prepare a board room that I didn’t even know you had on a day where I’m not scheduled to work and haven’t had even two seconds of sleep, so yeah, if you want me to move, then you better fill me in on some details.”
Colton reaches the top of the stairs and continues to his bedroom, letting out a heavy sigh. “They’re the board of Carrington Incorporated. Dad’s biggest business. It pulls in almost triple the amount of revenue of any other business in its field.”
“Okay, so what do they want with you?”
“They want to intimidate me to hand over control so they can reallocate the way profits are shared.”
“No shit. So, this is a ploy to line their pockets.”
“Welcome to my world,” he grumbles, pushing through to his bedroom. “But their pockets are already lined. Thanks to my father, their pockets are overflowing but with bastards like that, it’s never enough.”
“You don’t think they just don’t want someone a quarter of their age coming in and fucking everything up?”
Colton stops and steps into his closet, heading for his impressive line of suits while peeling his tank over his head. “Listen up and listen good, Jade. Don’t fucking doubt me. I’m not going to fuck anything up. Believe it or not, I actually know what I’m doing. You don’t grow up with a father like Charles Carrington and not learn how to fuck with a bunch of greedy board members. My father earned this position. Now, are you going to get your ass downstairs and prepare the board room or not? You do work for me, right?”
I scoff and watch as his eyes slice back to mine. “You listen up and you listen good, Carrington,” I say repeating his words back to him. “I worked for your father, not for you. If you expect this shit to continue, then you’re going to have to make it worth my while. You’re not exactly the kind of boss that I’d willingly work under.”
He groans. “What do you want?”
I smirk, leaning against the frame of his closet door, knowing all the cards are in my hands. “I want both mine and mom’s base rates doubled.”
Colton scoffs. “No way. Your mom already receives a high rate.
“And she deserves every cent, wouldn’t you agree? I know you’ve seen how hard she works. She busted her ass for your dad and now she’s doing the same for you. Not to mention that you’ve never once said thank you or even given her a smile.”
Colton pulls a grey suit from the line and my face scrunches at his choice. He lets out a sigh. “Fine. Anything else?”
“Yeah, you can double Maryne’s as well. She’s a badass bitch and has put up with your shit for too long.”
“You realize no other housekeeper or staff member in all of Bellevue Springs makes that kind of money?”
“I know,” I say. “But the maids all talk and I know that Milo’s housekeeper earns a better rate than my mom and has better hours. Oh, and has a boss who isn’t an ass and because of that, your dad got a bad rep of being a stingy bastard. You don’t want that to be you, do you?”
Colton groans as I step into his closet and pull out a new suit before taking the other out of his hands. “What are you saying, Jade?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not saying anything, just subtly suggesting that a review of the complete staff wages is probably in order, and considering the whole damn world knows what kind of status and money you have, I’d suggest an increase for everyone. After all, appreciative workers result in a better job done. Though, I'd consider leaving Harrison’s right where it is. He could use a few hits to his ego, but I’ll leave that to your discretion.”
“The fuck?” he grunts. “You want me to give the whole staff an increase? Do you have any idea how many people work here?”
“I do, and I also know that you probably make enough money per second to cover it.”
“That’s beside the point.”
“No, that’s exactly the point.”
He lets out a groan. “You know what? Don’t worry about it. I'll call Maryne in early to set up the board room.”
I suck in a breath. “You know damn well that she has her niece's dance recital this morning and that she’s been looking forward to it all week.”
“Fine. Your mom will do it.”
“You’re going to get her out of bed on the one day