The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 199

Zane gazed at me in amusement, asking, "Did you not ask around about the salaries of the other people in our family's employ?"

His question had me stumped.

"None of their monthly salaries fall below 30,000 dollars," he continued. "Furthermore, Willow has autism and doesn't really like to communicate with others, so the difficulty involved in raising her is higher than that of ordinary children.

"That said, it's within reason for me to increase your salary. But of course, what's most important is that she's gotten better under your diligent care."

Still not done, he added calmly, "Originally, I even thought of giving you a bigger bonus, but as I was afraid you wouldn't be willing to accept it, I eventually settled for giving you 80,000 dollars. In my eyes, that's already the very minimum."

I countered his argument, saying, "But that's all within my job scope."

"Based on my principles, as long as one does their job well, they should be rewarded," he said in return, eyes sparkling with mirth.

He successfully convinced me.

"Alright, then," I said in resignation. "But didn't we come to an agreement on the matter of the posters? Just pay me the normal rate."

In response, he replied patiently, "But the gaming company's budget happens to be 100,000 dollars per piece."

"That much? You aren't lying to me, are you?" I asked, staring at him in disbelief.

"Yes," he replied slowly. "Games are one of the more popular industries at the moment. As long as they are made well and are able to attract players, they'll be able to bring in a huge amount of profit."

I didn't fully understand it, but Zane continued to analyze things slowly.

"So, how does one make a good game?" he asked.

Without waiting for my reply, he continued to answer his own question.

"I don't understand games, but what I do understand is that as long as I'm willing to invest money into hiring professional talent, they'll be able to come up with a product that I'm satisfied with."

Now, I understood what he was getting at.

He finally concluded by saying, "Therefore, you don't have to feel uneasy about us giving you too much money, as we offer every artist the same rate."