Chapter 9 #2
I’m fucking this up, but I’m irritated that he thinks he can interfere with my life.
“Nothing. My apologies.”
“Oh no. It seems I struck a nerve. Speak your mind. I won’t hold it against you or your foundation.”
“I only meant that you think she’s so amazing, but if she were the CEO, you would feel differently.”
He snorts. “If she were CEO, I would be elated. Adrianna is an asset. She is punctual and doesn’t give up. She’s been calling me once a month for five years trying to get a donation out of me.”
“Then why would you never meet with her?”
He tsks his tongue. “It wasn’t her I would be meeting with now, was it?
Gloria was a shrewd woman. I never liked her much.
I crossed paths with her a few times over the years, and I didn’t like what I saw.
If it had been anyone else calling, I would have put an end to it, but Adrianna isn’t some random assistant.
She’s got a kind heart. She always asked about the kids and my Doreen.
So I let her call and keep calling. When you took over, I hoped you would be the kind of man I’d want to do business with. ”
I bet Adrianna never considered that Gloria was the problem. She made an assumption about this man without giving him a chance to prove her wrong.
Kind of like I have been doing to her.
I rub my hand down my face. “I’m sorry, Bob. I’m normally not this out of sorts.”
He chuckles. “A woman can do that to you. You really aren’t together?”
“No, she hates me with good reason. Up until about three minutes ago, I would have said the feelings were reciprocated,” I admit to both him and myself.
I don’t even know why I’m revealing this to a man I don’t even know. Yet here I am.
“The line between love and hate is awfully thin. Nothing is beyond repair until the day you stop breathing. Now enough life lessons from an old man. Let’s go have dessert with the ladies, then you can take that pretty assistant home and tell her you got the funding.”
“Wait, what?” I turn to him, confused.
He puts out his cigar, putting the remaining bit in a metal case from his pocket.
“Adrianna sent me the information about the Jinx project when we set the meeting. I knew we would invest as long as I could trust the person at the helm. It seems I can trust both you and Adrianna. So the check is yours.” He pulls out a check already made out and hands it to me.
“This evening was never about talking about the project. It was always to see who you are as a person.”
“What did you find?” I ask.
“A man willing to move the assistant he claims to not be with to the side so she wouldn’t have to sit close to my stench.
You’ve done little things all night to make sure she is safe, whether you realized it or not.
You covered her head when that server came too close behind her.
You escorted her in like she was someone special to you.
You even let her sit furthest away from me and placed yourself in a precarious position.
A selfish man would not have done that.”
“It’s a business meeting. Of course I would want to sit across from you. I think you are giving me too much credit.”
“I’m not. I’ve been to meetings before where the man made his date sit across from me.
Many of them, in fact. They lost my business with one action.
I know I smell. It’s a medical condition I cannot control.
Sure, you coughed at first when caught off guard, but all evening you have engaged in conversation with me and never once made a face or any action to make me believe that there was something wrong with me.
You are a good man, Elijah. One who I would be proud to do business with.
When you choose a new CEO, please keep this in mind, otherwise, I cannot guarantee my assistance will be long-term. ”
He pats me on the shoulder before heading inside. I follow him, putting the check inside my suit jacket. My mind is spinning at what just happened. I thought I was coming to a business meeting, but instead I feel like I just left therapy.
I’m still in a bit of a daze as we make it back to the table. I take my seat next to Adrianna as she laughs with Doreen.
After a moment, she leans into me. “Are you okay? You seem out of it. Please tell me you didn’t smoke pot with a client.”
Her head is turned toward my shoulder as I look down and smile at her. She gives me a weird look as she leans back into her seat as the server brings the desserts. The conversation continues to flow smoothly until we are all finished and I’ve paid the check, much to Bob’s dismay.
We are all standing outside waiting for Bob’s valet to come back with his car.
“It was so nice meeting you, Adrianna. Please do send me that recipe. It sounds amazing,” Doreen tells Adrianna.
“Of course. I will send that over when I get home. It was great to meet you too, Bob,” she tells him.
“You as well. You are as pretty in person as your voice on the phone, dear.” He winks at her before turning to me. “Good to meet you too, son.”
He holds out his hand to shake, but I bypass it, hugging the man. My nose burns from the stench, but I have a feeling he doesn’t get many of these. He is stiff for a moment before he hugs me back, laughing.
“Well, okay then. We will get together soon then,” he says, pulling back.
“Yes, sir. Anytime you want. We can go catch a Foxes game.”
“Sounds like a plan. Drive safe,” he says, escorting his wife to the car.
Once they drive off, I put my arm around Adrianna’s shoulder as I lead her to my car.
“What is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Why?” I ask.
“You are acting weird. What happened outside?” She narrows her eyes as we arrive at my car.
I pull the passenger door open for her. “I mean, we talked for a bit.”
“Probably smoked something too,” she mumbles.
I reach inside my jacket and grab the check, holding it out to her. “I mean, he did smoke a cigar, but I passed. Not really my thing. He did give this to me, though.”
She looks at it, reading it for a moment. Then she looks up at me, her eyes wide.
“We got it?” she screeches before wrapping her arms around my neck and jumping into me.
I stumble a little from surprise but hold her body to me as I hug her back.
“We got it. Turns out that ungodly body odor is a medical condition, and we didn’t treat him any differently, so he decided to give us the money.”
“I am so fucking happy,” she mumbles into my neck, making goose bumps form on my skin.
“Me too,” I admit.
After a moment, she stiffens, bringing her feet back to the ground. When she steps back, I can see it just registered who she was hugging.
She hands the check back. “Poor Bob. He’s a nice guy.”
“Very generous too. He will be a good partner. Oh, by the way, he isn’t sexist either. He never took the meeting because he didn’t like Gloria. He had met her before.”
Her mouth drops open. “Why did I never consider that?”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Get in, I’ll take you back to your car.”
I watch her climb inside my car, closing the door behind her.
As I round the other side, I smile to myself. I feel like my eyes are finally open for the first time in a long time.
Who knew it would only take a feisty female and an old man with some wise words?