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Firecracker:Fuck off. You were just as bad. WORSE. You were practically drooling, ready to jump through the screen. You were out of your mind for me.
Oh yeah. I’d been right there, dancing along the path to insanity alongside him. I’d never dreamed that video sex could be so fucking thrilling.
“Wellbridge? Jonathan, are you with us?” Conrad demanded, leaning toward me and waving a hand in front of my face.
I jerked to awareness to find every eye in the conference room on me.Shit. I slid my phone back in my pocket guiltily. “Yes, sir. I apologize. I was just texting a, um, business contact.”
“Excellent. But Jeff, here, is having a little problem with Archdale Vineyards. Maybe he could use a little advice.”
“Archdale?” I frowned at my coworker. “I talked to Harrison Yang for three months before I… passed that lead off to you.” I’d been about to saybefore Conrad redistributed my leads so I could spend the summer in Honeybridge, but I refrained. “He was ready to sign on the dotted line.”
Jeff’s mouth tightened, and his fingers tapped the table. “Any idiot would sign at the percentage you were offering.”
Not anyone,I thought with a strange flare of pride.Flynn hadn’t.
“Most people would,” I allowed. “Because it’s a fair deal that would be profitable for everyone involved. So what happened?”
“Archdale’s earnings declined last month—”
“We knew they would,” I agreed. “It’s a ramp-up year for them, after a stellar performance last year—”
“So I renegotiated.”
I stared at him, waiting for his words to make sense. “You… changed the terms of the offer they were considering?”
Jeff jutted his chin obstinately. “That offer expired, so I made them a new offer based on the most current information, yes. A deal that will ensure that Fortress doesn’t lose money.” He flung out a hand toward our boss. “Conrad agreed.”
Of all the ridiculous, shortsighted…
“Even if Archdale weren’t poised to absolutely skyrocket in another year or two,” I said as patiently as I could, “had you considered how it would look to Harrison for you to change the offer before he’d formally decided? What that might make him think about Fortress as a company?”
“It says that we backwinners,” Jeff insisted. “And that Harrison should sign this current offer quickly before his next earnings report comes out.”
“Alright, Jeff, no need to get hot under the collar.” Conrad chuckled. “Maybe we need to rethink our offer based on our Rainmaker’s insight, hmm?” He smiled. “Speaking of which… Jonathan, how’s the Honeyharvest Mead contract coming?”
“Honeybridge.”
“Yes.” Conrad nodded. “I’m eager to hear how our offer was received.”
“Er, actually…” I definitely was not going to mention the status of my leather folio. “There was a snag, and I decided to rework our offer. Did you get the report I emailed you?” The one I’d been expecting a response to for an annoyingly long time.
“I received it.” Conrad leaned back in his chair and studied me. “I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s definitely not what we discussed initially.”
“It’s not,” I agreed. “But I think it’s exactly what we need in this case. A huge portion of Honeybridge Mead’s cachet is due to its quaint, small-town branding. Moving the manufacturing operation elsewhere might save us money initially, but we’d lose money in sales by losing the narrative. You can’t make Honeybridge Mead in Portland or Boston,” I said, quoting Flynn shamelessly. “It wouldn’t be the same.”
Conrad nodded slowly. “Well, I admit you’ve intrigued me. And I appreciate the amount of work you’ve done, laying the groundwork. How many contracts did you go through to check for precedent before you wrote this up?”
“Hundreds, sir.”
“And you’ve spent two weeks up in the middle of nowhere, schmoozing the owner, too.” He grinned and looked around the conference table. “I hope you’re all seeing how the Rainmaker got his name, ladies and gentlemen. The man does whatever the heck it takes to close a deal.”
Jeff looked nauseated by the way Conrad praised me, and for once, I agreed with him. Conrad made me sound ruthless when I prided myself on being fair.
“It wasn’t exactly a chore to spend time with him,” I protested, which was a massive understatement. “And I think this deal will be a true win-win for all parties.”
“That’s the spirit, Jonathan,” Conrad said with an approving nod. “And I’m willing to consider your plan. Pending budgetary review.”
I grinned, letting relief wash through me. But my smile froze when he continued. “But son, let’s get the lead out. I want the deal locked up by the end of the month.”
