He seems surprised, if not a little annoyed. “Most people in the office would jump at this opportunity,” he points out.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Mason, and please forgive my bluntness, but why? Why uproot and move for a year only to come back to the exact same thing? I mean, are you saying the salary and the office will be the same—no perks, nothing?”
He chuckles deeply under his breath. “You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Teller. Reminds me of when I was your age. A real bulldog. Tell me,” he sits up, placing his elbows on the desk, “what is it that you want?”
I have no idea what I want. I haven’t thought this far. But here goes nothing. “Well, sir, for starters, I’ll need a company car for the journey.”
“Of course, that’s standard,” he agrees.
“I’ll need a place to stay once I get there. I mean, expecting me to pay there while I’m still paying rent here wouldn’t work—and I can’t lose my current place if I want to move back to Los Angeles. I spent years on their waiting list and won’t go through that again.”
He smiles and nods.
“And if I’m going to be moving, I’m going to need something to sweeten the pot and make it worth my while. I want a 20 percent raise in my salary.”
He pauses at this for a moment. “Done,” he finally states.
“And when I come back, I want a bigger office, an expense account, and my own parking spot, because if I’m making more money, I’ll be buying a car. And lastly, I want a little more power around here. I’m not asking to become partner or have my name on the building tomorrow, but I want more than what I have now, which is basically nothing more than my name on a door. Right now, I’m just another lawyer here, Mr. Mason, but I’m going to dedicate my life to this firm. I’m not looking for a free meal ticket; I’ll work my fingers to the bone to accomplish my—and your—goals for this firm.”
His eyes dart around the room as he thinks things over. “Next year, Gary Wallace will be retiring. He has an office one floor down from here—four up from your current floor. If things go well in Colorado, you can have his office.”
I can have Mr. Wallace’s office? I’ve only met him a few times, but even I know he’s untouchable here. He actually has a lot of pull when it comes to important business matters. Jeremy will never be able to touch me then.
I smile and stand, holding out my hand to shake. “I accept the position. Thank you, Mr. Mason.”
He smiles and stands, shaking my hand. “Ms. Teller?”
“Yes?”
“Not to rush you into anything, but we’ll need you on the road first thing Monday morning. That only gives you the weekend to get your affairs in order.”
That does put a rush on things, but for the newfound perks, I can do it. “That’s completely understandable, Mr. Mason. I’ll head down to my office and start packing now. Thank you again for this opportunity, sir.” I turn and head for the door. I place my hand on the handle, but turn to him before exiting. “I expect your assistant will write up the terms we’ve agreed to and have the contract in my office by the end of the day?”
He laughs but nods his head as he runs his hand across his jaw. “Of course. I wouldn’t expect anything less when working in an office full of lawyers.”
I laugh nervously to myself as I step out, closing the door behind me. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and the butterflies dancing around wildly in my belly. I pause for a brief moment, letting myself absorb it all as I calm down. His assistant turns to look at me from over her shoulder with a wide smile.
“Told ya,” she says with a wink.
I laugh. “I guess you were right after all.”
“He’s really not as scary as everyone thinks.”
“Thanks again. Have a good day,” I say, stepping toward the elevators as she picks up her phone to make a call.
When I get off on my floor, the whole office is standing and cheering for me. Several people huddle around me, telling me “congratulations” and wishing me the best. All but Jeremy, that is. I look over at his office and find him behind the glass, checking out what’s happening. He frowns at me before closing the blinds.
“Looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer for that date, after all,” Gavin says, coming up to me and pulling me in for a hug.
I smile, excited that everyone is so happy for me. We’ve really gotten close over the last year. “Not at all. Let’s do lunch,” I say, pulling away from his hug.
“Really?” he asks, a little unsure.
I nod, smile still in place. “Of course. I agreed to a date. Let’s do it.”
I spend my morning packing up my office. Before I know it, it’s going on noon and Gavin is knocking on my door.
“Come in,” I say, looking over my shoulder.
“I was thinking we could hit up that new Italian joint. Unlimited breadsticks,” he says around a smile.
I laugh. Just the thought of unlimited breadsticks is funny to me. I haven’t eaten bread or pasta in years. “Sounds perfect,” I agree, planning on sticking with a celebratory glass of wine and a salad.
Gavin leads me down to the parking garage and over to his Mercedes. He opens the passenger side door and motions for me to slide inside. Within minutes, we’re zooming through traffic on the crowded-but-moving California freeway.
“So, Colorado, huh?” he asks as he weaves in and out of traffic.
I laugh. “Yeah, I never pictured myself wearing muddy boots and chewing on a piece of straw, but here we are.”
“How long are you going to be gone?”
“A year,” I reply.
“Wow, a whole year, huh? Now I’m suddenly hoping this date doesn’t go well.” He offers up a teasing smile. “I mean, not that I don’t like you or anything,” he continues.
I laugh out loud. “No, I understand. It would suck to have a great time only to put things on hold for a year. But hey, we might figure out that we can’t stand each other. So, here’s hoping,” I say.
He laughs at my stupid joke and the conversation continues its effortless flow as we pull into the parking lot at the restaurant.
When we’re seated, we start our meal with water and breadsticks. He immediately starts digging in, but I choose to sip my water.
“Not big on garlic?” he asks, raising a brow.
“I try to stay away from carbs. I spend way too many hours in spin class to throw it all away on a piece of bread.”
He shakes his head. “With a figure like yours, I wouldn’t worry about one little piece of bread.” His eyes fall down and slowly make their way back up to my eyes. I feel embarrassment wash over me, staining my cheeks.
He must pick up on it because he says, “What? I can’t be the first person to ever say you have a nice body.”
I shake my head. “No, of course not, but it’s usually not during a lunch date. Maybe a drunken night in a club or something, but not in the middle of the day.”
He sits back and shrugs. “Well, it’s true. You, Celeste Teller, are absolutely gorgeous, and I consider myself lucky to be on this lunch date with you.”
A smile forms on its own at his words. It really does suck that we waited so long for this date. Gavin is definitely the type of guy I usually go for. He’s good-looking, he’s always dressed nicely, he has a good job, and he has social standing—not that that’s all I look for. He’s one of the good ones, and I can’t believe someone hasn’t locked him down already.