Blitz: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy (Blast Brothers Book 3), стр. 33
Now, each festival would get an average of ten-thousand dollars.
It was terrific news, but there had to be a catch. I mean, no one would offer double the money for nothing.
Would they?
Across from me, Chase continued like the amount was no big deal. "But you're gonna have to do more than divvy it up," he explained. "You're gonna have to deal with the festival people, too."
Like that was a hardship. I'd have the happy task of giving them money, playing Santa Claus with funds that weren't even my own.
It sounded like a blast – and I meant that literally, considering that I'd be doing this on behalf of Blast Tools.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right. "Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why would you double it? I mean, it's terrific news, but I guess I'm a little surprised."
"Don't be," he said. "The money's not a donation. It's a sponsorship, which means I'll be wanting things in return." He gave me a serious look. "It'll be up to you to get them."
Was that the catch?"What sort of things?"
"Nothing they won't be willing to give."
I was familiar with the concept. When the bank had agreed to sponsor the Tomato Festival, they'd wanted their own booth, their names on all of the programs, and a banner across the midway. For this, they'd been willing to donate seven-thousand dollars.
Somehow, I had the distinct feeling that Chase would be expecting more. This wasn't unreasonable.
And yet, I still felt like I was missing something. "But you never said. Why'd you double it?"
"Because a million is a nice round number," he said. "It rolls off the tongue better than five-hundred thousand. It'll look good in print, too."
By now, my head was swimming, even more so when I recalled something he'd said a few moments ago. "Wait a minute, the commission you mentioned. You said I'd get five percent?" My pulse quickened. "Of what amount?"
His eyebrows lifted. "You know the amount."
I swallowed. "A million? Seriously?"
Now this was some happy math. Five percent of a million was fifty thousand. This was more than my annual salary at the bank, and a lot more than I'd been making as a barista.
This had to be a dream. As the numbers swirled in my head, I heard myself say, "My commission – does that come out of the festival money?"
"No, it's separate. You'll be giving away a million even."
Wow.
I was still reeling when he said, "And you'll need to sign a contract."
"Sure, anything."
"Anything?" He steepled his fingers. "So you're prepared to sign away your soul, huh?"
At that moment, he looked so devilishly handsome that I might've been tempted, if only I didn't know exactly how such stories ended.
I tried to laugh. "Oh, please. What would you want with my soul?"
Chapter 30
Chase
She had no idea.
Today, she wore a little white dress that made her look way too innocent sitting across from me.
In the morning sun, her golden hair shimmered around her face – not quite a halo, but the next best thing. Her eyes were baby blue, and her makeup was subtle.
She looked exactly like she was – a nice hometown girl from a decent family – the kind I'd never known growing up.
As far as her soul, I didn't want her to sell it – not to me or to anyone else.
But I did want to borrow it for a while, maybe parade it around for the cameras until people forgot about the bullshit in the book.
I was going to be straight with her, too. I might be a bastard, but I was no liar.
I told her, "There's just one catch."
She stiffened in her chair. "Oh?"
Just then, my office door opened, and Mason appeared in the doorway. He looked to me and asked, "You forgetting something?"
I knew what he meant. We were supposed to meet sometime between nine and ten, depending on his other appointments. I glanced at the nearby clock. The current time was 9:20.
I told him, "I'll catch you when I'm done."
His mouth tightened. "We had a meeting."
"I am in a meeting," I said. "Just not with you."
With a frown, he looked to Mina, sitting in my visitor's chair. She hadn't turned around. Instead, she was pretending to study her notepad – the one she'd been carrying when she'd arrived.
During the past twenty minutes, she'd taken no notes, which told me there was nothing to study except blank pages.
Probably, she was being polite by not turning around to stare. If so, she was in for a rude awakening.
Mason wasn't polite.
And neither was I.
In the open doorway, he said, "So end it."
The meeting? If he meant this one, he could stick it where the sun didn't shine. "Sure thing." I smiled. "When I’m good and ready."
"Perfect," he said. "As long as you're 'good and ready' in five minutes. I've got a packed schedule."
He always had a packed schedule.
Still, this wasn't like him to barge in on my meetings, much less order me to end them early. Obviously, he was still pissed about the book.
If so, that made two of us. But unlike him, I was in the process of dealing with it. And this process involved the girl in my visitor's chair.
I told Mason, "You're not the only one."
His gaze shifted to Mina, and he frowned like he'd just caught me naked with an intern.
I felt compelled to say, "This is business."
He was still looking at Mina, who was still studying her notepad. He gave her a long, penetrating look, taking in her long blonde hair and whatever else he saw from the open doorway. With a hard scoff, he replied, "Yeah, I bet."
His implication was obvious, and for some reason, I didn't like it. With cool deliberation, I pushed back my chair and stood. "Ten minutes," I told him. "And if you don't like it…" I paused. "Too bad."
I'd been on the verge of telling