by Iona Rose
“Done,” I reply with a grin.
The formalities are mostly out of the way now and this dinner is about more than discussing the finer points of the deal. It’s about getting to know each other in a less formal setting, to see if we can gel enough to work alongside each other. I decide it’s time to have a little fun. I might not have been able to insist Kimberley got left behind, but I can make her squirm a little.
I turn to her now with an innocent smile, ignoring the way her hair shines, the way her blue dress brings out the beauty of her eyes making them look more intense than ever.
“Do you remember the first time you met my parents Kimberley? Matt cooked dinner for us all,” I say.
She smiles and nods, throwing me a warning look.
“I remember,” she says guardedly.
I turn to Joe and Gary.
“Kimberley was going through her vegetarian phase,” I say. “So she had Matt make her something different to what the rest of us were eating. Ever the gracious host, Matt rose to the challenge.”
“Sebastian, they don’t want to hear this,” Kimberley says through gritted teeth.
“Sure we do,” Joe says.
“She was a little nervous about meeting my dad. She wanted to quiz him about getting started in finance, but she was so scared to talk to him. She thought a bit of Dutch courage was in order. Now bear in mind we were like what? Fifteen?”
Kimberley nods, begging me with her eyes not to do this.
“So a couple of beers had quite the effect on her. She slurred her way through her questions and then promptly threw up after eating. She couldn’t admit that she’d been drinking, so she said the sauce must have been off. Poor Matt was mortified,” I laugh.
Joe and Gary laugh along with me. Kimberley’s face is beaming red, but she fakes a laugh.
“I did tell Matt the truth later on that night and he saw the funny side,” I add. “What was it he called you?”
Kimberley looks down at her plate.
“I don’t remember,” she says.
“Oh sure you do. He called you it for like a year until you broke down in tears and begged him to stop. He felt pretty bad about it then.”
“I said I don’t remember,” she says through gritted teeth. She looks up from her plate, glaring daggers at me. “Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you. About the deal.”
Sebastian one, Kimberley nil. Or should that be Sickly Kimberley nil?
“Go ahead,” I say.
“Where will my office be?” she asks.
“Maybe next to the bathroom,” Joe jokes.
“As we said, we’ve added an extra two floors to our lease for the Benton staff. So I guess wherever Joe puts you,” I say.
“I was just thinking I kind of like your office. Maybe we should add a clause in the deal that says I get it,” she says.
“Or maybe you should stick to numbers,” I smile.
“Ah come on Sebastian. You want this deal. Let me have your office,” she says.
“I don’t think so,” I reply.
“What if I said it was a deal breaker?” she says.
“Then I’d probably say that wine is going to your head,” I laugh.
Joe and Gary are both giving Kimberley daggers. She fakes a breezy smile.
“I’m just kidding,” she says. “I know Sebastian likes things to never change.”
“I think that’s called being decisive. Unlike you, I can make my mind up and stick to it.”
“So can I. My mind is made up. I’m taking your office or the deal is off,” Kimberley says.
“I guess the deal is off then. That’s a shame after you put so much thought into your negotiating skills,” I say.
I can practically see the steam coming from Joe’s ears now and I turn back to him and Gary.
“I think someone’s had a tad too much wine,” I grin. “She always gets like this when she doesn’t get her own way.”
“I just think it would show that you’re really willing to work as a team player,” Kimberley says.
“Yeah? I’m pretty sure the actual merger shows that,” I say.
I can see Kimberley squirming. She wants a way out of this conversation, but she’s too stubborn to backtrack.
“Also, I noticed in the contract there was a clause to say that Benton staff won’t be allowed to make changes to the restaurant side of the business. Why is that?” Kimberley asks.
Oh Kimberley, do you really want so desperately out of this conversation that you’re making this worse for yourself?
“Kimberley, enough,” Joe hisses, trying to keep a smile on his face. “You know why.”
“Yeah. Because Sebastian here can’t let go of anything,” she says.
“Actually, as I said only moments ago if you bothered to listen, the restaurants are Matt’s babies,” I point out. “And the clause was discussed and agreed on before it was written in to the contract. Do try to keep up.”
“Oh I’m keeping up just fine. But it seems prudent to question the logic of the clause. I mean what’s next? What will you try and cut us out of next?”
“Seeing as it was your CEO’s idea to put it in the contract, then maybe you should be careful about questioning the logic of it,” I say.
“I’ll drink to that,” Joe says loudly, glaring at Kimberley again.
She raises her glass and awkwardly clinks it against Joe’s.
“You know what?” I say. “It seems like you guys still have a few things to discuss. Would you excuse me for a moment?”
I get up and leave the table and head for the bathroom. Part of me is rejoicing at just how far that went. I know Kimberley. Give her enough rope and she’ll for sure hang herself rather than admit she doesn’t quite know what to do with the length. I also feel kind of shitty. I’m acting unprofessional and I know it. In my defence though I did tell Kimberley to stay away from this meeting. I didn’t really think it would go this far. I thought Kimberley would squirm and be a bit embarrassed. I didn’t expect her to start trying to change the deal to get back at me. That fuck up is all on her.
