Need You Now (1001 Dark Nights)(27)

“No. He’s not here until four. Is something wrong? Can I get a manager?”

“Nothing is wrong. What’s the chef’s name?”

The waitress shares the chef’s information and Jensen types it into his phone. “And the manager?”

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

“Just the opposite,” Jensen assures her.

Once he’s asked a few more questions, she departs, and I arch a brow.

“The best talent is never looking for a job,” he replies. “You have to recruit them away.”

“That’s kind of evil.”

“All’s fair in love and war, and business is war.”

“A good reason for me to be a doctor. I don’t want to be part of this war or any other one.”

“Fighting to save lives is a war, isn’t it?”

“I’m not going to be a surgeon. I want to be a family practice doctor.”

“Surgeons get paid well for fighting the wars.”

“So do you, I’m sure, but I don’t want either job. General practice lets me see the same people often and contribute to their overall health. Which also means I’ll never be wealthy.”

“Your father was a GP?”

“He was a surgeon who became a GP.”

His eyes narrow. “That doesn’t happen often, does it?”

“He had a God complex, complete with arrogance and attitude, or so he and my mother told me. I was too young to remember.” The waitress clears our plates and offers us dessert. We both opt for coffee.

“From surgeon to GP,” Jensen prods. “How did it happen?”

“He lost a patient he felt he shouldn’t have lost. A young boy. The medical board ruled in his favor, but he ruled against himself. He never operated again, and as for the arrogance and attitude, I only knew a kind, giving man whom everyone loved. But looking back, I remember the pain in his eyes. I didn’t know what it was then, but I do now.”

“To understand it, you have to know it.”

There are moments in my life that want to surface but I reject them, staying in the moment. “Don’t we all as adults?”

“Eventually, yes, and while I don’t want to wish pain on anyone at a young age, those who experience it earlier seem to cope better later.”

“Or it destroys them sooner,” I say, and as is becoming a theme with Jensen, I wonder what we are really talking about. He doesn’t really open up and tell me anything about himself, but it seems like maybe he’s trying.

The coffee arrives and we both add cream and sweetener. Jensen reaches in the briefcase he’d brought in order to go over some sort of business with me before our meetings, removing a folder. I’m hoping this is where he tells me about his earlier conference call. Thus far every time I’ve nudged for answers, he’s played dodge ball.

“We need to talk,” he says.

It’s the kind of prelude that would make anyone’s gut clench, and mine certainly does. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“We simply need to talk worst-case scenarios.”

“Worst-case scenarios?” I repeat like a robot.

“That’s right. I told you if I get out, I can’t control who is kept or who’s laid off.”

“Are you saying that’s what you’re going to do? Did the meeting go badly?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, but Meredith was in the meeting today and she made it clear you’re loyal to her. If I resign, you will be given the ax without question.”

“Oh. Well.” I swallow hard. “That’s...not fun to hear.”

He pulls a piece of paper from a folder and slides it over to me. “This is my answer.”

My gaze lowers to read what appears to be a contract. In disbelief, I take in what is an offer to pay me six months of salary, the exact amount I told him I need to be ready for school, on the condition I do not sue the company or him. My gaze jerks to his. “I thought you wanted my help?”

“I do. I want and need you to help me finish the site inspections, but not only does this secure your future, it makes you an objective consultant.” He places another piece of paper in front of me. “That’s a consultant agreement. It says you agree to consult at a specified hourly rate now and during the next six months. It’s a conditional clause of the first agreement.”

“When did you create this?”

“This morning.”

“Is this because you’re worried I’m going to sue you for what’s happened between us?”

“No, but it’s a perk to calm the board when they find out we’re seeing each other.”

“Seeing each other? Is that what we’re doing?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” He hands me a pen. “Sign.”

“If this money goes to me and people are laid off, doesn’t this mean someone else is hurt because of me?”

“I’m not going to let the board take over, Danny. This is just a precaution.”

“Which means you aren’t a hundred percent sure you’re going to win this ‘war.’”

“Sign the deal.”

“I need to think about this and read it.”