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“That was nice of him,” she murmured.
“That’s what I said. He left an envelope for you, too.” He nodded at a brown letter sized envelope propped up next to the register. Ally took it, feeling the thickness. Intrigued, she opened the flap an
d pulled the pack of stapled paper out, biting her lip as she read the small black print.
“It’s a contract,” she said, frowning. Surely he wasn’t trying to recruit her again? But as she skimmed the wording Ally realized it wasn’t an employment contract at all. It was asking her to sell her intellectual property. Nate wanted to buy her idea for Coastal Coffee by Déjà Brew, and he was offering $10,000 plus a percentage of revenue.
“This isn’t right.”
“What isn’t?” Lorne asked her.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” Sliding the contract back into the envelope she took another mouthful of coffee. Right then she needed all the caffeine she could get. “Is it okay if I go next door for a minute?” she asked him. “I won’t be long.”
“Be as long as you like. We’re not exactly swamped with customers.”
It wasn’t that busy in the coffee shop either. Brad was wiping the counter down with a cloth, and she could hear Jeff singing to himself in the kitchen. Then she turned her head and saw Nate sitting at one of the tables, his laptop open as he hunched over it.
“Hi,” she said, walking over to him.
He looked up, his eyes widening at the sight of her. “Hey.”
“Thank you for the coffee.”
“You’re welcome. You can expect one every day.”
She bit her lip, not wanting to show how much she liked the sound of that. “I read this, too,” she said, holding out the contract. “I want to talk to you about it.”
“Take a seat.” He nodded at the chair opposite him. Ally lowered herself into it. “Is there a problem with the contract?” he asked her when she was comfortable. “You can take it to a lawyer to make sure you’re happy with it.”
“You’re paying me ten thousand dollars for an idea I came up with in a moment.”
“Yes.” His face was serious. “Is it not enough? Do you think I should pay more?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t want your money. It was just me thinking out loud.”
“My lawyer insists I buy the idea off you.” Nate shrugged. “He’s worried that you’ll sue me if I don’t. Think of it as me mitigating my risk. That’s all. This way everybody’s happy.”
“But it’s not worth what you’re trying to pay me.”
“I disagree. And so does my lawyer.”
Ally sighed. “I can’t take this from you,” she told him. “I just can’t.”
His expression was wary. “Can I ask you why not?”
“Because it feels wrong. Like I’m taking money I haven’t earned.” She breathed in a mouthful of air. “And to be honest, it makes me feel cheap.”
“There’s nothing cheap about you. Nothing,” he said, firmly. “You have more class than anybody I know. This,” he said, tapping the envelope, “is just business. Nothing more.”
“I just can’t. I’m sorry.” She hated the way he was looking at her.
He blew out a mouthful of air. “Let’s have dinner so we can talk about this.”
“You want to take me out?”
“Yeah.”
“But I ate out last night.”
