When Andy starts a complex and steamy love affair with her new boss, she discovers there's more to his arrogant facade than she originally thought.
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Having secured her dream job at Kelex, a company she's long admired, An...
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When we arrived, Kevin was already in the conference room, with two very formal-looking people. Lawyers, I guessed. Everybody introduced themselves, and soon after we were done, Alexander joined us. He saluted the lawyers, and we all took our seats around the large table.
We started right away, and they pulled out a bunch of documents, explained how the afternoon would unfold, and so on. After barely ten minutes, I thanked the gods Kate was here. It was the first time I was seeing her practicing, and it impressed me how serious and professional she was. I wasn't used to seeing her even remotely this resolute. The professional side of her was a novelty to me.
Quickly, I was lost, but I still tried to follow and understand what was happening. After over an hour, Lex recommended a break before we started the negotiations. I gladly went out for some fresh air, while Kate stayed in to review a few of the documents. I was walking mindlessly, trying to air out my brain. Unexpectedly, a firm hand grabbed my arm and pushed me into the nearest room – an empty office. When I turned around at once, I discovered with surprise that it was Lex.
"What the—" I stopped, noticing his very grave expression.
He closed the door behind us and turned to me, his tall frame dominating and imposing.
"As I've told you before, I am the one who has determined the worth of your work," he declared, not wasting time explaining his weird behavior. "I've told them it was worth three hundred thousand dollars, which is still too few, in my opinion. They will start the offer much lower, probably under one hundred thousand. Do not go for any less than two hundred and fifty. They will try to lower the price, no matter what. It's their job. But they have been ordered to accept until two hundred and fifty. Do you understand?"
I nodded, confused by how strange this was. "Can't you just decide the price and be done with it?" I asked, trying to make sense of his cryptic behavior.
"Kevin is the one in charge of finances and investments. I can advise him, but he's the one who makes the final decisions. And he wouldn't understand."
"Understand what?"
He frowned slightly as if I'd caught him off-guard. After a short moment of reflection, he spoke again. "Kev isn't into computers. Coding might as well be Chinese to him. He wouldn't get the extent of your work and what it's worth."
I nodded, feeling a spike of adrenaline make my heart beat faster. Or was it because he was standing so close to me? I took a few steps back, trying to clear my head. Okay, so, no matter what, they would pay me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars? With that information in mind, I would have to stay strong, and not fall for their negotiation techniques.
I looked at Lex, wondering if he was telling the truth. He had no reason to lie. As he'd said before, it was a ridiculous amount of money for them, so scamming me over it was pointless.
"Is it all clear to you?" he asked. I nodded. "Good." He turned around, walked to the door, and was abruptly reminded of something. "Don't... speak of this."
