Page 79 of Wicked Takeover
Karen fairly beamed. “We need someone to start as soon as possible. There’s a lot to be done. The company is willing to pay for relocation expenses.”
Lauren wasn’t certain she’d heard correctly. “Relocation?”
“Our newest acquisition is in Pensacola. We’re keeping their current staff until we can eliminate duplicate positions. We want on-site HR to make the transition less traumatic. Once that’s over, the HR director there will operate as an arm of this parent office.” Karen leaned closer and spoke conspiratorially. “We’ve learned it’s best to have local representation for staff. A part of the job will be to make everyone feel valued and listened to in order to reduce problems for management.”
Lauren nodded absently, still stuck on Pensacola, more than six hundred miles from West Palm Beach. Too far to drive for lunch or to visit on a regular basis.
Karen slid the papers toward her.
At the top was the salary offer, an astounding amount.
Lauren’s breath caught.
She hadn’t come close to making that much at her last position, nor had her title been as great as this one. It was her entry into the big time.
Peter, the middle-aged guy who was the company director, detailed the enormous potential for this position and the growth opportunities it offered.
Lauren reeled at what promise it held. Her belly wouldn’t stop clenching.
Once he’d wound down, Abby took over. She was Peter’s right-hand person and assured she’d be available to offer assistance. “We want to make this as comfortable for you as possible.”
They wanted her. Really wanted her. Surprise and sadness hit so hard, Lauren felt vaguely ill.
Karen regarded her closely. “We’ll need your answer by Tuesday as we want to move quickly on this. Please feel free to have your attorney go over our offer.” She slid several documents to Lauren. “If you have any questions in the interim, you can call me at home.” She pulled a business card from her pocket and wrote her number on the back.
Lauren took the card, grateful her hand didn’t shake. “Thanks.”
“Thank you.” Karen smiled sweetly. “Do you have any questions concerning what we’ve discussed so far?”
Lauren couldn’t think of any except why they wanted her to relocate so far away and why everything had to be so needlessly complicated in life. Why couldn’t this have been a job offer in this office? Why did she have to choose between what she needed to do and what she really wanted but would never have?
That, of course, settled everything, didn’t it?
Aching with despair, she went on autopilot and behaved as she should, asking how she could best serve the company. What the timeline was for the milestones they wanted her to hit. She next offered suggestions for the transition that made them smile.
Talked out and wrung dry, she let them take over the show. Everyone joked for a few minutes. The meeting ended on an upbeat note. A casual observer would have guessed they’d been friends for years.
Smiling as broadly as they did, Lauren shook their hands and left.
She sat in her car, staring into space, not wanting to think, afraid to feel. If anyone had told her six months ago she’d be behaving like this after getting a great offer, she would have said they were seriously insane.
She didn’t know what to do. Where to go.
And so she drove aimlessly, even though it ate up too much gas. She even ran her air conditioning. There wasn’t much choice. She was sweating badly, then trembling with cold shakes. Stopped at a light, she recalled her appointment with Mike Murreski, the potential buyer for the parlor.
They were supposed to meet in minutes.
She made a quick U-turn and drove back to West Palm Beach and Starbucks.
Mike relaxed at a table and looked remarkably similar to his photos on the net. A handsome man, fortyish or so, he had thick, dark hair that had already turned silver in spots. His tan enhanced his masculinity. Noting her business suit and that she was the only one here dressed conservatively, he waved her over.
She rushed to him. “Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s only been a few minutes. Can I buy you a coffee?”
Despite the chilled air in here, Lauren couldn’t stop sweating. Her heart pounded wildly. “I’ll have an iced tea.”
Mike ordered and brought their drinks to his table. “I have to say, I was very impressed with your presentation and video. Did you shoot it yourself?”
