“Please don’t,” Eliza pleaded.
Will shot her a look. “If you were to get a job elsewhere, the loft would return to us. We have required ourselves to give you sufficient time to find a new place and move out. As long as everyone is in good standing, there is also the option for you to begin paying rent instead of moving out. The lease agreement also requires you to cover repair or maintenance costs for any problem you create. As your landlords, we’ll handle regular wear and tear. So basically, if the water heater goes out, we’ll replace it. But if you accidentally break a window, that cost falls to you.”
I nodded. It made sense.
Will eyed me seriously. “Obviously, we’re offering you this option because we implicitly trust you. You’ve been with us since the beginning. You’ve only ever shown us integrity and responsibility, and we don’t want to lose you.”
“Or for you to overextend yourself,” Charlie added.
“Right.” Will’s expression softened. “But we also don’t want you to feel trapped in this job because of the loft. Ada, if you ever feel that it’s time for you to move on, please don’t hesitate to come talk to us. We’re reasonable people. And we will forever be grateful for what you’ve done for us over the years. Most importantly, we want the best for you. Whether that’s here and in the loft or somewhere else.”
Nodding, Eliza added, “We will never stop supporting you. No matter where you work. We love you, Ade. You’re like family.”
The stupid tears were back. And this time, I couldn’t stop them from falling. I quickly brushed them away, but they just kept coming. Where was the off switch? This was my body. I was in charge. Why couldn’t I get my tear ducts to listen to me—the boss?
“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” I told them while pretending I wasn’t a mess of waterworks. “I don’t know how to thank you enough.”
“Ada, this is howwe’rethankingyou,” Charlie said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re not supposed to do anything except say yes.”
A laugh bubbled up and came out of my body in a spray of snot.Gross. I grabbed a tissue and kept crying. “I’ve just been really stressed lately,” I told them. “And I didn’t know what to do. This makes everything so simple.”
“And more importantly, you’re going to tell Salt no.” Charlie sounded dead serious.
“What?”
“Salt,” he said more firmly. “They can’t have you.”
Will jumped in. “Listen, Killian is my friend, but if he thinks he can poach you, I’m happy to go to war.”
“What?”
Will sat back in Eliza’s chair and folded his arms across his chest. “What did he offer you? I mean, I feel like the loft is a solid counteroffer, but is it better than the loft? You can tell us. We can take it.”
I wanted to repeat for the third time,what!?And maybe throw some expletives in as well, just for good measure. But that line of thinking was getting us nowhere. So instead, I confessed the truth. “Killian hasn’t offered me anything. I don’t even think he knew I was looking. My friend works for them—”
“You mean his spy,” Charlie corrected. “Mm-hmm, go on.”
“No, she’s not his spy. She’s—”
“A double agent,” Eliza said, snapping her fingers.
The three of us looked at her. My third “What?” finally slipped past the barrier of my mouth.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Charlie said.
Thankfully, because of this bizarre line of questioning, I was able to grapple control of my emotions once again and settle into my usually annoyed-with-the-three-of-them vibe. “For real, Killian didn’t send April. She mentioned it offhand. No secret spy is trying to coerce me over there. I just didn’t want to lose my apartment. I promise I wasn’t defecting to Salt.”
They all shared a look, deciding whether they should believe me. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was nice to be wanted, I guess.
“Well, if he ever approaches you with an offer, you tell me right away, okay?” Will demanded.
“Okay,” I promised solemnly. “I’ll call you immediately. Put you on FaceTime. Have you turn him down for me.”
He nodded. “It’s not in the lease contract, but I would appreciate that.”
I laughed again, full of simultaneous irritation and love for these fools. “Thank you, all of you. Seriously. You’ve solved a bunch of my problems, and I’m so grateful.”
“Well, we’re grateful for you,” Eliza assured me. “And we love you. Read over the contract and make sure it’s something you can sign. We’re willing to negotiate if you notice anything weird.”
