Page 31 of If The Shoe Fits

Cade

"That's my great-grandfather's name. He died a few days before I was born, so I inherited it." And Cade was going to make Richelle pay for revealing it.

"Don't think the tragic story is going to stop me from making fun of you, Cadence."

Sassy minx.

"Your sister seems nice."

Cade wasn't inclined to agree right then. "Debatable. We get along, though. She's staying at my place at the moment." Rather than launching into an explanation detailing Richelle's unfortunate choice of husbands, he chose to switch the subject. "Funny running into you now. I was just about to reply to your email."

Helene beamed. "The survey. I have to admit, I didn't expect you to run it at all. But what will you do after you get the results?"

Of course she was pushing for more. Cade doubted she would ever let him settle on anything short of excellence.

He shrugged. "I'll bring the findings to the board and propose a pay increase for the lower pay brackets, so that our employees reach a livable wage in the city."

What other choice did he have? It was that, or lose his soul. And potentially Helene, too.

They'd started walking side by side.

"What if the board votes against it?"

"They won't." He was adamant.

Helene didn't mask her surprise. "They'd be willing to lose some profits to improve people's lives, just like that? If that's the case, why wasn't it done before?"

He cracked a smile."Because you hadn't brought it to our attention yet." Cade tilted his head back. "You met one-seventh of the board just now. Richelle was just twenty-one when we started the company, but she had access to her trust fund. Rather than letting me empty mine, she opted to give us half of hers. She and I have equal shares. Then, there's James, Kenneth, Archer, David, and Penelope. We only need four votes for a motion to pass, and I know how to get to at least two of them."

In fact, it was generally easy enough to get most votes, although they rarely reached unanimity. Penelope's representative—she hardly ever attended board meetings herself—never voted in the same direction as James. Thankfully, little changes like these wouldn't need the full board's approval.

"You don't have any random, old, rich guys on your board?"

"We wanted to make sure to keep the power among us, so we've never accepted outside investments."

Thankfully, they hadn't neededto rely on anyone else's money.

"Must be nice," she said.

"How about you? How's work?"

She groaned and grimaced.

"Ask me another day—any other day. It's normally fine. But the boss messed up and she's not one to ever take the blame for anything, so she's lashing out at all of us. Me, in particular."

Cade didn't like that. Not one bit. "If your superior is being unfair, it may be worth bringing it up to HR."

Helene sighed. "Easier said than done. I work for a small brand, you know. It was founded by Emily, the brain behind all of our products, but because she doesn't have a head for business, she's let her best friend run the show. Carrie's a dragon. If I go to HR, they'll just speak to her about it, and I'll end up in more trouble. She already can't stand me."

"So, quit." It sounded like a terrible environment, and he hated that she had to deal with that.

Helene was already shaking her head. "I love my job. I have tons of clients that I'd miss there. There aren't many brands doing what we do, and I couldn't work for the competition anyway. We have a non-compete. I'd have to start over again. Which wouldn't be easy, given that I've done nothing else. My resume is pretty abysmal."

He wanted to fix it for her. He wanted to fix everything that wasn't perfect in her life. Fortunately, he bit back the suggestion that she should come work for him. The last thing he needed was for Helene to become his subordinate.

"If you could do anything at all, what would you do?"

She looked up, her face pensive. "I don't know. I like working in cosmetics, but I think the reason I enjoy my job the most is because it allowed me to make genuine connections with people. I could do that in a bunch of different industries. I enjoy the interaction I get at a pet shelter where I volunteer just as much. I'm not sure whether I have a real vocation, though. I guess I'd travel, first. See the world. Decide later." Her shoulders fell. "That's not likely to happen. What I need is to find a place to rent, so even if I was tempted, I wouldn't quit right now."

---