“You could back off, Mr. Carlson. I know you flew here to close the deal. I also know that pressure tactics aren’t going to work. We’re staring down the barrel of what could be a terminal diagnosis and nothing you threaten could alarm us in the least.”
“What about a lawsuit? Squandering Will and David’s inheritance on legal teams and the cloud of litigation hanging over what could be Maggie’s—” Harvey said.
Bella gripped his hand, trying to make it look casual, but she dug her nails into his palm until he shut up.
“Are you threatening legal action during a family health crisis?” Dave said, his expression dark. Bella bit her lip.
“No. Certainly not. Harvey was just giving an example of the way JS would never treat a member of our family. No one will be permitted to trouble you with business matters during this difficult time. Harvey wouldn’t stand for it, would you, honey?” she said, sugar in her voice.
“Right. Family,” he said in what was practically a caveman grunt. She giggled nervously and waved the waiter over, ordered a large café mocha and a dessert sampler for the table to share. Harvey looked up from his email when Dave exclaimed, “You won’t believe the picture I just got!”
He held out his phone so they could see the photo of a wan-looking Maggie in a new pink cashmere robe, smiling and surrounded by her basket of goodies, “Jason says it’s done her a world of good already. She was so surprised. I really, I can’t thank you two enough,” Dave said. Bella smiled modestly.
“You’re most welcome. As Harvey said, any little thing we can do, just let us know. Now, Harvey, I think it’s time for you to give Dave what you brought for the twins.”
“What?” he said, and she slid her eyes to the tote bag she’d carried in. He nodded and put it on the table, “here, these are for Will and David.”
When Harvey opened the bag, he was as surprised as Dave was. Inside were two prototype tablets from the next generation of JS electronics, “Yeah, we’re definitely not circulating these to the public. Not even the industry insiders have seen one to review it. These are top of the line. The new touchscreen has holographic capabilities—we’ve tweaked the oleophobic treatment chemicals that prevent fingerprints because they were interfering with the three-dimensional image generation. Like, if Will plays Minecraft—“
“He does. Oh, he does,” Dave chuckled.
“Well, he can swipe diagonally and bring up a three-dimensional model of his creation to get a better perspective on how to expand and build or navigate his landscape. The STEM possibilities are endless, but the Minecraft app is where you’ll see the quickest payoff—there and those MMORPGs, where you can do thirty seconds of 3-d to locate your escape route or finesse your defensive strategy,” Harvey said, warming to his topic.
Dave took one tablet and looked at it, thin and sleek in brushed copper, and nodded in appreciation of its fineness, “This means a lot, Mr. Carlson. That you trust our boys with a prototype. I thank you on behalf of their parents as well.”
“Could you get us a few comments from them about the user interface, the ease of generating a holo, and, if possible, how annoying the fingerprint issue is? Because we’d love a little focus grouping from our target demo. Their opinions would really help us refine the product ahead of the launch,” Bella said.
Harvey shot her a look that said she was going overboard, but Dave was eating it up. He loved the idea of his godsons having input on the flagship product in the electronics division of JS. In fact, she could practically see him investing emotionally in the company and the success of this product in particular. Because she had made it a family matter. And hadn’t she told Harvey ages ago that the Smith Gibbonses were all about family and caring and legacy? Yes, yes she had.
“I just got another shot of Maggie. Let me Bluetooth it to your phone. She’s looking at some kind of magazine and the caption says she’s waiting for her facialist to arrive. I think she’s really having a holiday with this surprise you sent her. Thank you so much,” Dave said.
“We’re so happy she likes it. Listen, I’m going to go have a bubble bath myself in the spirit of things. You two boys feel free to discuss business without me,” she said with a wink.
“Or you could go wi
th her,” Dave said with a raised eyebrow.
“Excuse me?” Harvey replied.
“It’s hard to miss, the two of you being a couple. And I remember when you two dated years ago. It was in all the papers. You used Bella to clean up your image, and it worked. Everyone loved her. She was America’s sweetheart. And I could see by the videos TMZ put on television how crazy you were about her. Like when they snuck up on you when you were taking a midnight swim, laughing, kissing, and splashing each other. Even when we went to corporate, and you were obviously at odds, you were still together. Anyone can see that.”
“We’re not,” she overheard Harvey saying. “We were together once a long time ago. That’s ancient history.”
“I think you should reconsider that since the chemistry is obvious. I’m not sure that Bella thinks that it’s history.”
She walked toward the bank of elevators determinedly, blinking back the mist of tears that threatened to fall. She knew better. That didn’t mean her heart had come to terms with it yet.
He came up from behind. “You saved the day. Thank you.”
“Well, it’s my job.”
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“The simple fact is that I can’t work with you. You touched my hand, and I lost all my focus. This is why I put in my notice. I want to be friends with you, but I can’t work with you. Falling for the charming boss is the easiest thing to do. After all, I’ve done it twice now. Once as a housekeeper, and once as an executive.”
“But the sex this time was amazing.”
“A little afternoon delight up against the photocopier?”