Chapter 6
Chapter Six
I’ve hired an attorney who is willing to have a contract by tomorrow night, but there’s a few things we need to iron out first. I’ve sent a spreadsheet of my wages to your email address for your review
What else do we need to iron out?
This next part is embarrassing, but I have to ask anyway
8:21
I don’t expect anything sexually, so put your mind at ease. That’s not why I’m bringing you
8:25
Thanks for the clarification. My friend Mirna will be thrilled to hear that since she’s concerned you’re working for a “Russian mafia gang” and plan to ship me overseas as a sex slave
8:26
Mafia gang?
8:26
Don’t ask
8:27
Would your friend Mirna feel better if I met her and assure her that I don’t work for the Russian “mafia gang” or any other mafia gang?
If I introduce you to Mirna, then I’ll have to introduce you to Barb and since I really want to go to Hollybrook, I don’t want to scare you off
8:28
I realize the first rule of negotiation is to never let the other side know how much you want what they have. Please delete that last text
8:29
Consider it deleted
8:30
Also, I realize telling you I didn’t want Barb to scare you off makes it sound like I think this is a real relationship, which we both know it’s not
I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of crazy psycho who thinks this is real
Um…now I realize I doubly sound like a crazy psycho, because a crazy psycho would claim she wasn’t
8:31
If I thought you were a crazy psycho, I wouldn’t have asked you to help me. You come with very good references
You checked references? Who did you ask?
Not that I care. I don’t have anything to hide
Well, I don’t want everyone to know I’m only pretending to be your girlfriend, so I guess I’m hiding THAT. Not that I’m trying to actually become your girlfriend
Now you really think I’m a psycho
8:32
Finley, relax. I want to keep this arrangement quiet as well. Maggie and Bethany are your references, so it was kind of a joke, albeit a bad one..
Would you like me to delete ALL of our texts after the last one I deleted?
8:33
Yes, please
So have you changed your mind about bringing me now? I think it’s too late to get my retainer back from my attorney, but I understand if I’ve scared you off
8:34
You haven’t scared me off. But it just now occurs to me that you’re paying for an attorney to have this contract drawn up. Please let me repay you for the retainer and any other legal expenses
8:35
A friend paid the retainer for me, and trust me, you do NOT want to repay her. My attorney is a friend of a friend, so after the retainer, I don’t owe him anything. But that does remind me of the last thing I need to know
8:38
And that would be…?
8:40
Since you and your brother shared a room, I’m presuming you didn’t share a bed…?
8:43
My brother and I slept in twin beds on opposite sides of the room.
Oh, good, because my only demand was that if you had bunk beds, I refuse to sleep on top
(My attorney wanted to call them all demands, but I insisted on requests.)
8:44
I consider your refusal to sleep on the top bunk a reasonable demand.
Not to worry, Grant and I begged for bunk beds for years, but Mom said she wasn’t climbing on top to change the sheets every week, so no bunk beds for us. I’ve never gotten over the disappointment
8:50
Have you considered therapy to get over your tragic loss?
8:51
You’re not the first person to suggest therapy, but so far I’ve suffered with my tragedies in silence
8:52
I just relayed my requests to my attorney. He’s not answering at the moment, but as soon as Barb finishes paying my retainer, I’m sure he’ll check his email
I’m suddenly curious how Barb paid your retainer
8:53
Trust me. You don’t want to know
Consider my curiosity piqued…
9:37
My attorney would like to know when and how you plan to pay me for lost wages?
I just realized that makes it sound like I don’t think you’ll pay me. I’m not insinuating that.
9:38
How about I pay half before we go, and the other half the day after we get back? Does that seem fair?
9:39
More than fair
9:41
If your attorney thinks of anything else, feel free to text. I’ll be up until at least midnight
9:52
I told my attorney that you’ve given me the option to leave early. He wants to know if you prefer to prorate the days. (He’s insisting I get at least half the money no matter how long I stay since I’ve made the effort to come.)
9:53
I agree to those terms
9:57
Is there anything else?
10:08
No, I think that’s it.
Thank you
10:09
Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t met my family