fakeness from me.”
“If I take you on?”
He nodded earnestly. “It’s not very often that I meet people who are willing to be real. I really like that about you.”
“You’re really weird,” I said. “You know that?”
“I’ve been told.” His lips turned up at the corners. “But you’re not your average run of the mill gal either. The way you pulled yourself back together was impressive. You’ve got some excellent qualities to your character. Do you want to continue this conversation?”
“The truth?” I took a deep breath. “You scare the hell out of me.”
“We’re even, then.” He stared at me for a moment and then surprised me with his stick-to-it-ness. “So is it a no go at this point?”
Dear God. “You’re not done yet, are you?”
“I think you could do this, Lily. I think it could work, for you and for me, but I don’t want you to have another—”
I raised a warning finger. “Don’t say it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
My ears were at it again. They were transmitting caring nuances from a man who didn’t have a single reason in the world to care for someone like me.
“I’m okay,” I said, aiming at completing this conversation without falling apart.
I forced myself to think. I had an opportunity to break free. Okay, it was a wild one. I was scared, but I had to admit to an extraordinary connection with this odd man, and something else, something that blew my mind: Deep inside, I was also secretly excited.
I cleared my throat. “This, um, agreement that you propose, how long would it last?”
He seemed to think about that. “I don’t suppose you’ll go for open ended, so it’d have to last at least until WindTech’s prototypes work. Let’s talk about the schedule.”
My heart tripped. “Schedule?”
“I’ll need you with me five days per week, Wednesday through Sunday.”
“But I work.”
“You won’t have time to work anymore.”
“I can’t do Wednesday,” I said as forcefully as I could manage. “I teach on Wednesdays.”
“All right,” he said. “I like a gal with negotiating grit. Let’s agree on Thursday through Monday. I think that’s fair. The rest of the time, you can be on call.”
“On call?”
“On call.”
I stared at him. “You mean as in drop everything you’re doing and come to me?”
“Exactly.”
My God. “But I have commitments and expenses...”
“You’ll need to get rid of any commitments that interfere with your functions.”
Functions? Is that how he thought of it?
“As to your expenses,” he continued, “I’ll be taking care of your bills, paying your rent and all other expenses for the duration.”
“All other expenses?” I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
“I need you to be able to focus on me and my needs.”
It was hard to ask, but it had to be done. “Define needs.”
“Good question, Lily. My needs comprise anything I wish to do with and to you.”
“With and to?”
He nodded.
Holy smokes. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I’m being honest.”
“What if I don’t like something you do? What if I despise it?”
“We can talk about it. I won’t force you, but I’ll try to persuade you.”
Another shiver rattled the length of my spine. “Persuade me how?”
“That’s up to me.”
“What if it hurts?” I said. “What if I get sick or something?”
“I swear to you, Lily, you have nothing to fear from me,” he said, looking me straight in the eye. “You’ll always be safe with me. You have my word and I always stand by my word.”
His bluntness had me reeling. His honesty made me dizzy. The whole conversation was so surreal I had trouble believing it.
“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking?” he said.
“I’m a little...overwhelmed.” The understatement of the century. “I need time to think things through.”
“You’ve got this week,” he said. “I need an answer by Friday morning.”
“ This Friday?”
“
“If I take you on?”
He nodded earnestly. “It’s not very often that I meet people who are willing to be real. I really like that about you.”
“You’re really weird,” I said. “You know that?”
“I’ve been told.” His lips turned up at the corners. “But you’re not your average run of the mill gal either. The way you pulled yourself back together was impressive. You’ve got some excellent qualities to your character. Do you want to continue this conversation?”
“The truth?” I took a deep breath. “You scare the hell out of me.”
“We’re even, then.” He stared at me for a moment and then surprised me with his stick-to-it-ness. “So is it a no go at this point?”
Dear God. “You’re not done yet, are you?”
“I think you could do this, Lily. I think it could work, for you and for me, but I don’t want you to have another—”
I raised a warning finger. “Don’t say it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
My ears were at it again. They were transmitting caring nuances from a man who didn’t have a single reason in the world to care for someone like me.
“I’m okay,” I said, aiming at completing this conversation without falling apart.
I forced myself to think. I had an opportunity to break free. Okay, it was a wild one. I was scared, but I had to admit to an extraordinary connection with this odd man, and something else, something that blew my mind: Deep inside, I was also secretly excited.
I cleared my throat. “This, um, agreement that you propose, how long would it last?”
He seemed to think about that. “I don’t suppose you’ll go for open ended, so it’d have to last at least until WindTech’s prototypes work. Let’s talk about the schedule.”
My heart tripped. “Schedule?”
“I’ll need you with me five days per week, Wednesday through Sunday.”
“But I work.”
“You won’t have time to work anymore.”
“I can’t do Wednesday,” I said as forcefully as I could manage. “I teach on Wednesdays.”
“All right,” he said. “I like a gal with negotiating grit. Let’s agree on Thursday through Monday. I think that’s fair. The rest of the time, you can be on call.”
“On call?”
“On call.”
I stared at him. “You mean as in drop everything you’re doing and come to me?”
“Exactly.”
My God. “But I have commitments and expenses...”
“You’ll need to get rid of any commitments that interfere with your functions.”
Functions? Is that how he thought of it?
“As to your expenses,” he continued, “I’ll be taking care of your bills, paying your rent and all other expenses for the duration.”
“All other expenses?” I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
“I need you to be able to focus on me and my needs.”
It was hard to ask, but it had to be done. “Define needs.”
“Good question, Lily. My needs comprise anything I wish to do with and to you.”
“With and to?”
He nodded.
Holy smokes. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I’m being honest.”
“What if I don’t like something you do? What if I despise it?”
“We can talk about it. I won’t force you, but I’ll try to persuade you.”
Another shiver rattled the length of my spine. “Persuade me how?”
“That’s up to me.”
“What if it hurts?” I said. “What if I get sick or something?”
“I swear to you, Lily, you have nothing to fear from me,” he said, looking me straight in the eye. “You’ll always be safe with me. You have my word and I always stand by my word.”
His bluntness had me reeling. His honesty made me dizzy. The whole conversation was so surreal I had trouble believing it.
“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking?” he said.
“I’m a little...overwhelmed.” The understatement of the century. “I need time to think things through.”
“You’ve got this week,” he said. “I need an answer by Friday morning.”
“ This Friday?”
“
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