Free Steal: A Bad Boy Romance by D.G. Whiskey Page B

work,
but donors and recipients might use the system as well, especially at
financially based organizations like Seed for Growth.
    A
large marketing campaign could highlight ARCANE’s contributions to the nonprofit sector, underscoring how vital the service is to
the wellbeing of those less fortunate. Instead of approaching potential clients
cold and attempting to sell based off facts and figures, donating services
would inject a human element into the story, a narrative to coax clients into
learning about and accepting ARCANE as a premiere data security option.
    I need to write this down.
    A
dam had burst in my mind, and ideas flooded through with astonishing speed.
There had been a few times in my life when creativity had flowed like a
fountain, enough to know that letting it sweep me along was the best thing I
could do.
    I
rode the high for a long time, not looking at the clock for fear it would drag
me out of the headspace. Hours could have passed. Sheet after sheet of crisp
white paper filled with frantic pen scribbles as ideas flowed and changed and
merged.
    When
the phone rang, I nearly threw it against the wall. I snapped the receiver up.
“What?”
    “Katherine,
this is Nick. Come to my office.”
    I
almost snarled. “Not now, Nick. I’m busy. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” I
hung up without waiting for a response.
    A
part of me screamed about how I shouldn’t have done that, how I should run to
Nick’s office and apologize. That part wasn’t in control, dominated by the rest
of me that was sick and tired of the forces in the office arrayed against my
success.
    I
worked on a cost-benefit analysis based on loose estimations of how many charities
we could donate to, their size, the increased exposure, the campaigns we could
run, and the cost of donated services. Once I'd tallied the figures and
checked twice, I finally set the pen down.
    This could work.
    My
heart pumped fast, a steady stream of adrenaline fueling the spree of brainstorming and calculations. I wanted to kiss someone, and the
first face to spring to mind was James. Twice now, his suggestions led to huge
strides forward in developing a strategy. I owed him.
    One for this, and one for the
other night. He’s stacking up the favors .
    With
quick motions, I folded the sheet of paper with the final numbers and took it
with me as I left my office.
    Marcy
sat at her desk, arms crossed and sullen as she glared at me. A box sat beside
her, half filled with belongings.
    Sean
and Todd stood next to her, and they also looked up. The men turned tail and
went back to their desks.
    Satisfaction
filled me at the sight of the two abandoning their leader.
    That’s right. I’m willing to
fire you if you don’t get your acts together. Let’s see if this
gets results out of you.
    I
knocked on Nick’s door, not sure what kind of reception I walked into.
    “Nick?
You wanted to see me?”
    The
ARCANE CEO sat behind his impressive desk and waved me in without looking. With
no other direction I sat at the chair opposite his desk and waited.
    “I
hear you fired Marcy?” He said it off- handedly , not
looking away from his computer screen.
    I
hesitated. It was impossible to tell if he was angry or indifferent. “I did.
She produced hardly any work and was a bad influence on the other two members
of my team. Things should tick along more smoothly without her.”
    “She
has been with us for a long time. If I hadn’t hired you, she might have gotten
your job.”
    Nick’s
deadpan was hard to interpret. After a few seconds of failing to come up with
an inoffensive way of responding, I snapped. Marcy had been a huge thorn in my
side, and Nick was an asshole. Why would I try to watch my words around them?
    “If
you’d put her in my position, that would have been a huge mistake. I may be
inexperienced, but she’s incompetent. I can learn new skills, but she’ll always
be lazy and a waste of resources.”
    That
earned me a look. It was only a few seconds,