Roux scratched his cheek, clearly torn.
Well, I wasn’t. “Thatpart was easy. Gathering information and tracking down the painting took alotof work,” I said.
A hurricane raged in Gordon’s eyes, and Roux shook his head to defuse things.
“Not necessary, sir.”
Earlier, Roux had told me that Gordon had offered him €25,000 to keep me safe and that he had no intention of cashing in on the reward.
Whatever I did, I did for you, not for Gordon,he’d practically snarled.
Typical Roux — too principled for his own good.
Well, I, for one, would be happy to squeeze a bonus out of Gordon.
So, squeeze I did. Mercilessly.
“Of course it’s necessary,” I insisted. “Gordon is a man of his word. Aren’t you?” I smiled up at him sweetly.
The room vibrated with magical energy, and he gritted his teeth.
“Of course, but—”
“Really not necessary,” Roux murmured, meeting my eyes.
I refuse to have that hanging over us,he whispered into my mind.
Well, I wouldn’t mind having that much cash to hanganywhere. Still, I had to respect his point.
I thought quickly, then stuck up a finger. “Oh! Wait. I have an idea.”
Roux looked at me in alarm.Another one?
“Doesn’t your contract end soon?” I asked him.
He had the grace not to rattle off the exact number of days, minutes, and hours, as Bene would. He just nodded. “Next week.”
“What about terminating those contracts immediately? Instead of a cash reward, I mean.” I looked at Gordon. “I know better than anyone how generous Gordon can be, but maybe that’s a simpler solution.”
Bene would grouse about letting €10,000 slip away, but I doubted Gordon would pay out anyway. Terminating their contracts, on the other hand, wouldn’t cost him a cent, and I had the feeling he looked forward to being rid of the guys as much as they looked forward to being rid of him. So, a win-win for everyone.
Especially me, because I would get a tiger shifter all to myself for a well-deserved break — and a much-needed heart-to-heart.
“Not a bad idea,” Roux admitted.
Gordon’s eyes blazed stubbornly, but a moment later, he relented.
“Fine. I’ll send the paperwork through later today.” He scowled and looked around, remembering he no longer had an assistant to help with such things.
“I’ll ask Mina to draft an addendum,” I said. “She’s good at that kind of thing.”
Mina hated me volunteering her for anything, but I figured she wouldn’t mind in this particular case.
Gordon’s expression remained sour, but he nodded. “That would be helpful.”
Roux tapped his watch.
“Oh — the train,” I said cheerily. “We should get going.”
