SURE (Men of the ESRB Book 3) by Hollis Shiloh

Author:Hollis Shiloh [Shiloh, Hollis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Spare Words Press
Published: 2016-03-22T07:00:00+00:00

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We all pretended that Ellery and I had talked seriously about taking a vacation and where we'd like to go. It was a polite fiction; in reality, I don't think Kev was fooled, but he also didn't care. When I said we wanted to go to the nice little resort in Switzerland we'd been to once before, he just nodded and started making it happen.

"I think we need to start paying for some of our vacations, though," I told him in a fit of guilt.

He looked up. "Nope. If you suggest it, and it's not convenient for us, I'll consider it. But, frankly, this is part of the reason The Shardwell Group was allowed to have two people from the ESRB. We pay for vacations, and we give them frequently enough that you're not overburdened and overstressed all the time. It's part of your salary, in a way."

"Then, damn, we really earn the big bucks." I still felt guilty about having such a good job sometimes. There was no way I deserved it. I worked with people I liked, and they pampered me and then paid me on top of it all? The tons of extras — security, housing, free food — it had to add up. It was like I was some spoiled politician.

Kevin looked at me and blinked. "Hey," he said more gently, then got up and came around his desk to me. "You okay, buddy?" He put a hand up as if to touch my face, and then withdrew instead.

"Mm-hm," I said. But I shuffled closer, and when he got the hint and opened his arms to embrace me, I put my head down on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I breathed through my nose, deeply, trying to control the errant emotions swamping me. Sometimes I felt very small and stupid and unworthy.

"You two having a problem?" he asked, trying to sound neutral and keep the worry out of his voice.

"No. Just feeling out of my league," I admitted.

He tightened his embrace, giving me the sort of hug I relished, and then released me and held me at arm's length. "That's my decision, and I say you're not." He gave me a little shake and an affectionate smile. "You're mine, Peter. Don't forget that. And it's not your choice what you earn or how frequently you have vacations. It's mine — because I want to keep working with you. I'm not letting the ESRB take you away over salary issues or vacations or anything of the sort. Now, will you let me handle it and trust I know what I'm doing?"

I wanted to believe him and accept it, and since he believed what he was saying very much indeed, it was easy to nod. "Good boy," he said, and I laughed at the teasing tone in his voice.

"I'm not a dog!"

He swiped at my hair, trying to keep his mouth from twitching into a grin. I ducked away from him, feeling happier than I had moments before.

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