A Proposal For The Officer. Christy Jeffries
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man know that?” his assistant asked. “Because Coach Chatterson gave me very specific instructions that nobody from the office was to bother you for the next ten days while you’re with your family.”
That was just like his father to go behind his back like that. And with one of his trusted employees, no less. “Does my dad pay your salary now?”
“No, but he promised to get me a baseball signed by your brother if I sent all the employees a memo instructing them not to call you.”
“Sellout,” Kaleb snorted.
“Can you blame me? Do you know how much authenticated memorabilia signed by the infamous Kane Chatterson goes for nowadays?”
“I didn’t mean you. I meant my brother. He of all people should know not to interfere in my business.”
“Aw, c’mon, Kaleb. You told your family that the only way you would take time off from your job was if they agreed to take time off their jobs. You can’t blame them for wanting to get you back for scheduling this trip right during the middle of baseball season.”
He grunted, but smiled to himself because he’d definitely outplayed his dad and brothers with that negotiation maneuver.
“Besides,” Angela continued, “deep down, you know your family is looking out for your best interest.”
“Story of my life,” Kaleb said as he flicked on the turn signal. A few years ago, he would’ve been annoyed, but now the high-handed move was completely expected and Kaleb would’ve suspected something was wrong if his family hadn’t tried to protect him in some way. Old habits were hard to break and all that. He didn’t begrudge them their motivation, even when he grew exasperated with their tactics. “So, tell me how the testing of the avatar prototype went.”
“It went great for the preliminary rounds. A couple of minor glitches to work out but our software team is on top of it.”
“Have them meet with the graphic artists to go over—”
“They’re already on it, Boss Man,” Angela interrupted.
“What about the negotiations with the record label to let us use that song for the intro to ‘Zombies vs. Alien Pirates’?”
“The legal department is drawing up the contracts this week.”
He made a right turn onto the long dirt driveway leading to the house Kane had refurbished last year. Kaleb wasn’t ready to call it a night quite yet, though. An unexplained restlessness simmered in his belly and he reached for his tablet on the passenger seat. He pulled up his electronic calendar on the screen as he steered the truck with one hand. “Where are we at with those new health care benefits for the administration staff?”
“They decided that they’d rather have a sushi chef in the cafeteria than affordable insurance, so HR is actively screening applicants at every Japanese restaurant in the greater Seattle area.”
“Really?” Kaleb jerked his head up, stopping in front of the barn that had been converted into a garage.
“No, Kaleb. Not really. But I left a very good-looking date and a warm cup of sake so I could step outside of Sensei Miso’s and take your call.”
Angela had been the first person Kaleb hired when he’d started Perfect Game Industries, which meant that she’d been with him since before he could legally drink alcohol and, therefore, felt free to give him her opinion—along with any other unsolicited advice she deemed suitable. Funny how in his quest to start a business that was completely independent of his family, he hired the one person who acted like his long-lost big sister all the time.
Which was probably why he sounded less like an authoritative boss and more like a petulant little brother when he replied, “You could’ve said as much when you answered the phone.”
“Kaleb, you and I both know that my salary more than compensates me for these after-hours calls. But you’re supposed to be on vacation. That means that all your vice presidents and department directors are getting a vacation from you micromanaging us.”
“I’ve never micromanaged anyone in my life,” Kaleb shot back, using his finger to scroll through his online notes to see if there was anything he’d missed regarding the marketing staff.
“Whatever you say, Boss Man.” Angela’s tone wasn’t the least bit deferential.
“You don’t know micromanagement until you’ve spent a day with the Chatterson family.”
“If that’s an invitation, I’m calling the company pilot right now and telling him to fuel up the Gulfstream.”
“Perfect. Tell him that when he drops you off, he can take me back with him. Actually, bring that new admin assistant from accounting with you. I hear he’s been angling for your job since he started. I bet he’ll be glad to know that the position is finally opening up.”
“You mean the one who wore the Bobby Chatterson retro jersey to the company roller-skating party last month? Yeah, I’m sure he wouldn’t be above taking a bribe from your old man, either.”
“Are you done with the sarcasm?” Kaleb asked. If he wanted to deal with people giving him a hard time, he’d drive back to Kylie’s house. Or even to Molly’s. How did he always inevitably surround himself with so many know-it-all women?
“You started it,” Angela pointed out. “Seriously, though, Kaleb. You’ve hired the best of the best to work for you. The least you could do is trust us to handle things while you enjoy your vacation.”
Kaleb would hardly call this trip to Sugar Falls a vacation. He’d much rather be at the office dealing with things himself, rather than delegating. But he’d made a promise to his parents to at least try.
Just like he’d made a promise to a petite, blue-eyed blonde that he’d keep her secret safe. He looked at the digital calendar on his smartwatch. Nine more days to go.
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