A light chuckle rumbles in his chest, and he reaches out to grab my hand.
“What’s your proposition, love?”
My heart does one of those hand-on-the-head, exaggerated faints at the casual way he’s started dropping his love for me into every conversation.
“I am going to expand KH to include personal security,” I say, my fingers finding a strand of hair at the back of my neck and starting to twirl it.
“That’s great. Now’s the time to do it for sure!” His eyes brighten like he’s figured something out. “Oh! Yeah, I can get you contactinformation for the guys who were with Mitchell. Of course you should pick them up. It’d help you and them.”
Carterwouldassume I’m asking him for the phone numbers of his former employees.
Shaking my head, I say, “That’s not my proposition either.”
“Oh. Well, regardless of what happened with Trent, our team was solid. You really should reach out to them and see who you can bring over.”
“I was thinkingyoucould reach out,” I say.
“Me?” He thinks about it. “Sure. I could do that. A few of them have asked me if I know of anyone hiring.”
I purse my lips to keep from laughing. “What if you understood what I’m offering, Carter?”
“What if you said what you’re offering, Kelsey?”
“I’m offering you the position of head of the personal security division of KH Security.”
“You’re…what? I don’t know if that’s a…you’ve already done so—”
I cut him off. “I’m not offering this to you because we’re dating. Even if you’d still been with Trent, I would’ve tried to poach you after seeing how invaluable you were during the tour.”
“You’re sure you’re not just offering it to me because you know I need a job?”
“I’m offering it to you at a ridiculously low salary because I know you need a job,” I say with a wink, hoping he knows I’m teasing. I had Lila put together a very competitive offer.
“Then yes,” he says, scooping me up in his arms and pressing a kiss to my lips.
“You should really look at the offer and take some time to think it over. It’s not an ownership position,” I say, wanting to make sure I’m clear. “You’ll just be a department head.”
Carter looks at me, his arms still tight around my waist. “I don’t need my name next to yours on the wall of the office. As long as it’s my last name you’re using in the future, that’s all that matters to me.”
I scrunch up my nose. “I’m not planning on changing my last name.”
His laughter shakes us both. “Of course. As long as you promise your name will be next to mine on the marriage certificate someday, I’ll take it.” He kisses me, long and hard. “Plus, Mitchell is a shit last name anyway. Maybe I’ll just take your last name. We can become the Harpers.”
“It’s a deal,” I say, extending my hand.
Carter searches Lila’s desk and finally comes up with a pen and the back of an envelope. “I’ll plan to start next week once I get things wrapped up with Mitchell Security. I’ll also make sure I let our top guys know they have a spot here. How many CPOs do you think we’ll need? I know it’s hard to estimate, since we’re just starting and don’t have any jobs.”
“About that…” I say.
Dark, round eyes meet mine. “You already have a client? How?”
“I told Jaxon I was going to hire you, and he gave us the contract on the spot.”
His eyebrows almost reach the dark hair hanging over his forehead. “He did? After we let him get his hair cut by his stalker?”
“Well, we got there before any real damage was done, didn’t we?”
“I mean, after we flew his stalker out to his concert.”
