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The whole thing?
“The sale of Green Acres was sprung on you? I thought it was the lack of workers?” he said, trying to figure out what she’d meant by that. He must have hit the nail on the head because Nicole’s face blanched like she’d said too much.
“Uh,” she stammered. “Just, you know how these things are. You’re in property, right? Things happen.”
“Sure…”
“Anyway,” she plowed on, tightening her ponytail like it was a nervous tic. “If I’m going to be staying, I guess I’ll get my bags out of my truck.”
“You don’t need to call ahead and change plans with anyone?”
“No one to call. So that makes it easy.” She gave him a tight-lipped smile and a nod.
So… did she not have anywhere to stay that night? Was she just going to go to a hotel or something? She seemed like the type of person who’d sleep in their truck in a pinch. The curiosity was killing him, wondering why she would sell up everything without the slightest idea of her next step. But he’d justbarelygotten her to accept the offer to stay on and teach him; he wasn’t going to jeopardize that by asking her personal questions.
“So, it’s ajob, right?” she asked, still scanning him like she was trying to find the catch to this whole thing. “Like a proper one?”
“That’s the idea. Why hire someone else if you’re happy to take it on?”
“Yeah. So…” She hesitated, looking uncomfortable before asking what she needed to. “So, you would be paying me, right? If I stay on?”
Had he not made that part clear?
“Yes, absolutely,” Brendan said.
“And how much would that be, exactly?”
She seemed to be embarrassed asking, and Brendan couldn’t really figure out why. It was a job — she needed to know what she was going to get paid for it.
He did the math quickly in his head, adding up the appropriate salary for someone with Nicole’s experience. Someone in the head of a department in a typical office job, in his company at least, buying and selling around the country, someone who would put in as many hours a week with the level of knowledge she had… that was one hell of a job. He transferred the pay he’d offer for those skills in an office setting onto Nicole’s role and hoped it would be enough to entice her to stay.
“I’d have to break it down properly, but the equivalent of eighty grand a year? Paid weekly, obviously.”
Nicole’s eyes opened wide as saucers, barely blinking despite the bright afternoon light.
“Is that not enough?” Brendan asked. He had no real idea of what a farmhand earned, let alone someone who ran the place. He was going to need to do some serious research over the next few days…
“Uh, no,” Nicole scrambled, shaking her head. “No, that’s more than enough. Are you sure?”
“Yep,” he said without hesitation. Frankly, right now no price was too high to show his gratitude.
“Okay,” she said, and that seemed to finally seal the deal. She was nodding more firmly now. “Okay, so we’ll start tomorrow.”
“Whatever you say,” Brendan replied, thinking his knees might actually give out from relief.
She went and grabbed the bags out of the back of her truck, swinging them over her shoulders, and Brendan took a moment to look out at his new home as the sun sank below the horizon, leaving the world dim and cold. If you had told him six months ago that he’d be standing here and behappyabout it, he would have laughed in your face…
He turned back to the house and saw Nicole waiting on the porch by the door, looking at him. It was then that Brendan realized that she couldn’t get in the house to unpack again — he had the keys now. He hurried forward, not wanting to keep her waiting. She looked so tiny standing by the door with her overfilled duffel bags, arms crossed against her chest.
When Brendan stuck the key in the lock and swung the door open, he held out an arm to let Nicole in first. She seemed surprised by the gesture, a perplexed little expression flashing across her face. She gave him another forced smile, which he figured was the best he was going to get, and nodded her head in thanks as she walked inside and headed straight for the stairs.
She paused on the bottom stair and turned back to face him.
“So, you’re cool with me using my old room?” she asked.
Brendan couldn’t help but smile a little; the whole situation was ridiculous. “Yeah,” he said. “Sorry that this whole thing is weird, but yes, please, whatever room was yours, it’s yours again.”
Nicole shook her head at the absurdity of it but plowed on ahead. “If you’re cool with that, then you take the bedroom that’s first on the left? It’s big, has a good view, and it’s right next to the bathroom.”
