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“Oh. Yeah, well my sister is marrying one of my bosses. He has always been extravagant and likes for everyone to know how wealthy he is. They are old money, though. All three brothers who run the company. I don’t know how much they have, exactly, but it’s quite possibly into the billions.”
Lin made a low whistling noise.
“Yeah,” I said. “So the cost of shuttling all of us halfway across the country wasn’t a factor. He made the invite optional, but you know how that kind of thing goes. We all pretty much understood that anybody who stayed back in Manhattan would be on the shit list. As far as I know, everybody he invited came. But, only the people who work on my floor are here for the wedding. The rest headed back after our conference in Asheville last week.”
“This is why I’m glad I don’t have a real boss,” Lin said.
“Hey!” Harper slapped her. “I’m real.”
Farrah was smiling. “A real pushover.”
“So,” I said. “I hope I’m not prying, but is this what you two want to do long term? Working for The Spot with Harper? Or do you have other things in mind.”
“Actually, I’m doing some graphic design stuff,” Lin said. “One of the guys in Stone Tower came by town a few weeks ago looking for recruits. They need more muscle for their marketing department or something. Who knows, who cares? But it pays well, and I start in a few days. I pretty much already know my way around all the photo editing software and they’re offering to train me on the job in the rest. Harper is heartbroken at the thought of losing me.”
“Very much so,” Harper agreed. “I’d say I have no idea how I’ll ever replace your sarcastic, lazy presence at The Spot, but I do. I’ll replace you with someone way more qualified and way less of a pain in the ass to work with.”
Lin nodded. “See? She’s going to miss the shit out of me.”
I smiled, but I was still hung up on what she’d said about the job. “That job you got recruited for. Do you know if they’re still hiring?”
“They are. Unless you didn’t notice, there’s not much of a workforce to pick from out here. A bunch of people moved out when Stone Tower finished construction, but other than them, it’s just us townies unless you drive more than forty minutes North or South. Why? You know somebody looking for work?”
“Yeah,” I said slowly. “I have somebody in mind.”
33
DEAN
Three days until the wedding. It felt too soon and not close enough at the same time. I was in a meeting with Maxwell Pollard out at Stone Tower. I’d been in this place all damn day, but Maxwell had a new, high-profile client he’d signed on. Ever since I started consulting for him, he’d become more and more dependent on my advice.
At the end of the day, the Pollard brothers were all passably competent at what they did. But there was no escaping how they got where they were. Old money. They bought the company and they bought their way to success. Alec and Maxwell both cared deeply about the company’s success, while Jonas thought of it more as a fun diversion he might set down at any time if he got bored.
Alec simply wanted to dominate the competition. Maxwell wanted to prove he was more than a trust fund kid. He wanted to learn everything he could from me so he could run the company as effectively as possible.
I admired Maxwell’s drive and motivation, but at the moment, I really wanted to be back in town. I only had three days left with Pearl in my life, and I wanted to enjoy whatever scraps of that life I could.
Instead, I was leaning over Maxwell’s shoulder at a computer in a borrowed office room. He was showing me a table of data and asking about advertising strategies.
It was nearly half an hour later before I was finally allowed to go. On my way out, I bumped into Alec. He was standing in the hallway just outside the office. He saw me and held up a palm, stopping me.
“I hope you know my brother will be weaning himself off of you soon,” Alec said.
“Alright.” I shoved my hands in my pockets and shrugged. I wanted the Pollard contract for as long as I could have it, but I wasn’t about to lower myself to pissing my pants because Alec wanted to threaten me. His thoughts about me had been clear now for months. The man hadn’t gathered the balls to make that clear to my face until now.
“I’ve nearly convinced him you’re too distracted with your little romance. He agreed it was inappropriate. Some of the things you two have been doing together on a work trip do not inspire confidence in your commitment to Pollard Marketing and its goals.”
