Page 90 of Your Last First Kiss
“What else? What do you mean, ‘done?’” Miller sputters, and Remy turns back to the window.
I’m really going to have to look more closely at those contracts. There’s not a chance in hell I’ll spend my days sitting up here waiting for someone to ambush me in fatigues and deer piss.
“Times have changed, Miller. To run this place, we’ll need full-time employees. That means I’ll offer you health, dental, vision, life—whatever kind of insurance you need, we’ll offer. How much do you make as a gym teacher?”
“Physical Education teacher. The gym is where the class happens,” he grumbles.
I’ll give him that, but it will always be gym class for me.
“How much?” I ask again.
“About forty-five thousand,” he mutters, then turns his back and paces the round room.
“I’ll offer you one-twenty-five per year with a buy-in package. It’s similar to what Ashton did for me at Envision Securities. Twenty-five grand will go to the buy-in, leaving you with one hundred thousand a year gross, but you’ll own a stake in the TAC.”
“It keeps it in the family,” Remy says, nodding his head.
Miller bites his lip, and his eyes narrow as he thinks. “What does that entail? I still have to take care of Izzy. What about summers?” His voice breaks, possibly from nerves. “What exactly are you asking of me?”
“Technically, you’ll be a VP. Functionally, you’ll help me run the day-to-day after you help me win over the town. As far as Izzy goes, we’ll offer childcare, summer camps, after-school programs—all of it. I’m going to ask Lochlan’s sister-in-law to come into town this week. This is her specialty. She sets up child-focused community centers in areas where they either can’t afford one or it simply doesn’t exist. Your hours may change, but the heart of the TAC stays the same. If that means Izzy’s running around here with Gage after school, then that’s what it means.”
He clears his throat, and his posture stiffens. “Are you doing this because of Penny?”
“I’m doing this to help her, yes. But I’m also doing it for the kids who grew up like me with abusive parents and need something to hold on to. I’m doing it for me too. I need this. I need a purpose that’s not just about collecting a check.”
“And if things don’t work out with you and Penny? Then what happens?” There’s a hard ridge of doubt in his tone that sets my teeth on edge, and I move forward so he can search my eyes.
“If you think I’m going to dump my entire net worth into a project and then walk away because ‘things don’t work out,’ I haven’t earned your trust yet. But make no mistake, I will. And to be clear, Penny is it for me. I don’t give a shit if I have to wait another three years. She’s it. If she decides I’m not hers? It’ll fucking suck, but I want her happiness more than my own. I’ll bleed out before I hurt her.”
Miller steps up to me, so we’re only a few feet apart.
“Boys,” Remy interrupts, like he’s spent his life breaking up fights.
“One fifty, and you have yourself a deal.” Miller keeps a straight face for as long as he can, but a grin breaks free after only a few seconds.
“Deal. We start tomorrow. If you have to finish out the school year, I’ll need your afternoons, maybe some nights and weekends. This will move fast with four crews working around the clock to have the TAC, or at least the gym, ready for the summer sneaker circuit leagues. Ashton and Remy have had the leg work done for months. The sneaky bastards were waiting for the right time to strike.”
“And it ends up being sweaty Eddy who gets you here,” Miller says, shaking his head. “I’ll make the schedule work. How will this affect Penny?” he asks, and I decide I really do like this guy. He puts his family first, his entire family, and that includes Penny.
“Lochlan has a long-term plan he’d like to discuss with her. In the meantime, I’ll learn to take care of a baby and a four-year-old during the day while we do this, so she can continue to work.”
“Got the paperwork she asked for from the pro bono attorney. She’s gotta go to the judge a week from Monday for temporary custody of the girls,” Remy says, then returns his attention to the window.
Pro bono? Hell no. If she needs a lawyer, we’ll get her a damned lawyer. But something niggles at the back of my mind. Something telling me she hasn’t thought of herself in a very long time.
“Did anyone ask if that’s what she wants?” I rub my chest.
“They’re her son’s sisters, Dillon. Wouldn’t you do the same thing?” Miller asks, but his expression says he’s as worried as I am.
“But she needs to have a choice,” I argue.
“She got one. I spoke to her in the gym,” Remy says. “I offered to take the girls in. She politely declined.”
Is there anything that gets past this man?
“Satisfied?” Remy asks. His body vibrates. He’s tapping his toes, and there’s a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before.
He’s as excited about this new venture as I am.
