Page 104 of Last Resort

“I’m sure somewhere in the contract you signed with her, there’d be a non-compete or whatever technical term there is for it,” I say, caught completely off guard and fumbling to buy some time so my brain can process the question he just asked.

“There is,” Ford says with a nod. “But rest assured, Roz and the firm would be taken care of with other projects of ours to make up for the loss of you.”

“Bribery.” I chuckle nervously.

“Compensation,” Ford says with a resolute nod that is equal parts arrogance and privilege and so much like Callahan’s that my chest constricts at the sight of it. “We’re not in the habit of screwing over the people who work with us. I assure you.”

“So . . .” Ledger asks.

I suck in a breath and meet both Ledger’s and then Ford’s expectant gazes. I can’t do it. There’s no way I can work with these two men, day in and day out, and be reminded of the love I can’t have.

It also means I would hold out hope for Callahan. To see him on the off times we happen to be in this office at the same time. To talk to him somehow, someway. That he would decide to stay put for good and be with me.

And I can’t do that when I told myself I wouldn’t settle again.

“Gentlemen. Thank you for the offer. I’m flattered and astounded by it.” I glance down at the table before looking back up to the brothers. “But I have to decline it.”

“What?” Ledger laughs. Just like his brother, it seems the word no isn’t something he hears very often.

I think of my talks with Roz over the past few weeks. Of explaining my aspirations to her to step out on my own someday. Her nervous laughter after my confession and then her wide eyes when she realized I was serious.

“Why are you telling me this? Most people would fear I’d fire them, knowing their ultimate goal is to use me to build their reputation and then leave me to be a competitor.” She stares at me behind the black frames of her glasses.

“I’m telling you because you are a strong female business owner. One who took the same leap ten years ago, and I figured if anyone would understand my drive to succeed, you would.”

Roz stares at me with a guarded expression that I can’t quite read. “You want to do this?”

I nod.

“It’s a lot of long thankless hours. Hours spent behind a desk instead of on location being hands-on, like you just were.”

I think of Callahan, it’s hard not to, thinking about how he loathed the behind the desk part but was so good at being on location.

Do I want the same thing? Can I thrive in an office now that I’ve had a taste of what else I’m capable of?

“It’s something I want to work toward. Learning the ins and outs of every facet over the coming year—if you’ll allow me the chance, of course—so that I take the leap if that’s what I decide I still want.”

“You think you’ll be ready to take the jump after a year?”

“No one’s ever ready, but sometimes you have to jump and then learn how to fly,” I say.

“Sutton Pierce.” Roz’s smile widens. “I don’t know what happened to you down in the Virgin Islands—the confidence, the directness, the drive—but I’m loving it. I’ll gladly mentor you.”

Callahan did. He’s what happened to me.

But I can’t say that to anyone other than Lizzy.

“My goal has always been to have my own firm. To work for myself. Over the past few weeks, and from the experience you’ve afforded me with Ocean’s Edge, I know now more than ever that that’s what I want to accomplish.”

Another glance is exchanged between the two. “Playing hardball right out of the gate,” Ford says with a laugh. “Then let us be your first and only client. Be our exclusive consultant. Let us help you build a strong portfolio.”

“I . . .” I laugh, overwhelmed. Did he really just say that? That he’d take care of Roz and hire me as an independent contractor, let me work for Sharpe International and only Sharpe International, while building my portfolio and making connections for the future? That’s like a dream scenario.

What’s the catch?

There has to be a catch.

And then I look from Ford to Ledger and know exactly what the catch is—them. I’d have a daily reminder of the man I love. The man who walked away. It’d be like having him so close I could touch him, but knowing I can’t have him.