Maria took another sip of her water, buying herself some time. She knew what had happened—Micha had told her as much—she just wanted to see how Daniel saw it. Needed to, in order to know whether the plan she had to rectify it would work.
‘Mmm?’ Daniel questioned.
‘Yes. Mmm. I am thinking. I am also wondering if you know how many contracts GG was dealing with at that specific time, given the transition of power from my grandfather to the man he chose to follow in his footsteps.’
‘If that had been the case, I might have been more understanding, but I’d heard rumours.’
Maria cut a glance to Micha, who, this time, was not just frowning, but positively scowling.
‘Rumours that suggested that you, and not Mr Rufina, were Gio’s intended heir.’
Maria silently cursed. It wasn’t Micha who would be the downfall of this company, but whatever member of her family had a big mouth and seemed intent on letting the whole thing burn rather than trying to save it.
‘But you are back. Wife and CFO. That could change things.’
She hoped to god that the dim lighting in the restaurant hid the blush of anger painting her cheeks. Of course, a man would see her marriage first. She opened her mouth to speak but Micha got there first.
‘I think you’ll find, Mr Peterson, that marriage to me comes a lot further down the list of Maria’s priorities than Gallo Group.’ Micha’s voice was low, but cutting. But not to her. The cut was to him. To Peterson. The man who they had come here intending to woo. ‘And if you don’t see that, and don’t want to continue with Gallo Group with Maria as CFO, secure in the knowledge that under her, your wealth will increase exponentially, then I’m not entirely sure that we want to do business with you,’ he said, leaning back in his chair. ‘Now, I understand your concern. Reading over a contract that differed to our verbal agreement must have been jarring. However, like Gio, I strongly believe in giving chances to staff, letting them try and letting them learn. And lessons were learned. The staff member is still in our employ and has not—in fact—made another mistake yet, despite working on multiple contracts simultaneously. You can be assured, he never will.
‘Now the question moves to whetherIwant to work with someone who gets their—how do the English say?—knickers in a twist because a new hire used the wrong contract template. This speaks to me of someoneungracious.’
‘Micha,’ Maria cut in from across the table in warning. He had made his point. Rubbing Daniel’s nose in it wouldn’t help at all.
‘Darling,’ he bit back with a sinful smile.
She turned to Peterson. ‘He is being defensive on my behalf.’
Daniel grinned. ‘As he should, and very much as I’d hoped he would be. Maria, I hope you know me well enough to know that I am completely aware of your skills and your contribution to Gallo Group and would never dismiss you as “just a wife.” I just wanted to see how that dynamic would play out. So, okay, you have me intrigued. I want to know what your new offer is.’
‘Why should we make any changes to the original terms?’ Maria asked, her words clear as a bell.
‘Because I know how much you need me,’ Daniel said.
‘Needed.We have, of course, in the last few months been exploring other avenues,’ Maria lied without compunction.
Daniel raised an eyebrow, willing to entertain the threat that Maria had dangled before him, like the stick instead of the carrot, and Micha didn’t know whether to be impressed, or infuriated, but he was willing to see how this played out.
‘I don’t believe you,’ the Englishman said slowly.
‘That’s irrelevant. We have been exploring a rebranding. Clearly there are people who have had some difficulties reacting to the changing of the guard, which leaves us with two options. To hold fast,or…’
‘We completely rebrand. Fresh blood, new contracts, new appearance,’ Micha picked up seamlessly.
‘You wouldn’t. That’s crazy,’ Daniel said with a shake of his head.
‘No, it’s a gamble. And one that could very well pay off. There are quite a number of people out there who are getting tired of fusty old men making the same decisions over and over and over again,’ Maria interjected.
‘And some people are attracted to a little bit of crazy,’ Micha replied with an arrogant smirk, sure to exacerbate the rumours of his rebellious business sense.
‘And the board?’ Daniel asked pointedly.
‘Will fall in line,’ Maria replied with all the confidence that Micha didn’t believe for a single second.
Peterson leaned back in his chair, his gaze flicking between Maria and Micha. A waiter approached, and veered swiftly away with a single flick of Peterson’s hand.
‘Mmm.’ The sound was almost a growl. And almost approving. ‘You work horribly well together. And I’d rather be on your side than against it.’ With a nod, he stood from the table. ‘I believe I have taken up enough of your honeymoon as it is.’ Peterson cast a look between them. ‘I will happily sign on the terms as originally agreed. But I leave you with a warning. Someone is stirring the pot. And you need to find out who, or there won’t be a company for me to sign with.’
He left Maria and Micha in stunned silence with empty dessert plates in front of them, which the waiter came to take away as Maria struggled to catch up with what had just happened.
