“How is it that your phones are outselling mine?” he asked, dark brows locked together.
“Did you not just hear me say the words really cool and games? That’s how.”
“There is no practical use in that.”
“Right, and practicality is fine, but the vast majority of people do not have security that screams ‘I’m paranoid.’”
“And how is your security?” he asked.
“It screams ‘I’m paranoid.’ But I don’t need to control it from my phone.”
He lifted his phone. “Admit it, though, it’s very…cool.”
“All right, fine. It is.”
“This is all making my case very nicely for me.” The limo pulled up in front of a massive home, more reminiscent of an Italian palazzo than of the other homes that were set into the hill side.
“What case is that?”
Ferro opened his door and got out, then rounded to her side, opening the passenger door for her. He leaned in and she caught the scent of him again. Her heart tripped over itself again. And then he offered her his hand.
“Stuff it, Calvaresi, this is a business meeting.” She got out of the car, avoiding his touch, and leaned past him, closing the door herself. “If you wouldn’t do that for a male business rival, don’t do it for me.”
“I shall make a note of the fact that my touch disturbs you.”
“Disturbs me? Your touch nothings me. But I won’t have you engaging in subtle power plays here. Tell me what it is you want so I can get back in the limo and make my way back down Fort Ferro and back into civilization. I’m in serious need of some wine at this point in the day.”
“Then come in and have some,” he said. “Because this isn’t going to be a brief meeting.”
“Oh, no, it is, because I can already tell I’m not going to like what you have to say.”
“You won’t like it, but you aren’t stupid. That means you’ll listen.”
“Does it?”
“Yes. My case is this. You have something I need, I have something you need. The only way we’re going to get this deal is by joining forces.”
“I would rather be thrown into the fires of Mount Doom.”
“Noble. But it isn’t going to get you your deal. Working with me will.”
“Wrong. It will get me half a deal.”
“It’s better than no deal. And it’s better than Hamlin getting the deal.”
“And why am I more okay with you getting the deal than Hamlin?” she asked. She knew Scott Hamlin was a big-time jerk, she wasn’t unobservant and the word about him that she heard was never good. She’d hired people who’d come from Hamlin Tech for low level positions and their view of their ex-boss was never flattering. But then, she imagined people who were let go at Anfalas had bad things to say about her and her executives.
She’d scalped a few of Ferro’s employees, too, and the word tyrant came up once or twice. And, if she was asked to sum up Ferro Calvaresi, nice guy wouldn’t be her words of choice.
But, neither of them had ever been accused of sexually harassing employees or female tech bloggers, either. Hamlin was a chauvinist pig with a capital oink, in addition to being generally unscrupulous. And if there was one thing she could not stand it was jackass men who thought they were entitled to a woman’s body just because they were men, or because they paid her wages, or whatever lame excuse they came up with to justify their behavior.
So, yeah, for that? She wanted Hamlin to fry. But she wasn’t going to come off as too eager to Ferro, either.
“The fact that you have to ask proves that you aren’t very familiar with Hamlin.”
“I’m pretty familiar with you and I’m not especially fond of you.” She looked down at her watch. An extravagant, custom-made piece with her patented OnePhone interface built into it, and started the stopwatch. “You have one minute to convince me to go in, Calvaresi, or I walk.”
“Sorry, cara mia, I don’t work that way.”
“So you aren’t even going to try?”
“I only have one thing to say on the subject. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.”