Not for sale

Sarah is in her office, looking at the time. 'It's almost time to go and meet with Jeff.' She locked her PC, and there was knock on her door. It was Jeff. "How about we go and grab a coffee downstairs while we talk?"

"Sure, no problem." Sarah got her guard up against Jeff, because Aiden told her that he will be asking about Eve. Eve is Sarah's masterpiece and she considers her a friend. Eve is only long-term friend who didn't betray her. Well, technically, Eve can't betray her but that only makes Sarah more attached to Eve. Naturally, Sarah is very protective of Eve.

They went to a café on a second floor and found a table.

"Are you finding everything OK?" Jeff started by asking how Sarah is finding her work at White corp.

"Yes."

"I enjoyed your presentation this morning. It got people interested." Jeff was smiling faintly.

"Thank you." Sarah was polite, but her short responses showed him that she is reserved.

"Having a fresh set of eyes always helps. When people do the same work for a long time, they miss to see different angles and fail to improve." Jeff was doing his best to loosen her up.

Sarah nodded in agreement.

"I also heard that you already completed work on one of our contracted projects and report creation is in progress. Impressive."

She accepted his praise with a smile. "You are well informed."

From the back, female voice with a heavy French accent could be heard. "Hey, Sarah!"

Sarah turned around, and lightly waved to Bridgette.

Bridgette walked toward them, and her eyes landed on Jeff. "Oh, ma fille*! Where do you find these eye candies?!" Bridgette practically shouted.

Sarah shook her head and with a pleading expression to get Bridgette to stop talking. However, Bridgette didn't get it. She walked to them in large strides, as large as her petite figure allowed, and faced Jeff. "Hi handsome! I'm Bridgette." She extended her hand for a handshake.

Jeff didn't take her hand; he was looking at her with a complicated expression.

Sarah cleared her throat. "This is Jeffrey White."

Bridgette thought for a second and pursed her lips. "White... that sounds familiar. But I would definitely remember if I met you." She was ogling at Jeff.

"Yes, it must sound familiar. Try CEO White." Sarah added. She was not sure if she should cry or laugh. Bridgette froze. Sarah could not help herself, and she gave Bridgette an advice. "At this point, it's better if you don't introduce yourself further, and just leave."

Bridgette didn't say anything. She turned around on her heel dramatically and left faster than she came.

Jeff looked after Bridgette's retracting back, and then at Sarah. "How about we go to my office so we can talk without being interrupted?"

Sarah did her best to suppress laughter, but her lips were curved upwards. She stood up and followed Jeff to his office on 22nd floor. His office is huge and gives off a masculine feel with a modern design furniture. Large windows provide amazing views.

They sat on a large sofa in the sitting area and faced each other. Jeff thought for some time before speaking. "I remember you said that our security needs improvement."

"Yes." She did say that during her interview.

"Are you willing to look into what we have and suggest areas for improvement?"

"No problem. What will my role be?"

"Let's start by you investigating and coming up with a proposal. We can take it from there." Jeff was experienced in this type of talk and didn't want to jump into making any rash decisions.

Sarah nodded in agreement. What he said makes sense.

"Great! I will tell Aiden to connect you with relevant people."

There was a silence. Sarah felt that what she was waiting for it's coming.

Jeff cleared his throat. "I wanted to ask you more about Eve."

"What about her?" Sarah got tense.

"Can you tell me from where she came?"

"I created her." Sarah's answer was short and to the point. Jeff was surprised.

"Good, good. When I was in your apartment, my conclusion is that it's not where you created her, correct?"

"Yes. I created her in my family home. I was living there at a time."

"How do you get Eve to expand to other areas?" Jeff was slowly going to get information he wants out of Sarah.

Sarah was getting impatient, and she wanted to end playing word games. "CEO White, can you get to the point?"

He sighed since he lost the opportunity to get some information in a roundabout way. "OK. To be honest, I want Eve to be part of White corp."

"In what way?" Sarah wanted to understand his intentions.

"To manage security and tasks at first, and then we can see what else she can do."

"Like an employee?"

"You can call it that if you want." Jeff was not sure if Sarah's questions mean that she is open to the possibility, but he already stated his intentions, or at least part of them. The only thing he can do now is to keep the conversation going.

"No." For Sarah, no matter what he said, she is not giving him Eve.

"I'm sure we can negotiate." Jeff was persistent.

"Eve is not for sale." Sarah was firm.

"I can pay."

"No."

"Everything has a price. What do you want? Another penthouse? Beach side villa? How about a powerboat? Name it." Jeff was trying different incentives. There must be something that she wants. He just needs to find it.

"No." Sarah didn't budge.

"Don't be like that... Even you came here for the right price." At this point Jeff saw Sarah's expression change and realized that he said something he should not have.

Sarah was visibly irritated, but she kept her composure. "CEO White, some things are not for sale. To be honest with you, I accepted your offer only because of Aiden. If it's not for him, I would not accept it no matter what you offered."

Jeff looked at Sarah with a tinge of regret. She was not sure if he regretted his failed attempt or that he brought the topic at all.

Sarah stood up. "I will complete tasks that we agreed upon during contract signing, to the best of my abilities. I can work on improving security for your company. If there is anything else you want me to do, I'm willing to hear you out. But you need to hear my words as well: Eve is not for sale." At this point Sarah was ready to leave if he continues pushing the topic. She said 'no' repeatedly, but he is still not giving up. That tells her that Jeff does not respect her. She hates when people try to push her to do things she is not willing. "If there is nothing else, I want to go back to my work."

Jeff sighed and gestured with his hand toward the door, that she can leave.