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“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Just before she walks out the door, I call to her. Keeping her hand on the door and her body facing it, she turns and looks over her shoulder.
“Have a good night.”
Her lips tip up into a stunning smile before she replies, “You too, Mr. Knight.”
I sit there for several seconds, surprised that she gave me her beautiful smile. It’s not often I get to see it in person. Normally, when I do, it’s not aimed at me, but at someone else
in the office. My chest swells, knowing that smile was just for me. I silently vow to myself to make her smile at least once a day from now on. And when this is over, I’ll make her smile a million times a day, for a million different reasons.
My normal work day starts at six-thirty in the morning, and ends at six in the evening, Monday through Friday, but today is different. I have an appointment at six that I can’t miss. I grab my suit coat, not bothering to put it on, and make my way out of my office. I stop by Eric’s office to see if he’s finished up with the proposal for a lucrative client tomorrow.
I tap the door with my knuckle and walk inside. Eric’s standing, but bent over his desk, typing on his laptop.
“Nearly done?” I ask as I walk over and take a seat in the leather chair in front of his desk.
“Yes,” he says. “Just finishing up now.”
“What are your thoughts on Ledgewood? Do you think he’ll take our offer?”
I already know Ledgewood will take it, but I’d like to get Eric’s opinion on the matter.
He pushes his laptop aside and takes a seat.
“Ledgewood is a smart man. He has a lot to lose if he doesn’t make the right decision. He knows our deal will benefit him more than the others he’s come across.” Eric’s lips tip up into a smile when he continues talking. “Ledgewood will take the deal.”
I smile in return, because he’s absolutely right. Ledgewood may not have accepted yet, but it’s only a technicality. There’s no way he’ll pass this deal up.
“My thoughts exactly.”
I take a minute before I bring up the other reason I came by.
“If this Ledgewood account goes through, and we both know it will, I want you to buy in as partner.
I can tell I’ve shocked him. I’ve never brought up the possibility of Eric buying in, but I’ve thought about it a lot the last several months. He has such a pivotal role within the company. Yes, I could have done it without him, and yes, it would be just as successful, but I believe, given the chance, we could be bigger in the future. Eric is very committed to his job. He’s a damn hard worker, knows his shit, and would be a great asset to the company. Some of his ideas have made us millions, and this deal has the potential to make us billions. Eric’s worked just as hard as I have on it. It’s a contract we’ve both been busting our balls on for several months.
“Wow,” Eric says, leaning back in his chair, still appearing shocked. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll do it. Your ideas and views have been spot on. The company needs you, and I’d be honored to have you come on board as partner.”
Eric laughs. “Oh, I’m definitely on board. It’s just you’ve never mentioned it before. I’m still a little surprised you’d ask me.”
“I don’t see why. You’ve done more for this company than anyone else, besides myself. And you’ve been with me almost from the beginning.”
“Since before the beginning,” Eric replies with a smirk.
I chuckle. He’s right. I brought Eric on board as my chief designer six months after I started the company, but we met back at Harvard. I was still in my rebellious stage and was hacking any system I could, one of which was a program that Eric had just created. It was supposed to be unbreakable, but me being me, crushed his firewall. Neither knew of the other, but he eventually found out it was me. He was impressed and we became friends.
I glance down at my watch and stand.
“I’ve got to go. I have an appointment with Phillip at six. Are we all set for tomorrow?”
I walk to the door with Eric following me.
“Yeah. I just finished putting the final figures into the system.”
I pull the door open when Eric calls my name. I turn back to face him and see his brows pulled down in worry.
