Page 89 of After You Returned
I purse my lips. “I have other offers.”
“I heard.” He pulls an envelope out of his pocket. “Which is why I increased my initial offer.”
“What initial offer?” I mutter as I remove the letter. As I scan it, my eyes widen further and further. He can’t be serious. “This is ridiculous.”
The offer from the VA hospital can’t compare to this. The income is better, the number of vacation days is higher. There’s even a generous retirement plan.
“My goal is to have the NFL team return every summer for training camp. I need a physical therapist who can be on hand every summer to support the players.”
“There’s no reason to hire me full-time. We can do a temporary contract for five weeks in the summer. Or you can find another therapist to temporarily work for you.”
“I don’t want someone to come and go. I want someone who’s on hand all year long. If a guest is injured learning how to surf or jumping off a boat, I want a therapist on hand to help them until they can get home.”
I wave the letter at him. “And you’re willing to pay.”
He snorts. “You have no idea how much the NFL pays. If you were a therapist for a team, you’d earn double my offer.”
“Hmm… maybe you can hook me up with the manager of your old team.”
“And have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of my life while I wait for Miles to exact his revenge? No thanks. I have a family.”
“Miles doesn’t control me.”
“He’ll still lose his mind when he realizes you’re in the locker room with forty-eight naked players.”
“Naked? Do they run around the locker room naked? Do they have towel fights?”
Hudson chuckles. “Everyone on this island is crazy.”
“Hey! You grew up here, too.”
He nods to the letter. “What do you say? The terms are negotiable.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You’d pay me more than this?”
“If necessary.”
“I don’t know if you’re insane or have too much money you don’t know what to do with.”
“No one has too much money when you have children to put through college.”
“Children?” Hudson and Nova only have one child – Iliana.
“Nova wants more. But she’s not pregnant. If I hear a rumor she’s pregnant, I’m rescinding this offer.”
I hold up my hands. “I do not spread rumors.”
“Liar.”
“Correction. I don’t start rumors.”
He chuckles. “All smugglers are troublemakers.”
“But you want to hire me anyway.”
“I do. Take some time to review the offer. I’ll be waiting for your response.”
I wait until he’s gone before I sink into a chair. Holy mermaids in smuggler’s water! This offer makes it possible for me to stay on the island. Doing what I love.
