Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 123877 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123877 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 619(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Arik winked at Julian then grinned as he shook his head. Arik was the seasoned business mogul between the two men and had taken Thane under his wing, mentoring him. They hadn’t gotten to the point of Thane having much of a say in the outcome of their decisions. “My legal team will have the permits ready by the end of day tomorrow. Dallas is our highest earning property. There’s less competition for Reservations in DFW.”
Thane looked up, his face contorted in question, his eyes glazed from going through the enormous amount of paperwork in front of him. It took a second for him to fully focus on Arik. “How can they have the permits in twenty-four hours?”
“Alec Pierce,” Arik said as if that answered everything. Thane nodded his understanding then shook his head.
“Who?”
“My new legal counsel,” Arik explained.
“What happened to Reed Kensington?” Julian had to give it to Thane, he tried really hard to catch up but still looked utterly lost.
“Pierce works for Kensington but I’m going to steal him away. He’s very good at what he does,” Arik answered, reaching for a pen off the unused pad of paper in front of him. He stretched back in his seat.
Thane nodded again. Julian might not know Pierce, but he did recognize the intent behind Arik’s claim. A gleam lit Thane’s eyes. “I’m the one who needs a miracle worker. Have him come work with me. I pay better.”
“Fuck no,” Arik said without hesitation. “Pierce is extremely well connected in DC. He’ll never leave me. He’s given his blood oath, so look elsewhere, Walker.” What a ridiculous statement that Arik made with all certainty.
As fun as all this was, watching Arik tease Thane, Julian had a schedule to follow. He cleared his throat, trying to refocus the conversation back to why they wanted him there in the first place. If he didn’t get a hold on this back-and-forth banter, Arik and Thane would go off on a verbal volleyball match and wind up talking for the next two hours about something as inane as the coastline of Norway’s fishing industry.
Julian should know. He’d sat through that very intensive debate once. He damn sure wasn’t going to let that happen ever again. “So when would you be sending me to Dallas? Not my first choice in destinations, but it’s good enough. I can hire my replacement here. It won’t take long. I have someone in mind.”
Thane’s head shifted Julian’s way, and he just stared. Arik did too. Julian’s brows dropped together as Thane shut the folder on his lap and tossed it on the table. “Right. That’s why you’re here.”
Thane’s tone and Arik’s tilt of the head, looking away from Julian, didn’t seem like positives. His gut twisted.
“Why am I here?”
Were they letting him go?
“Julian…” Thane started. Oh hell no. Not that tone of disappointment.
Julian butted in, attempting to explain why he did what he did before Thane could justify taking his promotion away. “Franklin the fucker deserved to be fired, and guess what? He’s magically doing a million times better.” Julian pointed to his chest. “I did that. Standards are everything, and that’s always what I’ll bring to any leadership role I’m—”
“Calm down, Julian,” Thane interrupted.
Julian sat up in his chair, snapped his spine ramrod straight, and clasped his hands together on the table. They were not taking his promotion away. It was all he had that made him feel whole. “And had you followed your own personnel training, you’d know to never start a disciplinary action with the words calm down—”
“This isn’t a disciplinary action,” Arik raised his voice over Julian to grab his attention. When Julian glanced at the man, the Cheshire cat grin had him snapping his mouth closed.
He was fucking glad to see how his dedicated hard work amused these two bastards. Julian’s gaze shifted between the men. His heart drummed loudly in his ears.
“Julian, we’ve changed things up,” Thane said quickly.
When Julian opened his mouth to respond, Arik added, “Your role with Reservations is valuable to us.”
A single brow arched. Had he heard that right? “Then why does it feel like I’m being fired?” Julian shot out, wondering how he was still sitting in this seat and hadn’t exploded like a firecracker.
Thane gave him an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. If you didn’t make me second-guess every damn thing I ever plan to say to you to keep you from arguing with me all the damn time, I could just say it.”
“I’m still waiting,” Julian countered immediately.
“We’re changing your role,” Arik answered.
“Why? You know I would be perfect in a regional manager position over the clubs,” Julian burst, jumping to his feet. “No one has this company’s best interest at heart more than I do. My standards of excellence need to be the measure that every employee who works for this company strives to achieve. I’m the only one who pushes and pushes and puts the time in to make this company great.”