Page 6 of About that Fling (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #2)
Adam nodded and continued flipping through the forms, studying the legal language as carefully as possible for a first pass.
“I hear you. Union negotiations can be especially tricky. You’re very smart to bring in outside assistance.
Sometimes professional mediation can really turn things around.
Once people are armed with compassionate communication techniques and new skills for conflict resolution, I often find it can turn a bad situation into a workable one. ”
“Yes, of course,” Kendall said, fidgeting with a gold pen on the corner of her desk. “The touchy-feely approach is something we haven’t tried yet. I look forward to seeing you work your magic.”
Adam laughed and flipped another page. “I wouldn’t call it magic, exactly. I’m just giving people the tools they need to communicate in a respectful, constructive fashion.”
She winced. “As opposed to shouting obscenities at each other and hurling paperclips from across the conference table?”
“Right,” Adam frowned. “How’s the CEO’s eye, by the way?”
“Better. He’ll be joining us today, of course. Here’s an agenda for today’s meeting. The list at the bottom has the names and titles of everyone who’ll be part of today’s discussion.”
She slid the piece of paper across the table toward him, and Adam skimmed over it.
Ten minutes for introductions, that was good.
He’d try to push for twenty, maybe introduce a brief get-to-know-you exercise to help break the ice.
He made a note in the margin beside an item about salary cap negotiations.
Better to save that conversation for the next meeting, to wait until they’d established a better sense of safety and security.
His eyes dropped to the names of participants.
Phil Gallow, the CFO. Adam hadn’t met the guy yet, but he’d heard good things.
Brett Lombard from the Oregon Nurses Association— he’d spoken with him in a phone conference a couple weeks ago.
Mia Dawson from the NICU—he didn’t know anything about her. Susan Schrader from?—
“Mr. Thomas?”
Adam looked up from the paper and caught the worried look in Kendall’s eye. “Yes?”
“You’ll be—um, well, discreet about all this, won’t you?”
“Labor negotiations are always confidential.”
“Certainly.” She fidgeted with her pen. “This organization has had problems in the past with the media.”
“Yes, I read about that. The previous CEO’s wife was running an escort service on the side?”
Kendall pressed her lips together and nodded once. “Yes. It was before my time at Belmont, and obviously that particular CEO is no longer with the organization.”
“But the media hasn’t forgotten?”
“Nor have the employees. Their trust in Belmont’s leadership team faltered after the incident.” She paused. “There was also an unfortunate situation last year with a forensic nurse charged with arson?—”
“She set fire to the hospital ?” Adam couldn’t believe he’d missed that story.
“No, no the hospital. It happened at a winery forty miles from here, and our chief relations officer worked like crazy to keep any mention of the woman’s employer out of the media.
She was mostly successful.” Kendall frowned.
“Like I said, this was all before my time, but suffice it to say, our image has taken some hits in recent months.”
“Sounds that way.”
“And as I’m sure you’re aware,” she continued, “public perception is vital with a respected organization like Belmont.”
“I understand completely,” Adam said. “I appreciate your desire to keep contract negotiations out of the newspaper and off social media gossip channels. While I can’t control the actions of the bargaining team, I can assure you of my own discretion.”
“Good. That’s good.” Kendall took a deep breath. “I want to apologize again for my failure to make our meeting the other night. I had a personal situation to deal with”
“Not a problem. I totally understand. I hope everything’s okay now.”
She gave a tight nod, then folded her hands together on the desk. “My best friend is having some issues with her fiancé and I’ve had my hands full supporting her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yes, well. Thank you.” Kendall cleared her throat. “I—um—I understand you also do other kinds of mediation? Outside the corporate world?”
“That’s correct,” Adam said.
“Your website mentioned you do couples counseling?”
Adam pushed the meeting agenda aside and gave her his full attention.
“Not exactly. I spent ten years as a corporate attorney before going through a rather difficult divorce. It gave me some perspective on my career and my life choices, so I went back to school for a degree in counseling. When I’m not working with companies to improve their labor relations, I’m in private practice as a marital mediator. ”
“Marital mediator?”
“For couples going through divorce,” he said. “Or deciding whether to split up. The idea is to work through the issues in a spirit of cooperation instead of launching costly legal battles. It’s surprisingly effective, not to mention much less expensive than a courtroom fight.”
Kendall sat nodding and glanced out the window. “My friend should probably talk to someone.”
Adam studied her face, wondering if “friend” was code for Kendall herself needing help.
She snapped her gaze back like she’d just read his mind. “It’s not me, I swear. But my friend—she’s actually done some work with Belmont’s food service department, but anyway.” Kendall cleared her throat. “They’ve been together ten years and it’s a really tricky breakup.”
“I understand.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m kinda rattled, and I know this is very unprofessional of me?—”
“Not at all,” Adam said. “Bridging the gap between emotional and professional is what I do.”
“Yes, that’s why we hired you.” She stood up and ran her hands down her pencil skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. “Shall we head over to the conference room?”
Adam studied her for a moment, then stood and stepped around the desk. “If you like, I can put together a list of local practitioners. There are some very good couples’ counselors in the Portland area. Let me make some phone calls for your friend, okay?”
Kendall seemed to hesitate, then nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I also appreciate your discretion. With everything.”
“Not a problem at all,” he said. “Let’s go to the conference room.”
They walked in silence down the hall and around a corner to a narrow corridor. Kendall paused at a blue door, hand on the knob. She turned back to Adam and offered a small smile.
“You ready for this?”
Adam nodded. “Let’s get this party started.”
She gave a weak smile, then turned the knob and pushed into the room.
Adam walked three steps behind her, his eyes scanning the room for familiar faces.
He noticed a thin man wearing a blue suit and a dark scowl, and Adam tried to smile at him.
The man looked startled, then gave a stiff smile in return.
His gaze moved next to a man and a woman in blue hospital scrubs with arms folded over their chests.
Defensive posture, nothing unexpected. Adam smiled at them, too, and they nodded in greeting.
A man in khakis beside them offered the first real smile Adam had seen.
Bolstered by that, Adam slid his gaze to the corner of the room where two women sat conferring over something on a phone screen.
The brunette had glossy hair that fell over her face, while the redhead had something vaguely familiar about her posture.
About the freckles on her arms and the gold pendant around her neck.
A family heirloom.
She’d worn it eight years ago on their wedding day.
Adam froze. All the blood drained from his head, and he heard it rushing past his ears. His hands went clammy, his mouth felt dry, and he gripped the back of a chair to keep from falling over.
Amelia looked up at him, her expression stunned and blank.
The other woman followed suit, her blue eyes locking with his and flashing shock, then horror.
Those same blue eyes he’d seen flash with pleasure two nights ago.
Adam opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.
International terrorist.
Supermodel.
Aromatherapy expert.
And a member of the bargaining team I just flew 2,100 miles to assist.
Adam took a shaky breath and stepped forward, hand extended to his ex-wife, brain locked on the woman whose perfume still lingered on his hotel pillow.