Chapter Thirty #2
“He’s right,” Ollivander agrees in amazement. “Well, close. For just guessing. We could use the property at the top of the hill as well. That should give us enough excess to start exporting.”
I glance over to Jett, and he gives me a proud smile before nodding back toward Maven.
“And what’s your request in exchange for your knowledge and direction for this type of program?”
“A couple of things, actually. I want an open line of communication with my sister. Whether that’s letters that have to be approved by Wilder or phone calls, or whatever.”
“May I?” Jett asks as he scoots forward on the couch. Maven nods to give him the go ahead.
“Wilder, Axel, and I… we’ve been in contact with Callie.
” He admits, causing my gut to stir with confusion.
“She has a job with us now. Stateside. I proposed that she be the face of the company there, handling some of the things that Thorne and Wilder usually have to be pulled away from Blightridge for. Maybe she could also help set up the distribution of the exports as well? Everest could have a work phone that only dials out to hers, and that could serve as their line of communication for both work and personal matters. That would serve more than one purpose and wouldn’t cost anything extra. ”
Everything starts to fall together in my head.
The call that Callie got about the job, the kind of work that it entailed, and the good ass pay that they offered her.
That was like… what? Two or three days after I got home?
That means as soon as I left, they were already working on bringing me back.
On giving me a reason to stay, or more reasons to stay, since the biggest reason is eyeing me from the edge of the sofa.
“That would give her a much more balanced role within the company.” Ollivander adds.
“What other requests do you have?” Maven asks.
“I want two weeks every year. A vacation that’s completely paid for. Wherever we want to go.”
“We?” Maven asks with a raised brow.
My eyes instinctually cut over to Jett, and that’s all the answer he needs.
“Ahh.“ Maven nods in acceptance.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know how we would work that into the budget, since the costs of that could vary wildly.” Ollivander says regretfully as he glances over to Maven.
“What if— you could set aside a portion of the profits from the program. Whatever we earn in a year depends on me, so the budget for the vacations could rely on that as well.”
“What are we talking? Percentage wise?” Maven asks.
“Well, you have a private jet… so we’d need what? Fuel costs, potential lodging, and any food or activities we want to do. I think fifteen percent should cover two weeks. Easily.”
Ollivander furrows his brows as he types away on his computer. “Ten percent would be much more feasible.”
I consider the offer briefly. It’s not like the vacations are mandatory, but I want to have a getaway to look forward to if I ever start to feel stagnant.
It would take a lot of produce to get thousands of dollars, but with flights covered, we shouldn’t need that much.
At the worst, we could skip a hotel and sleep on the jet.
“Ten percent and any excess rolls over to the next year?”
“Doable,” Ollivander adds with a nod before typing away on his laptop.
“If we save enough money, can we take other people with us?”
“Such as?” Maven asks.
“Callie? Wilder, Thorne, Axel?” I shrug as I point to the couch where they sit. “It’s hypothetical.”
“We can’t be left understaffed, so that would have to be planned well in advance, but it doesn’t add to our expenses, so it shouldn’t be an issue.” Ollivander offers.
“Were there any other requests? We’re starting to veer toward uneven territory here.” Maven interjects with a glare of disapproval.
“One more… but I have another offer for you, as well.” I can hear someone shift on the couch uncomfortably, but I try not to lose my confidence.
“I want to trade a person.”
“You want to trade a person?” Maven repeats as he leans back in his chair. “For what?”
“A person for a person.”
His eyes narrow, but he waves me on. “Go ahead then.”
“I met someone in the states. He’s skilled, but his services would mainly be for… entertainment purposes, I suppose. If he agrees to come here, and stays after his first three months, I’d like to trade him for someone else.”
“What does he offer?”
“He’s an artist. He does tattoos. Good ones.
He’s been doing it for fifteen years. He’s clean, and very professional.
” I explain as I pull up my sleeve and show them my wrist. My eyes wander over to Jett, who’s digging in the pocket of his shirt.
He pulls out the little piece of paper I left with his note and traces over the picture with his finger before glancing back up at me.
The one on my arm ended up matching it almost perfectly, and it only takes him seconds to realize what it means.
I had a permanent reminder etched into my skin of the part of me that I was forced to leave here at Blightridge.
I gifted him one of the flowers from the drawing and kept the other half of it safely tucked away in my notepad.
The two parts now back where they belong. Together.
I pull my sleeve down, tucking my hand back into my lap. Ollivander’s eyes cut to Maven, before he leans over and whispers in his ear. My eyes bounce between them nervously as I wait.
