Gina came to the meeting twenty minutes late. Four people were already seated in a bigger conference room in the Grabbel's office. Tom was one of them, the rest were Grabbel's executives. Their annoyance at being made to wait was subtly shown, their slightly curved lips to acknowledge her entering the room took a little effort to pull. What a difference from the big, welcoming smiles she had been accustomed to.
"Hi Gentlemen, I'm sorry for being late. I didn't know the venue had been changed until the last minute." She threw a sharp look at Tom. The meeting had been moved from their office to Grabbel's, and it was apparent to Gina that she had been the last to know, at the last minute.
"You weren't around and Linda tried to reach you several times," Tom said.
They walked out, and Gina rounded on, "You were the one who suggested we talk to him, you call him." She remained standing close to Tom with her arms crossed, while he reached for the phone and called The Boss. Once connected, Tom put the call on speakerphone. Pursing her lips, Gina said nothing, making him the one to explain the situation. The Boss let Tom say his piece uninterrupted. When he was done, The Boss simply said, "Leave it to Gina. Back her decisions." Before he ended the call, Gina called his name and said, "I think Tom should not be in the meeting." "What?" Tom exclaimed. 
The night and morning spent with Rhonda had alleviated his pain—the pain that he deemed silly, the pain of thinking about Gina. But, like any deep-seated pain, the agony came back as soon as the pain killer effect had worn off. In his case, the moment Rhonda was out of sight. He paced around his apartment, trying to keep away from his phone. He hadn't spoken to Gina since the night they kissed, and that was about thirty-two hours ago—the longest they had not been in contact with each other in their entire three years together. He was counting. When the yearning to hear the sound of her voice was too great to resist he decided, instead, to make a scheduled call, early. Two hours early.&n
As she approached, Gina saw the tall, beefy Raymond standing in the middle of his large office, seemingly talking to someone at the side of the room that Gina could not yet see. The taps of her shoes on the wooden floor grabbed his attention. He looked toward the door and saw the statuesque figure walking toward him. Uncharacteristic of him, his smile developed fast and wide but soon turned into a rather alarming grin. He even walked toward the door to meet her, with two open arms, fingers of one hand clutching a short, chubby cigar. "Gina, Gina, my goddess of the week! Marvelous performance! Marvelous!" His secretary who was about to step into the office bringing coffee witnessed this and was puzzled. Never had anybody heard Raymond praise anyone—let alone in the manner he displayed just now.&
"So how exactly did you achieve that feat, Gina? Tell us," Raymond said, truly eager to hear the story. Raymond made Gina tell her story from the beginning to the end, making sure she skipped no details. Every time she tried to tell the event summarily, Raymond would say, "Back up, back up a bit … how did it get there?" She finally reached the end of the full and detailed account of the meeting. She then surmised, "I have to say, while I didn't think it was his intention, Tom's misbehavior helped. I used it as a prop, to show how ridiculous they were without pointing it at them, but Tom. Grabbel saw how determined I was, and my boss here," Gina looked at The Boss with deep affection, "had backed me up."
"Let's discuss our strategy now," The Boss said, breaking the silence. "Abram will announce his decision to his executive team; he will go with us based on the majority of votes. I was told he would do it today." "So, we will be okay then," Raymond said. "Yes, if all goes as planned. But nothing ever goes as planned. The thorn in our side now is Colin the CIO …" "What the hell does a CIO have to do with this?" Raymond was already annoyed. "Exactly. His non-favorable view of us was based on his grudge against Gina. Now, if all goes well, he and his objection shall be neutralized. But what if that doesn't go well?"
Dungi was crying. He was exasperated. His last project with the company was the Doxxan account, and it was coming to an end. Once the client completed the last payment of five hundred thousand dollars, his contract with Abalido and Quinaeros Inc. would end. Yes, he was a contract employee, he had always been since he started five years ago, and Gina was not aware of that. She had been evading him, refusing his many requests for a meeting for the past two days since she came back from Portland. He had wanted to ask Gina for an extension of his contract. Portland project would suit him well, he thought. He didn't understand why Gina kept on avoiding him to talk about that opportunity. He had also tried his luck with the other Busin
Colin was mad. He knew he had been upstaged by Abalido and Quinaeros—or as he perceived it, by Gina. He didn't know how, but he could guess that there was some intervention in the process that changed it from requiring unanimity to deciding by voting. The meeting with the board of directors was moved to the following week, and he had until the end of that week to cast his vote. Adrian had already fallen in line and cast his vote on the same day Abram announced his decision to change the mechanism. Now he was the only one standing against the choice of Abalido and Quinaeros—but at one against four, it had no impact, he would just be the odd one out. But if he fell in line as Adrian did, Abram—thus Gina—would have their unanimity after all. Damn you, Gina! A pickle. A dilemma for the crooked-hearted.&
Colin didn't go back home. He went back to his office. At 7 PM, the floor was still buzzing with activity. The lights in his office, however, had been turned off and his secretary had gone home. He entered his room and didn’t bother to turn on the lights. He needed to think about the information he just got from Dungi. He had to make a quick decision, he had only a little time until he had to cast his vote. The information was not enough to blackmail, he thought. But probably enough to stir trouble, and if it hid a more sinister plot, something was bound to come out, and he just had to be ready to catch and cash it out. He took big steps out of his room toward the CEO's large suite. He knew that Abram would usually still be in his office unless he had a dinner meeting. He would wind his day down with his dri
