“Jack will get the paperwork together,” Rees said. “I assume you can deal with the contract.”
“I think I can handle it,” I said.
“It might be useful, having another lawyer around.” He tilted his head thoughtfully. “You can keep me out of trouble and do paperwork.
“I doubt I can manage that. And I’m not interested in reading your contracts.”
“I’m sure you’d rather we got into trouble together instead,” he said.
I clenched my jaw tight, and considered telling him to shove that smarmy grin up his puckered butt.
Instead, I reminded myself: five million, student loans, three percent, and grandmom.
“I’ll speak with Jack,” I said, and left the conference room before my heart could burst out of my chest and splatter against the glass. That’d probably ruin my chances of getting through all this alive.
In the hall, alone for a few seconds, I leaned up against the wall and bit my tongue to keep from screaming.
Lori, damn her, she had no clue what she just got me into.
And hopefully one day I’d thank her.
Or I’d call her crying from a jail cell.
2
Rees
My new employee lived in a shit hole apartment deep in south Philly.
I stood on her stoop and leaned up against the black hand railing. It was early, just after seven, and the sun peered up over the brick rowhomes. An old couple walked their tiny white dog, and a girl with a backpack hustled down the black toward the subway.
I hoped Millie wouldn’t mind me appearing like this. But then again, I didn’t really care.
It’d been three days since I last saw her during the job interview. In that time, she’d gone over the contracts with Jack, made some changes on some minor language, and signed. Now, officially, she was mine to do with whatever I pleased.
Not exactly, but close enough anyway.
We had a lot to do and we were already running out of time. Twenty-seven days until the IPO, and we needed more money than was reasonably feasible on that timeline. And yet I had to pull it off—if I didn’t, this SPAC would crumble, and my reputation would take a blow I wasn’t sure I’d ever recover from. Millie had negotiated one hell of a deal for herself, and because of that three percent stake in the company, she had incentive to make all of this work.
I appreciated that. I wished I thought of it myself, but the girl was smart, I’d give her that.
Lucky Lori sent her my way. Otherwise, I would’ve ended up with one of those blond clones that swarmed my office anytime there was a job opening.
Those girls were banal and predictable, but Millie was something else.
Smart, clearly. Sharp as hell and quick. She’d have to be, considering where she’d come from. I did my research: grew up poor, raised by a grandmother, put herself through undergrad at Penn State, and law school at UPenn. Impeccable grades, great reputation.
And yet she still hadn’t taken the bar exam.
Interesting, very interesting.
I checked my watch again. Seven-thirty. Time to get started.
I took out my phone and called her while pounding on her door. She’d given her number to Jack as part of the contract signing. He insisted this was a terrible idea, and I should start acting more professional, but I wanted to break the ice as soon as I could. Millie and I were about to work very closely together, and if we were going to get away with this lie, we’d have to be comfortable around each other.
I smiled a little to myself—this was probably a bit much, but I couldn’t help it. Call it hazing, or maybe an introduction to what she had in store.
“Yes, hello?” Millie answered the phone.
“Hi, Millie,” I said, still banging on the door.
“Oh, shit, okay, hold on.” She held the phone away, and I heard her yell from inside, “just one second, okay! I’m coming!”
“Are you okay?” I asked. “You sound flustered.”
“Someone’s banging at my door. Where are you? It sounds like you’re next to a construction site.”
“I was calling about your first day,” I said. “Are you coming into the office?”
“Jack told me eight,” she said. “I’m late already? Was he wrong? Okay, hold on a second, I’m so sorry, just, one second.”
She must’ve put the phone down. I smiled to myself and heard her stomp down the steps, then her building’s front door flew open. She looked on the verge of chewing me out— then stopped herself, eyes going wide, as I looked at her shocked lips, then the rest of her.
She wore a tight white t-shirt with a faded Nasa logo and a pair of short black shorts. Her legs were long and pale, lean and muscular, and I guessed she was a runner. Her hair was up in a messy bun, there wasn’t a hint of make up on her face, and god damn, she looked incredible.
“What are you—“ she started, then stopped as she gathered herself. “You’re fucking with me.”
“I thought I’d make your first day memorable.”
Her face turned red. Seriously, bright red. She was absolutely livid, and I deserved her rage. I was being a dick, apparently for no reason—except I always had a reason, even though my methods could be a little much sometimes.
“You can’t show up here like this,” she said, her tone a snarl. “This is so insanely inappropriate. I don’t care what our deal says—we’re not actually dating.”
“You’re right,” I said, and took a step back off her stoop to give her more room. “I’m sorry.”
She worked her jaw as her fingers dug into the wood of the door. My apology took some of the sting out of her face, and I could tell she hadn’t expected it. I tilted my head and did my best charming smile, which generally got me out of most bad situations.
I needed to see if she’d stand up to
