Page 92 of Love Me Tender
Gratitude toward Joanna filled her. “Your wife is right.”
“You’re staying in the Bay Area, huh?” He swallowed another gulp of liquor.
Deflecting a pang of sorrow, Rory nodded.
“Well, it’s not up to me to figure out the logistics.” Edward set his hand on the table as if he were calling a meeting to order. “I wanted to talk to you about your work.”
Her stomach tightened. “At Digicore or overall?”
“I know about your career and expertise.” Edward took a bite of steak and leaned back in his chair. “You applied for a position at Intellix a few years ago.”
She smiled faintly. “I didn’t get the job.”
“Sounds like that might have been our mistake. We still have your resume on file.” He sliced off another piece of steak. “You’ve garnered more experience since then, and I want you to know we now have an open role at Intellix for which you would be well suited, should you ever decide to branch out.”
Shock bolted through her. “You’re offering me a job?”
“I’m telling you there’s an open role at Intellix for which you would be well suited,” Edward corrected, eyeing her from underneath his thick eyebrows. “Systems Development software engineer. You’d be part of a team under Nathan’s management.”
Rory couldn’t speak. The sudden, striking beauty of that image crashed right up against the hard wall of reality.
“I’m not trying to poach you away from Digicore.” Edward set his fork down and reached for his drink. “If you’re intent on staying there, I respect that. Just be aware you have options.”
“I…I don’t know what to say.”
“In answer to the question you don’t want to ask, yes. I’m making this offer because I know you through Grant.” He swirled the liquor around in the glass. “However, your relationship with him only brought you to my attention. On an objective level, I’d have hired you based on your credentials and experience alone. I would never make a business or a hiring decision based onsentiment.”
Rory put down her fork and knife. Her chest was tight. Edward was giving her an out. All she had to do was turn in her notice, and she could start work at Intellix. The company was known for being inclusive and hiring strong, smart women—several of whom now held top-level positions. Edward hadn’t always treated his son right, but Rory didn’t doubt he ran a tight ship at his company. Harassment of any kind would never be tolerated or swept under the rug at Intellix.
This was also no coincidence.
“Don’t make a decision yet,” Edward said. “Think about it. Pay is either commensurate with or more than what you’re making at Digicore. Full benefits, vacation, the works. We can be flexible with a start date, but Nathan is starting to work on ways to scale AI learning models and increase computational power. Wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to get in on the ground floor.”
“I’m…” Her hand shaking, she picked up her water glass and took a sip. “I appreciate the offer very much. Thank you.”
“Let me know.” Edward patted his beard with his napkin. “If you want to leave or stay.”
Why would you want to stay?
Grant’s question ricocheted through her.
Later that evening, she didn’t wait around for his usual call. Instead, she left a message at Digicore that she wouldn’t be in the following day. Then she grabbed her keys and drove to Bliss Cove.
* * *
“He offered you a job?” Grant shook his head. He hadn’t heard that right. His father wanted to hire Rory? On an intellectual level, it made perfect sense—who wouldn’t want to hire her?—but on every other level, it made no sense.
“You didn’t know.” Her voice was flat. She was standing by the fireplace in his living room, tension lacing her shoulders.
“No, I didn’t fucking know. When did this happen?”
“This afternoon. It’s a software engineer job with a team in Nathan’s division.” She folded her arms tightly over her chest. “I asked you not to tell him. Not to tell anyone or to try and fix this for me.”
Grant stared at her in disbelief. “Rory, I didn’t ask my father to hire you.”
“Then this is one hell of a strange coincidence.” She lowered her arms, her hands fisting. “Maybe we’d better call Destiny and find out if Mars is in retrograde or whatever because clearly something is totally out of whack.”
“Youtold me not to tell anyone.” His jaw tightened. “Iwantedto tell everyone—the cops,TheNew York Times, the managers, the senior execs, the CEO, and, yeah, even my father. But I didn’t because you asked me not to. Do you think I’m lying?”