Chapter 1: An enticing offer
"What?!"
Lacey's face showed a mixture of excitement and provocation. This expression was one of the specific reasons Charles Cole loved his wife so much. It was Friday evening and they were enjoying tacos and beers on their backyard deck.
"How can you even be taking time to think this through? This is the thing! This is the shot you've been wanting for so long!"
She was right. For the last three years, Charles had been working at Lawson, Dawes, and Brooks, a law firm specializing in real estate law. The firm was small, which was exciting as there was a variety of work available and kept him on his toes. The downside was that there wasn't much chance for advancement.
It's not like life was hard for them in Austin. They were both 27 and had managed to put a down payment on a nice house with a backyard and pool (with some help from the parents). With Lacey's job at a software company showing promise, they each were in line to pay off their student debt by the time they would hit their thirties.
Charles couldn't shake off the fact that although life seemed good, he wanted more. Sometimes he thought he was a little too passive at work and wasn't managing to get himself noticed.
"Honey, they've
noticed
you." Lacey seemed to read his mind, "Don't make that face! Oh my god, I can't believe you're actually considering turning this down. Might as well walk away from the firm then!" She took a deep breath and brought her hands together in a way that made her look like a campaign manager tackling a big issue. "Let's talk this through, when do you have to give your answer and what do they want you to do?"
"I have to call Mac tomorrow. Now that Jon is no longer in the picture, they need to bring someone with them to help out. We'd be leaving Monday. Essentially, we travel to San Francisco for a week and renegotiate our contract with Palm Horizons."
"And that's the holding company that makes up 50% of your firm's business?"
"75%." Charles smiled at Lacey's mixed reaction to the number. "Yeah we basically only really exist for Palm Horizons, we're really fucked if this negotiation doesn't pan out."
"This is way more intense than I thought then. Shit," said Lacey.
"It's not that bad, actually. Mac and Tom are old friends of a lot of the top people at Palm." Charles was referring to two of the three senior partners at his firm. The third, Jonathan Dawes, retired the previous year after discovering he had cancer. "These negotiations are usually just updating terms and an excuse to hang out for the older guys."
"So why do they need you?"
Charles pretended to be vexed by her question. Lacey mock-hit him on the arm.
"Don't be a shit! You know what I mean!"
They both laughed.
"Basically I'd be the one dotting the 'I's' and crossing the 'T's' while they have their yearly reunion."
"And now is the time you tell me why you want to say no to this?" said Lacey.
"Well..." Charles wasn't sure how to broach the topic. "I've heard some strange stories about these trips."
"Strange stories? Like they're part of a cult or something? Are they sacrificing chickens?"