Risky Negotiations (4 page)

She watched him, trying to gauge whether he was really interested. But he just smiled interestedly so she went on. “I fixed whatever I could by myself but when it was too complicated, I had to take it to a mechanic. I didn’t know it at the time but once I found out a little more about cars, I realized I was being swindled. As I got older, I was able to learn more and found out that most of the parts I had been paying to be replaced, hadn’t found their way to my car. And if they were installed, some hadn’t needed to be replaced in the first place. So when I went to college, I decided that I was going to get my law degree so I could sue mechanics.”

Sal chuckled. “As good a motivation as any,” he said.

Their lunch came and Laci savored the wonderful tastes of the perfectly cooked salmon and salad.

“
Why all the odd demands?” she asked bluntly.

Sal looked up at her, his face a blank mask. “Why do you think they are odd?”

“
They aren’t odd, necessarily. But they just don’t fit with your normal mode of operating.”

“
Perhaps it is time to spice up the competition. If everyone knows what one is going to do, life becomes a little boring, doesn’t it?”

“
Is that what you’re trying to do? Confuse your competition?”

“
No,” was all he said.

Laci laughed. “Ok. I’ll accept that there’s a motivation behind this that is cloaked in privacy at the moment, but why the secrecy?”

“
As you said, there are reasons for everything.”

“
You’re a very mysterious man, did you know that?”

“
No. I don’t believe anyone has ever told me that,” he said.

They talked about generalities while they finished their lunch then Sal walked her back to the building. “Are you finished here for the day?” he asked at the elevators.

“
Yes. We’ll start again tomorrow in earnest. Today was just a preliminary discussion to understand what the main issues are.”

“
Have dinner with me tomorrow night,” he said, looking down at her, looking at each of her features as he waited for her answer.

“
I’m sorry but that’s impossible,” she said, trying to look away from his intense gaze. But it was as if she were hypnotized, and she held her breath, aware only of him at the moment.

“
Nothing’s impossible,” he said, moving out of the way of a stranger, which moved him closer to her. Laci had to step back, unable to remain so close to his body.

“
Ok, it isn’t a good idea,” she clarified.

“
For who?”

Laci laughed at his directness. “For me,” she said and reached for the button to call the down elevator. But he stopped her by catching her hand.

“
Why?”

“
Because….” She couldn’t think with him holding her hand. She reminded herself that he was an expert at playing this game and she needed to think of the workers she represented.

“
Are you afraid of me?” he asked, pulling her out of the flow of traffic as an elevator opened up and a group of people came rushing out.

Laci pulled her hand free and took a deep breath. “Look, I’m not sure what you’re trying to pull here, but I have a responsibility to the workers who employ me. Meeting with you socially would compromise that responsibility.”

“
So don’t let it,” he said simply.

“
I can’t turn off my emotions like that,” she said and glanced up at his face. The smile that suddenly appeared was not a good sign, she thought. “What did I say to make you laugh?”

Sal put a hand on the small of her back and led her back to the bank of elevators, pressing both the up and down buttons. “Because you admitted that I affect you. That’s good enough for me,” he said just as an elevator going down opened up. “For now,” he finished.

She stepped inside, confused. “I didn’t….” she said, but the elevator doors closed on her. Her last glimpse was of him standing there, smiling with his arms crossed over his chest looking smugly confident.

Chapter 3

Laci gritted her teeth as she unlocked her car door. That man was entirely too arrogant for his own good. “’I affect you’”, she snarled as she slammed her car door closed. “I’ll show you how much I’m going to affect you…” she said to the steering wheel. She pulled out of the parking lot, cut off another vehicle trying to enter the line of traffic and sped up just in time to make the yellow light.

Once she reached her office, Laci forced herself to stop thinking of him and his arrogant comments. She pulled the heavy files out of her drawer, searching through documents in an effort to find a way to convince ATI to meet the demands of the union workers. And each time a sexy, smiling face came into her head, she just dug in deeper to her files.

The next three days were horrible. She and Jim worked with Matt Kingsley and the ATI legal team on the negotiations for four hours each afternoon. By Friday, she was exhausted and didn’t really have anything to show for her efforts. Jim was technically the lead negotiator but Laci was more of a partner than a junior aide. So she had responsibility for half the items under negotiation and Jim had the other half. Each took turns working through the details of each issue with the ATI counterparts. By five o’clock on Friday, she had only made small dents in each of her issues but they weren’t very significant.

On the up side, neither had the ATI team. She had been able to hold her ground on all issues, not relenting on the major topics and seemed to have argued their merit well.

There was something strange about the way the ATI team was working but Laci couldn’t put her finger on what it was. She watched from the sidelines when Jim and Matt were discussing the details. There was some indefinable quality to Matt’s arguments that made her curious but the specifics were hard to pin point.

Laci pushed a pin back into her bun, wishing she could just let the whole mess of hair down. She’d started her day early this morning, getting into the office at six in an effort to refine some points she wanted to make that day. So she’d had her hair twisted up into a tight knot for almost twelve hours. The black wool suit and white silk shirt, initially a choice designed to give her confidence, was now too restrictive. She wanted to just throw off the jacket so she could move her arms more freely. And she wouldn’t mind wriggling her toes instead of having them cramped up in these tight, high heeled shoes.

