“Because you’ve essentially killed their drive. They’re all dead inside. They’re here because they need a paycheck, which means they’ll only do enough to not get fired. We need them to be here because they care. It’s going to be a late night and rewarding them for hard work is going to help us get caught up. Demanding they do it is only going to cost you more money in the long run. Trust me.”
He shook his head. “Whatever. I’ll handle dinner.”
“Mexican,” I said. “Tacos and good guacamole.”
He nodded and walked back to his own office. I was pushing him, but it needed to be done. We were really in the weeds and it was going to take a small miracle to get out.
Chapter 34
Nash
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She was a miracle worker. It was all coming together. Hell, better than that. It was more than just caught up.
She kicked ass. They all did.
It was crazy to think last week at this time, I’d been thinking about flipping the tax firm and selling it for less than I paid. I just wanted out of the firm. I was going to chalk it up to a mistake and learn from it.
Then she walked through the door and it was like I was in a different office altogether. It was crazy. She waved a magic wand and here we were. I didn’t know exactly what she did, but I didn’t care. It was working.
I had very little contact with the staff. I barely even spoke to her. I had a feeling that was why things were working so well. The only reason I was coming in was to make sure they didn’t revert to the bad habits I was confident I had broken.
I flipped through the reports stacked in a neat pile on my desk. She was good. Damn good. I knew she was going to kick some serious ass when she started her own firm. She didn’t think she was going to be my competition, but I knew she would be. There were bound to be some clients that wanted to follow her.
That was a problem for another day. There was still a chance I could convince her to stay on. I hated the idea of begging, but the alternative was the steaming pile of shit I’d been dealing with before she’d come back. I was going to seriously have to think about giving her a big fat raise and convincing her to stay.
I worked through the day, bouncing back and forth between paperwork for the firm and my own company. It was good to be able to focus on my company. I heard the general rumble of a lot of people talking at once. I looked at the time, ready to put my foot down when I realized it was after five. I got up and opened the door. Everyone was milling about, walking out of the office as they chatted with one another. They were in much better spirits.
I noticed the light in Saige’s office was still on. She’d been working late hours. I knew she was balancing the work with her home life situation. She fed dinner to the staff last week and it had been a game-changer. That inspired me. It gave me an idea. I made a quick call and waited.
When the delivery driver showed up, I collected the food and went to her office. I knocked on the door and waited a beat before opening it. She looked up. “Did you need something?”
I held up the Styrofoam containers. “I ordered dinner.”
“For?” she asked.
“Us.”
I walked in and put the containers on her desk before pushing one across to her. She looked nervous. “Why?”
“Why? Because it’s dinner time and you’re still here. It’s not poison.”
She gave me a small smile. “Thanks.”
I opened the bag and handed her the package of plastic utensils and condiments. “I was going over the reports,” I started.
She sighed. “I knew there was a reason you came in here.”
“Will you not be so negative?” I said. “I come in peace.”
“What about the reports?” she asked without giving an inch.
“They’re good,” I said. “You’ve pulled a genie out of a bottle. I really thought we were screwed there for a minute.”
“Screwed?” she said with a laugh.
“Yes. Screwed. Fucked. I was looking at the end of the road and had no idea how to stop it from happening. You worked a miracle.”
“Thank you,” she said and actually blushed a little.