Page 8 of Camping with the Boss
“Sure. Go do that. If—when my brother gets back, I’ll have him call you.”
As he turns, I grab his shoulders to hold him still. “Wait.” He stares wide-eyed at me and then at my hands. I drop them. “Just wait…please.” I take a few minutes to find the right words and, more importantly, the right tone. “What ifyoutook your brother’s place?” Canyon is perfect. Perfect for this, I mean.
“No. What? Nooooo.” He steps back out of my reach. “No way.”
“I need someone?—”
“Not me. No one will believe I’m a consultant. I don’t even know what your company does.”
My mind grinds to a halt. We’re one of the top digital consulting firms in the St. Louis area. And rumors are always flying around about me, most of them false. “How is that possible?”
He shrugs. “I have limited internet, and I don’t use it to Google things.”
“But your brother—never mind. It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know much. Just keep quiet and smile.” I stop at his indignant look. This is why I’m in this mess. I say what I think. And people rarely like it. “You can smile, right?”
His jaw tightens, and I’m not sure he’s going to answer. “When I want to.”
I nod. “Will you help me with the retreat? I’ll pay you.”
The no is on his lips until I mention money. Everyone has a price. “What about my brother?”
“What about him?”
He huffs. “Is he still fired?”
“I’ll consider not firing him.”
He shakes his head. “I need more than that.”
“Well, too bad. I don’t know why he ran off or what he’s doing.” And the odds that he’s doing something to hurt me or the company are fairly high. “You have four hours to either find your brother or take his place.” I hold his gaze. “Otherwise, he will be fired.”
“You’re seriously threatening me right now?” He snorts out a laugh. “Does this badass routine work for you?”
“Take it however you want. River didn’t show up for work. And without your help, I have no reason to even consider keeping him. It’s your choice.”
He glares for another minute, then sighs, shaking his head, “I’d have to actually go outside…” He flinches like he didn’t mean to admit it. Is he agoraphobic? But it doesn’t matter. I’m desperate. He bites his lip, and I’m momentarily distracted. “How much would I get paid?”
Back to the money. Normally, I’d haggle, but I need this. I name off a number that’s three times his brother’s salary. That should be enough to tempt him. It grates on me that I’ll still be paying his brother, but money isn’t an issue. I’m already thinking of ways to spin this to the team and the board when he responds.
“Can I think about it?”
“What the hell is there to think about?” I snap. The thought that he might refuse makes my words harsher than I intended.
His face hardens, and I resist the urge to apologize. As a rule, I never apologize.
“I already have a job. And I have Taffy.” At my confused look, he points to his cat. She circles my feet and rubs against my legs. I resist the urge to give her one last pet. I love cats, okay? They don’t slobber all over you like dogs. He pulls Taffy into his arms. “There are things I have to figure out.”
I start to suggest something and stop. This is not my concern. “You have until three p.m. I’ll be back then to pick you up.” I head for the front door, and he follows.
“What if I don’t agree?”
I turn and give him one last look. “You will.”
Chapter Three
Canyon
Monday, June 9th, 11:30 a.m.