I go to the bathroom and stand there long enough for it to be convincing that I’ve left the table for anything other than to let the sparks become a flame. I step back out and I hear Joe’s voice in the hallway. I slip into the staff’s break room, leaving the door open a crack.
“What the hell was that Kimberley?” Joe demands.
“I …,” she starts.
“You know what? Don’t even answer that,” Joe cuts her off. “Get your shit together and start acting like the CFO of Benton’s instead of some dumb kid. So Sebastian told an embarrassing story about you? Big deal. It happens when you work with people who know you well. You want to get your own back? You tell a story about him, not start throwing around ridiculous demands and blowing up the deal.”
“I’m sorry,” she says meekly.
It’s a voice I’ve never heard Kimberley use before and I feel kind of bad.
“This whole thing was your idea Kimberley and you told me you could handle it. Against my better judgement, I went along with it because I trusted you. And now you seem like you’re hell bent on blowing this whole thing up. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but if you screw this up, then you’re done. Am I making myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” she says.
I hear them walking away and I shake my head. I’ve gone too far. I wanted to make Kimberley squirm, but I didn’t want it to go far enough that her career is being threatened. I don’t like Kimberley. I’d go as far as to say I hate her for what she did to me, but I can’t push her to the point where she loses everything. I’m not that guy and I won’t become that guy.
I leave the break room and head back to the table, determined to fix this mess. An idea comes to me as I sit back down and note the icy cold atmosphere around the table.
“Did she tell you then?” I grin, acting as though I don’t notice the awkwardness.
“Tell me what?”
Joe asks.
“I’ll take that as a no,” I say.
I grin at Kimberley, a friendly grin that I hope she reads as an apology, because it’s the closest she’ll get to one.
“I can’t believe you didn’t come clean as soon as I left the table,” I laugh.
She looks confused, but she laughs along with me, clearly wondering where the hell I’m going with this, but staying on her best behaviour after Joe’s dressing down of her.
“I apologise,” I say to Joe, giving him my most charming smile. “We probably took it too far. Past the point where you saw the funny side. The danger of working with old friends I guess.”
I turn back to Kimberley.
“Let’s just stop messing around now before Joe here has an aneurism and get back to the proper deal.”
“Wait. This was a joke?” Joe demands.
I laugh and nod my head.
“Of course it was. As if a pro like Kimberley is going to blow up a merger based on the office she gets,” I laugh. “I must admit though, I didn’t see the restaurant thing coming. Nice improvising.”
Joe and Gary look at each other, and for a moment, the tension around the table intensifies.
“I’m not sure we want to work with people who don’t take this seriously Gary. What do you think?” Joe says.
Gary nods solemnly.
“I’m inclined to agree,” he says.
Ok, this is going south quickly. I glance at Kimberley who looks almost ghost white. She gives me a look that says fix it. I open my mouth to speak, but before I do, Joe bursts into laughter.
“We had you there didn’t we?” he laughs. “You’re not the only ones who can have a bit of fun you know.”
I laugh with them and Kimberley joins us. There’s a shaky quality to her laugh as she plays along as though we set this whole thing up.
“That was a risky little game,” Joe says to me. “How did you know I would take it as a joke?”
“I told you him you had a good sense of humour,” Kimberley jumps in.
“Ah you know me so well,” Joe laughs. “Now, just to clarify, the restaurant clause stays in. And Kimberley? You’re getting the worst office I can find.”
The mood around the table lightens and by the time Sasha brings us our desserts, we’re no longer talking about the idea the merger may or may not happen. We’re actively making plans for future projects.
We finish desserts and rather than ordering coffee, Joe orders two bottles of good champagne. He proposes a toast to a great working relationship and we all drink to it.
“So you two obviously know each other pretty well then,” Joe says, nodding at me and Kimberley. “Did she tell you about her first day at Benton’s Sebastian?”
I shake my head.
“We kind of lost touch after high school,” I say.
“Then you’re going to love this,” Joe says.
Kimberley blushes and shakes her head, but she’s laughing and when Joe looks at her, she gives him a subtle nod, letting him know he can tell me the story.
“She came to us as this quiet, shy little thing, but she had ambition. I took her under my wing and yes, I take full credit for the woman she is today,” Joe laughs.
I don’t think that’s entirely true. I reckon I should get at least part of the credit for that one, but that’s an observation I keep to myself.
“She walked into my office on her first day as an intern in our finance department. She looks me straight in the eye and says that she’s not here to mess around. She tells me that she expects to be CFO within three years and she asks me what she needs to do to get there. Can you imagine it Sebastian? This kid straight out of high school telling me she’s here to take over the whole finance department? It took everything I had not to laugh out loud, but she had this quiet determination, and I didn’t want to kill her spirit. I told her what I expected, not thinking for a second she’d do it. And yet here we are.”
“I can imagine that,” I laugh. “Kimberley always knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn’t afraid to go after her dreams.”
