Page 6 of Carnal Risk

“Yeah, me and a million other people.”

“Confidential time, got it?” Lars gave her a hard stare, his expression serious.

“Of course.” Selby moved to close the door, returned and sat on the edge of her desk.

“You’ve done special projects for me over the years but I haven’t disclosed everything. You need to know that there are parts of DLar-Tech that are intimately tied to Emerson Industries.”

“What are you saying? Your business is in trouble?”

“No, not at all. What I’m saying is that what affects Garrett affects me. Evan’s death is hitting all of us hard but he was Garrett’s right hand man. It’s not like he can fill the position right away. He needs the kind of expertise you offer.”

“I don’t know,” she hedged. Expertise? She pretty much gave him an eyeful of it last night. She didn’t want to say yes to the assignment, but already felt herself caving to his request.

“Please. I’ll owe you. If you do this for me, I’ll give you an extra bonus.”

“Does he know that you want me to do this? Did you already tell him you were sending a consultant? Me?” Selby’s resolve cracked, the water pushing through the tiny hole that held back the dam. Looking at the mess on her desk, she shook her head. This was a bad idea. A really bad idea.

“Now that you bring it up…um, yes he does.”

“This isn’t going to work.” Her eyes flashed to his.

“Trust me, he’ll be grateful for the help. I’ve already been working on getting the outsourcing contract in place, but I need you to sell it to his board. It’s short term. Do the deal, work on finding recruits for the CTO position. This is easy for you. A no brainer.”

“Maybe.” She sighed.

“Consider the business. Wrapping up the contract is no problem. The hardest part will be recruiting Evan’s replacement. That resource needs to be top notch. An expert in some facet of the extreme sports business. One who walks the walk. But they’ll also need to know IT.”

“Sounds routine.” Selby took a deep breath, forcing the muscles in her chest to relax.

“You need to know something.” Lars averted his gaze to the pencil he twirled in his fingers. “Garrett can be, how should I put this? He’s very concerned about the way our friend died.”

“Didn’t you say it was an accident?”

“I don’t want to get too much into it, but Garrett isn’t fully on board with replacing Evan.”

“What are you saying?”

“He’s a bit reluctant.”

“He doesn’t want me there, does he?”

“He’s expecting you tomorrow.”

“If anyone else was asking me to do this, you know I’d just say no.” In the past, she’d faced the same kind of situation but she’d made the client pay extra for time spent on the job. “Am I working for him or you?”

“You’ll work for me. I’m just loaning you out.”

“I’m not doing it without a contract. Time on the job will be predetermined. Two weeks. A month. You call it. Every extra day spent working for him attracts a bonus fee. I also want a nondisclosure out clause.”

“If he fucks this up, you want to leave free and clear?”

“With no repercussions or lawsuits. There’s got to be a gag clause should we decide to part ways. He keeps quiet about me and I do the same for him. I’m not going to let him screw up my reputation because he’s having some kind of a CEO tantrum if we can’t agree on a replacement. I’ll take on the special projects while I’m recruiting candidates. Also, I want your name on the contract. If he wanted me to help him, it would be his ass sitting in that chair, not yours. So because it’s yours, you both have to agree. That’s the deal. Terms aren’t negotiable.”

Lars’ lips tightened in a fine line. He set the pencil onto her desk and blew out a breath.

“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.

“Okay.” A familiar sense of accomplishment washed over her despite the fact that she’d given in to his request. The agreement would give her the control she needed in order to be able to face Garrett. “And Lars?”