decided to sit in the sand. If he kept saying things like that and I kept feeling things like I just had, I wouldn’t be able to stand and talk either. I had to remind myself why I’d called him before I could speak. “The reason I called is because I was wondering if your offer still stood.”
“Which offer?” he asked. “I don’t really care because whatever offer I made you that you’re referring to you can have, but it would probably be good for me to know which one you’re talking about.”
Henry had caught me off guard yet again. He made me other offers that morning on the beach? Which ones?
“The job slash contracting offer. Would you still be interested in having me on board?” Asking a favor from Henry was about as painful as I imagined pulling out an abscessed molar with pliers might have been.
“Of course it stands,” he said. “Are you interested in coming on board?”
“Yeah, actually I am. That super secretive contracting gig might not be for me.”
“And you think Callahan Industries might be the gig for you?”
I heard his amused smile in his tone. “I think there’s only one way to find out.” If he was going to play the conversation double-meaning game, I would too.
“What position did you have in mind? Development, program management, systems analysis?”
Might as well get started. I had no time to waste when it came to seducing my ex. “I don’t know.” I lowered my voice a note and slowed it down two notes. “What position do you want me in?”
He was silent for so long, I checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“How about program management?” he suggested after clearing his throat. “One of my best PM’s just got promoted, and I haven’t filled the spot yet. You’d be overseeing a team of developers in Research and Development—keeping them on deadline, conducting team meetings, making sure they’re properly fed and watered, that kind of thing.”
“Fed and watered? Am I babysitting a litter of puppies or a team of employees?”
Henry’s soft chuckle rolled through my body. “These are R&D developers. They’re like a team of huskies—they’d run themselves to their deaths if someone didn’t force them to take a break.”
“And these are the kind of people you want me overseeing?” I watched the waves crashing into the shore and concentrated on the conversation, not the person I was having said conversation with.
“I can’t think of anyone better, actually. There was a reason I gave you my business card and practically begged you to come work for me.”
Yeah, there was a reason. But in the end, it wasn’t about employment and program management. “Overseeing a team of pocket-protector wearing, Mountain Dew addicted R&D developers? Where do I sign up?”
“You’ll take it?” Henry sounded as skeptical as I imagined he felt. Days ago, I’d been adamant about not working for him, and there I was, a step above begging to be brought on board.
“I’ll take it.”
Another long silence stretched between us.
“It may be none of my business, and you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, Eve”— great, this ought to be good —“but why do you want to work for Callahan Industries after . . . everything that happened between us? Quite frankly, I would have guessed my company would be the one you’d want to destroy, not come to work for.”
He was right. His company was the one I wanted to destroy. And he was wrong. His company was the one I was going to destroy. Along with the rest of his life.
“Your company was the last one I wanted to come work for. That was, until I started contracting at all the others and realized how many of the same chauvinistic dickheads I went to school with are now running those companies. You and I might have history— bad history—but I’m a firm believer in leaving the past behind and moving forward.” Yeah, that might be one of the biggest lies I’ve ever told. “I’d rather
“Which offer?” he asked. “I don’t really care because whatever offer I made you that you’re referring to you can have, but it would probably be good for me to know which one you’re talking about.”
Henry had caught me off guard yet again. He made me other offers that morning on the beach? Which ones?
“The job slash contracting offer. Would you still be interested in having me on board?” Asking a favor from Henry was about as painful as I imagined pulling out an abscessed molar with pliers might have been.
“Of course it stands,” he said. “Are you interested in coming on board?”
“Yeah, actually I am. That super secretive contracting gig might not be for me.”
“And you think Callahan Industries might be the gig for you?”
I heard his amused smile in his tone. “I think there’s only one way to find out.” If he was going to play the conversation double-meaning game, I would too.
“What position did you have in mind? Development, program management, systems analysis?”
Might as well get started. I had no time to waste when it came to seducing my ex. “I don’t know.” I lowered my voice a note and slowed it down two notes. “What position do you want me in?”
He was silent for so long, I checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
“How about program management?” he suggested after clearing his throat. “One of my best PM’s just got promoted, and I haven’t filled the spot yet. You’d be overseeing a team of developers in Research and Development—keeping them on deadline, conducting team meetings, making sure they’re properly fed and watered, that kind of thing.”
“Fed and watered? Am I babysitting a litter of puppies or a team of employees?”
Henry’s soft chuckle rolled through my body. “These are R&D developers. They’re like a team of huskies—they’d run themselves to their deaths if someone didn’t force them to take a break.”
“And these are the kind of people you want me overseeing?” I watched the waves crashing into the shore and concentrated on the conversation, not the person I was having said conversation with.
“I can’t think of anyone better, actually. There was a reason I gave you my business card and practically begged you to come work for me.”
Yeah, there was a reason. But in the end, it wasn’t about employment and program management. “Overseeing a team of pocket-protector wearing, Mountain Dew addicted R&D developers? Where do I sign up?”
“You’ll take it?” Henry sounded as skeptical as I imagined he felt. Days ago, I’d been adamant about not working for him, and there I was, a step above begging to be brought on board.
“I’ll take it.”
Another long silence stretched between us.
“It may be none of my business, and you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, Eve”— great, this ought to be good —“but why do you want to work for Callahan Industries after . . . everything that happened between us? Quite frankly, I would have guessed my company would be the one you’d want to destroy, not come to work for.”
He was right. His company was the one I wanted to destroy. And he was wrong. His company was the one I was going to destroy. Along with the rest of his life.
“Your company was the last one I wanted to come work for. That was, until I started contracting at all the others and realized how many of the same chauvinistic dickheads I went to school with are now running those companies. You and I might have history— bad history—but I’m a firm believer in leaving the past behind and moving forward.” Yeah, that might be one of the biggest lies I’ve ever told. “I’d rather
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