My Own Terms by Stephanie Nicole Norris

Author:Stephanie Nicole Norris [Norris, Stephanie Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Love Is A Drug Ink LLC

We were on the roof where I had Daniella sitting in front of a rising fire, stoked from the grill where I was about to cook our dinner.

“It’s been way too long since we’ve done this,” she said.

“We should do it more often.”

“It makes me so happy, and you appear to be in your element. Culinary school was good to you.”

I chuckled. “You think so?”

“Yeah. Do you ever think about putting that degree to use opening your own restaurant?”

I nodded. “More often than I should.”

“If it’s a dream of yours—and it obviously is—then you should. What’s to hold you back?”

“My full-service chiropractic business.”

She held on to a smile. “You can do both.” She shrugged. “Take some time off at The Den. I can take you off the schedule, continue to pay your salary, and you can build on another one of your dreams. I’d love to watch you flourish all over again. Gives me butterflies.”

I knew she meant it—that was the thing about Daniella. She treated people like their purpose was the only thing that mattered in life. The focus she gave was unwavering—even when someone wasn’t the only person in the room.

I cocked my head to the side. “Don’t you know I’ve never spent a dime of that money? None of us have.”

Her eyes rose in surprise. “What do you mean?”

I laid seasoned pieces of chicken on the grill and my nose was instantly hit with the aroma of cooking poultry.

“The salary you pay me, King, and Blaze; none of us spend it. It’s being deposited into savings accounts that we never touch.”

Her mouth dropped. “Why?”

“What did I tell you when we started working at The Den?”

She searched her thoughts—her eyes moving side to side in memory.

“You said that you would be honored to help me turn this place into my biggest fantasy, and you also told me you wouldn’t take any salary for doing that.”

I smiled. “You remember.”

“Of course, and Blaze and King agreed, but I didn’t think you guys were serious.”

“Do you remember how you pressured us to give you our direct deposit information?”

“I pressured you?”

Teasing, I mimicked her no-nonsense voice. “Everyone inside this building that is not considered a guest, client, or visitor is on my payroll. Have your deposit information on my desk by the end of the day.”

My voice grew softer as I continued. “Besides, you guys don’t want me to get in trouble with the IRS, do you? What about a work labor force who might try and sue me for not paying workers at my club?”

Shocked, her mouth gaped wide open, and I laughed at the sight.

“I do not sound like that!”

My laughter became louder as I took a step back in my amusement.

“Tobias!”

“Yes, you do, love.”

A twinkle slipped across her eyes, maybe from my term of endearment or perhaps because my account of her stance tickled her. Either way, seeing her happy even in that single moment thrilled me—and that scared me.

“So, I pressured you guys?”

“You know you did.”

“Okay, so you could’ve left then.

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