Chapter 8 - SIX MONTHS LATER
Cassidy was standing inside a negotiation suite in Geneva when the door opened.
Dominic Pierce walked in.
She stopped.
So did he.
Victor sat at the far end of the table.
Natalia beside him.
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“What is she doing here?”
Cassidy almost smiled.
Victor answered:
“Her job.”
Dominic looked at the nameplate.
CASSIDY BROOKS — STRATEGIC NEGOTIATION
His face changed.
The meeting involved a restructuring consortium.
Dominic’s firm had been invited as one of several potential capital partners.
Not lead.
Not dominant.
One bidder among five.
Cassidy was there because two stakeholder groups preferred Russian.
Dominic recovered quickly.
“Of course.”
He sat down.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
For the next three hours Cassidy translated.
Accurately.
Including Dominic’s arguments.
Including points that benefited him.
Including objections that hurt Victor.
No editorializing.
No revenge.
At one point Dominic made an excellent point about debt seniority.
Cassidy translated it precisely.
Victor glanced at her.
She continued without reacting.
Afterward, Dominic caught her outside the conference room.
“You could have made me sound worse.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Cassidy frowned.
“Because that would make me bad at my job.”
He stared.
Then gave a humorless laugh.
“You really don’t care what happened anymore.”
“I care.”
She adjusted the folder beneath her arm.
“I just don’t organize my career around it.”
That landed.
Dominic looked older than he had at Le Rêve.
Not physically.
Less certain.
“My board made me take executive coaching.”
Cassidy blinked.
“I don’t know what response you expect.”
“None.”
He looked toward the conference room.
“I thought what happened that night was about losing a deal.”
“And now?”
“I think losing the deal was the cheapest consequence.”
Interesting.
Cassidy said nothing.
Dominic continued.
“I was cruel because I thought nobody important would object.”
There it was.
Finally.
Not:
I was embarrassed.
Not:
You provoked me.
He understood the actual failure.
Cassidy nodded once.
“That sounds accurate.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“No.”
Dominic looked surprised.
“I also don’t hate you.”
He waited.
“You’re just a person who behaved badly in a restaurant six months ago.”
Something in his expression shifted.
For a man accustomed to being feared, irrelevance might have been the strangest consequence of all.
May you like
Cassidy walked back into the conference room.
She had work to do.
