Page 4 of Wolf's Whistle
Armand came down the stairs, followed by Henri and then Julien.
Etienne swept out his arm as he made the introductions. “Armand La Marche, Julien Bellaire, and Henri Giraud, this is Richard Kerrigan, the young man who exposed the power supply fiasco at Switched Power Designs. He and Julio grew up together before Julio’s parents drowned.”
Richard stood to meet Julio’s friends.
Julio took over. “Richard, Armand is the Chief Executive Officer of Garou Industries, Henri is the Director of Security, and Julien is the Director of Production and Quality Assurance.”
Armand walked over to shake his hand, followed by Henri and then Julien. When Julien’s hand touched Richard’s, a spark flickered between them. Julien’s jaw dropped. Richard jumped back. Julio broke out in a huge grin.
Henri excused himself. “I’ll bring the others down,” he said sadly and went back up the stairs to get the other members of the board.
§ § §
Richard gazed up through his thick auburn eyelashes, giving Julien a peek at his emerald green eyes.
My Mate. Thank the gods, I have a Mate. I have to get Richard to come home with me. I can’t leave him in Chicago. Something could happen to him as it did to Julio and besides, I can’t court him long distance. How do I get him to come?
Julien perused the sheet in his hand. “Except for the incident at Switched Power Designs, you have an exemplary resume. Why didn’t you just leave your position at Switched Power off? You could have said you took a gap year.”
“That would be dishonest, Mr. Bellaire. There’s enough dishonesty in the world without me adding to it.”
Armand, after carefully examining Richard, read the CV he held in his hand. “You are the kind of employee we want at Garou. Julien?”
“I would hire you as a production manager. But perhaps you might prefer a job in R&D or in our Information and Technology Division. Armand, Richard, let’s sit down.” Julien pulled out the chair for Richard.
“If you really do want me, production and quality assurance is a good fit. To my detriment at Switched Power, I’m a stickler for getting the job done right.”
“I’m curious, why didn’t you send a copy of this to Garou after you left MIT?” Julien asked. “We are the leading technology company in North America, bar none.”
“During my junior year at MIT, Garou tried to recruit me. The offer was spectacular, but I couldn’t move my mother to Manhattan. She was undergoing chemo and radiation. Although Sloan Kettering is in New York and one of the best cancer centers in the nation, I couldn’t talk her into leaving her doctor in Chicago, so I had to decline. After Mom died, I didn’t think I’d get another offer after I refused the first one, and then there was the business with Switched Power.” Richard’s eyes got a little misty.
“I loved your mom almost as much as I loved my own,” Julio said. “Her PB&J lunch was the last meal that I didn’t eat in fear until I met Etienne. When did she pass?”
“She passed away just after I lost my job. What do you mean, eat in fear?” Richard narrowed his eyes.
“I’ll tell you, but not today. It’s a long story.”
Rémy, Marc, Gabriel, and Alexei came down the stairs. Julien broadcast on the Alpha link.This man is my Mate.Aloud he said, “Meet Richard Kerrigan. He blew the whistle on Switched Power Designs and the Cougar II fiasco. This is his resume.”
“I’m Rémy Clavier, Chief Operating Officer of Garou. This is Marc Thierry, Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. Gabriel Martin is our Chief Technology Officer and Alexei Davidoff, Chief of Research and Development.”
Richard quickly retrieved several resumes from the folder that now sat open on his lap and handed them to the men who stood before him.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Julien’s eyes sparkled.My Mate is very intelligent and accomplished.Julio piped in, “Richard wants to go back to school for his master’s.”
“We’ll pay for that,” Armand said smoothly. “As we would for any other candidate of your caliber. I don’t know which department you’d like to work with, but you’re qualified for all of them. What was our original offer?”
“Uh, seventy-five thousand dollars plus excellent benefits.”
“You’re hired. You can stay with Julien and go to NYU. You wouldn’t be alone. All of our husbands go there. When you finish, we’ll pay you two hundred thousand a year. In the meantime, we’ll pay all of the expenses for your master’s degree plus a stipend of one thousand dollars a week, and you’ll receive the Garou benefit package. We’ll put all the money in an account for you so you won’t be afraid you’ll lose your job and be stuck in a strange city.”
“You’re all gay?”
It seemed that Richard didn’t hear the details of the offer, just the part aboutall of our husbands.
“Why, is that a problem?” Armand asked in a voice that was a bit too silky.
“No, sir. It happens that I’m gay, too. I knew Julio was gay from the time we were kids. We gravitated toward each other in Oswego because of our shared sexuality but soon became good friends. I’m so happy to see that everything turned out well for him. My family was very concerned.”
