He gave her an odd look. Had she pressed too hard? Then Grant smiled.
"I really like you. Done," he said, and they shook hands. Grant wrote the new number on the sheet and signed it.
"I'll have a revised offer for you Monday. You can come in early and sign."
The waiter brought the first course.
Suddenly feeling lightheaded, she took a bite of the sushi and said, "Tell me what you're envisioning."
"I like the way the three of you worked together," Grant said. "It's efficient and effective. Maybe you and Liz can create small teams to seek out problem spots guerilla style. You've seen that our risk-management department is lacking."
"You've been growing quickly, and we need to make sure that with that growth, our quality of product and service isn't affected," she replied.
Grant took a bite of his food and chewed thoughtfully. Then he said, "Don't sue me, but I also wanted you around because I think you're a good influence on Carter. He can be flakey in the best of times."
"Don't sell him too short," she said.
That earned her a warm smile.
"Won't your family be upset with me doing this?" she asked since they were getting personal.
"Honestly? I don't care. My father wants effective employees, which you clearly are. You're like a machine."
She felt a rush of pride.
"One more thing," Grant said. "You need to quit that bartending job. I'm giving you a huge raise. There's no need for you to be tending bar—it makes us look bad."
She nodded.
"Take a little break tomorrow," he said at the end of the meal. "It gets real on Monday."
She shook his hand again as they stood up from the table.
"Thank you," she told him, sincerely meaning it.
"Thank you!" he replied. "Also, don't be so hard on Carter. He really likes you, and I think you're good for him."
When she was safely alone in her apartment, she slumped down on the floor, not knowing how to feel. She looked at her offer letter. It was a bigger salary than anything she'd ever had, by several orders of magnitude.
She could rent a bigger apartment. Maybe she could actually buy something of her very own!
"Calm down," she told herself. "Don't go crazy. You haven’t even received the first paycheck. Maybe they don’t even want you."
There was just one thing. She wasn't sure if she could stay in the relationship or whatever it was she had with Carter, especially not with the promotion. People in the firm probably already knew something was up. Grant Holbrook clearly knew. But she didn't want people to think that she'd slept her way to a fat paycheck and a fancy title. Even if she hurt Carter, she couldn't afford to hurt her career.
But Grant had said not to ruin her working relationship with Carter. Instead of a devastating breakup, she should just quietly let it fizzle out.
Monday was a whirlwind. She signed the paperwork, and then she, Liz, and Carter moved their things to their new work area.
"I can't believe this!" Liz said and flopped on the couch in their area. "This is so awesome!"
"Too bad there's still the couple's shower and the rest of the wedding planning," Allie said.
Liz groaned. "Don’t remind me. You're ruining my good mood."
"Did I hear someone saywedding?" Grant said as he and Kate walked into the room.
"Do I really have to go to this couple's shower party?" he asked Kate.
