Page 10 of The Kissing Part
“Are we in agreement?” Mackenzie asks. “I’d like to bump her up ten dollars an hour and revisit it again in six months. We don’t want to lose the first good assistant we’ve hired.”
“Agreed,” Nathan and I say at the same time.
“Good, moving on,” Mackenzie says, turning her laptop screen toward us. “Projected revenue for next quarter and year-end.” She has an accounting degree and can basically do anything.
I pull the laptop closer. “Year-end is looking weak.”
Nathan sips his coffee. “We should be going up year after year, not losing ground.”
“We’ve got a good foothold with tech companies and pharma,” Mackenzie says. “It’s time to reach another industry. Our government contract is looking promising. High security clearance, which means high profile for us. Only thing is, they delayed choosing a contractor until after the Fourth of July holiday. And they want someone in DC for at least eight weeks right after that.”
“I can’t,” Nathan says. “I promised the fam I’d meet them in Martha’s Vineyard for the Fourth and the two weeks after. It’s on the calendar.”
I ball up a napkin and throw it at him. “I can do it. How close are we to getting it? Fifty percent chance? Seventy-five?”
Mackenzie purses her lips, looking just like her mom. Funny how thinking expressions can be inherited. “Seventy-five. I feel good about this one. I sent over our latest work with Iotech’s cancer vaccine security. That was a good one with the techie alarm systems, as well as cyber security.”
Nathan and I can do all the tech needed for our clients, even though neither of us has a degree in computer science. He has a degree in business, and mine is in mechanical engineering. After six months at an engineering firm, I went out on my own, partnering up with these two. Dad is a genius with computers and taught me everything I know. He founded Dat Cloud to compress data at a time when it was overwhelming systems. He sold it for a huge profit. Nathan was over at the house so much he picked up the computer stuff too. We used to do a lot of online gaming and hacked our way into stuff we had no business messing with just to see if we could. Hey, the best hackers make for the best cybersecurity experts.
“Anything you two would like to add?” Mackenzie asks.
“Shayla Adler wants to hire us for help with a stalker situation,” I say in my professional voice as if she has zero effect on me. Which she doesn’t.
“She told me,” Mackenzie says.
I stare at her. “When?”And why did Shayla come to me if she could just as easily have gone to Mackenzie?
Is Shayla hoping to start something with me?
My shoulders tense. No way I’m going down that road again with her.
“Last night,” Mackenzie says. “I think you should do it.”
I shake my head. “Nathan should take this one for security setup, and then I want you to find her a bodyguard. I’m out.”
“Owen, our year-end figures are looking dismal,” Mackenzie says. “Shayla will pay big bucks, and she specifically wants you. This could be an ‘in’ with a new industry. Think of all the high-tech equipment the movie industry needs to keep safe, not to mention the intellectual property and their stars.”
“I already have an insider connection with Mom,” I say, though I would never use it. Dad hammered it into our brains that we needed to make our own way in the world. No special treatment. He taught me computer stuff, but he expected me to handle career stuff solo. Besides, Iwantto make my own way in the world.
I cross my arms. “My schedule’s full.”
Mackenzie smiles. “I’ve already rearranged a few things on your schedule. Nathan and I will pick up the slack so you can dedicate two weeks to the Shayla job.”
I clench my jaw. I either have to deal with Shayla or let down my partners, knowing we could really use the business.
Nathan jerks his chin at me. “You can handle being near the most beautiful woman in the world for two weeks, right?”
I give him the finger. He knows what went down between me and Shayla.
“Do it for Brooks Campbell Security,” Nathan says. “Bottom line, we can’t afford to turn away lucrative jobs.”
“Do it for a woman who’s scared to go to work, scared to go anywhere,” Mackenzie says.
My Achilles’ heel. A woman in need of protection. Not just any woman. The one who snuck into my heart and then blew it up.
I scrub a hand over my face. “Fine. Two weeks, but I’m not living with her. I’m staying in the room below her.”
Mackenzie’s brows shoot up. “Who said anything about living together?”
