Fuck, I hadn’t expected him to say that. I had to think of a response quickly. “You know that’s not my character. And you know it’s reasonable to give me a raise considering the fact that I’m always on the clock, every minute of the day. When a pipe is busted at three in the morning, I’m the person they call.”
He watched me for a long time, chewing his inner lip. “I’ll give you one raise. But ask me for another, and I will find someone else. Your purpose is to save me time, for me never to think about you at all, so if you continue to annoy me, then your value decreases.”
“Fair enough.” I pushed the paper toward him. “This is what I’m asking for. You’ll have my loyalty and gratitude indefinitely.”
He looked at the number then cocked an eyebrow. “This is ridiculous.”
“For the amount of work I do, it’s not. And being able to afford an apartment nearby would save me essential time. I can’t do that on my current salary. I know how much money comes into this business every single month. You won’t even know it’s missing.”
He sighed loudly. “You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that…”
“Give it to me, and I’ll never ask for anything else. I’ll continue to keep this place as the most desirable building in the city. You’ll never hear from me.”
He looked at the number again, biting his inner cheek, and then he let out a sigh that flared his nostrils. “Alright.”
Wow, I couldn’t believe I actually did it.
“But I don’t want to hear a peep from you.” He rose from his chair.
I had to sit for a second, unable to believe I’d negotiated a salary nearly double my pay, that Deacon was right. With that kind of income, I could have a nice life, take care of another person…entirely on my own.
I snapped out of it and got to my feet. “Thank you so much, Mr. Kline. That’s very generous of you.” I shook his hand.
“Don’t make me regret it.” He turned away and walked toward the entryway.
“Enjoy your dinner.”
He ignored me and kept going.
I took a seat at my desk again because I couldn’t stand, couldn’t believe that just happened.
I was still not rich, but I had financial security now…something to fall back on if I ever needed it.
I’d just entered the condo with groceries when Deacon called me.
The week was almost over, so this separation didn’t have to last much longer. He would be home, and this week from hell would be a memory. It was hard to sleep in that bed without him, hard to look at his son’s face and not miss his father, hard to come home every night and not see him at the dining table.
It’d only been a week, but it’d been rough.
I set the bags on the counter and answered. “Hey.”
“Hey, baby,” he said with a happy tone. “How are you?”
“Good. Just walked into the condo, actually. Delivering groceries.”
“Hope there’s no pizza in there.”
“No. I’ve been feeding Derek well.” Derek tried to get me to take him to ice cream and get fast food, but I wouldn’t betray Deacon’s trust like that, so I said no.
“Good. Because I know he’ll try to manipulate you.”
“Oh, he already has.”
He chuckled. “Butthead…”
“Having a good time?”
“Yes, actually. I’m presenting tomorrow, but it’s been interesting to hear what other people are working on. I wished these people lived closer so I could see them more often, maybe go out for a beer or something, but they’re from all over.”
“And what about your team? Are they having a good time?”
“We’ve kind of dispersed since there’s so much to do.”
Good. I was glad he wasn’t spending a ton of time with Dr. Hawthorne.
“But I am eager to come home. I miss you guys.”
“We miss you too.” More than he could ever know.
“And I miss fucking you too.” He said it bluntly, his deep voice making it sound so sexy.
It caught me off guard, made me stare at the bags of groceries on the counter with tinted cheeks. “Yeah…me too.”
He sighed, like he was thinking about it. “It’s only been a few days, but I miss it.”
I missed it too. I’d gotten great sex on a daily basis, and then it just stopped.
“Well, if you ever want to…it wouldn’t bother me.”
He picked up on my meaning. “I’d rather wait until I get home.”
Fuck…I hadn’t waited.
“I want you.”
Now I felt a little guilty.
He picked up on my silence. “Baby?”
“I…I didn’t wait. I’ve been doing it every night.” I could have kept it to myself, but I blurted it out, because keeping any extra secrets was just too hard for me right now. I needed to unload everything because I was already carrying so much.
He was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, there was a smile in his voice. “Yeah?”