Slipperless Series (Book #2)(11)

I leaned further back in my chair. Picking up a pen from the table, I rolled the hard, smooth surface back and forth between the tips of my fingers for several seconds. At last, I pinched it between my thumb and forefinger and began to tap the pen on the conference table.

“Would you be willing to hear me out?”

“It better be good, Gabe,” he replied, with hardly a moment’s hesitation. “There’s an awful lot on the line here.”

I nodded. He was correct. There was.

“She’s rough around the edges, Don. I won’t deny it. But she’s brilliant, not to mention driven.”

“Mmm, hmm,” he said, as he nodded. A deep breath escaped from his nostrils as he looked at me. I remained silent for several seconds until at last, he spoke once more. “Fair enough, Gabe. But I don’t understand… Why her?”

“You don’t have to take my word for it, Don.” I said, with a casual wave of my hand. “Her academic record and lab work speaks for itself. She can do it.”

“This is all of our asses on the line here, Gabe. If she gets out there and melts down… It might be more than we’re able to recover from. You do see that, don’t you?”

I thinned my lips. Of course I understood it.

“How much speaking experience does she have?”

“To my knowledge? Next to none. In fact, she’s confided in me it terrifies her.”

Don shoved his elbows off the table. Leaning back in his chair, he thrust both arms skyward.

“Gabe! Jesus… I can’t believe you’d be so reckless.”

“I’m not being reckless, Don.” I said, as I bent at the waist, angling my upper body towards the table. I lowered the tone of my voice, as I continued, “It’s called taking a calculated risk. For fuck’s sake, how long have we known each other? Do you honestly think I would stake our entire future on something that I didn’t have full confidence in?”

Don just sat there, still trying to process what I’d said to him. I’m sure he was having a hard time understanding how I’d come to the conclusion that a woman of Fiona’s age would be the best possible choice to spearhead the most cutting edge endeavor the company had ever undertaken. But how do you explain a hunch, an intuition or a feel?

It’s impossible.

“No. Of course not, Gabe. It’s just… You’re asking me to take a helluva lot on faith here.”

“I know, Don. I know I am. Listen… we’ll head to St Barths. Everyone will have a great time. We’ll be fine. Fiona will be great.”

Don nodded in slow consideration before he spoke. “Well, it sounds to me as if my opinion is the least of your concerns.”

“What do you mean?”

“What you said about her being afraid to speak in public. How do you plan on getting her to go through with this?”

“There’s no easy answer, Don. I’ll just have to talk to her about it. Work with her on it. There’s no shortcut, unfortunately.”

Don sat in silence for a moment or two. “And what if she refuses?”

I shook my head. “That’s not happening. She’ll do it. Fiona doesn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“Sure she does,” he said right away. “She could quit.”

“She could… but she won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just am,” I began, as I interlocked my fingers. “Let’s just say that Fiona stands to gain more than she would lose by doing this.”

“Mmm, hmm,” he muttered. I remained silent, waiting for him to get on board or shoot the idea down. Whichever scenario presented itself, I was ready. “Okay…well, it sounds to me as if your mind is made up on this matter.”

“It is, Don,” I said, as I stood from my chair and prepared to see him out. “And for what it’s worth, I do believe it’s in the company’s best interest.”

Don rose from his chair as well and slid his suit coat on, as he prepared to leave. “Okay then, I’ll have my team make the arrangements for St. Barths. What time frame did you have in mind? It’s got to be soon doesn’t it?”

I started to walk towards my office door, with Don trailing behind.

“Yes, it does. I’ve got to speak with her and nail down some other details with the lab team. I’ll let you know about exact times soon.”

I stopped, turned towards him and extended my hand. We shook for several moments and then Don turned to go.

“Well, good luck on your discussion with Fiona.”

“Thanks, Don. But I don’t need luck. Trust me. It might be a bit bumpy with her at first, but before too long she’ll come around to our way of thinking. I’m telling you, my friend, we’ve got a real gem here.”