Read Online Bitter Harvest (Harvest Trilogy, Book 2) by Michael R. Hicks - Free Book Online Page A

down and torture you into taking the job.” He smiled. “I’ve tried brazen flattery and have now enticed you with gold. If those won’t work, maybe trust will do the trick. So here’s the deal. Don’t give me your answer now. But I want you to take that check to the bank as soon as you leave here and deposit it. If you decide to come work for me, show up for work tomorrow at your convenience. If you decide that you’re not interested, I want you to keep the money, no questions asked, on the chance that you may change your mind later.”
    “That’s very generous, but I couldn’t do that, Howard.” She didn’t want to make the commitment without talking to Jack first, but she knew in her heart that she was going to take the job. She would be a fool not to, for any number of reasons.  
    Morgan crossed his arms, a knowing grin on his face. “I’ll be free at two o’clock tomorrow afternoon to walk you through the orientation.”
    * * *
    “Jack, he offered me the job, and I want to take it.” Back in her hotel room after having gone for a three mile run and taking a hot bath, Naomi had made a video call to Jack over the web. He had stayed in San Antonio to manage the shutdown of SEAL, which mostly meant doing what he could to alleviate the shock of the people who worked there, all of whom were being systematically kicked out on the street. The two week severance was a sop that would have brought cries of protest and outrage in any other federal agency. But SEAL was different. There were no civil service protections for its employees; they served, and could be dismissed, at the pleasure of the government. Jack did what he could to ease their pain, but they were all well and truly screwed.  
    It was nearly midnight in Texas, and Jack looked exhausted. But he visibly brightened at her words. “It’s nice to hear some good news for a change. We could use a lucky break after this cluster.” He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit. “When does he want you to start?”
    Naomi saw movement in the corner of Jack’s video pickup, and Alexander’s big head appeared, his nose suddenly filling the view from the webcam. With a single meow, he jumped off the desk. She could hear him tearing off down the hallway, no doubt chasing after Koshka, her cat.
    “He wants me to start tomorrow.” She was a little nervous about how Jack might react. He respected her freedom and her individuality, but they were also a couple very much in love, even if not married. Yet. She hated to leave him holding the bag in San Antonio, but she had to admit to her own streak of selfishness. She couldn’t wait to get started on the work Morgan had promised her.
    “Tomorrow?” He sat back and pursed his lips. After a moment’s consideration, he said, “Hell, why not? I’ll have the mess at SEAL wrapped up by the end of the week. With that done, there’s no reason to stay here, and I sure don’t have anything cooking on the job front. We’ll have to sort out what we want to do with finding a place out there and selling the place here, but I can handle this end while…”
    “Jack,” she interrupted him, “just finish up at work, grab the cats, get your tight little ass in that SUV, and head out here. Forget about the house and all the other stuff for now. We can deal with that later.” She touched his face in the monitor with her fingers. “I want you here with me. Right now.”
    “There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, baby. Believe me. But we don’t have a lot of money in the bank to pay a mortgage on a house here and rent a place there until we find a house to buy. And a place out there is going to be a fortune compared to what we paid here.”
    Naomi grinned. “Honey, cash right now is not a problem. Howard Morgan wrote me a check for five million dollars, and I deposited it in our account this afternoon.”
    Jack’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”  
    Naomi nodded. “That’s what I thought!”
    “Okay.”