Page 77 of The Damaged Billionaire's Obsession
I huff out a breath of relief. “You say that like I’m making her life a living hell.”
“Look, Lord knows Bonnie can be a bit prickly, and she sometimes has no filter with her thoughts, but you should know that she means no harm at all. What happened with Dreadlite was a genuine mistake on her part. I’ve worked with her, she’s otherwise great at taking instructions.”
“Okay.”Actually, you’re wrong. She filters the shit out of her real thoughts.
“So, can you stop being an asshole and punishing her for L.A.? The amount of work she’s done since then is phenomenal.”
“Okay.”
“If you say ‘okay’ one more time, I’ll fucking deck you.”
“Alright, fine. I’ll lay off.” I've been doing nothing but that for weeks and frankly I'm getting sick of it this slow dance. First I retreated while she pursued. Now she's pulling back and I'm bent onnotpursuing.
Moments of silence pass before he takes a deep breath and says, “Ethan, I wasn’t going to mention this because she specifically begged me not to let you get wind of it.”
“But since you’re a tattletale, you’re going to tell me, anyway.” Typical Jordan. He can’t keep a secret from me to save his life.
“Dipshit.”
“Go on, then.”
“Bonnie asked me to put a word in with Xi-Gen. She’s sent in her application with them.”
I school my features to appear indifferent, and say nothing.
“She might have been approached by one of the Xi-Gen execs at the expo. Again, you were right on that count. Only partners should do presentations.”
“Fair enough. We would have done the same as those execs if we saw Bonnie do her thing,” I say.
“Well, no use crying over spilt milk. All I know is that we shouldn’t lose her to Xi-Gen. As a friend, I can’t sabotage her chances. But Bonnie is a diamond in the rough. Ideally, we should be grooming her to become a partner.”
Bonnie is phenomenal, but even I know that you can only promote someone so rapidly before eyebrows start to wag. Already, she’s gone from staff trainee to associate in less than six months. She’ll have to wait a year or two before she gets a junior partner role. “So, what will you do?”
“This. What I’m doing now, asking you for the sake of the company to be fair to her. If you’re going to come down on her hard when she messes up, then be the first to give her great feedback. Just generally don’t be a jerk, make her feel valued. Also, I might have to give her a ridiculous raise. Bonuses. Moreflexibilities. Essentially pull it out of the bag with a package she’ll like more than she hates you.”
“Alright. Noted.”She doesn’t hate me. It's ridiculous how much she doesn't hate me.
“Hey, word of advice, Jordan. Give her a glowing recommendation to Xi-Gen.” He looks at me like I’ve gone crazy, so I explain, “It never pays to hold on too tightly to something, or someone, you want. Let her go, and if she wants that recommendation, help her, but make sure she knows that she can return within three months. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”
He considers that for a while, then finally nods, returning to join the others currently arguing over baseball.
I’m floored. Xi-Gen is based in Vancouver, Canada. I did not expect her to even consider working for my competition let alone move half across the world to do it. This woman is not playing. That she would go to those lengths to bury what feelings I unearthed in her shocks me.
Just what the hell did I do to her, other than annoy her and make her come?
Lily Rose wakes up crying and fussing, and for the next half-hour, it's like a sinking ship, with everyone barking orders and throwing suggestions until a genius suggests she might be hungry.
And then, it’s hell trying to figure out the correct temperature. Poor Lily Rose is red-faced by the time we get it right and give her the bottle, after which Xavier burps her, and she drops right back to sleep.
Jordan then takes his turn for a couple of hours holding her until she wakes again.
I didn’t think a baby so small could poop so much, but thankfully, Xavier has had some training in changing diapers.
We’re run ragged by morning, but we all agree that the night was a resounding success since we managed not to traumatize Lily Rose or kill each other overnight. We hand the baby in one sleepy piece, over to a proud and well-rested Brooke, who declares us pros.
The only problem that remains is that Jordan is having twins in a few short months. Everyone is thinking about how we’ll survive another night like this with two babies but no one dares mention it.
By the time I make it home, I’m bone tired and still reeling from Jordan’s news, wondering just how long I can hold out for Bonnie.