“Look, I want to,” he said, and when his eyes finally met mine, I was shocked to see what looked like shame in their depths. “I really do. I couldn’t run this business without you. You know that.”
“But…” I trailed off, urging him to explain himself.
“Honestly, the business isn’t doing so well.”
My eyebrows jumped up in surprise. “What?”
“I’ve hidden it from you. Hell, I didn’t wantanyoneto know. I hoped I could get a better handle on things before I had to admit this.”
“I don’t understand. I thought things were going well. The business has been growing steadily.”
“But not quickly. We were okay for a while, but not great. Still, I hoped that if we kept getting business, we’d get there. Then there was a big surge in freight rates a couple of months ago. On top of that, the damn economy is going to the dogs. Rises in fuel costs and insurance hit around the same time as the freight rate increase. We’re still a new business, Sarah, and all of that hurt us badly.”
A new fear struck me. “Are we in danger of shutting down?”
“No.” He answered so quickly and with a sureness that made the panic ebb a bit. “Things are getting better, I promise. I borrowed some money a few months back, which got us through the worst of times. Now, we just need to get a few big contracts, and we’ll be alright.”
“But there’s no money to give me a raise.” It wasn’t a question. I could read between the lines.
Still, Henry shook his head, looking guilty as hell. “Not right now but just give me six months. Can you do that, please? I don’t want to lose you.”
I knew how much my boss relied on me, and I didn’t want to leave him hanging. Maybe I could make more money somewhere else, but Henry was good to me. And I believed he’d be able to right this ship. He might have been a messy man who hated wearing business suits, but he was a hard worker, smart, and determined. I trusted him.
“Okay,” I said, swallowing down my disappointment. “I’ll wait six more months.”