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“Because you’ve already done too much. With you, I’m a permanent mercy case and that’s not who I am.”
The other woman’s distress was palpable. Erica lightly touched her hand. “You’re dealing with a truckload of shit that isn’t your fault. Maybe I started out helping because Summer guilted me into it, but this is different. I think you should take the job.”
“Do you even have any openings?”
Erica smiled. “The call center is down by two. We’re about to lose a receptionist, which sucks because I always want to inspire those young women to go to beauty school, then come back and grow into stardom. I need a couple of level-three stylists, one in Issaquah and one in Bellevue, but those are the hardest positions to fill. My operations clerk is about to get her second warning, so we’ll be replacing her soon. The cleaning staff is never a problem because Francis runs a tight ship. So yes, I do know if we have any openings in the call center.”
Allison stared at her. “Holy crap. You know everything.”
“No one will ever love my business more than me. Training is online but happens in the salon. You’ll be paid for your time and I’ll cover Jackson’s day care. If you’re interested.”
She eyed Allison’s huge belly. “If we hurry, you could finish before you go into labor. You in?”
“I would genuinely be living in the gutter if it weren’t for you.”
“Don’t be dramatic. You’d be in a shelter. No one lives in the gutter.”
Allison laughed. “Fair. I’ll owe you forever, but I can’t help it. The job is perfect. Thank you. When does training start?”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
24
“So you’re like Edward in Pretty Woman?” Allison asked, sounding doubtful.
“No, I don’t buy companies and sell them for parts. I buy companies in trouble and make them better. Then I sell them for profit.” Killion smiled at her. “It’s all about the profit. Sometimes a company has a good idea but can’t get it to market or can’t get the financing for manufacturing.”
“But wouldn’t the bank just loan them the money?”
“Banks are picky.”
“You’re picky, too,” Erica pointed out. “Just in a different way.”
“But with the bank, there’s only a loan, right?” Allison frowned slightly. “But when you get involved, you own part of the company. They have to do what you say.”
Killion grinned. “That’s the part I like. My job is to make money. I look for cheap companies with potential. I make them profitable, then sell at the highest price. I don’t want to hold on to anything permanently. I’m not looking to acquire. I want to get the most I can, then move on.”
Allison looked doubtful. “That sounds ruthless.”
“You’ve just made his day,” Erica teased. “Killion loves when people think he’s ruthless.”
They were seated in the kitchen at her house. Summer was out with friends and Mara was “entertaining,” so it was just the three of them. Erica and Killion had talked about going out to dinner, but had decided to stay in instead. He’d shown up at about six thirty, in time to entertain Jackson with a rousing half hour of chase and play with trucks. While Erica had popped the white-sauce lasagna in the oven, Allison had bathed her son and read to him until he’d fallen asleep, then she’d come downstairs for dinner.
Killion picked up his wineglass. “It’s business. I’m in it for a profit.”
“But do people get hurt by what you do?”
“Some will get fired. Others will make a lot of money.”
“What about the ones who lose their jobs? What if they have families?”
“Most companies have a severance policy. There’s unemployment.”
“You know that’s not enough.”
His gaze was steady. “I do.”
“But you’re so nice, to me, to Erica.”