She looked out the window and noticed the setting sun. It was Friday evening and she wanted to run around, dance, sing at the top of her lungs. Maybe eat a whole bowl of greasy popcorn and watch a movie – anything but sit in this luxurious conference room making no progress on minute details of union workers contract requests.

She tapped her pencil against the conference room table, irritated by the slow progress of the discussion. The other members of the group seemed to be very interested in the discussion, apparently oblivious to the fact that it was Friday night, a time to go out with friends, relax and kick up one’s heels.

She sighed as she took in the three other members of the group. All were very straight-laced, earnest looking men who took their jobs very seriously. Laci also took her job seriously but she knew when to stop and live a little. This discussion was going nowhere. In her opinion, they all needed to step back and regroup.

Laci looked across the table and wondered what Matt would do if she just reached across the table and mussed his hair. He seemed like a very strict kind of fellow. She came to the conclusion that he probably wouldn’t react very well. Maybe if she tossed her pencil….

Concentrate Laci! She was having silly thoughts and that was a bad sign. She usually got this way when she was too tired.

An hour later, they were finally packing up and Laci could barely think anymore, much less want to run around town with friends. She was stuffing papers into her briefcase when Sal strolled into the conference room, sleeves rolled up, hands in his pockets. “How are things going?” he asked Matt and Jim.

“
Slow,” Jim responded grimly without hesitation.

Sal nodded slowly. He reviewed the list and the details sketched out about each. Then let the paper float back to the conference table. He looked up suddenly and caught Laci’s eyes. “Could I talk to you for a few minutes?” he asked.

Laci tried to hide the surprise from showing on her face. He seemed serious. “Sure,” she said, picking up her purse and briefcase and followed him to the conference room doorway. “I’ll talk to you Monday, Jim” she said, leaving the conference room in Sal’s wake.

She followed him into his office, placing her briefcase beside a chair. She then stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her stomach, waiting for him to start.

He walked over to a wall beautifully paneled in dark wood. He pressed a hidden button and the panels opened up to reveal a fully stocked bar, complete with refrigerator and all kinds of glasses. “Can I get you a drink?”

“
No thank you. I really….”

“
Scared?” he challenged, raising one eyebrow.

“
No!” she said. Too late, she saw the curve of his lips. She’d fallen into his trap.

“
Good. Then have a drink with me and fill me in on the negotiations.”

“
Fine,” she said, her chin taking on a challenging angle. She was not going to be intimidated by this man any longer. She could meet him on his own turf. “How about a sour apple martini?” she threw right back at him, challenging him right back. “But only if you have the maraschino cherry. Not really worth the effort without the cherry,” she said, not caring that she sounded punchy. She was tired and frustrated. And since it was his company that was frustrating her, he could bear the brunt of her mood. She then pulled off her jacket and laid it on the back of a chair, not caring anymore about etiquette. “If you don’t have the cherry, I’ll just have a shot of tequila.” Laci strolled about, not caring that he probably didn’t have the ingredients for a sour apple martini – if he even knew what they were. And most private bars didn’t have tequila either. “What a great view. How do you get any work done?” she asked.

“
My back is usually to the window so it isn’t an issue,” he said as he mixed some ingredients behind the bar.

She could hear the laughter in his voice but ignored it. “Have you ever thought of sky diving off the building? You’d probably get a really good lift from the roof,” she said, leaning against the window in an attempt to see the top ledge.

“
Honestly, that has never occurred to me,” he said from right behind her, smothering a chuckle.

Laci jumped about a foot, thinking he was still over by the bar trying to figure out what kind of drink to make her. But instead he was standing right behind her, holding out a martini glass filled with a golden liquid complete with a maraschino cherry gracing the bottom. Her eyes slashed to his in a frustrated glare but she took the drink, careful not to touch his fingers.

Laci turned away and walked several steps towards the sitting area before she took a sip. Perfect! Dammit! “How in the world do you know how to make a sour apple martini?” she demanded, throwing her free hand up in the air in exasperation. Was there anything this man couldn’t do?

Sal laughed at her anger. “Did you know that your nostrils flare when you’re angry like that?” he said quietly, smothering another chuckle.

He took a sip of his martini – a gin martini she suspected, then looked at her features. “You’re tired. Why?”

“
Because I’ve been working hard. Why aren’t you tired?” she asked, taking another sip of her martini, loving the sweet and sour taste of the liquor. “And you didn’t answer my question. So stop changing the subject. My nose is not very interesting.”

“
Well that’s debatable,” he said. “But I’m afraid I can’t reveal my secret to bar tending,” he said, moving slightly closer. “Why did you ask for it if you thought I didn’t know how to make it?”

“
Because I didn’t think you’d know how to make it,” she said as if that explained everything. Laci stepped around him and carefully moved towards the comfortable sofa and chairs set up near the now revealed bar. She chose a chair, thinking it would be the safest place. He wouldn’t be able to sit down next to her.

“
What do you want to know about the progress? We haven’t really made any so I don’t think I can fill you in on many details.” She hated the quiver in her voice. She was trying to appear confident, but she was terrified and overwhelmed by his good looks and some characteristic about him that just made her want to lean in to him and kiss his sexy lips.

She took another sip of her martini, looking back at him as if she’d just won a major victory over her seating choice. But he took in her victorious expressions and smiled mysteriously. He casually followed her, then sat down on the coffee table, inches from her crossed legs. Setting his martini glass on the table beside his thigh, he gently picked up her foot, his fingers sliding down the calf as he lifted her leg and rested it on his knee.