Cocotte (5 page)

"
She arranged a private meeting with me, but I declined the offer the money wasn’t enough. I wasn’t going to give up my job."

I got pissed off.
"Why didn’t you tell me? Why waste my time meeting with her and putting me through the meat grinder?"

"
Because I wanted to be sure too, I wanted to know what she would offer you. I thought a second perspective would flush her real intentions out, only it backfired cause of you."

“Marc
, get this through your thick skull. I did not
say
anything. What does this have to do with anything?”

Marc
sighed and smoothed his face over.

“If
we don’t sign the document, she threatened to tell Gemma, that I am cheating on her.”

“
Sherry has no evidence.”

“
I can’t risk it. Everything is already shaky with Gemma as it is. This will be the nail in the coffin.”

I put my hand on my hips and looked at
Marc. His eyes were bloodshot.

“
Oliver, I have no choice. I have to sign. That’s why I’m asking you to sign as well. I can’t afford to go through a divorce with Gemma, she will take my daughter. I lose everything.” with bloodshot eyes.

My business mind calculated
that with the assets Marc had, which was over five million not including the house, Gemma would have half of it. Sure he’s not poor by any standard, but the loss of his daughter and the effect on her and Marc would be devastating. I took out a piece of paper and readout aloud our entitlements.

“We sign this we get two million dollar
pay out each.” I said.

“Sucks
, I know the I.P alone is worth over ten million, perhaps more if they decide to keep funding our research.”

“You know that won’t happen Marc.”

I signed next to Marc’s signature and handed it back. “So much for the gravy train huh?” Marc said.

“Yeah
, take it and hand the document back to Sherry. I can’t stand the sight of her,” I said. I walked over to the cupboard and took out the bottle of scotch and put the two glasses on my desk. I filled them both up to the brim. We took our glasses and sat on my desk and stared out the windows as the amber liquid quenched our stresses.

“
Oliver, if you didn’t tell Sherry who did?”

I gulped down half the glass, I was so pissed off.
“Emily was there at the meeting. When I left to pick you up, she was still there with Sherry.”

Marc
’s jaw was grinding. “That fucking bitch! Just wait till I get my hands on her!”

“You won’t do
any of that. I stuffed up, by bringing her along…” I sighed. “It’s on me.”

Marc
’s anger subsided. “What’s done is done. I guess we will be unemployed in six months huh?” he said.

“Yeah… You know
Marc, I trusted her.”

“I knew the
whore was bad news from the start. I want to be there when you fire her ass! Donald trump style.”

I took in a deep breath and stood up. “I can’t…”

“What do mean, can’t? I’ll fire the bitch myself if you can’t do it!”

“
Marc, despite this indiscretion, she is halfway through all the documentation, for this acquisition. Getting someone else in will put us back.”

Be
fore Marc could open his mouth, I added, “Face it. We are all pretty unemployed anyway in six months. She’s in tomorrow I’ll deal with her personally.”

I watched
Marc grin, realising everything. But I felt let down by Emily, she should have known better.

Perhaps, I should have known better.
     

***

The sun gleamed through my office and I held my hands behind my back, trying to show some restraint. My shoes were sticking to the black granite floor from the coffee cup that was smashed. It was eight thirty a.m. and I knew Emily will be in soon. The reality of losing all that you worked hard for, kicked in. The countless hours, to get the business to where it was and to lose it entirely, because of Emily’s loose lips.

I couldn’t help but be so disappointed because of something petty like this. The age old saying rings true – loose lips
, really do sink ships.

“Good morning
Oliver. How are you?”

I didn’t
respond, but I heard the click of her heels approach my desk. I squinted then closed my eyes, when a bright ray of light hit me in the face. All I could see was the red, from the blood in my eyelids.

“Sit
down.” I said, in strict school teacher type tone.

“Is something wrong?”

My back was still turned against her when I said, “You.”

I turned around and walked slowly to the front of my desk. My shadow
had imposed on her before I sat looking down on her. Emily looked terrified the way her hands were shaking. She held her notebook against her chest.

“
Emily… This is one of those moments, where you need to be honest with me.”

She nodded vigorously.
“What happen-”

“Let me finish.”

Her eyes widened and she sat straighter. She started to bunch up.

“When I left
Garrison’s, what happened after?”

“
Oliver… We finished our meal and we got talking.”

“About what!”

She flinched and shivered. “We didn’t talk about business I swear! Sherry told me about her life. How she struggled to get to the top. How the corporate life was twice as hard for a woman, she gave me an insight on what to expect.”

“And you trusted her.”

Emily looked down, then side to side.

“I guess I did
. Oliver tell me... What is –

“Keep going
. What happened after?”

“Our conversation shifted to me
, where she asked about my life and how I met you.”

“What did she
say?”

“She said that it was an admirable thing
, to give me a chance and that you’re not like the assholes at her work.”

I
paused. To give some time for Emily to calm down. If she told Sherry her past that’s how she knew. Sherry played Emily like a fiddle, confiding in her, then siphoning information out.

