A Moment Like You (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #2) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,65
going to have to relocate your babies somewhere else.”
Since Beacon is taking it upon him to try everyone’s cars, I’ve decided to hide mine at Sophia and her parents’ houses. At least the Bugatti, the Mercedes, and the Koenigsegg. I don’t tell her that. She’s been taking the Mercedes with her all week, and it took me an entire night to convince her to accept driving the car.
She’s afraid that if she scratches it, I’m going to go off and she doesn’t want to fight over something as stupid as a car.
As I told her, it’s just a fucking car and if something happens to it there’s insurance to cover it. As long as she’s fine and safe, I don’t care about the vehicle.
“Marco just texted to let me know my parents are at home,” she says, showing me her phone. “They are gushing about the town and my friends.”
She looks at the phone with a sad smile.
“They’ll be back,” I reassure her as we make our way to my new office which is conveniently located in her house. “Talking about family, let’s get this over with.”
She sighs and uses the landline to call her brother, Santiago, who answers right away. “It’s nine o’clock.”
“We know,” Sophia is the one who takes over. “We found the building. If all goes well, Merkel will have offices in Portland in early August. We should start with the relocation plans by Monday.”
“I’m afraid to ask why you’re calling me. After a few weeks of working for this company, I’ve come to realize that he pays a lot because he expects everyone to work three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.”
“These are extraordinary circumstances, Mr. Aragon,” I add.
“My parents alerted me about an issue. Should I be emailing you the fraternization policy and the contract where you both agree this is consensual?”
His unfriendly voice doesn’t sit well, but before I can say something, my woman does. “Shut up, Santiago. If it wasn’t consensual, he’d be dead. But thank you for your concern.”
He sighs. “I guess you don’t want a lecture then.”
“No, I want your help to make decisions about which departments we’re relocating,” she continues. “We could transfer almost everyone and leave a small crew, the way we have it in London, Sydney, Mexico City, and other major hubs.”
He sighs, “What kind of incentives are you giving the employees? I’m assuming this isn’t optional, is it?”
“No,” I answer. “After looking at the living costs and weighing the pros and cons, it makes sense to move the corporate offices to Portland. We’d like you to come up with some options we can offer them.”
“Does it? Or it makes sense for you,” he asks. “Because all I hear is, Santiago, you got a kick-ass job, but either move here or you’re going to have to find another job, buddy. We have to accommodate the…boss.”
“It’d be a great place to start again,” Sophia says. “You need it.”
“Lately, you seem to know what I need, but it feels like you’re doing everything to please the selfish bastard who, at least until a few weeks ago, you used to hate.”
“Santiago,” she says with a warning.
“Don’t Santiago me, baby sister. You took our parents against my wishes. You begged me to take this job. Now you want me to move, all because he only thinks of himself and the fucking bottom line. How will this benefit those families?”
“For starters, Mr. Aragon, the cost of living in Portland is between twenty to twenty-five percent less than in New York City. If you take into consideration that they have a salary that is between twenty to thirty percent more than the average person who lives in this state, I think they are winning already. Less pollution, a better quality of life… Should I go on, or do you think all those reasons are to fulfill some selfish purpose?”
I don’t tell him this is his sister’s idea, because if he yells at her again, he’ll meet the real Henry Aldridge.
There’s a long silence until he says, “I’ll start working on this Monday. What if I don’t want to move?”
“I hope you do,” Sophia mumbles. “Love you, big bro.”
“Same,” he says before hanging up.
“It was about us dating, and nothing to do with the company.”
“I got that,” I say, pulling her to me. If I had a sister who’s been complaining about a man like me, I’d be concerned too. I have to earn his trust which is why I didn’t say much. He