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“I would be happy to stay, Chloe. Happy to keep mentoring you. I have a lot of ideas and our previous owners were rather resistant to change. And all the accommodations for you were all me. Because you’re smart, talented, and a good worker, so of course we wouldn’t have abandoned you when things got tough.”
I smile.
He takes a big breath and keeps going. “When you’re ready I’d love to talk about my ideas and a role for both of us that would likely work very well and would give you flexibility if you’d like to focus on other things while still being involved. I’m a signing officer so I can handle everything until you’re ready to talk further.”
“That’s a huge relief, Frank. Huge. Thank you very, very much.”
“My pleasure, Chloe.”
“Okay, so like I said there’s a lot happening here with my husband’s family, so I’d appreciate it if you could keep things running and I’ll be in touch if and when I’m ready to jump back in. I’m just… not ready to make any big decisions right now.”
“You could decide to boost my salary by, say, twenty per cent, and know that I’ll take very good care of your company. Though I’d do that anyway, Chloe. Financials are good so you can afford to give me this raise. And we can talk performance bonuses when you’re ready. ”
I smile. “How about thirty per cent?”
“I like the way you think. I’ve always liked the way you think.”
I laugh.
“Take care, Chloe. Please send your husband my condolences. I hope his father makes a full recovery.”
“Thanks, Frank. I’ll talk to you soon.” I hang up.
“Your husband,” I hear.
Derek is in the doorway of the kitchen.
Our eyes meet. He stands there in a pair of gray sweatpants. Nothing else.
“There’s a lot happening here with your husband’s family, you said. I loved hearing you use that word for me. Love hearing it come from your lips. Love hearing you talk. You don’t talk to me.”
“I made you a cup of coffee.” I gesture to the counter.
He’s looking at me like he wants to eat me alive.
“Frank sends his condolences,” I add.
And Derek’s expression drops, but he reaches for the cup.
“That conversation sounded like it went well,” he says. “Sounds like you and Frank make a good team.”
His phone rings. He sets the mug on the counter and pulls it from his sweatpants pocket, looks at the screen and answers it.
“Eli,” he greets, leans over and kisses the top of my head, then walks away.
I spend the morning in the office upstairs, scanning articles online about Derek’s family. They all talk about Shannon Steele’s extensive modeling career, the few TV sitcoms she was on, and her involvement in charity.
There’s talk of Michael Steele’s success and some history about his family along with each article mentioning a paragraph about Thaddeus Steele being gunned down a while back. All the articles I read from local sources seem like they’ve been approved by the Steele family. Nothing salacious or gossipy, though there is speculation on one article from a New York paper about whether or not the accident was really an accident and pondering about whether or not it’s connected with Thaddeus Steele’s murder.
I decide to send a text message to Grace. I see she sent herself a message from me with my name on it the other day, so I know I’m in her phone and probably don’t need to sign the text with my name.
I’m so, so sorry about your mom. If you need anything, please reach out.
I send a group text message to Maddie and Cor and include Alannah just because we usually don’t leave one another out of the loop when it’s a group text. Though I’m already aware from Lan that they have had some group texts about me lately.
Hi Coraline and Maddie. Sorry I’ve been out of touch. Life has been beyond crazy as I’m sure you can imagine from the various headlines. Never imagined anything related to my life would make headlines unless it was that I died trying to win a taco-eating contest, but I promise we’ll catch up as soon as possible. Love you guys.
When Alannah stayed over, she told me they were asking questions. She told me she told them the truth. And this horrified me. She didn’t give them a lot of detail, only that Derek Steele had set his sights on me and essentially stolen me from my life, had seduced me and become extremely possessive. But she said as far as she knew it was all mostly very swoony. She’s also kept Jeff in the loop but with only the truth, which has me a bit nervous. I message him next.
