Chasing the Shrew

Elephant in the Room

When they walked in, DS looked around in wonder, “Wow!! Look at this architecture! It’s amazing! I hope they want to work with us!”

Amelia chuckled, she was just like him. But after living with the Roger family she realized behind all the glamor was just cold nothingness. She would rather live in her cozy villa surrounded by nature and her family. She smiled, thinking about her friends at the villa. She had kept in contact all these years but never went back to visit.

“Come on, DS. We are going to be late for our meeting.”

They walked up to the reception desk and she asked politely, “Hello, we are JG Enterprise and have an appointment with Mr. Gersling at 10.”

The receptionist looked up and gave them a warm smile, “Please hold, I will call him.”

She picked up the phone, “Hello, sir, JG Enterprise is here. Would you like me to direct them up?… Yes, sir.”

She hung up and smiled at Amelia, “Someone is on their way down to get you. Meanwhile, can I offer you anything to drink?”

Amelia looked at the sweating DS, “Could I get two bottles of water, please? Thank you.”

She handed a bottle to DS and took the other for herself. They barely took a sip before someone strode over, “Mr. Bing and Miss…,” he paused so Amelia offered.

“Stein, Amelia Stein. Pleased to meet you,” she shook his hand politely.

“Ah yes, the pleasure is mine. Please come this way, we are eager to talk to you about the partnership.”

They followed the man and walked to the inner elevators. DS turned and mouthed to Amelia, “Eager!!!” His face contorted with sheer happiness. Amelia wanted to laugh but held it in.

When they arrived in front of the imposing meeting room doors, Amelia took a deep breath and patted DS’s arm, “Breathe! Be confident!”

DS smiled nervously, “Fighting!”

They walked in and Amelia’s professional smile froze.

***

There she stood, still as beautiful as ever. There was an air of maturity around her and her bust looked bigger.

Amelia scowled as Dustin blatantly looked her up and down. DS noticed her discomfort and stood in front of her, “Hi, I am Bing Dae-Seong. We are here to talk about a potential partnership with your company.”

He offered his hand to Dustin. Dustin was still looking at Amelia so Henry hurriedly took DS’s hand and shook it warmly.

“Welcome to Roger Inc., I am Henry Gersling, VP of Technology, we are so glad you could make it. Please have a seat and we’ll discuss the details.”

The lawyer handed them each a copy of the agreement and Amelia immediately dug into the details. She tried to focus on the work at hand but she was distracted by Dustin’s unwavering gaze. She turned to Henry, “Reading this clause it seems like you want to monopolize the use of Dae-Seong’s invention for the next 15 years. This restriction is too long by industry standards. Our growth potential would be ruined.”

Henry smiled, “We will go farther together…”

Amelia returned his fake smile, “No, sir. WE will take you farther and when you’re done with us you will cut us loose. This agreement seems great, the compensation is staggering for those who are short-sighted, but you and I both know the invention we have can be utilized across multiple sectors. It’s hardly limited to your company's products. It only hurts us to limit ourselves to one company regardless of your size.”

Dustin smiled, so this was the capable secretary he had a mind to poach. Had he known she was this sharp he would have let her work in his company all those years ago.

“So what do you suggest, Ms. Stein?”

“I understand you want a proprietary claim to our tech so you gain a competitive edge in your industry. For the next 3 years, we will not sell our product to your competitors in your specified industry. However, for this concession we want you to increase the compensation to $800 million for our potential lost revenue.”

DS was quiet but his eyes were wide. He was sharp as a tack when it came to science and technology but otherwise was thick as two short planks. He never dreamed he could bargain for a staggering $800 million.

Henry decided to attack the weak front, “Mr. Bing, this is your company do you have any comments on the matter?”

DS smiled, “No, my elder sister has all the say in my company. I defer to her wisdom.”

Henry frowned, “I don’t see the relation. Is she your sister-in-law?”

Dustin’s hands clenched unconsciously at the question.

“No, there is no relation by marriage and it doesn’t always take blood to be family.”

Amelia cleared her throat, “We digress. If you agree to the negotiated terms, please have your lawyer amend the agreement and send it over to us. Thank you for the opportunity to work with you.”

When she stood up, DS also hastily stood up nodding to the men in the room.

“Wait. I still want to discuss something with you.”

Amelia turned towards the literal elephant in the room, “How can I help you, Mr. Roger?”

Dustin smiled as he got up, walking over to her. “I can agree to all of your requests but I need you to come work for me as the mediator between the companies.”

DS frowned and came to stand in front of Amelia, “She can’t!”

Dustin turned to look down on the small Asian man. He was easily a foot taller than him yet the little man kept standing up to him, “And why is that?”

Before Amelia could stop him DS blurted out, “She has two kids at home! She can’t work full-time!”

Dustin turned to look at Amelia, his eyes cold enough to shoot icicles, “When did you hook up with him?”, he jabbed a finger toward DS.

Before DS could talk again, Amelia grabbed his arm and dragged him behind herself, “My personal life hardly matters in our negotiation. If you have nothing else to say, we will be leaving.”

Before she took a step, Dustin smirked and added, “You haven’t changed; jumping on another man so quickly, but you certainly downgraded.”

Amelia felt a surge of anger that she had held back for the last 8 years and it broke loose in a loud nauseating crunch.

Amelia had grabbed Dustin by the lapels and head-butted his nose. Dustin’s hand flew to his bleeding nose his eyes wide with surprise as he stared into Amelia’s cold eyes. Henry was about to call security but Dustin held up his other hand.

Amelia enunciated every single syllable, “You piece of s**t. You haven’t changed at all. Every word that comes out of your mouth denigrates me as if I am nothing but dirt under your shoes. Well look here big shot, you may have money and power but at the end of the day you’re like every other f*cking jackass; you needy cunt licking dog. If you don’t want a verbal lashing, stick to talking business at the office. Otherwise, prep your backside for some serious pain.”

She grabbed DS and stormed out.

The other managers stood still like statues, not even daring to blink. What in the flying f*ck did they just witness?!