“Knowing what I know about her now, I’m only surprised she came to me instead of attempting to fire the CFO I had at the time,” Joe laughs.
“Hey, I’m still here you know,” Kimberley laughs. “And let’s be honest. If I’d done that I’d have been doing you a favour.”
“That’s true,” Joe concedes.
Kimberley drains her glass.
“Should we order another bottle of wine?” she says.
“None for me thanks. I think I’m about ready to call it a night,” Gary says.
“Yeah, me too,” Joe agrees.
“Oh, ok,” Kimberley says.
“Don’t let us stop you,” Joe says. “Stay on a while and have a catch up with Sebastian. Just no cooking up anymore tricks between the two of you, you hear me?”
“No, it’s fine if you want to call it a night,” Kimberley says.
“Nonsense. Stay, I insist,” Joe says. “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been dying for us two to leave for the last half hour.”
“Huh?” Kimberley says.
“Oh come on. You think we can’t see the chemistry between you two?” Joe laughs. “Stay and enjoy yourself.”
“There’s no chemistry,” Kimberley and I say at the same time.
Joe just laughs.
“There’s no need to deny it. I like that you two click together. It will help the merger too run smoothly,” he says.
He stands up.
“Thank you for a pleasant night Sebastian. We must do it again some time and the next one’s on me.”
I stand up and shake Joe’s hand and then Gary’s who has also got to his feet. Kimberley looks like she isn’t really sure what to do. She must know that I don’t want to spend longer in her company than I have to, but at the same time, after Joe’s comment, I understand that she can’t insist on leaving.
I sit back down and we watch Joe and Gary leaving in silence. When they’re out of sight, I wave Sasha over and ask her for the bill.
“You still pay in your own restaurant?” Kimberley says.
“Sure. It keeps the books right,” I say.
She looks at me like she’s debating whether or not to say what’s on her mind and then she makes her mind up and speaks.
“What changed?” she asks.
“What do you mean?” I snap.
Is she implying I wouldn’t usually be professional?
“You were happy to drag me over the coals through dinner and then something changed. What was it?”
If I tell her I heard Joe chastising her, she’ll get all defensive and the last thing I want right now is a slanging match with her in one of our restaurants. I decide to go with a half truth.
“I realised I was being a dick,” I say.
“Thanks for giving me a way out,” she says quietly.
I just shrug. Sasha appears with the bill at that moment and I give her my card. She hurries off to run it through.
“You know Sebastian, I didn’t realise how good you are at what you do until tonight. You had Joe practically eating out of your hand,” she says. “It’s funny because I remember how reluctant you were to join the family business. You were so sure you’d hate it, and yet you seem to be in your element here.”
“I am,” I agree.
I meet her eye for the first time tonight, letting myself be enchanted by her eyes for a moment. I smile at her, and I know my smile is genuine this time.
“You’re pretty good at what you do yourself. I mean you recognised that we were a good asset,” I tease her.
She laughs and shakes her head.
“A compliment? I think you might be the one who has had too much wine tonight,” she says, but she looks pleased.
“You know something? I don’t reckon either of us have had enough wine yet. And I think we deserve another glass or two to celebrate a job well done. What do you say? A drink at the bar before we leave?”
Kimberley looks like she wants to say yes, but something is stopping her, and suddenly, I realise I don’t want her to go.
“You know you have to stay out a while in case Joe catches you coming back too early. You might as well have a drink as walk the streets.”
She smiles.
“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?”
Sasha brings my card back and we go through to the bar. I order two glasses of white wine and we take a small table beside the bar. I raise my glass.
“To Hunter Benton,” I say.
“I think you mean Benton Hunter,” she grins.
I raise an eyebrow and she laughs. A warm, genuine laugh that I try my best to ignore. I also try to ignore the way her laugh sends a shiver down my spine. The way my eyes are drawn to her lips.
“Relax, I’m kidding,” she says. She clinks her glass against mine. “To Hunter Benton.”
We drink and I sit back in my seat.
“So catch me up on all things Kimberley,” I say. “How did you end up working for Joe?”
She begins to tell me how she left our city and went down south in search of an internship at one of the big financial companies. She soon learned that without a degree, it wasn’t going to happen. She ended up at Benton’s when it was a small company, but even then, she could see the potential. She grew with the firm, and now both the firm and Kimberley are a force to be reckoned with in the financial world.
“And now the prodigal daughter returns,” I say.
“Something like that,” she agrees. “We’ve talked about a merger before, but Joe has never found a company he liked or trusted enough to go through with it. I’ve debated mentioning you guys before, but I always stopped myself.”
“Why?” I ask.
“It sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but I guess coming home after all of these years, it felt like a step backwards. But this time, it felt right. And it’s not a step backwards. It’s a step I needed to take. I know I don’t have to prove myself to anyone except myself, and maybe Joe, but I have to admit it feels good to come back and show everyone who ever doubted me that they were wrong.”
“I don’t think anyone ever doubted that you would make something of your life Kimberley,” I say.
