Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,83

had to get off his lap to go back up, because she’s too heavy for him to push at an incline. He still tried to do it for much too long, and he finally stopped when he tweaked his shoulder. “She’s getting big,” he said back then. “We need another baby.”

Being an only child, Luke had always wanted a big family when he was younger. After Alexandria was born, we never went back on birth control. But four years later, nothing has happened. I asked him if he wanted to try seeing a fertility specialist, but he doesn’t want to do that.

“We should be happy with what we have,” he always says. “We have so much.”

That part is true. We live in a beautiful house on the remote island of Mykonos—a paradise—and we have the means to fly our family in for visits a couple of times a year.

And we are about to complete the deal of the century.

_____

The man who shows up at our house is as intimidating as Luke ever was. He’s tall with black hair and an expensive suit, although maybe not as expensive as what Luke is wearing.

“Luke.” The man starts to hold out his hand, but then pulls it back, remembering. “Good to see you again. You look great. Life abroad clearly agrees with you.”

“Thanks, Clark.” Luke grins. “It’s not just Greece though. It’s mostly her.”

Clark stares at me, trying to sort that one out. I’m not model-beautiful like his wife surely is. But Luke and I are really happy together. And I’d like to see Clark’s wife achieve what I have…

So after I saw my friends all searching for jobs, I got the idea to create the ultimate job search app. I started working on it a few months before Alexandria was born, and it went live a year later. In the last two years, it’s become one of the most popular apps in the states for people searching for jobs or searching for employees. Recruiters hate me.

Of course, I’ve got Luke to thank. I did all the coding, but he handled everything else. The branding, the advertising, the entire business end. If not for him, there would probably be about a dozen people using my app. He turned it into what it is today. And now this stranger has flown across the Atlantic Ocean to buy it for his company.

For a lot of money.

I bring the man into our spacious kitchen. Being a gracious hostess, I offer him a drink from our bar, and he asks for a gin and tonic. I make it for him, but the drinks I pour for Luke and myself are just seltzer water. That was Luke’s idea. He figured the negotiations would go better if the other guy is a little tipsy and we are sober.

“Damn, look at that tan, Luke,” Clark comments. “You’re really living the life out here. I never thought you could give up the business world.”

“I don’t feel like I’ve given up much,” he says earnestly.

Clark winks. “So we can lowball you then?”

Luke raises an eyebrow. “Who do you think you’re dealing with here, Clark?”

Clark places his briefcase on our kitchen table and opens it up. He pulls out a white sheet of paper and passes it across the table to us. “What do you think? This is pretty generous.”

Luke instructed me not to react to whatever the number was, but it’s hard. That is a lot of money. More than I expected, even.

Clark looks at me. “What do you think, Eleanor?”

He knows I’m the brains behind the app. He also knows my husband is a shrewd businessman. I’m just a code monkey. A code monkey who coded something pretty damn amazing.

I clear my throat. “It’s…”

Luke nudges me before I can say anything, “It’s far too low, obviously. We already talked about this, Clark. Don’t insult us.”

Clark looks between the two of us and leans back in his seat. “I’ll go twenty-five percent higher.”

“No. Unacceptable.” Luke shakes his head. “Do you know what this product is worth?”

I know what it’s worth. And I know Luke is bluffing. He’s doing it well though. He is, unfortunately, an excellent liar.

“What do you want, Luke?” Clark says. I can see the desperation in his eyes. He wants this app. Badly.

Luke raises his eyebrows. “I told you the number I had in mind.”

I know that number. I told Luke he was out of his mind. Clark will never pay that. No company can afford that. It’s barely