She looked out the window. It was raining outside. The plane was still taxiing, rolling slowly on the taxiway. This was it, the last time she would be in the land of her hometown for a long time. She had planned to go back no sooner than six months. If she was to start anew, then today should be her past, tomorrow should be her today, and yesterday should not be revisited too soon. She would not think about the people she left. Not her friends, nor those who were once her clients back in Abalido and Quinaeros—like Roy. Not even Rhonda, the last person she said goodbye to just an hour ago at the airport. And not The Boss—especially not him. She had to make room in her mind for new people, new acquaintances, and new kinds of relationships. She took out the card from her purse—Rhonda had saved
She was not sure how to enjoy the glitz, attention, and admiration she received on the night of the lavish farewell party The Boss threw for her. She would leave for Jakarta as a Trelleconian the following day, and cease to call Georg her boss—and start calling Abram her boss, instead. Something she had never thought would happen. It was surreal—and not something she enjoyed at all. The Boss was her boss now and always—that stood no more. She saw he had spared no expense for her. He closed down the entire Eggs and Flowers for the party, and had them fill the room up with more flowers than what it already had. He made sure that not only the entire management of Abalido and Quinaeros were there that night, but also people who were dear to her. Rocco was there, and a couple of clients she had had cl
"So, you’re finally letting her go," Abram said, seated comfortably, gnawing a cigar, with a drink in his hand—The Boss was doing the same. The Boss said, "I have to," from the mentally opposite side. "It was her decision." He brought to mind the day following their talk the evening after the celebratory party; she had called him to say she was seriously considering the offer, and needed a week to think—and thus his turbulent state of mind. She got back to him yesterday to confirm. Crushed—the seconds that passed tortured him all throughout the night. He met with Abram the following day—this day—to let him know. He forced himself to come to terms with her decision: she would take Abram's job offer and leave him.
It was a glorious day for all of them. The Trelleco board had met and came out to support the Indonesian project, and appointed Abalido and Quinaeros Inc. as their consulting partner. The decision was unanimous—Abram got the unity he wanted not only at the management, but also at the board levels. Kronos had withdrawn their bid the day before when Aerlman—as Trelleco's COO—requested a clear list of key resources to be included in their counterproposal—as he did Abalido and Quinaeros. He acted on the advice Gina gave through The Boss. Surely enough that would have disclosed Kronos' intention to supply inadequate resources if they had not pulled out. To the people who knew, Gina was the star of the private party that the two companies jointly threw together that evening. With the latest thing
The meeting with Waylor was in some place out of town, about twenty miles off Seattle—in Bothell. The diner restaurant was nondescript, and the patrons were scarce. She walked to the end of the room and recognized the other gentleman Abram had introduced her to during breakfast at Eggs and Flowers. He was not Waylor. He was casually dressed, fitting the atmosphere of the place—so was Gina. Waylor had told her what to expect from the place, "We would just be two suburbanites having dinner," his text to her said. He stood up as she approached, and formally introduced himself and they shook hands, unlike two intimate suburbanites. "I'm sorry Mr. Waylor cannot make it in the last minute but insisted this meeting with you
What The Boss did not want to reveal, was not a mystery hard to unravel. The four of them got together on the same evening after Gina met The Boss. She had expected something that would take much longer with him, but otherwise considered what had transpired during lunch as progress. Still in her jubilant mood, Gina told Rhonda, Linda and Rocco what she had learned at her lunch with him: The Boss' hands were everywhere in their affair on and before that fateful night. "Still, he wouldn't let me know how." Except in the case of Roy, which Gina knew from Roy himself—The Boss gave him a pass that was valid on the day their plan was to be executed. Cunning—the girls realized how shrewd their boss was. Rhonda shared what sh
The Sun peered now and then over the grey condensed water vapor. The wind slipped through between the buildings and trees and was quick to wipe out the warmth off the skin. One could see the windswept hair of the women as they went in and out of the shops, and smell the wafted scent of perfume as they passed one another. The afternoon was cloudy and cold. Her heart was joyous. The concierge at Eggs and Flowers was cheerful to see her back. He was quick to greet and usher her to her dining room. He left her at the doorway of the private room. "He's been waiting for you, Miss," he said, smiling before walking away. He stood from his seat the moment she appeared, and walked toward her
The vigor of their lovemaking had sated them and made them hungry. Roy thought it would be nice if they could have their after-sex meal together, and Gina liked the idea. She would not come to lunch with her boss that hungry, either. As she was whipping something up in the kitchen for them to eat, from the other side of the kitchen countertop he said, "By the way, I’ve informed your boss of the unfortunate thing that happened to you last night." What? She stopped beating the eggs. He continued, unaware of her surprise, "He did not say much, but from the few questions he asked I could hear his immense anger through his quivering vo
She observed the good-looking man lying beside her. Roy was still fast asleep. He brought her to his place following her sweet promise of a night together —although she had offered her place, too. That was an odd choice to make, she thought. For a man who was after sex, he should have preferred the female counterpart's place instead, so he could leave when he wished —usually a dent on the pillows was all that was left as the evidence of his ever being there, or maybe fleetingly longer if there was a last-minute subsequent loving-act. She had thought the vain Roy was merely interested in sex and scoring a conquest. She was ok with that, liked it even. It would be a tango. Now, after the night of lovemaking, she caught a different vibe from him. Though not in clear terms, she was sure he was in love with her.&