That’s not enough.
“That’s not enough.” Sierra felt as if she could barely focus on James. She stared at the quivering scar and thought to herself, “Ten days.” It had been ten days since she had last went on a run. It was the longest time she had gone since she had moved to Merriton. All she could think about was running and James was complaining about the terms of the patent negotiations. He was getting WAY more than software engineers typically got for patent licensing, but he was still complaining. She was at the end of her rope.
“This is a really good deal. Elgin is a perfect match for you. They have been creating street sweepers for almost a hundred years.” James stormed around his kitchen table. “So they keep telling me. If they’re so great, why didn’t they think of this idea on their own?” Sierra wished that John was in the house because the older brother tended to calm James down, but he and Bree were out tending the corn fields. “Ten days,” she thought to herself. “They don’t care how much money you want. They are offering what they think your Snow Eater idea is worth.”
James put two hands on the table and almost screamed at Sierra, “It’s not enough!” Sierra gripped the wood in front of her. Ten days. Ten days since my last run. She felt so proud of herself, but James screaming at her made her want to strap on her shoes. She had caught herself looking at gym memberships Up North. It seemed like the entire town was watching for her running on the road, willing to tattle to Kevin or Roscoe or Angie or Randy. They were all spying on her, so she couldn’t run, but all she wanted to do right now was to get into the car and drive forty-five minutes to the closest gym. Focus! Focus!
“You not only get this initial payment, you will get yearly licensing payments. You keep saying it’s not enough. Not enough for what?” James pulled away from her. He looked embarrassed, but all she could think was how long it would take to drive Up North. “It’s just not enough, that’s all.” She unclenched her hands from the wooden edge and picked up a pen and a yellow pad of paper. “How much do you want, then?” James paced around the kitchen again. “It’s not about want. It’s about need.” Ten days. Forty-five minutes. Focus! “Okay. How much do you NEED?” She looked at the paper. How long? How long until she stopped thinking about running every minute of every day? Will it be like this forever?
The scar on James’ lip was quivering uncontrollably as he stood in the kitchen. What the hell did he want? She had negotiated the second best deal in her lifetime and this guy wanted MORE. Ten days. She tried to relax and took in a deep breath of air. She could smell the funk of men in the house. A mixture of dirty socks and wet earth. Forty-five minutes. How could she pay for a membership to that gym without Randy noticing the charges on the account? Would they let her pay in cash? Would he notice the regular cash withdrawals from the account? Focus!
“I don’t know how much I need.” The hulking blond sunk into a kitchen chair. What was the matter with this guy? Ten days. FOCUS!! “Let’s make a list of what you want the money for.” She felt him look at her. He was embarrassed and wouldn’t look her in the eye. Forty-five minutes. That’s all it would take. Just a quick drive up to the city, a five-mile run would probably do her for another two weeks. Maybe there are places in the city that she could run where no one would notice her and she wouldn’t have to pay gym fees.
“I want to get my farm back.” James’ words shocked her back into the present moment. “You want to buy your farm back? Well, I’ve negotiated more than enough for that!” James stood up and started pacing again. “It’s not like I don’t appreciate all you done for me, but I just want my farm back. My daddy would be madder than heck if he knew what was happening right now.” Sierra shrugged her shoulders, “Okay, well, this licensing contract gives you more than enough to buy back the farm.” James clenched a kitchen chair. “No it don’t! You bought all that equipment, and grain silos. Those center pivot irrigations systems are a dream come true. Changin’ the water takes half the work that it used to. Plus, you promised to pay Bree and John a salary for workin’ here and I don’t know how long that money will last. And there are no guarantees that I’ll even make money from sellin’ the corn ’cause anything could happen, but I hafta get my farm back! John don’t even care. He likes that you’re footin’ the bill for all the hard stuff and he likes gettin’ a paycheck every two weeks, even in the winter, but all I can think about is my daddy shakin’ his head at me for letting you get the farm.”
Ten days. “Calm down.” Sierra stood up. “Just calm down.” Her tiny frame felt the full weight of her breakfast that morning and all she could think about was whether she would get pulled over for speeding if she headed to the city right now. “Let’s go to my place and we’ll talk to Randy. We’ll look over our numbers. We’ll show you what we spent on all of the equipment and our projections. Maybe that will show you that this deal with Elgin is more than enough to get your farm back.” James stood up and held the door open for her.
Forty-five minutes.