programs would exist in the app as they would on the website. The same professionals would be there. Everything would be the same but it runs on a device, not a website. It will require more effort to build and more resources, but it will be so much more marketable, which means you’ll have more money for your start-up. New clients can use the website platform while the app is developed.”
Sylvie’s gaze flicked to Jon. “You’re right. He is clever.”
I leaned back in my chair with a confident smirk and looked at my boss. “Singing my praises, were you?”
“No,” Jon said.
Sylvie laughed and it sounded like musical raindrops. “Nonsense, Jon. You told us Ethan was our best bet, that he had an inquisitive mind and he didn’t settle for something that would work if there was a better option. You were right. Warren and I have a lot to think about.”
Warren and Sylvie thanked me for my time. We all shook hands and I walked them to the elevator with Jon, who invited me into his office after the couple left. He closed the door behind us and turned to me.
“Excellent work as usual, Ethan,” he said.
“Thank you.”
“I’m behind this project one hundred percent. I think the O’Donnells would be foolish not to give you free rein with this. Sylvie knows you hit the mark. Warren just needs a bit more convincing. She’ll do the leg work for you. Trust me. Honestly, son, you knocked it out of the park. If it wasn’t still early in the morning, I’d pour you a drink.”
“I’ll settle for you making me partner.”
“Here we go again.” My boss turned his back on me and went to his desk. He dropped heavily into his chair and peered up at me from beneath his thick gray eyebrows. “You can’t just leave it alone, can you?”
“No, I want it too bad. And what is it you always say? You have to want it to get it?”
“Don’t use my words against me.”
“Don’t make Kathryn partner.”
Jon rolled his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. “Ethan.”
“I’m the right choice, boss. I’m reliable, ethical, and talented. You know it and I know it. And Kathryn? She’s cutthroat and cold. She’ll do whatever it takes to land a contract and ‘whatever it takes’ isn’t what the JDR Agency stands for. Especially in her circumstance.”
“If you’re referring to her stealing Perfect Pairings from you, I’ll stop you right there. She didn’t steal it. I gave it to her.”
“Because she manipulated you.”
Jon shook his head. “No, because I wanted to see how gracious she would be and how jealous you would get.”
I paused.
Jon clasped his hands together and interlaced his fingers. “What do you think about that?”
“I think I forgot who the master is.”
“Indeed,” Jon agreed. “Partner is my decision to make. And if neither of you rise to my standard, neither of you will get the job. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of prescription medication for his blood pressure. “You know, in a perfect world, you and Kathryn wouldn’t be enemies. You balance each other out. She has a lot to offer and so do you, and if you could both get past your egos, you might be able to see that for yourselves.”
“She’s a shark.”
“She’s an asset to this company.”
“She’s a thorn in this company. Ask anyone here. She scares them.”
“Is that what this is about, Ethan? Does she scare you?”
“I said she scared them, not me.”
Jon chuckled. “Well, that’s good to hear because I’ve been doing some thinking.”
Oh no.
Jon continued. “Perfect Pairings and the O’Donnell application might play well off each other. I can see how one might make the other successful and vice versa. Can you?”
“Don’t say it.”
Jon kept his mouth shut, but he had that devious twinkle in his eye I knew so well. The old man was planning something. Something wicked.
Jon sighed and slapped on a smile. “What should I order for the office for lunch, Ethan? How do you feel about pho? Or sushi?”
“I don’t care about lunch.”
“Pho it is.”
I left Jon’s office with a sinking feeling in my gut. The boss man was up to something, and I had a hunch I wasn’t going to like the outcome.
Chapter 7
Kathryn
I crossed one leg over the other and leaned back on the sofa in the break room. Beside me sat my near-empty bowl of pho, courtesy of Jon, who ordered lunch in for