The Arrangement | Book 2 | Completed

40

"You're kidding, right?" Frailey asks with a laugh.

"Not even the slightest bit." I reply.

"You're fucking insane, you know that?" He asks.

"Why? This is a good idea." I tell him.

"We don't even know this guy." He argues.

"I've been working side by side with him for the last month. Evan is more than qualified for something like this." I counter.

"Okay, but we don't even know him. A month isn't very long at all. What if...I don't know. He seems cool and all, don't get me wrong. But this is our company we're talking about. I just don't know if we can afford to gamble something like this." He says, shaking his head.

"I think we need to give it a chance."

"So what, he's just going to completely be in charge of the Seattle building during this time? Or he's coming over and working with me?" Frailey asks, still not convinced by anything that I'm saying.

"No. He would stay here and I would go over to Vancouver. It would be just like before. Look, he knows what he's doing. He is totally aware of how things should go around here. Plus, I would still be back and forth between Vancouver and Seattle until he was able to get settled into living in America full time."

"He isn't even a citizen here! He would have to do a lot of work to get a visa here, or even get citizenship. What about his family in Russia? Do you even think he would want to move here?"

It's these rare moments that Kyler can be completely professional and logical in many areas. But at this very moment, I wish he would be carefree and willing to take a risk. I need him to take this risk.

"He wanted to apply for the transfer. He got denied because his company didn't want him to stay." I explain.

"Okay, and that transfer was only going to be for an extended month. Not a permanent move. This would be different. It's not like he's just moving a few hours away. It would be a really big deal that would take a bit of consideration. You haven't even let this idea cross his mind."

"Okay, and what exactly would I do if I told him and you were completely against it? Then, I would have gotten his hopes up and crushed them. He wants to stay, Kyler. I know he does." I say.

"We don't know that, actually. Staying for a month and staying for what could potentially be the rest of your career are two very different things." He repeats.

"He's with Clarissa. He will stay for her." I say, knowing that what I'm saying is true.

"He doesn't even really know her! Who knows what will happen with the two of them in a year. Hell, who knows what will happen in the next few weeks! We can't just decide what he is willing to due based on that piece of evidence alone." He argues.

"So you're completely against this?" I ask.

"No, I'm not. I like Evan. He seems like a good guy and if you think he is capable, then I believe you. I'm just more apprehensive about this entire situation because I haven't known him for as long as you have. Not only that, but this is our company you're talking about. We can't just gamble with it." He explains.

Although he has solid points with all of this, I'm going to continue to fight for Evan. I'm fighting for all of us.

"Think about the extra time we would have. We would have Evan run the smaller building, and we could tackle Vancouver. You already know how well we work together, so things would be much easier again. We could actually take vacations like we used to. I mean, when was the last time you were able to stay home with Megan? And Grace? You've been complaining about how much you miss them." I say, and this finally hits something in him. This makes sense to him.

"It's not like I'm away from them 24/7." He says, rolling his eyes. Yet, the tone of his voice is saying otherwise.

"You're not with them nearly as much as you would like to be. When I left, you started working both your hours and mine to keep up with everything. It's too much work for one person. Plus, we would be saving on payroll if we hired him here versus hiring multiple people in Vancouver. CFO and COO are things that both of us can do just like before." I explain, and this makes the most sense to him.

"You should talk to him and see if this is something he is even interested in." Frailey says. He's on board. Fuck yeah.

"I was thinking about telling him at the holiday party. As we're handing out awards and such, I was going to pull him up on stage and offer him the position. He won't say no. I know he won't. He loves it here." I tell him.

"That's pretty risky, don't you think?" He asks.

"Says the person who is all about taking risks." I laugh.

"Yeah, but this is serious." He replies.

"It is very risky, yeah. But, I think it's going to go well."

Instead of arguing, he shrugs and takes a drink of the coffee in front of him. Despite what Kyler might be thinking, I know that this is going to be a good idea.

This has to work.