you work too hard,” she suggested.
He shrugged. “I’ve been managing his properties in Ramsey for ten years now. This is the first time he’s been here himself. His visit is causing a great deal of concern among the various managers and staff at his properties. I’m doing my best to reassure them, but I’m a bit worried myself, if I’m honest.”
“So you were working seventy or eighty hours a week and now you’re doing even more.”
“Something like that, but I’m not complaining. I love what I do and Lucas is terrific to work with. He’s very hands-off, as long as things are going well and his properties are profitable. I feel rather possessive of the properties here, if I’m honest.”
“You should. You’re the one who puts in all of the hard work.”
“And Lucas is the one who puts up all of the money,” he laughed. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. I never talk about Lucas and you’re the last person I should be discussing him with, all things considered.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, you’re going to be getting engaged to the man in a few days. I would hate for you to think that I was complaining about him in any way.”
“No worries there. Everyone in Ramsey knows how hard you work. I don’t think Lucas truly appreciates you.”
“He compensates me very generously, actually, based in part on percentages of profits. I have good reasons for working as hard as I do.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Douglas studied her for a minute. “He’s a good man. Whatever you’ve heard about him, if you take time to get to know him, I think you’ll like him.”
Blinking back unexpected tears at the sincere words from the man, she nodded and then took a sip of her drink. “We’re going to be getting engaged. I hope I’ll like him a little bit.”
“Right, let’s get through the paperwork, then,” he said. “Most of it is to do with adding you to the company payroll. Lucas thought that would be the easiest way to compensate you for your time.” He handed her several sheets of paper that she needed to complete.
When she was done, he handed her another sheet. “He had me type up an informal agreement for you. He doesn’t expect you to sign it or anything, but he wanted you to have something in writing that outlines everything.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Without any signatures, it isn’t worth having, though, really.”
“Lucas is a man of his word. You can trust him to abide by everything in this agreement, assuming you do the same. If you really want something signed, I can talk to his lawyer tomorrow about some sort of pre-engagement agreement.”
“Let’s see what this says,” she said, looking down at the sheet in front of her. She cleared her throat and began to read from it.
“’Agreement between Lucas Hogan and Terri Briggs. The pair shall announce their engagement and behave as an engaged couple in public starting on Friday, September twenty-first until such time as either chooses to end the relationship.’ That seems straightforward enough,” she said.
Douglas nodded. “There’s more about ending the relationship later in the agreement.”
“Is there?” She continued reading. “’Lucas shall compensate Terri on a monthly basis through his company payroll at an amount agreed between the couple. These funds will help to cover the costs of clothing, hair, makeup, and sundries as needed by Terri when attending events with Lucas.’” She laughed. “I’m being paid for sundries?”
Douglas shrugged. “We did our best with the wording. Lucas was concerned that going to events with him might get costly for you.”
“I hadn’t really thought about that. I should have asked for more money.”
“That’s in there, too,” Douglas said.
“’The agreed compensation will be reevaluated each week and increased as necessary based on Terri’s expenses. Regardless of those expenses, the amount will not be decreased.’ That’s very generous of him.”
“I believe he’s very grateful to you for being willing to do this.”
She nodded. “Right, well, what’s next? ‘Any gifts given to Terri during the engagement period are hers to keep when the relationship ends.’ Gifts? I wasn’t expecting gifts.”
“Lucas was just trying to cover every contingency.”
“’The same applies to any gifts of any kind given to Terri’s son, Thomas, during the engagement period,’” she continued. “I don’t know about this. It’s starting to feel weird.”
“We can tear up the agreement if you don’t want it. It isn’t legally binding. Lucas thought it might make you feel better about the whole thing, that’s all.”
She