Page 120 of Due Dilligence (Takeover)
A shower of warmth, followed by ice. “Yeah.” Brianknewhim, knew his order. Skinny double-shot mocha with a hint of peppermint. This washome. “What happened to Becky?” She’d been the other morning barista, but thinking about it, he hadn’t seen her since he’d gotten back.
Brian blew out a breath of air and set the espresso machine brewing. “She found a job in Shadyside, closer to her apartment.” He pressed his arm to his brow. “So it’s just me in the mornings until I find someone else.”
“That sucks, man.”
Brian shrugged. “It’s what it is.”
Still, Brian sounded tired. Fazil paid and stuck a little extra in the tip jar. Least he could do for the guy who fortified his day.
The coffee was good, but did nothing to close the hole inside his soul. He climbed the steps to the office and carded himself into the lobby. He knew Sam’s answer. Worse—he knew his own. He’d still ask, because he owed Todd that much. Owed Sam the respect, too.
In the office outside Sam’s, Justin was chewing absently on a pen while examining some kind of spreadsheet.
“Hey, the boss man in?”
“I am,” Sam said from the inner office.
Justin laughed. “There’s your answer.” He put the pen down. “Rough night?”
He mustreallylook like shit. “Insomnia.” He hefted his coffee. “And a tonic.”
After a sympathetic grunt from Justin, Fazil entered Sam’s office and closed the door. He dropped into one of his guest chairs. “I—need to ask you something.”
Sam glanced at the closed door and folded his hands on top of his desk. “All right.”
No sense stalling. “Could I work from a remote location—full-time—and still work for you?”
Sam tilted his head. “Like from Seattle, for instance?”
A rush of warmth to his face. He nodded and took a sip of coffee. His throat had grown tight.
Sam leaned back in his chair, and so many emotions played along those features, he couldn’t name them all. “No.”
Fazil felt the fissure in his soul split wider. He’d known, but the reality of that single wordhurt. He tried to say something, but failed.
Sam’s voice was soft. “I need my team to be able to work with each other seamlessly. Much can be accomplished remotely, but there’s an element of collaboration and trust no amount of phone or video calls can ever replicate.”
Loyalty. Creativity. Bouncing ideas off one another. Understanding how all the bits slotted together. “I know.” He managed to push those words out. “I had to ask.”
A nod. “I know you’re in a rough spot. If I can do anything to make it easier...”
He looked down at his shaking hands. “I love this job. I love this city.” He loved Todd, but that wasn’t enough, even when it should have been. He’d never enjoyed the nine-to-five before he’d met Sam. Never understood how work could be fulfilling until he’d set foot in this quirky little office.
“You should know you were my absolute first choice for engineering.” Sam’s chair squeaked. “And I don’t want to lose you.”
That didn’t help. He furrowed his brow and stared at the white plastic lid of his coffee like it might solve the unsolvable.
“I’ve also been waiting for you to ask this.”
Fazil looked up. “Oh?”
A smile, but one tinged with sadness. “It’s one of the solutions. You go there to be with him.” He shook his head. “I did consider it, too. I want to say yes, believe me, but every time I hashed it out...”
“Didn’t make business sense.”
“It’snotthe bottom line,” Sam said. “Replacing you will cost. I won’t find another you, so I’ll have to hire two engineers to do the work you do.”
Sam was serious. Fazil stared back. “Wait, I’m—”
