“Take some time to think about it if you’d like. We can talk more about the details and your salary later.”

Jason put his hand over Michelle’s on the table, but addressed Sarah. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to do this just because she’s Luke’s sister-in-law.”

“I’m not.” She made sure to look Michelle in the eye so she understood Sarah meant it. “I think stay-at-home moms get a bad rap. Most companies don’t believe they can contribute unless they spend eight hours a day in the office. Have you ever been to a dinner party and a woman says she’s a stay-at-home mom to a group of working men and women? Immediately, most of the people ignore her, or begin talking about inconsequential matters, because they automatically assume the woman can’t hold a conversation about business matters or anything of importance.”

“That’s happened to me at several functions Jason and I have attended over the past year. And that’s with people who know I worked before having Emma. They assume I gave birth and lost fifty IQ points at the same time.”

“Exactly. It’s an ignorant attitude.” She focused on Jason and reassured him her offer was genuine. “Michelle has a skill I need. Just because she wants to work from home doesn’t diminish her capacity to do the job. Her past experience will be an asset to my projects. She’s already established that she’s good at negotiating. She’s made it clear she won’t take on more than she can handle, because she doesn’t want to take away from being the kind of mother she wants to be. She’s probably a better candidate because having a child requires a great deal of patience, multitasking, and prioritizing. If I don’t stop soon, I’ll convince you that she’s completely overqualified. Then, she’ll up the salary amount she was going to ask me for by at least several thousand a year.”

Michelle laughed. “I swear I’ll be reasonable.”

“Don’t be. Ask Luke, nothing makes me happier than paying people for doing a good job.”

“She does. She paid one of her employees a huge bonus just so he could buy a house for his new wife. She set up a project for him to earn the bonus knowing he’d be able to complete it. It benefited her also, but she did it to help her employee.”

“That’s generous. Do you do this with all your employees?” Jason’s voice held some skepticism about her business sense.

“No. This particular employee has been working for me for a few years and he consistently goes above and beyond. It was his turn to be rewarded for his hard work. It was also a way to ensure he stays at my company. I don’t want anyone recruiting him away from me.”

Jason helped Emma with her sippy cup. “You’re going to be traveling all over the world soon to do the install for Griffin Worldwide Financial. What about the kids? Who watches them while you’re away?”