Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 86826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
My brain scrambles to reconcile what he just said with the word terminated still burned into my memory.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “You just told me he had me fired.”
“No, he didn’t have you fired. He simply had your schedule rearranged to be available for him full time.”
“I don’t understand,” I say, my brain now clouded in confusion.
There’s the soft rustle of paper on his end, as though he’s reviewing something official. “The compensation is three times your previous salary with the driving service, inclusive of full benefits and participation in the Vipers’ 401(k) program. Mr. Langley values discretion and competence. He believes you demonstrated both.”
Three times.
Benefits. A 401(k).
“I… did you say three times?” I manage, my voice barely recognizable.
“I did. I trust that will suffice.”
Five minutes ago, I was mentally calculating how to stretch fifty dollars into a week of groceries. Now this man is calmly offering me stability.
“Yes,” I say, at once afraid this is a test I could somehow fail. “Yes, of course. I mean—thank you. Truly. Thank you, um… Mister…. um… Mister…”
There’s a faint warmth in Percy’s voice now, as though he anticipated this exact reaction.
“Percy, ma’am,” he corrects gently. “Let me be the first to officially welcome you to the Vipers. Now, Mr. Langley’s executive assistant, Tracey, will reach out to you today to get your employment paperwork filed and fill you in on the other details. Mr. Langley would like you to arrive at his home tomorrow morning at eight a.m. sharp. You may come in through the main entrance. Have a good day, Ms. Hawthorne.”
The line disconnects and I lower the phone slowly, staring at the dark screen.
Abby is frozen across from me, hands braced on the counter. “What just happened? Harper, tell me… what just happened?”
I let out a shaky breath, my heart still racing. “I think,” I say carefully, “I just got a promotion.”
Chapter 5
Harper
This cannot be real. Can it? No, it can’t be… or is it?
That’s what I keep thinking as I walk down Julian Langley’s block the next morning, noting with dismay that my heart hasn’t stopped pounding since yesterday evening.
No more than thirty seconds after Percy hung up, my phone lit up with an email from Julian Langley’s executive assistant, Tracey Collins. Six attachments. Official letterhead. A salary number that made me so dizzy I had to sit down at the kitchen table.
A salary three times what I was making. Three.
All my adult life, I’ve been a hustler. I tried college after high school, but it wasn’t for me. I found some of the classes interesting, but most of it was boring. Without a solid education, good-paying jobs were scarce and there started my career of juggling multiple gigs. I’ve always held at least two jobs at the same time, sometimes three to live the life I wanted. Once Dylan came to live with me, that meant I tightened my budget and cut out things like getting my nails done and going out for sushi once a week with Abby.
Now with a job paying this much, I don’t have to have a second one anymore. I can have more time with Dylan and… well, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself, but I’ll figure it out.
I’d stared at the direct deposit form like it might vanish if I blinked too hard. Then the 401(k) paperwork—with company matching. Matching. As in, they put money in because I put money in. I’d never even considered retirement beyond Don’t think about it and hope you’re not homeless at seventy.
Then the health insurance packet.
I swallow as I stop at a red light, Manhattan buzzing around me.
Not bare-minimum coverage. Not catastrophic, cross-your-fingers-and-pray coverage. Real insurance. The kind of insurance that lists networks and specialists and preventive care, like those are normal, accessible things.
Eligible dependents like Dylan Hawthorne.
I typed his name in myself. Double-checked the spelling, even though I’ve been writing it since I was fourteen and forging permission slips because Mom was at another “show.” I chose the plan with the lower deductible. I didn’t even hesitate.
There’s even a supplemental pet policy through one of the team sponsors. I laughed when I saw that. A hysterical, slightly unhinged sound that startled Beau off the couch. It’s the sound of when life borders on the feeling of How did this just happen to me?
I enrolled in everything and I don’t think I’ll quite believe it’s real until I get confirmation emails.
And even now, as I stand before Julian Langley’s townhouse that looks like it belongs in a period drama about robber barons, part of me is waiting for someone to step out and say there’s been a mistake.
The street is quieter here. It’s the type of block where the trees are evenly spaced and the brownstones look like they’ve never known financial panic. I picked him up here just yesterday, but now I’m noticing things.