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“I only have one place I can put you right now, and it will be difficult but like I said, I think you’re ready.”
I waited.
“You’d be replacing Mark, working for Mr. Benson on acquisitions.”
In spite of my efforts, my face must have fallen. Working for the devil himself was never part of the plan. “Is there anything else I could move into? Maybe Vanessa could do the acquisitions work.”
The corners of his mouth turned up. He thought that was as unlikely a solution as I knew it to be. “Jennifer, think about it overnight, and let me know tomorrow. Those are your two choices.” His eyes held mine.
“Would there be a raise involved with the acquisitions position?”
His head tilted. “It’s not a supervisory position, but perhaps I could suggest some adjustment. That’s really a discussion you’d need to have with Mr. Benson at the end of your probationary period.”
Three months to find out would be an eternity working for the devil.
I tried to keep eye contact and discern if there was any way I could get another alternative out of him with more pleading. I settled onno. “Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
“They’re both good opportunities,” he said as I left.
I thanked him again and headed to my desk. I didn’t have a lot of time before I needed to retrieve Billy from daycare.
Before I turned off my computer, I checked the stock price for the dose of good news I needed after these meetings. The stock had closed down twenty-two percent, but I couldn’t believe my eyes. The after-hours quote was up five percent. The spin-off headlines had overpowered theTimesarticle.
I’d had such high hopes for today, and now I was faced with two awful choices. Benson had pulled a rabbit out of a hat and dodged the news bullet.
How was that possible?
I stopped on the floor for HR on the way down.
Her door was closed. I’d have to get with her in the morning and explain my discussion with our CFO.
Chapter 6
Jennifer
Ramona helpedme clean up the dinner dishes. “What are you moping about?”
My eyes darted to Billy. “Later.” He was still finishing the last of the broccoli his mother had insisted he eat.
The television news was on, and it was something about a little girl gone missing this afternoon on her way back from school. An Amber Alert had been issued.
Ramona rushed to get the remote and changed the channel. “That’s depressing.”
Billy left his plate and went to the couch.
“Hey, little guy. Let’s see your homework first,” his mother told him.
“I did it already,” he said as he picked up the DVR controller.
“Then I want to see it already,” she said.
He gave in more easily than usual and brought it to the table from his backpack. “It was spelling, which is easy.”
Ramona checked the paper and nodded. “Good job, little guy.”
Billy stiffened at the comment. “I told you I did it. And I’m not little. Jeremy is little.”
Jeremy was another kid in his class, and Billy had it right that Jeremy was tiny for a seven-year-old.
