I rear back, surprised. “What do you mean?”
She lifts her chin. “Zach didn’t feel right taking that money to protect Skyler, so he hasn’t touched apenny of it. It’s in a separate account, earmarked for you.”
She angrily leans toward me. “And so help me, Logan Brody, if you offer me that money to get rid of me, you and I are going to have problems.”
Anger doesn’t even begin to describe it. She’s furious just thinking about it. I hold my hands up, palms out. “I wouldn’t think of it.”
She jerks her head up and down. “Good, but if you need ideas on how to spend that money to expand, I have them.”
I know when I’m had. Zach and I had this dream and wanted to make it a reality, but our training did not equip us for this side of the business. If it was just Zach and me, we would be working out of a half-empty office with no clients and a team that didn’t know what they were doing day to day. There’s no doubt she’s made progress here, and I guess I’d better take advantage of the situation because in nine months, she’s gone. “Fine. I’d like to see the report.”
She nods. “I’ll email it to you when I get to my desk. Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
I open my mouth and then close it. I told myself I wasn’t going to ask, but after seeing the lines around her eyes, I know I’m going to. I gesture to her face. “Why are you having trouble sleeping?”
She pinches her lips together, and I shake my head. “Don’t lie to me. Just tell me. Why are you having trouble sleeping?”
She inhales and slowly blows it out. “Nightmares. I’ve been having nightmares.”
I wasn’t prepared for that answer. “What do you mean, you’re having nightmares?”
She shrugs. “It’s not your problem, Logan. While we’re here, can I go over a few things with you?”
Dumbly, with my mouth hanging open, I nod my head. I want to go back to talking about the nightmares, but obviously, she’s not having it. “Sure.”
She flips through the pages of her notebook. “Sam went on his first call yesterday on his own, and he did great. Are you okay with him getting his own assignments the rest of this week?”
I tilt my head to the side. I’ve been gone three months. I don’t even think I’ve met Sam yet. “What do you think?”
She rears back, blinking at me. She didn’t expect me to ask that. After yesterday, I can’t say I blame her. “Well, uh, I think he’s ready. And if he needs anything, he can call Alex or me.”
I nod. “Okay, sounds good.”
She flips through more pages and stares down at some notes as she speaks to me. “There is a fundraiser next Friday night. We sponsored three tables. Should I put you down for one ticket? Or are you bringing a date?”
“Uh, put me down for two tickets.” I’ve known about this fundraiser for a few weeks, and my brother Penn has been worried about me, so he set me up for a date with one of the nurses at his hospital.
Her face turns red, and she nods as she stands up without looking at me. “Okay, I think that’s it.”
She turns to go, but I stop her. “Two more things.”
I can see her pull her shoulders back, sucking in a breath as if she is preparing herself for something unpleasant. I wait patiently for her to eyes to settle on me, but when she does, it’s shocking. She’s upset. I’m not sure what to make of this. She cheated on me. She broke us. Is she really botheredthat I might take a date to a party? It’s not adding up.
She puts a hand on the chair in front of her and clenches it. “Sure. What do you need?”
You. That’s the first thought I have. I need her, and the fact that I feel it makes me hate myself. I grit my teeth. “First, I wanted to make sure that Guy has a ticket.”
She bites her lip as she searches her memory. “Guy… your brother… the baseball player?”
I stand up and put my hands in the front pockets of my pants. “Yeah, he’ll be in town, and I wanted to make sure he had a ticket for the event.”
She hugs the notepad to her chest. “Yeah, Zach made sure every one of your siblings had a ticket.”
I shift my stance. “Okay, lastly, I need to learn this computer program you’ve set up.”
She looks at me blankly, so I remind her. “The one that handles the inventory, the installers’ schedules, all that.”
She nods, lifts her notepad, and starts writing. “Of course. I’ll have a training manual for you by the end of the week.”
