3 At the Office (2)

They impressed Sebastian. The new technology SST developed was unproven, but it looked very promising. He was glad he signed up with their company. Having the motion sensor control and wide-angle lens for the cameras was an enormous improvement over the old security system.

He received a call from SST earlier that there was a last-minute change on the crew for the people assigned to perform the installation. He didn’t really care who came to do the work, as long as Clara would be there, but it was a lucky coincidence because he had all the SST executives at his behest and ready to answer all of his questions.

It surprised Sebastian that they were doing the installation themselves. You would think they had people for that, but it showed how knowledgeable they were about their own product, and how dedicated they were to a job done right. Clara piqued his interest, and he couldn’t wait to know more about her.

‘How much would it take for you to transfer to my company?’ he asked after her presentation.

‘Are you poaching me right now?’ Clara asked, flabbergasted.

‘Let me tell you, we come in a package, all three of us. So it’s not gonna work,’ Clara added.

‘Not them, just you. I will give you a top-of-the-line research facility with highly trained people at your disposal,’ he challenged.

Max looks at Jeremy, waggles his eyebrows, and grins. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Ooohhh.. Look at these two. Something is happening, and I cannot wait for Clara to kick his ass.’

‘You can’t afford me. I already own 30% of this company.’ She stared at him while her jaw clenched.

‘How do you think we came up with this technology? I already have that top-of-the-line research facility you are talking about. Plus, I am not for sale,’ she smirked.

‘Damn! This girl has the balls to call me out like this. Are you issuing me a challenge?’

‘Who are you, Clara Johnson?’ He thought, intrigued. He pretended to rub his lip so he could hide his smile. His plan to cajole, or confront her, wasn’t working, and now it was time to take the gentler route.

‘My bad! I apologize for my indiscretion. I did not think you were for sale. Just wanted to see how dedicated you are to staying in San Jose. I was thinking, maybe I could entice you to move to San Diego? This city can use someone like you, and I’d rather you worked for my company than anybody else’s.’ He stares at her pointedly.

‘Why did it feel like he was not talking about work anymore?’ she shuddered and looked away. ‘Still not for sale,’ she adds, now pissed off more than ever, “Don’t you know when to quit?” she said a little too brusquely.

Max stepped in before Clara blew the deal for them. ‘What Clara, Uhm... Ms. Johnson meant that she really loves our company because she helped build it from scratch. She is not thinking of going anywhere soon.’

‘Fine, fine! I’m sorry. It’s just that some people just need the right price, and they’re willing to do anything,’ Sebastian replied.

Smoke was coming out of Clara’s ears, and Jeremy knew that her temper could probably break their deal if Mr. Colfer did not stop talking soon. Jeremy squeezes Clara’s hand very tightly under the table, lending her his strength and self-restraint. This was one deal they could not walk away from.

‘Not Ms. Johnson. She’s very loyal to SST. So, Mr. Colfer, we’ll leave you to play with the new system and let us know if you think we missed anything.’ Max folded his laptop, ready to head out before Clara exploded.

‘Again, I apologize. Why don’t we throw this conversation under the rug? I would like to invite all of you to join me for dinner to compensate for my mistake,’ he said apologetically. He wanted to rile her up to pay attention to him, but he did not know she was this dedicated to her company. It was funny because he suddenly felt so attracted to her right now.

‘I was thinking of bringing all of you to the “V.” Not really sure if you are familiar with that restaurant, but I heard that they have the best steak in town. I haven’t been there lately, but this is a suitable occasion to celebrate, don’t you think?’ Clara still had that stony-eyed look on her face and knew that he should not have pushed her too much. ‘Please say you’ll come,’ he invited.

‘No!’ she says. ‘Yes!’ says Max and Jeremy in unison. That was two against one. She rolls her eyes at them. Such sellouts, she thought, just because of food.

Max raises both his eyebrows at Jeremy and smiles sheepishly. Mr. Colfer was confusing him a little with his remarks, but why were they all directed at Clara? He wondered if there was something about his intentions they needed to explore further. Jeremy narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sebastian.

She was sitting across from them on the table, and she was shaking her head and mouthing to them, ‘No! We’ll just go by ourselves.’ She pursed her lips together and frowned.

Max pleaded with her to go, ‘Please, please, please, you promised we were having dinner somewhere fancy.’ She glared at him.

Jeremy forgot his suspicions for a moment and followed with, ‘Yeah, please, please, please. Plus, weren’t we….’ She widens her eyes at him to shut him up. They had planned to eat at the same restaurant before they left, and now Mr. Colfer invited himself to rain on their parade.

‘Fine! We’re going! Such a bunch of kids. You’re getting it from me later,’ she said, annoyed that they had to spend more time with Sebastian. ‘Why do they have to go, anyway? Who wants to have dinner with this pretentious prick? He thinks he’s handsome, and he can just hit on anybody.’

‘We’ll meet you there at 7,’ she said, looking at Sebastian and turning to walk out the door, pushing Max and Jeremy out with her. ‘You guys are in big trouble!’ She mumbles to them.