Page 10 of One Night with the CEO

“Twenty,” Mia countered.

“Twenty-two.”

Mia grinned. “You have yourself a deal.”

They shook hands. Genevieve was resisting the urge to go into a victory dance, and she suspected that Mia felt much the same. This going to be a very good deal for both of them. Not only was it sure to be profitable, but Genevieve would get to know Mia better, something she was eager to do.

“I’ll have my lawyers draw up the contract today. For now, we should go out to celebrate.”

Mia bit her lip again, an action so cute it made Genevieve long to free that lip with hers. “I should really stay until the end of the exhibition. It wouldn’t be professional to leave halfway through.”

Working with someone who didn’t answer solely to her would certainly be different, but Genevieve was sure she could get used to the idea. Her father probably wouldn’t be pleased at first, but once the venture started proving as profitable as Genevieve suspected it would be, his attitude would change fast.

“Of course, I understand. I need to make some calls anyway, as well as set up the transfer for that painting. I want to walk out of here with it. I’ve already got a space on my wall picked out in my head.”

“Perfect. I’d love to join you for drinks after the exhibition is done.” Mia handed Genevieve a slip of paper with her bank details on it, as well as the paper with the price they had agreed on.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours, then. I can have the contract printed out and I’ll bring it with me.”

Genevieve realized that there were probably a lot more questions she should have asked. It wasn’t like her to jump straight into a business deal. However, she also trusted her own judgement, and she was sure that this was going to end well.

She gave the rest of the artwork in the exhibition a few cursory glances, but even though much of it was very good, it paled in comparison to Mia’s work.

Genevieve called the company contract lawyer and instructed him to come up with a contract stating the terms she and Mia had agreed on. If he was surprised by this change in business model, he didn’t say anything.

Genevieve did the transfer and went back to the office to pick up the contract. She had cleared her whole day for this, thinking she’d spend hours poring through the gallery. However, she had what she came for. Now, she was going to have a well-earned treat.

It was nearly lunchtime, and Genevieve collected all of her employees into the main office. There were a few nervous looks, and Genevieve quickly sought to reassure them. “Good news, I promise. I know that we’ve all been working hard, and everyone is disappointed that we didn’t make that last deal. I want you to know that I don’t blame any of you, and there will be plenty more deals in the future. We all deserve a little break. I’m sending you all out to lunch on me, to a place of your choice.”

A small cheer broke out, and people immediately started making suggestions for places to go. They settled on a fancy Italian place that Genevieve had been to several times before. Penelope, Genevieve’s assistant, immediately started organizing people into cars.

Genevieve would be sure to follow this up with the appropriate financial action. Taking people out to lunch was all well and good, but she knew that if she truly wanted to show her appreciation, she needed to put her money where her mouth was. It had been a while since she’d awarded raises other than the standard annual increase, and this seemed to be a good time to do it.

Jake made his way through the small crowd, holding a thin folder. “Here’s that contract you wanted, Genevieve. This new artist must be excellent. You certainly seem in a really good mood.”

“I am, but I could have celebrated by taking myself out for ice cream. I meant what I said—you all deserve a break.”

“You should join us.”

“Yes, join us, Genevieve,” Penelope added. Several others echoed her sentiment.

Genevieve was touched by their sincerity, but she didn’t need that kind of interaction. She was showing her appreciation well enough; no need to get personal about it.

“I won’t be joining today, but you all have fun. I’ll come with you to get things sorted with the manager, then I’ll leave you to it.”

“Come on, Genevieve, life a little,” Penelope teased.

“Yeah, yeah, I will. Next time.”

She was met with a round of chuckles. She wasn’t going to join them next time and they all knew it.

Genevieve made a generous deposit to the restaurant and instructed the manager to send her the final bill. After telling him to treat her staff well and give them anything they wanted, she returned to the empty office. It was still a few hours until she was due to meet Mia.

It wasn’t unusual for her to take clients or new colleagues out for a meal or a drink to ease into the relationship. That itself wouldn’t raise eyebrows; it was just part of business. Genevieve was glad that no one could see into her head and read exactly how excited she was to get to spend more time with Mia.

She whiled away the hours catching up on some admin. Penelope could have handled it, but Genevieve had time, so she thought she’d make her assistant’s life a little easier.

With about an hour to go, Genevieve went home, showered and changed clothes. She didn’t know where Mia would want to go, so she wore a versatile outfit—casual, but with a chiffon shawl in her bag that could be draped around her shoulders to make it more appropriate for somewhere fancy.

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