Page 40 of Grounding the Baker
“On Tuesday, I went straight over my boss’s head to the director of my department and explained what had happened. He echoed what my boss said, so I was clear with him that I wouldn’t need a reference for future work as I wasn’t going back to it. I mean, this place is my future, isn’t it?”
Austin smiled at him and squeezed his hand.
“So, I said I’d be leaving with immediate effect and not working out the rest of my notice. That’s when they started panicking. I have clients whose net worth iseight figures, and they know me very well. I brought them into the business and built up their portfolios over the four years I was there. If I leave immediately, there won’t be a handover. If they think I’ve been treated badly, I know some of these guys will pull their assets and take them elsewhere, especially if I have a quiet word with them. That’s when we started negotiating.”
“Wow. So, did they go back to your original arrangement?”
“They tried to, because they also realised the role I was playing on two acquisitions they’re working on.”
“What is it you do exactly, Liam? Sorry, that sounds rude of me, but you’ve never really talked about your city job, just the bakery.”
“That’s okay. I love the bakery, and my other job is just that. It’s kind of like two jobs. I have a bank of high net worth clients, and I advise them on investing their capital within our platforms so they can make even more money, basically, and my company gets a commission. As we’re a private equity firm, I also advise on the investment side when they acquire smaller businesses to bring into their portfolio.”
“You’re incredible, Liam.”
Liam flushed with the praise and took a sip of his coffee to hide it. Austin was smiling at him.
“Right, where was I? Okay... they wanted me to stay until June and work from home, on the same deal, but I know I shouldn’t have agreed to that before, because how am I going to do this for another four months?”
“You’d manage. Somehow. I know you’d be able to do it all. I wish you wouldn’t, but if you wanted to, you’d do it.”
This guy needed to stop with all the compliments, it was making his tummy feel funny... or was that the vodkafrom last night? Whatever it was, he needed to get to the end of this story.
“I pushed back and said I would now only stay until the end of March, and I still wanted my bonus and shares. That would give me time to hand everything over. They didn’t want to give me my shares, and to be honest, I didn’t care about them. On paper it looks like they’re worth fifty grand, but I’d only see maybe fifteen of that.”
“What? How come you lose that much?”
“I’m a high-rate taxpayer, so I’d immediately lose half in tax when I exercise the shares, and because I can’t sell them straight away, I’d have to find that money. Then, when I sell them, which is at least a year later, I pay capital gains tax as well. My next proposal was to relinquish the shares, but they put me on garden leave for the rest of my notice and I agreed to hand over everything that week. I just have to be available for a few calls if needed, but effectively I am done, and I still get my bonus at the end of the month.”
“Wow. And are you going to get screwed for tax on that as well?”
“I’ll only lose half, so should walk away with thirty-five.”
“Jesus, Liam, how much do you earn?”
He suddenly felt embarrassed. It wasn’t something he never boasted about because he thought it came across as conceited, but he was hungover so his mouth was running away from him.
“Hey, hey, Liam. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to come across as it did. I’m just in awe of how successful you are. And the fact you’re willing to give it up and walk away from a lot of money to continue your mum’s legacy, well, you’re an even more amazing man than I thought you were.”
Liam wasn’t sure what to say to that. He felt his eyeswater before the tears fell. Within seconds, Austin was sitting next to him and pulling him into a side hug. For fuck’s sake. This was the second time he was getting emotional in front of this guy. He’d be thinking Liam was pathetic. Well, most guys would, but Austin wasn’t that type of person. The man was perfect. Liam hadn’t found a single flaw in him, and he’d tried. For some bizarre reason, Austin was interested in him, and what was Liam doing? Holding him at arm’s length, and coming up with excuses to not follow what all his instincts– and his flatmates– were telling him. They’d had a lengthy discussion about Austin, and they’d told him to stop being a whiny bitch and to mount him as soon as possible. Well, that’s what Kieran had said. Hassan and Milo were a bit more eloquent, but the message had been the same. Why was he waiting for the timing to be perfect and risking missing this chance?
“I’m ready, Austin.”
“Ready for what?”
“To go on a date with you.”
ELEVEN
AUSTIN
The week had dragged like a bitch. Saturday couldn’t come soon enough. He was forty years old and more excited about this than his actual first date. Austin had been floating when he’d left Sylvie’s Slice on Friday, but he had gone back on Saturday to talk to Liam and be sure he hadn’t just said he was ready for a date because he was emotional and hungover. Why he’d done that, he wasn’t sure. What would he have done if Liam had taken it back? Thankfully, he didn’t. He also seemed the most relaxed Austin had ever seen him. Letting his city job go must have released an immense burden off his shoulders. Learning more about Liam’s work, what he’d achieved at his age, and how he’d negotiated a deal putting himself first, made Austin fall for him a bit more. There was no doubt in Austin’s mind that he was falling fast for Liam. Now he had this date, he couldn’t fuck it up.
“I feel very insulted that you’re not bringing him here,” said Gerard. “I could have gotten Kevin to make you something off menu.”
“That’s probably why he didn’t ask, my love,” saidKevin, looking adoringly at his husband. “And we don’t do special requests, especially on a Saturday night.”
“We do for family.”
