Stealing Her

2.Negotiations

Slyver POV

Slyver was pacing in his room. His parents had just left the house to open the store for the day and he would join them later at the shop.

I have a plan, staying up late last night I looked at the town plans my friend from the town planning department had emailed me. I found an abandoned shoe factory from the 80's just outside of town that was the best location for a fancy big mall. In my professional opinion, that was the best long term location for a mall but for a profit seeking investment, the block with store was the best option. What I needed to do was to convince the RM Investment Group Marketer that purchasing the old factory and renovating it to a mall would be the best option for them in the long run. I needed to try this. I took a deep breath and dialed the marketers number, He answered on the third ring, I cleared my throat and said "Good morning, I would like to schedule a meeting. I have an offer that your company should not be able to refuse." We scheduled the meeting for that afternoon at 3:30PM and I was pleased with myself because the marketer assured me the CEO would attend the meeting as well. This was the easy part, the hard part was convincing them to actually change their plans. I grabbed my laptop bag and headed out to the store. I would work on my presentation with the all the plans and financials from there before going to this meeting. 

I arrived at RM Headquarters at 3:15PM, Dad allowed me to take his truck because it would have taken me over an hour by bus to get into the main city from the countryside. Traffic into LA was not that heavy and I easily navigated my way to the tall glass company offices. The building itself was impressiv, I determined and well dressed for the occasion; my suits from my last job last still fit perfectly. I was asked to wait in a small cozy reception. I run through what I was going to say in my head as I waited. "Mr Mccume?" It was the tall beautiful blond that had received me a few minutes ago, "Mr Haze is ready to see you now, please follow me. I stood up and followed her down the hallway and she opened the door to a small conference room. I thanked her and walked in. I was the first to arrive as the room was empty. I sat down on the opposite side of the table facing the door. Two minutes later, Mr Haze walked in. "Sorry if you have been waiting long but there is always a marketing fire to put out in this place. Unfortunately, Mr Patel the CEO wont be joining us, he got called into an emergency board meeting. I am excited to hear this offer of yours, so impress me." He said all this as he sat down right opposite me. I cleared my throat and handed him the paper presentation and spread sheets I had printed out. I began my presentation straight away, "I believe a Franchise like RM Investment Group should be making proper Investments that have longevity in both property and profits." I talked about why the new location would be perfect for the mall, the less purchase paperwork, the convenience with renovation permits and how the profit margins would rise in the next five years because it was right at the edge of town making it the perfect location as all people coming from the country side towns would have access to it as they drive in and out of LA. I finished the presentation out of breath but extremely proud of how well I had explained it, it was a fool proof plan and he would be a fool not to consider it. Mr Haze gathered up the papers I had given him and handed them back to me. "Mr Mccume, I see you put in a lot of work to make this presentation and I commend you for that. Part of my Job here is to always find the best investment options that suit the company's needs and I do my job really well. Purchasing that block and building a mall there, better suits our needs. I thought you were here to negotiate the last offer for more money or even a slot in the new mall. My advise is that you take the offer or we will find a way to buy you out. The offer only now stands until the end of the week. Good day." With that he left the room and I sat there disappointed and angry. "s**t!" I exclaimed. The door opened and the blond from earlier came in asking me to leave as the room was needed soon. I packed up my papers and walked out down the hallway to take the elevator. What was my next move here? The elevator dinged and opened with two smartly dressed gentlemen inside. I nodded to them and got in. I needed to think and think fast. "I thought the board meeting would last longer, I need to grab some food am starving. But now I have to wait in the car for Mr Patel." One of the gentlemen was saying to the other; I must have walked in on a conversation. The one man responded "I will have a sandwich in your honor, Ms Rodgers will probably be working late as usual, so am here for a while." Like a cartoon character, my face lit up as I had an idea. We had reached the ground floor and the elevator doors opened. I walked out but lingered a bit pretending to be checking my bag so the two men can pass by me. I followed them out the doors and into the parking garage, I figured the one who later walked away was the other driver but I wanted to speak to Mr. Patel's driver and see if he could let me into the car so I could talk to the CEO alone. 

I walked quickly and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around but before I could say anything he swung a punch at me, I ducked, reflex I punched him straight in the face. He fell back against the car with a big thud and rolled to the ground. I stood there for five seconds wondering how this had happened. I heard someone coming, out of instinct; I panicked, grabbed him by the legs and dragged him out of sight to the corner of the building. I grabbed the keys in his hands and went to the car, I was not going to miss my opportunity because of this misunderstanding consequences be damned! Driving the car to the front of the building, I assumed that is where I was to pick up Mr. Patel, my heart was pounding in my chest and I could hear the ringing in my ears. I adjusted myself to seem more calm and sat there waiting, I would probably be in trouble for this but I will not miss the opportunity. The car door opened and a woman got in. A woman? I was confused for a second. She looked up from her phone and our eyes met in the rear view mirror. "You must be new, great today just keeps getting better," She said this with a stern face. She seemed upset and I was not going to tell her that I was not the designated driver. I just sat there waiting, my heart pounding. The GPS started to talk telling me which way to go. "There, I have made the job easier for you. Just follow the GPS and get me to the location as soon as you can." She said this dismissing me. With shaky hands, I began to drive. I was not sure whether I was to say something to her or just keep driving. Who was she? Did she work at RM? She looked important, the way she carried herself she definitely had power and she looked sexy with eyes would would make anyone tell the truth. There was this glow to her that I could not stop myself from staring at her through the rear view mirror. Her body looked like it would be perfect wrapped around my body. Woah! The car swerved a little and I gripped the wheel tighter. "Sorry about that," I said. My voice was shaky. Our eyes made eye contact through the mirror but she did not say anything. Where did that thought come from. I needed to get myself in check. I was in big trouble here.

Caroline POV

Just when I was about to leave, a board meeting was called. Exactly what I did not need. One of the board members had gotten into some fraud trouble and we needed to deal with it. Men and their gambling problems. The meeting did not take long, PR protocol was in place to deal with things like this. After the meeting, I knew I had to get to the block that was refusing to sell for us to finish our deal and begin the mall construction. I knew showing up unannounced gave me an edge over the owner and I could find out what exactly he wanted. Everyone has a price. I knew my driver would be up front, he always was, I packed up my bag and walked out of my office. "Hazel, am heading out and will be back later. Make sure Will is waiting out front." I said to my assistant as I walked to the elevator. Exiting the building, Mr. Patel's assigned car was parked out front and I was not going to waste the opportunity to steal it. Childish I know but he always deserved it. I got into the car but it was not Will the usual driver, he was probably out sick or something today and this must be a sub. I was a bit irritated because new drivers mostly got lost and I did not have the time to get another driver. "You must be new, great today just keeps getting better," I did not mean to sound stern with him, I valued all our employees, I was in a hurry and being caught right now was not going to happen. I connected my phone to the car's GPS and typed in the address for him to follow.  "There, I have made the job easier for you. Just follow the GPS and get me to the location as soon as you can." I went back to looking at my phone, I had notes about the store owners and I wanted to go through them so I knew who was who and how best to relate with them. I felt him looking at me, my body felt hot and I was self-conscious. Was I not dressed alright today. Were my blouse buttons open? What was I thinking. I looked up in the mirror and caught his eyes, brown sexy eyes. I had a hot flash, blush rushing up my cheeks, the car jerked a little and I almost dropped my phone.  "Sorry about that," he said. I could not respond because the sound of his voice had my stomach in notes. It felt like he said strip for me, when all he said was sorry? His voice was rough and shaky, the love making kind of voice. Who was this man? And why was I suddenly acting like a teenager aware of myself because of his voice.