Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3)(105)

“Marry me, Krissy.”

It took her a minute before she understood what he said. When she did, she sat up straight as a rod. She had had enough. Sean was too much too soon. She was still having second thoughts about his priorities and he springs that on her? Too much too soon.

Sean sat up with her. “I know I have been busy, but as soon as work slows down I’ll have a lot more time.”

“Sean, you don’t ask a girl to marry you on the first date. You just don’t. Find time for me, preferably before I give up on you, and we’ll talk. Otherwise, take me home right now. I am too tired for this circus show.”

“Okay, okay.” Sean had a smile in his voice. “You win. Let’s sleep, yes?”

“I’m serious Sean.”

“Note to self, do not push Krista when she is tired and relaxed.”

“Exactly,” she said in a huff. She allowed him to lay her back down and hold her tight. Despite his plans, their future was very much undecided. She did not want to spend her life alone in this giant house.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It turned out that Sean had been right about buying Krista’s dream home. He was on a small cliff overlooking the ocean. That was great, but not nearly as awesome as the small trail leading down the cliff to his private beach. He actually shared the beach with a few other homes, but Sean, and now Krista, were the only ones that surfed, so they had the decent waves all to themselves. It also meant Krista spent most nights there.

Unfortunately, as was Krista’s fear, Sean spent an absurd amount of time at work, and while that conversation would have to be brought up soon, Krista was too stressed worrying about Tory’s visit. He would be checking out their region and trimming the fat. While she was mostly in good shape, that ol’ fear of failure had her working overtime, trying to add mortar to every shaky brick she saw.

When Tory finally did come, it was déjà vu as they sat down to dinner. It was San Francisco all over again. She had to keep reminding herself that there was no reason to be sad, that she wasn’t moving away from Sean and her friends this time; she was merely changing jobs—possibly. She didn’t think Tory could match the salary thrown at her thus far. There were some staggering numbers out there. She liked her job, yes, but she liked three-figures better.

Tory was sitting with his hands clasped on the table, his menu off to the side.

“So Krista, how has interviewing gone?”

“I was never very good at interviewing,” Krista smiled. “I either sound over-confident, which men hate, or I sound weak. Mostly they were a formality, though. I have worked with three of the four companies directly, through you, and the fourth apparently knows about my work already, so…”

Tory leaned back as the waitress showed up to take their orders. When she was gone, Tory said, “Once upon a time, you asked me how I would feel if another company showed up to moonlight you. Do you remember my response?”

Krista thought back. It had been at the dinner after her big presentation to Tory when she was at Dexico. “You said you would think you missed something, find out their worth, and possibly counter-offer.”

“And here we are. I am ready to counter-offer.”

“You also alluded to hoping the person in question didn’t know their worth.”

Tory laughed. “Yes, I did. However, based on what Mr. McAdams said, that is no longer the case with you.”

Krista shrugged and took a sip of her wine. She didn’t know her worth, exactly, but she knew what she was being offered.

“How can I entice you to stay, Krista?” Tory asked.

“I hate to sound like this, but it really does only come down to money. I want to buy a house and a new car. Those things cost money.”

“It only comes down to money?” Tory asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Krista stayed silent. She hated being so material, but that was capitalism for you. The organizations that handed out houses weren’t looking her way.

“Well, I think I can give you more than just a raise,” Tory went on. “I think I can give you opportunity. It is well known, I think, that Sean is excellent at the big picture. He can reach for goals most wouldn’t even contemplate. But he needs someone to take his unrealistic expectations and make them a reality. He needs someone to map out a route. What I am proposing is unique to this situation. I have suggested moving you to Junior VP, directly beneath him, with the managers reporting to you. Sean would deal directly with you, and you would deal directly with the managers. It would give you authority to reorganize departments, and then keep them running smoothly. With it comes more responsibility, of course, but also allows me to offer a higher wage to compensate…”

Krista listened in fascination. Like the last time she spoke with him, the job was exactly what she was after. It was everything she liked about her job now with the power to do more. Plus, she had always wanted to learn more about Operations. She had been reading up on it, and she had some ideas already. With Sean’s help, she could definitely make some improvements.

“Yes, I can see that has sparked your interest,” Tory said with a twinkle in his eyes. “And now we come to how much I will have to pay out to get you to stay.”

Krista half smiled, looking down at her half-eaten steak. “Do you know what I have been offered thus far?”