any better if Carley had designed them. By befriending Rick’s secretary, she was making huge inroads to his office.
They met for lunch the following week, and then for drinks at happy hour in the same pub after work that day. A few days later, lunch again, and drinks after work again. Within two weeks of Carley walking into Rick’s office, she and Anna were becoming good friends and were on each other’s cell phone speed dials. There was still no word on a job opening, though.
Anna expressed concern over Carley’s unproductive job search efforts. Carley, of course, wasn’t really looking and was only concerned about furthering her new friendship with Anna—who, it turned out, was much more than a simple secretary. She managed all of Rick’s administrative affairs, including the firm’s client trust account. That particular bit of intelligence caused a light bulb to go off over Carley’s head. If she really wanted to get at Rick, she needed to take over some of Anna’s duties, preferably her entire job position. The more Carley got to know Anna, the more she realized that wasn’t such a crazy notion.
Anna complained about financial issues when they were having drinks sometimes, and mentioned her desire to find a better paying job more than once. Carley had lots of money at her disposal, but of course didn’t let Anna know that in any way other than insisting on picking up more than her fair share of the tabs. These two facts seemed destined to come together to solve each of their problems. But how to make it happen? Carley couldn’t suddenly break out a giant wad of cash and offer to “buy” Anna’s job—could she?
The following week during lunch, Anna once again asked how Carley’s job hunt was going.
“To be honest,” Carley replied, “I haven’t been trying all that hard lately. I’ve been kind of waiting on your firm, as I think that’s where I’d like to work. I’m not hurting for money or anything. Actually, I’m kind of well-off financially and really just like working in the legal profession and need something to do.”
“Wow,” Anna said. “Here I am finally getting to know you. Don’t need to work but just want to? Must be nice.”
“Yes it is, truth be told, but it would be even nicer if we could work together. Any word on that yet?”
Anna shook her head as she took a sip of iced tea. “No, sorry. I was going to apologize for my boss about that, but now I don’t feel so bad. I should just sell you my job, if you want to work there so badly. I really need to find something higher-paying.” Anna laughed but then stopped laughing when she noticed Carley just staring back at her, eyebrows raised.
“I was joking, Carley.”
“Were you?”
“Yes—I’m pretty sure.”
“You certain?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. This is crazy talk.”
“What would it take?”
“You can’t be serious, Carley.”
“Humor me. What would it take? Seriously?”
“Listen babe, if you want my job that bad, I’ve got half a mind to let you have it. Seriously.”
“How about $10,000 cash?”
Anna choked on some bacon pieces in her salad. When she finally calmed down, Carley hadn’t changed expressions.
“Okay,” Anna said. “Now you’re scaring me.”
“It’s not a problem, Anna. I have the money. Last year I received an inheritance when my grandmother died. But don’t freak out. Just think about it. You’d have to tell your boss you are taking another job somewhere, but casually mention that I am interested in stepping in. He sees me all the time when I come pick you up for lunch. He couldn’t know about our little side-deal, of course. And me landing your job is part of that deal. But don’t stress over it now. Just think about it. Hey, did you see the story on the news about the ferry boat running aground because the captain was drunk?”
They chatted about other subjects for the rest of the Anna’s lunch hour that day, but apparently Anna did think about the
They met for lunch the following week, and then for drinks at happy hour in the same pub after work that day. A few days later, lunch again, and drinks after work again. Within two weeks of Carley walking into Rick’s office, she and Anna were becoming good friends and were on each other’s cell phone speed dials. There was still no word on a job opening, though.
Anna expressed concern over Carley’s unproductive job search efforts. Carley, of course, wasn’t really looking and was only concerned about furthering her new friendship with Anna—who, it turned out, was much more than a simple secretary. She managed all of Rick’s administrative affairs, including the firm’s client trust account. That particular bit of intelligence caused a light bulb to go off over Carley’s head. If she really wanted to get at Rick, she needed to take over some of Anna’s duties, preferably her entire job position. The more Carley got to know Anna, the more she realized that wasn’t such a crazy notion.
Anna complained about financial issues when they were having drinks sometimes, and mentioned her desire to find a better paying job more than once. Carley had lots of money at her disposal, but of course didn’t let Anna know that in any way other than insisting on picking up more than her fair share of the tabs. These two facts seemed destined to come together to solve each of their problems. But how to make it happen? Carley couldn’t suddenly break out a giant wad of cash and offer to “buy” Anna’s job—could she?
The following week during lunch, Anna once again asked how Carley’s job hunt was going.
“To be honest,” Carley replied, “I haven’t been trying all that hard lately. I’ve been kind of waiting on your firm, as I think that’s where I’d like to work. I’m not hurting for money or anything. Actually, I’m kind of well-off financially and really just like working in the legal profession and need something to do.”
“Wow,” Anna said. “Here I am finally getting to know you. Don’t need to work but just want to? Must be nice.”
“Yes it is, truth be told, but it would be even nicer if we could work together. Any word on that yet?”
Anna shook her head as she took a sip of iced tea. “No, sorry. I was going to apologize for my boss about that, but now I don’t feel so bad. I should just sell you my job, if you want to work there so badly. I really need to find something higher-paying.” Anna laughed but then stopped laughing when she noticed Carley just staring back at her, eyebrows raised.
“I was joking, Carley.”
“Were you?”
“Yes—I’m pretty sure.”
“You certain?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. This is crazy talk.”
“What would it take?”
“You can’t be serious, Carley.”
“Humor me. What would it take? Seriously?”
“Listen babe, if you want my job that bad, I’ve got half a mind to let you have it. Seriously.”
“How about $10,000 cash?”
Anna choked on some bacon pieces in her salad. When she finally calmed down, Carley hadn’t changed expressions.
“Okay,” Anna said. “Now you’re scaring me.”
“It’s not a problem, Anna. I have the money. Last year I received an inheritance when my grandmother died. But don’t freak out. Just think about it. You’d have to tell your boss you are taking another job somewhere, but casually mention that I am interested in stepping in. He sees me all the time when I come pick you up for lunch. He couldn’t know about our little side-deal, of course. And me landing your job is part of that deal. But don’t stress over it now. Just think about it. Hey, did you see the story on the news about the ferry boat running aground because the captain was drunk?”
They chatted about other subjects for the rest of the Anna’s lunch hour that day, but apparently Anna did think about the
Similar Books
