. My way offers lower risks.”
“Your proposal also comes with lower reward potential,” I replied.
“It doesn’t have to. If we mobilize quickly to capitalize on an obvious winner, the rewards stand to be as great as with your home run.”
“No. I appreciate your proposal, but I don’t believe it will work.”
Something flashed in Byron’s eyes, like the world was crashing down and it was all my fault. I didn’t know what to do. As his boyfriend, I wanted to fix everything, but as his boss, I couldn’t waver on this. Right?
“Excuse me, sir,” he said in a rough voice. “Thank you for your time.”
“Byron…”
“If you don’t mind, I need to cancel our plans this evening. I’m not feeling too well. I’ll be leaving for the night.”
With my heart in my throat, I jumped out of my seat and came around my desk, darting in front of him to block his path to the door. Pinching the marble egg between two fingers, I held it in front of his face. “Please, talk to me. You’ve been off all day. I just want to understand so I can help.”