Page 147 of All Too Well
“Mr. Knight, I have nothing to negotiate.”
“Bullshit. There’s always a compromise.”
“Okay,” I say, knowing there really isn’t. “Move the paper to Ember Falls.”
He chuckles. “Starting at a pretty lofty place, I see.”
I shrug. “I’m giving you my terms.”
“Okay, then. Stay here and I’ll give you a large raise where you’ll be able to travel there easily.”
I shake my head. “I’m afraid that won’t work. I spent years away from him. I don’t want to endure another few years.”
His light-blue eyes turn soft. “I understand that more than you would think. Okay, how about this? You don’t quit and you get to keep the man you love?”
“I don’t see how that would work,” I say, feeling defeated.
He sits back down on the couch, and then steeples his fingers. “I believe in keeping good people in my company. When I purchased this paper, my thought was to just shut it down, but my wife encouraged me to keep it running and not have anyone willing to agree to the new company terms lose their jobs. Since then, I’ve just sort of let it do its thing, checking each circulation, not getting overly involved, but then I got this publication.” He leans forward. “And I read your article and wanted to come here, see more, learn about the talent we have that clearly is being underutilized.”
“I’m not sure what to say,” I admit. “I was only doing this article to be able to write the stories I was passionate about.”
“And what stories are those?”
I smile, imagining the things I would want to tackle. “World issues, politics, national issues where we could actually make a difference. I want to write about things people care about or should care about. Thought-provoking stories that make us want to be better, do better.”
Carson gets to his feet. “Here’s what I propose, you write those stories for this paper—from wherever it is that you weregoing to move to. You can work remotely and come up once a month for the major meetings.”
All the oxygen is sucked out of the room and I gasp. “What? Mr. Knight?—”
“Carson.”
“Carson, that’s an extremely generous offer, but how? The paper is here.”
He tilts his head slightly. “Do they have the internet wherever this man lives?”
“Of course, but . . .”
“But?”
I don’t even know what I was going to say. Clearly, I’m a dummy because he just offered me everything I want and I’m arguing.
“I don’t know, I just ... I came in here and gave my notice, and now you’re telling me I can keep my job and move to Ember Falls.”
Carson grins. “I’m just happy I came in before you left then.”
“Me too.”
“So you’ll stay atMetro NY?”
I stand, tug on my shirt to straighten it, and nod. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
Now to go home and pack and prove that he’s my choice.
“I’m going to miss you so much. Who else is going to window-shop with me and ride out to Brooklyn so we can go to that bookstore for only romance books or go get pizza at midnight?” Caroline slumps in my desk chair.
“I’ll miss you, too, but now you have a reason to leave the city,” I say, knowing that’s not exactly a good thing.
If Caroline could, she’d never leave Manhattan. It has everything she needs, and she feels it’s far superior to anywhere else.
