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They hadn’t seen each other for about a year, but Gary hadn’t changed much. He’d grown a beard that had come in salt and pepper, and he might have lost a few pounds, but he was still the same guy. It was strange in a way to see Gary in such casual clothes like a pair of jeans. They’d always worn button down shirts with ties in the office.
“I decided that I wasn’t going to wait for you to call me back,” Gary declared with a wide grin. “I was going to come to you. That way I could talk to you face to face about this opportunity. It will be harder for you to say no to me in person than on the phone. And can I say that this place is awesome? It’s exactly how you described it. I think that when I retire someday I’m going to buy a bar and just hang out every day.”
“I think my brother does more than that.”
“I’ll hire someone to take care of the details,” Gary laughed. “Now tell me that you’re ready to leave this little hamlet and get back to the city. We need you there.”
Zack doubted that. If he didn’t take this job, there’d be someone else. Maybe they wouldn’t have the same amount of experience, but there was always some up and coming young one to take his place. They didn’t care how many hours they worked or if they slept more than three hours a night. They wanted the money, the perks, and the prestige. And yes, the supermodels, too.
“A lot has been going on here,” Zack replied. “I haven’t been able to give your offer much thought.”
“That’s good, because you really didn’t get an offer. I just gave you some vague promises. I’ve brought an actual contract for you to look over. I know you like everything in writing, and I don’t blame you.” Gary reached onto the seat next to him and picked up a small stack of papers. “Go ahead and read it over. You won’t find another offer like this. I’ve made sure that it’s better than anything you could get anywhere else. We want you, and we’ll do what it takes to get you. If there’s something is not in there, you tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”
Gary probably hadn’t been outside of New York City in years except to visit his family in Nebraska a few times. The fact that he’d come here to recruit Zack was almost too strange to believe. And yet, here he was, having a beer and an appetizer.
Curious, Zack perused the papers, each page more intriguing than the last. True to his word, Gary had thought of pretty much everything.
I’d be a fool to turn this down.
This was what Zack knew. He was good at it. He excelled. He wasn’t sure he loved it, but lots of people didn’t love their jobs. They still went to them every day because that’s what people do.
“Is there anything there that doesn’t look right?”
“I haven’t read it all through, but you’ve certainly been thorough.”
Gary laughed, popping a cheese stick into his mouth.
“Damn, these are good. Anyway, I tried to make sure all the bases were covered. I came here to make our offer in person. I’ll just ask straight out…what do you think? If you need to spend a bit more time here with your family, that’s fine. We can set up a date for you to start next month, maybe.”
Zack didn’t even have an apartment in the city anymore. His belongings were in storage.
“This isn’t the reaction I expected,” Gary said when Zack didn’t reply right away. “Is there an obstacle to making this happen?”
“I’ll be honest with you since you’ve come so far,” Zack finally replied. “When I left the firm and the city, I didn’t intend to return.”
Gary’s brows shot up, clearly surprised by that revelation.
“Really? I didn’t expect to hear you say that. I just assumed you wanted a little sabbatical. Some time to goof off before getting back in the saddle. You’re too good to leave this all behind, man. Wall Street is in your blood.”
“I don’t think I’d go that far.”
“I would. You’re damn good at your job, and that’s hard to find,” Gary said. “If you didn’t intend to come back, what did you plan to do? Or should I say, what do you plan to do? And how can I convince you not to do it and come work for us?”
Zack didn’t know what words were needed. He simply wasn’t ready to make the call about the rest of his life. Not yet. He had other issues to worry about.
“You’ll never get a better offer,” Gary said.
“I know, and I’m not saying no. I just need to look the contract over. Check out the details. Is there a deadline?”
He wasn’t saying yes, but he wasn’t turning it down either. He just didn’t want to be pushed into it.
“No, but we’d hoped that you’d start in a month or two. Like I said, I get it if you want to take some time off. We’ll wait if we have to. We just need a commitment.”
“Seriously, I promise to let you know.”
Just as soon as Zack knew what he wanted to do, he’d let Gary know. Hell, he’d let the world know. He’d never intended to go back to Wall Street, but he’d never intended to stay in Winslow Heights either. Then he’d met Lucy again, and all of the other issues he’d been grappling with had reared their ugly heads. Deep inside, he was aware that he couldn’t stand still. He had to make a move - somewhere.
Just where did he even belong?
