Page 73 of Not A Whisper

A hard scoff slips past my lips before I can stop it. "Trip! Did you come just to tease me?"

"Not at all, but since the opportunity arose..."

I push at his chest, pouting as I do. "You're cruel."

"And you love it.” He reaches behind him. When his hand returns, it's holding up folded documents. "I need you to sign these."

Frowning, I take the paperwork from his hand and unfold it. Little yellow tabs mark different sections on each document. At the top of the first page it reads:New Employee Non-Disclosure Agreementand beneath the title readsGBN Enterprises, LLC.

"What is this for? And what's GBN Enterprises?"

"We’re getting everyone who’s working with us or knows about our ranch to sign NDA’s. You know, to protect ourselves and our families. With how quickly things are moving now, we thought it was time to cover our asses.”

I nod slowly, my eyes skimming over the page.

“We each signed one on the off-chance something happens in the future and we go our separate ways—not like that would happen, but still…” Trip adds, his voice turning gruff. “So this isn’t a jab against you. It’s not that we don’t trust you or anything.”

I look up at him. He’s watching me closely, his jaw clenched tight. Is he worried that I will be offended? If so, he’s wrong.

“I think this is smart.” Trip’s jaw relaxes. I hold up the small stack. “What’s the rest of this? It can’t all be NDA jargon.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not. There’s a job offer right beneath the NDA and the rest are documents for our new project manager to sign in order for work to begin."

A job offer? I look up at him confused. "Who’s your project manager?"

“You, dollface.”

I blink. “Wait, what? But I already have a job.”

"Yeah, well, we need you to take this one." Trip shrugs. "You've already done the work of a real project manager, why not justbeour project manager? Get paid for it through our LLC." I open my mouth to object but Trip cuts me off. "Grant noticed that beneath all of your notes you wrote down the names of people you've contacted and befriended. Since you've already started building connections in the community, it only makes sense to have you be their point of contact."

I try to shove the documents into Trip’s chest.

"No, this iswaytoo much work, Trip. I hardly call what I did even laying the groundwork. This is too much pressure and a job I'm not qualified for." When he only quirks a brow at me, I sigh. "I don't havetimefor another full time job."

"Dollface, if we didn't think you could handle it, I wouldn't be here with the blessing of the others and paperwork from ourlawyers." Trip takes a hold of my elbow and steps forward. Looking down into my eyes he adds, "Also, this really isn't up for debate. We need you to succeed."

You are my greatest asset.

Grant's words drift through my head as I stare up at Trip. Is this how they all see me? As an asset? My heart sinks at the thought.

"I don't know about this. Let's say I accept, and I start working for you. What if things don't work out between us?" My heart screams at the thought.

Trip sighs dramatically. "There's no one else but you, dollface. Carmilla isn't going to come between us and?—"

"This isn't about her. What about Garry? What if he does something and you guys back off again? It would be hard to help oversee this thing if mybosseswere unreachable.”

Trip’s dark eyes flash. “Garry’s not getting between us ever again.”

“That’s easy to say now. What happens when he pulls a horse’s-head-in-the-box stunt again to scare us all?”

A muscle in Trip’s jaw ticks.

“Trust us, we've thought of every angle, ok? There are literally clauses for everything—including situations that involve Garry." I blink in surprise. Shooting me a tight grin, Trip pulls out a pen and hands it to me. "Take the job, and not only will you be compensated nicely, but we'll hire an assistant to help you too. Well, more like a real, certified project manager, but they’ll follow your lead. They’ll probably have a whole team on standby too, so don’t worry so much. Think of this as a chill supervisory position.” I open my mouth to object again, but Trip’s patience finally snaps. “Sign the damn paperwork, Bri. Don't make me have to really punish you later. It won’t be fun, I promise."

Hastily, I grab the pen.

“You don't get to punish me for being cautious given the circumstances," I mutter. "Turn around and give me your back. I'll sign but then you need to get out of here."

---