Page 166 of Secret Weapon

“Bradley thinks you should open a whole chain of Craft Cabins, and he’d like to invest.”

“You just said he’d grow bored after a week.”

“Absolutely.But he’d get the project up and running, and that’s where we could leverage Thrive.”

“Thrive isn’t a tool to be leveraged.It’s a support group.”

“Okay, poor word choice.Through the Blackwood Foundation, we work with various organisations, including several women’s shelters.Many of the residents have fled from violence with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and finding employment is key to them getting back on their feet.A fair few of them enjoy crafts.Bradley’s always taking wool and fabric and whatever over to the local centre for them to use, and Dan’s a big supporter too.When I first met her…” Emmy closed her eyes for a moment.“When I first met her, she was in a refuge, miscarrying after her fucker of a boyfriend kicked her in the stomach.So, needless to say, this is the kind of project we could all get behind.”

Now I understood where Emmy was going with this.“You want to open more branches of the Craft Cabin and use them to provide employment to survivors of domestic violence?”

“What do you think of the idea?”

What did I think?I thought Brooke would love it, and I could potentially earn an avalanche of karma points.But I wasn’t sure it could work.

“The idea is good, but I’ve been running the Craft Cabin for over two years now.It makes enough money to employ three people, but half of the revenue comes from online sales, and those are national.We only need one location to service that part of the business, therefore a second branch wouldn’t be profitable.”

“That’s what I figured.”

Emmy spooned coffee grounds into the espresso machine, and I didn’t miss the self-satisfied smile on her face.She had me exactly where she wanted me.The problem?I had no idea where that was.

“I refer you back to my earlier question.If you know it’s a flawed idea, what’s the point of having this conversation?”

“The point is threefold.”She ticked off the items on her fingers.“Number one, Bradley could live out his dream.Number two, we’d be able to give more women a step up, and number three, opening a Craft Cabin in Richmond with the Blackwood Foundation’s backing would give you the perfect excuse to spend more time in Virginia.”

I froze.Emmy’s solution was the logistical equivalent of half the jigsaw pieces falling into place, of having my cake and eating it.Keeping my businessandAlex?I’d been trying to work out a way to do that for days.

But it wasn’t the whole story, was it?Because so far, all the upside came to me.What would Emmy get out of the deal?Yes, she’d be certain to retain Alex as her trainer, but that wouldn’t be enough.She’d want more.Emmy Zacharova was all smiles on the surface, but underneath, she was ruthless like her father, and she’d want blood.

“What would you ask for in return?”

Ah, now that smile turned cunning.

“You.I’d want you on my team.”

“But you said—”

“Part-time.Freelance.I’d take as much time as you’d give, but a minimum of three months in every twelve.The rest of the year, you could play happy families with Alex or vigilante in Baldwin’s Shore or improve your crochet skills or whatever.”

Three months.Three months at ten thousand a day—Emmy had told me I was worth that—and I could clear the best part of a million bucks a year before tax.Then who would care if the new Craft Cabin made a loss?I’d be able to cover it.Plus I could spend half my time with Alex and actually take a proper vacation.I’d see Ana, and Tabby, and hell, maybe I could even give Hallie a few pointers on how not to get kidnapped again.

It wasn’t actually a bad deal.

“I’d need access to your training facilities.”

“Absolutely.”

“And a pay raise.”

“Twenty-five percent?”

I nodded.“But I couldn’t start right away.We’d need to break the idea to Brooke and Paulo gently.”

Emmy grinned at me.“I’m the queen of bullshit, believe me.Do you need a fake sister?Because we can arrange one.”

She held out a hand, and I stared at it.Was it really that easy?If I shook it, I’d get everything I’d ever wanted?An improved version of my old job, a man I loved—even if I hadn’t said the words out loud yet—my soul sister, more money than I’d ever earned in my life, plus a safety net in Oregon just in case it all went pear-shaped?Oh, and kick-ass new boots.

“I won’t do jobs I consider to be morally wrong.Not anymore.”

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