The Consultant

The Contract

It was Friday morning. Almost five days had passed since the pitch, and Nathan still hadn't reached out to her about the contract. She had upheld her end of the agreement, working with the IT Manager to set up a temporary domain to stage the new site design. He was eager to help and responded to her emails within minutes, so they'd had the temp site up and running by the end of the day Monday.

Dani was hesitant to do any more without a contract. She told herself she trusted the board to get it to her even if she did start doing work, but deep down she knew Nathan made her question that trust. His feelings toward her were unclear; they had obviously crossed a line on the professionalism scale, but he hadn't given her any indication that doing so would affect their business relationship. Besides, he had gone on to sell her idea to the board right after. If he hadn't wanted to bring her on, he could have tanked the project during her pitch. Still, Dani wondered if he was having second thoughts, and cursed herself for not waiting until she at least had a signed contract before flirting with the CEO.

I shouldn't have flirted with him at all, she chided.

The same thoughts had chased around her mind all morning, which is why she was still in bed at 10:00 am. Dani groaned, anxiety welling up in a wave of heat that raced across her skin. What if she'd screwed up the biggest job she'd ever almost gotten? What if she didn't get the contract and couldn't pay rent? The what if's piled on until Bandit leaped onto the bed, curling up against her chest and purring loudly. Somehow he always knew when she was getting overwhelmed, and his purring trick never failed to calm her down.

Dani took a deep breath before gently removing the cat and placing him off to the side of the bed. He stretched before sauntering to her pillow and curling up.

"Brat," she murmured as she threw off the covers.

She stood and stretched, then crossed to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. While it percolated, she booted up her laptop. Fourteen unread emails flashed on her home screen, but only one caught her attention.

Nathan had finally contacted her. She opened the message, briefly disappointed to see that it was just a single line.

Draft contract attached. Please review and stop by the office this afternoon to sign.

Disappointment gave way to annoyance. He'd taken a whole week to draft this contract, but he was only giving her a few hours to review it? Dani had half a mind to respond and say she needed to take the weekend to review it, but she knew she wouldn't. She needed the job. Unless there was a clause about working for free in there, it didn't really matter what the terms were.

Dani grabbed her coffee before opening the attachment, and settled in to read the mind-numbing legalese. Contracts always made her mind feel like it was blanketed in a fog that wouldn't let the words through. It took serious concentration for her to get through the document, and even then she skimmed several parts.

Satisfied that she had at least made a reasonable effort to go through the contract, Dani closed the document and sent a quick reply saying she would be in soon to sign a hard copy.

She might not take the weekend to review the contract, but Dani was going to wait as long as possible before she went to the office. They had iced her twice, so she was going to return the favor. Dani looked at the clock. It was just past eleven; she still had several hours to go.

"I guess we could clean the apartment. What do you think, Bandit?"

He yawned in response. Dani washed her coffee mug before attacking the rest of the apartment. Two loads of laundry, one mopped floor, and a spotless bathroom later, she couldn't wait any longer. She jumped in the shower, trying to take as long as possible. She managed to drag out getting ready for another hour.