She was
still looking down to the ground.

“Look at me.
  What happened next?”

“She asked about
Marc and I told her I hated him. I told her how he came to the Showgirls and how he’s a regular customer.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. “
Emily…”

“What? Tell me! What did I do wrong?”

There was this numbing sensation in my head, the conflict in my mind between anger and disappointment. It felt like the anger was bubbling I was trying so hard to control it.

“
Emily, because of what you disclosed to Sherry, she threatened Marc that she would tell his wife about his cheating if he didn’t sign the document. We have lost everything.”

Everything began to click for
Emily when she realised she was responsible. “I’m so sorry Oliver.” She stood up to wipe her eyes when I gave her the folder with a copy, signing the account managers over and our roles as consultants.

“Emily… You let me down.”

***

The next afternoon Marc was slouched over my chair while we prepared for next week’s meeting. He just stared at me, waiting for me to spill the story on what happened yesterday.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Did you give her a good spanking for being naughty?”

“Jeez Marc, you can be such a clown.”

He started laughing
.

I
n my mind, he was lucky to still keep his bloody marriage intact. “I hope you take some steps to repair your marriage Marc. You can’t keep living like this forever.”

Marc
’s grin soon smoothed out when I asked, “It’s what you still want, right?”

“Of course.
I still love them both.”

“So what are you gonna do about it
? Because I will kick your ass if I see you at Showgirls again.”

We both had a chuckle
before Marc went all silent. I hoped what I said would sink into that thick skull of his.

“I sat down with
Emily and she explained everything. It turned out that Sherry’s probing led her to spill the beans on you.”

Marc
sat up “Then you should definitely fire her! Who knows what other secrets she’s been leaking.”

I shook my head and buttoned up m
y suit. “Look, it's all sorted now. She understood her mistake and she’s moving on with it.

And so should you.”

Marc bit his tongue and got up to leave. Oliver, I have seen the way you look at her...”

“What do you mean?
”

“You have a thing for her.”

Before he shut the door behind him,
Emily walked in with a piece of paper. The brisk noise of her approaching had me surprised.

“I quit!”
she said.

“Why?”

“I can’t do this anymore…”

“
Emily… don’t do this to me…” I sighed.

I shook my head and sat on my desk
. I was eye level with her and I put my hands firmly on her waist. Emily moved in closer.

“When I held you like this
, what did I say when we first met?”

She paused wh
ile I remembered, the tingling sensation her body gave me.

She took her time.
“You needed someone to rely on…”

“And I still do.”

“I’m not that person anymore, Oliver…” Her eyes began to well up.

“Do you remember what else I said?”

Emily blinked a number of times and she tried to remember. I moved my hands up to hold the sides of her face.

“I know you…”

“Emily, what we went through is all part of the experience. You move on from that and learn. I can’t afford to lose you now, especially with the workload ahead of us. Do you understand?”

She
lifted her hands and held them on my forearms and nodded. I kissed her gently on the forehead and walked to the door to let her out.

“
Emily, we can talk over dinner, I’ll pick you up, ok?”

***

It was another humid night and I dressed in blue jeans and a crisp, white cotton, collared shirt. I started up the Lamborghini and headed out to pick up Emily. Driving on the motorway my mind kept replaying what Marc said. It kept ringing in my head.

“I have seen the way you look at her…”

I arrived to see Emily again waiting for me at the bus stop. She was wearing her corporate attire, white blouse, black skirt and her glasses. She looked gorgeous. I pulled up beside her and smiled because she remembered.

S
he frowned when she saw me, dressed so casual.

“
Oliver was this a business dinner?”

“Get
in.” I said, still smiling.

I said nothing
more but indicated right to head out. I listened when Emily went over the detail of the work I'd asked her do. From arranging the meeting with the sales team next week to the final appointment with Sherry.

The place I chose was the Sake bar
. A Japanese, tepanaki bar and restaurant. I pointed to it when we passed and we pulled up to the side of the building and walked.

“
Have you been here before?” I said.

“No,
I’m assuming, it’s all sushi, right?”

“They do a
variety of dishes. "You will pretty much, get a taste of Japan with the food they bring out.”

“Good
, because I’m starving…” she said, rubbing her tummy.

The Sake bar had the Japanese lanterns and the traditional style door. I opened it to let Emily in, when she caught fright at the sound of the gong that they smashed. I laughed when she adjusted her glasses to raise her eyebrow at me.

The entrance had
three sets of wooden pews and tables, and with groups of people chatting away, the place was packed and noisy. I'd reserved the upstairs area for ourselves, which was quiet and more intimate. Our table was a low one surrounded with cushions. There was a lantern above us, its warm light emitting on the table and the red glow from the surround which illuminated the white walls. Emily tried to sit down, but I tapped her on the shoulder to remove her shoes. The Japanese blinds or Sudare added to the environment. Tight space made us think we were in Japan.