Chapter 42 A Knife in the Back
“Visiting clients in this heat. That’s dedication.”
Derek met them with a sneer as they returned to the office.
“You must have something to show for it.”
“As it happens,” Tyler said cheerfully, “Ryan closed a deal.”
Derek faltered.
“On your first trip out? If you were that good, you wouldn’t have spent all month struggling to hit your own target.”
“I’m not that good. Ryan is. It’s a big order.”
Derek looked between Tyler’s grin and Ryan’s quiet smile. Unease crept in.
“How big?”
“The new hospital. A package of equipment, including an MRI system. Two point seven million dollars.”
Derek’s smile disappeared.
Nearby conversations stopped. It wasn’t the largest contract the company had ever handled, but it was substantial. Several employees had tried that hospital and gotten nowhere.
Ryan had been at the company only a few days.
“Is he serious?” Derek asked him.
Ryan lifted the folder.
“It’s signed.”
Derek grabbed it and opened it. The figure was there, unmistakable.
Jealousy tightened his chest.
Commissions ran from three to five percent. An order this large qualified for the full rate.
One hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. From a single sale.
If he’d known the account was available, he would have gone himself.
Ryan took the folder back.
“You were right. Hard work pays off.”
Derek reddened and found nothing to say.
“Still some processing to do,” Tyler reminded Ryan. “We have the initial signatures. Our company needs to authorize it, then the hospital gives final approval. Once we get the executed copy, we’re done.”
Ryan nodded and headed to Brian’s office.
Brian was exchanging flirtatious messages online. He looked up, irritated.
“What?”
“Closed a deal.” Ryan set the contract on his desk. “It needs authorization.”
“You closed one?”
The surprise escaped before Brian could hide it. He cleared his throat and picked up the folder.
The new hospital. A notoriously difficult prospect.
Ryan must have happened upon some small leftover order. That was annoying enough. Even a minor sale would satisfy the condition Brian had set and prevent him from dismissing Ryan.
He turned to the total.
Then stood so abruptly that his chair fell behind him.
“Two point seven million?”
He checked the rest. The equipment, the prices, the signatures. Everything appeared to be in order.
He drew a slow breath.
“Fine. I’ll handle it. You can go.”
When Ryan had left, Brian picked up his chair and sat down.
The commission bothered him, but there was more at stake than money. Ryan had openly defied him. Now he’d landed a major account, and Brian would have to watch him collect his reward.
What authority would he have left?
Derek slipped inside and shut the door.
One look at the contract told him what his boss was thinking.
“There’s still a way to get him out.”
Brian looked up.
“Tell me.”
“The company hasn’t approved that version yet. Replace it. Same equipment, same terms, but you sign as the account representative. Get authorization, then ask Parker to sign the new copy.”
Derek leaned closer.
“The order goes through. Only now it’s yours.”
Brian’s eyes narrowed with interest.
“Would Parker agree?”
“Why not? The hospital gets the same equipment for the same price. He doesn’t care whose name is on our paperwork.”
Derek lowered his voice.
“Whatever Ryan promised him, we match it. Maybe a little more. If Parker backs us up, Ryan can’t do anything.”
Brian looked down at the contract again.
It might work.