Page 56 of Besties
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
He flashed me a smile. “Just let me know what you need.”
I thought about it for a few minutes. “Can you give a copy of the base program to an independent company to look over? They could say that what we have is sound, and the rumors to the contrary are, at best, scurrilous.”
He snickered. “Look at you with the big words.” He picked up our bowls and took them to the sink. “That’s a great idea. I’ll send it to several places so we can get opinions from more than one. That way, even if someone has something bad to say, we can point it out and say we’ll work on correcting it.” He came back and sat down. “What else?”
“I’ll talk to some of the teachers who use the program and get their thoughts.” I had another idea. “What about kids who graduated? We can get their testimonials about how the program helped them.”
He leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips, then sat back and smiled. “Ask me again why I think you’re perfect for this job.”
His absolute faith in me actually had the chance to restore the faith I wished I had in myself. Too many boyfriends who treated me like crap, and there were way too many times I refused to stand up for myself. I just wanted to make them happy, and far too often when I gave in, just so they’d see how much I cared, it came back to bite me in the ass. Richie wasn’t like any of them. He valued my opinion, he showed he trusted me, and he wanted me to see myself the way he saw me.
“I’ll get started this morning.”
He yawned and stretched. “We’ll get started later. First we’re going to get some sleep. I don’t know about you, but I need at least four hours if I’m going to be at all productive.” He got up and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.”
“But—”
“The boss is telling you it’s time to sleep. Are you really willing to risk being written up, especially when you’re so new?” He grinned as he slid a hand over my cheek. “A few hours won’t kill you, Max, and I need some sleep. And having you next to me will make it easier.”
Well, gee. When he put it like that.
When we gotto the office, I kissed Richie good bye, then immediately went to work. I started with those who graduated with the help of Teaching Time. Many of the people I talked with were more than willing to go on record as saying they wouldn’t have made it if not for Richie’s structured system. Several told me stories about how they came from a poor family, and their schools weren’t able to scrape together enough money to buy the software, so Richie personally came in and promised them help. Within a few weeks, they had the latest and greatest version, with promises for upgrades as long as they needed them, and that never went undone.
Teachers were effusive with their praise, telling me how kids who had been failing turned around and brought their grades from Ds and Fs to Bs and Cs, and they continued working on getting those up too. One told me that her student promised she’d get at least one A before the school year ended, and she had.
Over and over I heard the same stories. The program worked, the people were top-notch, the service had no equal. Some of them had said they were contacted and told Teaching Time was a failing across the board and that they could help them do better if they would allow an unnamed company to show them their software, but they said they ignored such things.
At the end of the day, I had dozens of emails from people who were more than happy to talk about their experience with Teaching Time and said they’d go on record if asked. Of those I spoke with, only a few said the program hadn’t helped them, but they added that it had nothing to do with Richie or the product, but their own apathy toward school.
Richie had lunch delivered, so I didn’t have to leave my desk. When he put the brown butter lobster roll down in front of me, I glanced up at him.
“What’s this?”
“One of the best things you’ll ever have in your mouth.”
I let my gaze drift down toward his crotch, then back up to his face. “Oh, I sincerely doubt that.”
Seeing his cheeks redden was so worthwhile.
“Okay, so what did you find out?”
I started going through my list, but when I got to the part about an unnamed company, he stopped me.
“So that’s what this is about.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I should have realized it.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant. “Care to expound for those of us not living in your head?”
“Do you remember me telling you I turned down offers for Teaching Time? I said no to one hundred million, and I’m pretty sure if I decided to sell today, I could get five hundred million or more. I wouldn’t sell, so someone is trying to trash my rep, thinking it’ll make me desperate to get out.”
“That’s insane.”
He shrugged. “It’s the way of business, at least if you don’t care about ethics.” He picked up half my sandwich and took a bite, groaning as he chewed. “You really need to try this. I’m not sure how they get it to taste so good, but I could live off this thing.”
“Richie—”
He shook his head. “Eat now. Worry later.”
