I answered the call and put it to my ear, my heart in my mouth.
“Hello?”
“Hi, yes, is that Drake Warwick?” It was a woman’s voice, with the professional tone of a secretary, assistant, or suchlike.
“It is?”
“Can you confirm your date of birth so we can verify your identity? I’m calling from Dr. Pierson’s office.”
I rattled it off for her. “What’s this about?”
“I have the results of the latest scan of your wrist,” the woman said. She hesitated for a moment. “Dr. Pierson has requested that you come in to see him for a consultation to discuss what the scan showed.”
My back stiffened. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“I’m afraid I’m not appraised of the details right now, sir,” she said. “Dr. Pierson just wanted to go through the scan with you in person. I’m not aware of whether it’s a good or bad sign.”
Despite her reassurance, I knew.
“Okay,” I said. “When does he want to see me?”
“Actually, he has an opening later today,” she said, and that was when I knew I wasreallyfucked.
I reached up to put the key on the ledge of the doorframe, hidden out of sight above the door. “I’m on my way in now,” I said, putting my helmet on as I walked so that I would be ready the second I got to my bike.
Rafael
I looked at the agency staff Grey had brought in to desperately run the kitchen while he was short-handed and shook my head. This wasn’t going to work. This wasn’t going to work at all.
“I can’t do it,” I told him. “I mean, I could do it, but it will take months to get them up to speed. And they’re temps. They’ll probably go off and work somewhere else the second I have them fully trained.”
Grey sighed. “What do you want me to do about it?” he asked. “I can put ads out, but who knows how long it will take to fill the jobs with permanent staff.”
I looked at him sideways, slyly. “You could always let me call the staff you already have fully trained up for these roles.”
His jaw clenched, but I knew it was what he wanted. He kept staring straight ahead instead of looking at me, watching the newbies make a mess of his kitchen.
Mykitchen.
“Fine,” he said at length, realizing I wasn’t going to throw him a bone and speak first. “Call them.”
“And I can tell them what you told me?” I asked. “The contract you just made?”
He grimaced but nodded stiffly. “Fine. Tell them, if it will help.”
“I think it will help,” I assured him with a grin. “And what about the others? Will you offer them the same contract?”
He gave me a pained look. “I can’t afford that!”
“Well, you only have to pay out if you mess up,” I pointed out. “Do you have any intention of breaking the contract?”
“No,” he said, clearly suffering.
“Then you won’t need to pay out,” I said reasonably. “You can afford zero dollars, I’m pretty sure.”
“Can’t they just be persuaded byyourcontract?” he asked. There were beads of sweat breaking out on his brow. “I have every intention of following through, but… two years…”
“It is a long time,” I agreed. I grinned wider, ready to let him out of his suffering; it had gone far enough now. “Alright. I’ll sign the contract if you let me tell the others. That seems fair.”
