Private arrangment

"Let's have a drink," suggested Ryan to John after he had said goodbye to Betsy and her mother late at night and joined his friend at the bar. They both ordered a cocktail and after they had their glasses in front of them Ryan looked at John questioningly.

“That little one - Betsy - is that serious?” John smiled.

“I think so, she's definitely cute and I'll keep seeing her.”

“And Her friend? ”

“ Which friend? ”John asked, frowning, then understood and grinned. "Oh, you mean the one who checked you out on her doorstep - no, that's not her friend, that's her older sister."

"Did Betsy tell you anything about her?" Ryan persisted.

"Not really 'We're more busy with ourselves,' said John with a smile.

Without commenting, Ryan silently turned his glass in his hands. “Come on, I know you well enough to know that you don't just ask about her. What are you going to do? "Asked John. Ryan looked at him thoughtfully. "To be honest, I don't really know myself yet, in any case I need some information first. "

...........

"I'm sorry, Miss Mills, but I can't grant you another suspension of payments," the clerk at the bank said. Unhappy and embarrassed, Kim looked at him. “Please, there must be some way. I work day and night, at some point it will go uphill again. It's not just about losing the house. If I have to close the company, I'll have to pay penalties on my current contracts, apart from any remaining debts, and I have no idea where to find the money. ”Tears welled in her eyes.

The clerk cleared his throat, embarrassed . "Of course, I understand your situation, and I have already consulted the director, but if the next installment is not paid in four weeks,

A little later, she was sitting at her desk in her office, staring gloomily at the documents in front of her. She should have had enough to do, but after this devastating conversation she began to wonder if it would make any sense to spend the rest of her energy on them Wasting a company that she would have to declare bankrupt in four weeks at the latest. Maybe it would be best to finally pour pure wine for her mother and Betsy and think about how things should go after that. On the other hand, everything in her resisted the idea of giving up just like that. If she worked at full speed for the rest of the time, she might be able to finish a few ongoing jobs and contain the damage somewhat.

Before he could say a word, she jumped up and held up her hands defensively. “There's nothing the two of us have to discuss.” Her tone was dismissive and left no doubt that he was anything but welcome Ryan calmly took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Well, considering the difficult situation in your company, you should at least hear me," he said quietly, glancing at Kim's secretary, who was still standing in the doorway, waiting .

"I don't think I need to be clearer now, we should talk in private."

"Miss Mills?" Ginger looked questioningly at her boss.

"It's okay, Ginger, please leave us alone," Kim said hastily, and shortly afterwards The door closed and Kim glared at him.

“What are you actually thinking of? How do you get Just pop in here and make obscure remarks about my company's situation in front of my employees? "Ryan grinned in amusement, and Kim became even more furious.

" What's that got to do with you? I don't remember asking you to interfere in my affairs. ”

“ If you ever took a breath, I might be able to explain why I'm here, ”he said mockingly.

“I'd like to make you a business proposition.” Everyone in Kim was reluctant, she wanted to tell him to give it a fuck. But then she painfully realized that she had to rely on every straw that was handed to her, even if it came from this arrogant womanizer. Although she internally refused to hang out with Ryan Summer longer than necessary, She decided to at least listen to what he wanted from her. Resigned, she sat back at her table. "All right, I'll give you ten minutes."

"Fine, so I'll keep it short," he began, and his face turned serious. »For a while now I've been looking for a way to expand our previously rather small sector of web consulting and web marketing. So I made inquiries and came across you. Of course, I am informed about your financial situation, both business and private. Still, I would be willing to invest in your company and I would also agree to take on some of your personal obligations. ”

Kim stared at him in surprise, not expecting that. But at the same moment an alarm bell rang in her head. There had to be a catch somewhere, no one was just throwing money around so generously without ulterior motives.

"And how did you imagine it?" She asked suspiciously.

"I thought our company would be a partner You shopping. The company name is changed to Mills & Summer and we are integrating our web area into your company. So we would have a kind of subsidiary, but you still act as an independent company. The company management will be split, you will still have fifty percent say and decision-making rights. ”He handed her a folder. “You can find the further details and a completed draft contract in there, of course you can check it out at your leisure. In addition to the business investment, I am willing to grant you a larger sum than an interest-free loan for your private purposes, so that you can bridge your financial difficulties for a while. ”

Kim scanned the documents nervously. At first glance it all looked acceptable, but with increasing suspicion she wondered what it was all about. “And what do you expect in return?” She burst out spontaneously. "You're not seriously trying to convince me that you're doing this out of sheer charity." She looked suspiciously at Ryan, and he grinned again.

"Of course not. We're both going to make a private arrangement. ”

“ What? ”Kim was feeling extremely uncomfortable, she had no idea what he wanted from her, but she had a dark suspicion that it wasn't going to be good.