“Can I see you a minute?” he asks, sending my hopes plummeting. Usually, a job would have more protections but given the employer, I doubt they’re bound by a collective work agreement.
I close the door, straightening the front of my dress with shaking hands.
“That tip-off you gave me the other day, it came through.” Stefan sits behind a desk, shuffling through papers before pushing one in my direction. “Provided all the terms are met—and I can’t see a reason they wouldn’t be—my company stands to gain about three hundred grand all up.”
I glance at the document, but my thoughts spin, still imagining he’s about to fire me. “I’m glad.”
“You should be more than glad.” He finds a pen and hands it over, careful not to touch fingertips with me as he does so. “Sign there. We’ve already got your bank account, right?”
“Sign…?” I sit down even though he hasn’t invited me to and read the page. “You’re switching me to commission only?”
“No. This isn’t for your main role. That’s still salaried. This is a commission for referrals. You’ll earn ten percent off the top, which should work out to around thirty thousand.”
I pull a face, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Stefan seems mildly amused. “You don’t want it?”
“What’s this really for?”
The amusement switches to alarm. “How’d you mean?”
“Is this a pay-out for… I don’t know… damages?”
“What damages?” His eyes sweep across the bank of monitors.
I chew on my bottom lip. “Well, because Zach and I broke up.” In a lower voice, I add, “I thought this might be my last day.”
“Not on my account, it isn’t.” Stefan leans back, putting his feet on the desk and arms behind his head as he surveys the camera feeds. “Personal relationships between staff aren’t a key performance indicator.” He frowns at something happening on the monitor before turning the same expression onto me. “Did he hurt you? Is that what you meant by damages?”
“It’s…” With my eyes closed, I will everything far enough back that I can work out what’s going on right in front of me. “It doesn’t matter. What’s the commission for, then?”
“I told you. For the tipoff you gave me. You get a percentage of the profit I’ll make. It’s a reward. I don’t think anyone’s ever been so suspicious of me before.”
“Sorry. It’s…” I dredge the figure back up. “Thirty thousand? For me?”
“Yes, for you.” Stefan takes his feet away, swinging back to face me. “If it goes any higher, I’ll let you know. Now sign the bloody thing so I can get back to work.”
“I… Yes. Thank you.”
With my signature in place, he folds the papers and tucks them into his jacket pocket. “You know my door’s always open, right? Not when I’m in Auckland, obviously, which is about half the time, but apart from that. You don’t need to hide things from me. You’re part of our family now, too.”
A family.
It’s odd how I feel it more here, working for a chaotic group of gangsters, than I did working with the Kuzmanics. They were such a close-knit couple it excluded me, whereas these misfits move around to absorb new members.
That’s as attractive as the money. The actual, proper money that I earned on my own.
My spirits lift for the first time since Tuesday morning. When I spot Trent on guard duty, I manage to give him a full greeting with words and everything.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
LILAC
“How can you possibly think that?”Finley squeals at the television, then turns the same energy on Rosa when she dares to agree with the controversial choice. On the screen, the beleaguered single woman with a dozen suitors is apparently selecting the wrong one.
“Who would choose a bloke over Mandy?” she continues. “That lady is adorable, with a capital F.”
“Perhaps because he treats her with respect?”
