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I find the paint section and look over the small jars of hobby paint. This little project for my niece is something I’ve never done before, and I have no idea what I need to get. “I don’t know Elianna at all. I’ve never met her.”
Ethan pulls a quizzical face. “You haven’t?”
We’ve never been to each other’s family homes. I know I, for one, never wanted to visit a mirror image of my growing-up years.
“I guarantee I haven’t,” I say. “How old is she again?”
“She’s twenty-nine. Graduated from Cal State a few years ago. She’s been a secretary a couple times.” He scratches the top of his head. “And she’s written so many grant applications for non-profits, she could do it in her sleep.”
“That’s something.” It would be nice to hire someone who’s dealt with not-for-profit organizations. That’s an aspect of my business I need a lot of help with now.
I grab three different shades of pink acrylic paint, resisting to stop at the large paint cans for homes. I can only handle thinking about the project for my niece right now. But very soon I’m going to have to pick out exterior paint colors.
Very soon.
“I’m just trying to be honest with you,” Ethan says. “If you’re looking for someone with a lot of executive assistant experience, that’s not Elianna. But if you want someone who will be fiercely loyal to the Tate International cause, someone who is better at non-profits than anyone I know, someone who is a quick learner and has lots of energy, Elianna’s your guy.”
When he puts it that way, I can see her appeal. But someone with little experience? “I don’t have time to train her, Ethan. It’s my tenth year in business.” I pause and my jaw tightens. “You know what that means.”
“I do know what that means.” I can tell he’s looking at me as we’re making our way to the checkout.
I flick him a glance so he’ll keep talking.
“I think Elianna can help you get on the Deca Arete list. And a whole lot of work, perfect alignment, about a million meetings with accounting, legal, and your actuary—” he smirks, sinceheis my actuary. “And luck. A ton of luck.”
“I know,” I mumble. I cringe at the way he says my goal out loud, all willy-nilly.
The Deca Arete list—the Fortune 500 on steroids. It’s the ultimate dream for any big business owner in his or her tenth year of business. I had a decent shot at landing on it until things were derailed by Britta quitting unexpectedly.
“But Elianna’s great,” he says. “And she’s in the market for a job. She could start immediately, in fact. The playhouse she worked for had a building condemned recently, so she doesn’t currently have a job. Plus, she won’t have a place to live soon, since the friend she’s living with is having a baby and needs the room Elianna’s been renting. Rent prices in Dana Point are a nightmare, by the way.” He gives a short whistle. “You need Elianna to work for you. She’d be a great asset. And I think she’d love Longdale, which can’t be said of everyone, right?”
I shake my head. “She’s your sister. It feels strange. I don’t like mixing business with pleasure.”
“Mixing—” He laughs. “What do you think hiring most of your brothers is all about?”
“I haven’t hired most of them. I’ve only hired two.” It’s our turn in the self-checkout, so I pick up the little scan gun and give the items a beep. Fix-It Frank’s knew what they were doing when they let people beep their own purchases with a gun. It’s oddly satisfying. “Worrying if my brothers will outgrow their jobs keeps me up at night,” I say. “I hate thinking about that.” I tap my card on the reader and punch in my PIN.
“Even you wouldn’t fire your brothers.” He zeroes his gaze in on me again.
“Even me?” I repeat his words as a kind of sick torture. Because it hurts a little. I never set out to be enemy number one. I just couldn’t seem to figure out how to grow Tate International in the ways I wanted to without burning some bridges along the way. I’ve paid a price for the level of success we’ve had.
“You know what I mean.” He clears his throat and waves me away. “I haven’t thought about the little favor you’ve owed me for years, but when it turned out that Elianna needed a job, it came to me with a flash of clarity.” He taps his temple. “Crystal clear clarity, Sebastian.” He grabs the receipt and bag, and we go through the doors. “Won’t it be nice to have this favor off your back so I can stop hanging it over your head?” He grins.
“You’re the one choosing to hang it over my head!” I could ask him to forgive the debt, and he probably would, he’s that nice of a guy. But I can’t do that. I gave him my word all those years ago that, for bailing me out, he could cash in a favor, any favor, whenever he needed it.
“So, can I count on you to hire Elianna?”
The guy is smooth.
This is not going to end well. The odds of Tate International making the Deca Arete list have enough stacked against it as it is. And now, I regret hoovering those wings because they’re not sitting right in my stomach.
“Fine,” I say, breathing in the fresh, Longdale air. I glance back at the orange façade of Frank’s. “We can give it a try. Tell her to come to Longdale as soon as she possibly can. I’ll get HR on the process.”
Ethan gives a big whoop and claps me on the shoulder. “Thanks, Seb.”
I shake my head. “Let’s go put together a dollhouse.”
Why do I feel like I just signed my life away?
