Page 35 of A Christmas Negotiation

Of course, now he had no choice but to call his dad and explain what was going on. As the phone rang, dread began to build in his system, and all Jeremy could think was that this entire situation was wrong, starting with the fact that he couldn’t stand to speak to a man he should have been able to trust and confide in—his own father.

“I just got off the phone with Mr. Summers,” Jeremy started. “We’re meeting tomorrow morning. I’m presenting the terms of the negotiation to him. I’m hoping he can put aside what happened in the papers today and agree to everything. He’ll get his money. He’ll get that and more.”

“That’s not even my worry anymore, Jeremy. My concern is that you have caused irreparable damage to our firm’s reputation. You’re making us look like a bunch of hacks.”

“Dad. I’m not a public relations guy. I have no control over what runs in the newspaper.”

“But if you had put this case to bed at that first meeting, if you had the nerve to be ruthless with Ms. Blackwell, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

“It wouldn’t have changed the tabloid story. That still could have run.”

“And Summers would have had his settlement by then. At that point, Sharp and Sharp would only be bandied about as the firm who had come out on top. Instead, we’re flopping around like a fish out of water.” His father cleared his throat. “I think I need to level the playing field.”

“By doing what exactly?”

“We need to get rid of Ms. Blackwell. Get Eden’s to fire her.”

“They won’t fire her. Her brother is engaged to Mindy Eden. He’s a special adviser to the store.” Jeremy couldn’t explain further, about how Isabel felt like she was part of the Eden family and how it all meant a great deal to her. He couldn’t divulge his personal involvement with her. It would infuriate his father to no end, and Jeremy had to admit, he would be justified in being angry.

“Trust me, they’ll get rid of her when she’s a liability, and I know exactly how to make that happen. Then they’ll hand it over to their in-house counsel. You can steamroller those guys in your sleep.”

“Dad. Please don’t do anything reckless. Just let me meet with Summers tomorrow morning and see where we get. Just give me this one last chance.”

THIRTEEN

Monday morning had arrived, which meant it was do-or-die time. Jeremy would be leaving the house in a half hour to meet with Mr. Summers. He hoped that Ben had taken some time to cool off. He hoped that he could see that there was no point in letting pride get in the way. It was time for an agreement. An armistice. That was the best-case scenario for Jeremy and he wanted it so badly he could taste it.

Sunday had been horrible—Jeremy stewing in his office and Isabel in the guest room, tucked away. Their only real interaction came when she got a delivery and he brought it to her room.

“This came from the drugstore.” He handed her the paper shopping bag, hating that he felt as though he had to stay out of a room in his own house.

“Thank you,” she said, clutching it to her chest. “I got a call from the Bacharach and I can move back in on Tuesday morning. If you want, I can see if Mindy and Sam can take me in. Or maybe I could stay in Mindy’s grandmother’s old apartment.”

“Don’t do that. Just stay. It’s fine.” He desperately wanted that to be true. It was killing him to not be where they’d been mere hours before that, enjoying each other’s company, touching each other, kissing.

“I know this story just made everything worse. And I’m really sorry for that. I still don’t know what happened, but I will get to the bottom of it. I wish I had something you could tell Mr. Summers, but I don’t.”

“Okay. I still plan to meet with him tomorrow morning. No telling what he’s going to say, but I will present our agreement to him if you still want me to.”

Isabel had picked at her fingernail, seeming to want any reason to not look at him. “I’ll do the same and I guess we’ll just see where we end up?”

He nodded in agreement. “Do you want something to eat?”

She shook her head. “Not right now. Maybe later. I’m tired and I have work to do.”

“Okay then. Let me know if you need anything.” He’d been about to walk away when she said one more thing.

“I checked on the kittens while you were in your office. I made sure Cat got some food and water. They seem like they’re doing well.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

With that, she’d shut the door, and Jeremy was left much like he’d been before Isabel had arrived on his doorstep—alone. It stayed like that for the rest of the day. And the night. And for all of that morning.

In his closet, he was choosing a suit to wear for his meeting with Mr. Summers when he heard one of the kittens mewing. In all of the commotion of yesterday, he’d frankly forgotten that they were there. The two orange kittens were nursing, but the other one was wandering around the box, bumping into the sides. Cat would nudge at her with her nose occasionally, but the kitten, quite frankly, seemed lost. Jeremy was unsure of what to do, but something told him he had to help the poor thing, so he reached in, picked it up and placed her next to her siblings, mouth near Cat’s belly. He watched as she rooted around and latched on to nurse. There was some consolation in that one silly achievement—today wouldn’t have to be a total loss.

After dressing, he went into his office to gather his things. That was when Isabel appeared at his door. She was just as beautiful as always, but he could tell that there was something on her mind. She wasn’t her normal lively self, and the dread that prompted in him made him sick to his stomach.