Page 34 of The Butler

I almost needed to sit back down. Had he said three-fifty as in three-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars a year? “Excuse me? Are you joking?”

“Not in the least,” he stated, looking up to me in amusement. “According to people in the know, only a fool would not do their best to employ you.”

“The same people you contacted behind my back, you mean?”

“Yes, that’d be them.”

“How about I think about your offer, Mr. Majors. Let me see if I can get past the violation of my privacy.”

“You do that, Mr. Dalton, and one more thing,” he began. “If you accept Mr. Carrington’s offer, your relationship with him will be strictly professional. Is that understood?”

“Of course. What other way could it be?”

“I don’t know. You tell me,” he stated, sliding the letter back into his file. I noticed my full name typed on the tab.

I walked out of the salon without looking back. My knees were weak and I wanted to lose my shit at someone. That pompous asshole had been digging into my background without my permission. Is this what rich privilege allows? And of course Linc wanted me as anemployee. That was who I was to him and his enforcer.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: Lincoln

One Hour Earlier

Deklyn had just excused himself after the amazing job he did with the near disastrous computer virus, and Bob and I immediately looked at each other.

“What the hell was that, Linc?” Bob asked immediately after Dek exited.

“I guess he understands computers, knows his way around a crisis even,” I responded.

“You didn’t know?” Bob asked, reaching for his briefcase and opening it.

“I knew he went to Stanford because you told me that already, but I didn’t know he was goddamned savant.”

Bob rustled through his briefcase and yanked a file out of it, opening the manila folder and reading through the enclosed material. “The background check you didn’t want to know about,” he said, still studying the paperwork.

“Hire him, Bob,” I suggested, ignoring whatever he held in his hand. “Before anyone else discovers him.”

“As what?”

“I don’t give a fuck what position. Make one up for him,” I insisted. “I want him on our team and at corporate now. The kid just did Charlotte’s fucking job, for Christ’s sake.”

“You’re not suggesting he replace her as CTO are you?”

“Of course not but give him something big like the role of cyber security chief or some shit. Pay him a shit load of money. I don’t care what you do but I want that kid working for me.”

“Is this about tying him to the company or to you, Linc?” he asked. “You think I don’t see the way you look at that kid?”

“Doesn’t matter. I want him,” I said.

“Oh, Jesus!” he groaned. “I knew you were fucking the help.”

“Stop calling the teamthe help, Bob.”

“You’re messing where you shouldn’t be messing, my friend. It’s one thing to be fucking some kid from Nebraska, but this one is smart, Linc. Really fucking smart.”

“And that is precisely why you are going to secure his talents for me, understood?”

He stood and glared at me. “Shall I put another twenty million in an escrow account for when this one fucks you over?” he growled, grabbing his files and stomping for the door.

“Calm the fuck down, Bob. Deklyn is talented and we need a man of his skills so just make it fucking happen,” I pressured.

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