Destination Connelly by K. L. Kreig

will or it will never hold up.
    “What is it?” I keep my voice calm when I feel anything but.
    Harold hesitates. I shake my head knowing this stipulation is going to be a doozy. “He wants written assurance that you won’t close the Cincinnati location for three years or lay off any of the employees at SER during that time.”
    “What?” I laugh. “Is he out of his ever-loving mind? He wants employment agreements extended to everyone at SER? He can’t negotiate what happens to his business after he sells. No fucking way. Forget it.”
    Harold ignores my unusual outburst, continuing. “There’s one more thing.”
    “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this,” I say on a chuckle. Leaning back in my smooth-as-butter Italian leather chair I grab my stress ball, tossing it in the air. I effortlessly catch it with each pull of gravity on the sponge. “Go on.”
    “Carl wanted me to pass along that Ms. Cantres has agreed to execute the employment agreement if you agree to this condition.”
    I freeze, the forgotten globe falling to the floor. It bounces across the room, where it stops against the leg of my cream-colored sofa. I think back to the conversation Nora and I had in the conference room about whether I intended to close the Cincy office and my response that I had no immediate plans.
    Then I smile.
    This is not Carl’s requirement. It’s Nora’s. In addition to being beautiful with a stellar professional reputation, she’s a shrewd businesswoman, too. The selfless side of Nora I’d witnessed many times when we were just kids is once again showing itself. I’m glad to know it’s still there underneath her irritating stubbornness.
    “Done.”
    “Connelly, my professional advice is to reject this condition. We have a solid offer on the table. This term limits your ability to effectively and efficiently integrate SER into Wynn. There are obvious areas of overlap and agreeing could be an expensive financial mistake.”
    I grind my teeth, pissed that Harold’s insinuating I’d make an intentionally poor financial decision for Wynn or GRASCO. As much as I want Nora, I would never do that to myself or my brothers or our company that we’ve busted our asses to build together. And essentially all she’s done is ensure that SER employees remain stable and that Wynn employees are the ones affected once we start thinking consolidation of functions and duties. Her beauty is breathtaking, but her intelligence is sexy as fuck. She senses how much I want this so she’s making me work for it. Classic Nora.
    “I said agree to the terms, Harold.”
    “Connelly—”
    “Harold, I respect and value your opinion, but do what I’m paying you to do.”
    “May I suggest an added clause?” he responds tightly.
    This time, I let my sigh free. “Not if it costs me the sale.”
    “This should be acceptable. It seems the concern here is for the continued employment of the SER associates, so I would offer a stipulation that we agree to one year and if business conditions change that require loss of employment, Wynn will provide a minimum of one-year of severance to any affected associates.”
    “Make it one and two years of severance.” Per the terms of a severance agreement, once the recipient is gainfully employed, severance ends. So this gives us time to develop and execute a solid integration plan and gets Nora what she’s asking—financial security for people she cares about. And, of course, garners me what I want.
    Her .
    “Of course.”
    “And you can tell Mr. Steele that as soon as I have Ms. Cantres’s signed employment agreement on my desk, we have a deal.”
    I can tell he’s irritated when he hangs up, but I don’t care. I can’t help the slow smile that creeps across my face. I think maybe Nora has been underutilized as just a recruiter, even though she’s excelled and has been highly successful in that role from everything I hear. When she works at my company, I have no doubt the sky’s gonna be the