“And who are you wanting to trade for?” Maven asks as Ollivander leans back over to his laptop.
“Jett.”
Maven tilts his head in confusion. “Jett? He’s already here,” he says as he waves a hand toward him on the couch. “You’ll already have access to him, so I don’t understand what you’re asking for.”
“His skill is serving… like Ollivander.” I gesture to his own assistant beside him. “I want Jett to be my right hand for the program. He’ll remain here, but his job will be to assist me with my work.”
Maven chuckles but nods at Ollivander. He immediately starts typing away on his computer, and a wave of relief washes over me. Did I do it? I think I did it. I convinced them to give me everything I wanted and then some thanks to everyone else.
“We still have to distribute all your assets and handle any real property you have in the states, so I think we’ve evened this out pretty well.” Maven says as he straightens up in his chair.
“I don’t need that. I met with an attorney about all that yesterday, but… I would like to make one small request instead. Or… suggestion, rather.”
“Out with it.” He demands with a glare of boredom that somehow also seems annoyed.
“I’d just like to formally request that you open some form of adult shop here. That’s all.”
Wilder chokes on his own laughter, Axel fake coughs to hide his chuckle, and Thorne covers a smirk beside me.
It makes me smile as I glance around at them because as serious as the request was, there’s never a boring moment here.
I fucking love these guys. All of them. I really have no idea how I thought leaving this place would’ve ever worked. Life wouldn’t be the same without them.
Maven rolls his eyes but looks over at Ollivander anyway.
“There are four empty commercial rooms aside from the new mechanic bay and what will likely be our new tattoo parlor. So, we have the space.” He offers with a shrug.
“Sounds like the best idea out of all of them, honestly. We get so many orders for that kind of merchandise that it would save me a ton of time and setting up a permanent distributor that offers wholesale discounts would probably tip the scales in his favor.”
“For fucks sake,” Maven says as he stands up and straightens his suit jacket. “Give him fifteen percent toward his little vacation and print the damn papers.”
“Mmmm,“ Ollivander hums thoughtfully as he runs the numbers.
“Twenty?”
“I think I’m more comfortable with seventeen.” Ollivander says confidently as he pushes his glasses up on his nose.
“Fine. Whatever. Print the papers. Have them signed and then take him to his new room.” He waves his hand dismissively at everyone, before turning back and going through the other door behind his desk.
Jett, Wilder, and Axel all get up to step outside while Ollivander and I finalize everything.
I can’t help myself; I reach out to touch Jett as he passes by, following the others out the door.
When I glance back toward Ollivander, I notice that there’s a cute little frail boy holding open the door that Maven went through. He glances into the office anxiously as Maven passes by him. I offer him a smile, and he gives a weak smirk in return.
He points to Ollivander and signs with his hands. Fortunately, I know a little bit of American Sign Language from study hall in high school, so I know that he’s asking if Ollivander is all done.
“Soon,” I reply verbally, giving him a hopeful nod.
He gives me a genuine smile and nods back at me excitedly. I doubt there are many people that can communicate with him, so I hope that he’s not struggling to get what he needs here.
Ollivander glances up at me. “Soon what?”
I point behind him. “He asked if you were all done. I told him that you’d be done soon.”
He snaps around in his chair to see what I’m pointing at. “He did?” He asks as he turns back toward me. “He doesn’t talk.”
“He signs,” I say as I glance back at him.
“He signs?” His voice laced with confusion as he looks back at him again. “Salem, come here.”
The boy’s eyes snap to mine nervously, but he slowly walks inside the room. Ollivander points to the chair that Maven was sitting in, and the kid sits down beside him.
I keep calling him a kid in my head, but he’s not a child.
He’s a man. Just a very small one. He’s on the shorter side, like me, and he’s tiny.
I don’t know where he came from, but it’s clear that he wasn’t getting enough to eat.
His arms are the only exposed part of his body, and they’re barely more than bones.
The clothes he’s wearing are extremely baggy, most likely because they don’t carry anything small enough for him here.
On top of his size, it seems like he’s trying to make himself smaller, as if he’s afraid that he’s taking up too much space. I worry that he’s been abused before, and that makes my heart ache for him.
There’s a lot of things about Blightridge that don’t make sense to me, and there’s a lot of things that I haven’t figured out yet, but there’s one thing I know for sure.
“It’s okay,” I tell him as he watches me wearily. “You’ll be safe here.”