“That’s incredible.” Evie smiled, handed back the photo, then dug in her purse. “Tell them I said hi and tell Mackie I didn’t forget his birthday, I was just very busy in May.” She passed Tara two birthday cards with gift cards tucked inside.
“Don’t worry, he knew you didn’t forget.” Tara winked as she slipped the cards into her bag. “He was very sure you’d bring him something when I said I’d see you today.” She nodded toward Tommy’s door. “You’d better go in. He’s waiting.”
Evie chuckled. She’d babysat Tara’s sons a few times when their mother had date plans and had grown particularly close to Mackie. “Talk to you later,” she said, heading for the office door.
She opened the door to Tommy’s office and found him standing at the corner table, flicking through papers and stacking them into neat piles. He looked up, grinned as she shut the door, and held out his arm in invitation.
“Morning, Evie.”
“Hey, Tommy.” Evie relaxed a little at his easy familiarity. He was never excessively formal with anyone who worked for him, preferring to be called Tommy instead of Mr. Sloane, much to Rupert’s dismay. Still, she had been nervous about what to expect now that her close friend was also her boss. She crossed the room and accepted the hug, her eyes drifting to the orderly stacks of paperwork on the table.
“That’s a lot of paperwork.”
“Most of it’s already filled out.” Tommy pulled out her chair. “I authorized your information to be imported from Sloane Tech, so while you’re technically a new hire, it just needs to be read over, a few things updated and signed.”
He tapped the nearest pile. “This one is HR: onboarding, employee data sheet, direct deposit, tax forms, I-9, benefits, policy acknowledgments, all that fun stuff.” He moved his hand to the next stack. “This covers salary, bonus structure, and the usual legal agreements, your employment contract and a nondisclosure covering everything we build here. It’s standard procedure. If you ever try to sell, leak, or reproduce any of our designs, prototypes, or research, we’ll come after you hard. You’re free to have a lawyer look it over first, of course.”
Tommy paused and took a seat, regarding her seriously.
“The contract states that while your work is credited to you as the creator, all intellectual property developed through Sloane Consulting remains under our ownership and distribution rights for ten years. After that, the rights revert to you, though the technology will probably be outdated by then. You’ll still receive a percentage of any profits from products that go into production, but everything is published, branded, and sold under the Sloane name.”
Evie nodded slowly as she skimmed through the contract. The endless legal paperwork she’d had to deal with over the past few years regarding her parents had given her a decent understanding of legal language, so she felt confident she could follow along without needing to take it to Fred.
“So, if I want to market HELIX, it would be under the Sloane name, but I’d still be credited as the developer?” she asked, wanting to be sure she understood.
“If you want to sell it, yes. If you’d rather keep it private, that’s your choice, but you can’t take it elsewhere for ten years. Sloane Consulting is footing the bill and providing the resources, so it’s only fair we benefit too. The split’s sixty percent to us and forty percent to you.”
Evie sat back, surprised. Those numbers were generous, especially since she knew the Sloane Technologies split was seventy-five to twenty-five.
“That’s more than I would have gotten with Sloane Technologies.”
“You have less creative control here,” Tommy admitted, running a hand through his hair. “At Sloane Tech, engineers can pitch their own ideas and usually work on what interests them unless they’re tied to a major project. Consulting is different. In your role as Lead Systems Architect, people will come to youwith problems they need solved. You’ll design a prototype and pass the specifications to the design team. It’s demanding work with tight deadlines, so the higher percentage reflects that.”
“Another factor,” he added, “is that Sloane Technologies develops products for international commercial release while Sloane Consulting’s work is specialized, often for a single client or a closed network, so the compensation structure reflects that.”
Evie had a brief moment of hesitation, not because there was a significantly reduced chance that anything she developed would become the next significant tech phenomenon, but because of the lack of creative control.
“So, I can’t develop anything unless I’m asked?”
“No, not at all.” Tommy shook his head, realizing she was unsure. “You can develop whatever you want. Requests and commissions just take priority. You have complete control over how you design something, but it has to meet the specifications you’re given.”
Evie nodded and began working through the paperwork, updating and signing each form marked with a “sign here” sticker. Tommy’s foresight in importing her information made the process go much faster, and when she finished, he gathered the neat stacks and slid them into folders.
“Excellent. You’ll have your ID badge and copies of everything by the time you go home today.” He grinned. “Your fingerprint scan and security clearances are already updated for the Consulting floors. We just need to add your retinal scan, and then we can head upstairs.”
He stood and motioned for her to follow him to his desk. Pressing a key, he brought the matte glass monitor rising smoothly from the desktop. With a few clicks, he opened aprogram and flipped upright a slender metal arm mounted to the far edge of the desk. At its end was a device about the size of a coffee mug, turned on its side, with its casing made of brushed black titanium. Another tap of the keyboard sent the lens assembly sliding forward on a silent track, a faint ring of cobalt light blooming around its aperture.
“Look straight into the light,” he said, adjusting the height and angle toward her. “It’ll only take a second.”
The scanner emitted a soft pulse, and a ribbon of data streamed across the monitor, confirming that her retinal pattern was locking into the system. The lens retracted again with a low hum, the light fading to black.
“Perfect.” Tommy gathered the folders with her paperwork and led the way out of his office, leaving Evie to hurry after him. To her surprise, he didn’t hand the files to Tara as they passed. Instead, he gave her a nod.
“Text me if anything urgent comes up,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll be upstairs.”
“See you later, I guess?” Evie murmured to Tara, catching her amused grin.
“Have fun,” Tara called after them, chuckling at what was no doubt Evie’s flustered expression.
