All I Want // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Forty

"I think we all know that this offer is more than any you'll receive anywhere else, and I think you'll also know that we are the best fit." Orsen says to the four men across from us.

Carter and his partner look over the proposal, faces giving away nothing. He hands hit over to his lawyer, and I watch him lean over, take a pen from his jacket pocket, cross something out, and write another, what I presume to be higher figure, on the paper.

This is exactly how the whole night has gone. They have been blue-balling us since I arrived, expecting us to eventually give in, but there was no way I would let that happen. Carter had to realize that that's not how we do business, and we sure as hell don't get knocked around like this. The only reason we are even at that high of an offer was because of my dad's intoxicated mind. He had somehow convinced Orsen that this was the best thing we could do to secure this account, even though it was absolutely crazy.

They hand the proposal back and I take it wordlessly. When I see the amount I can't help but laugh. All night I had let Orsen and Harry do the majority of the talking, only speaking up when it felt necessary. I needed to observe them, see how they tick, what gets them going. I've learned that Carter's partner is a bit over-bearing and thinks too highly of himself. He's been in the business for probably thirty years from what I've gathered, and thinks of himself as a savant of some sort. To his left was the programmer. He had spent three years coming up with the product and trying to find an investor by himself until he met Carter who decided to become a partner and take over the investment part of it. The programmer, Alec, knew practically nothing about our side of the business, a silicon valley transport who balked at the money figures we had thrown around casually.

Then there was Alexander Carter. He hadn't said much during the meeting, but it was clear who was the alpha amongst the four men. There was a moment before we started talking money that we held eye contact, sizing each other up. There seemed to be a mutual understanding between us, knowing that in the end it was down to the two of us, and I made it quite clear to him that I wasn't behind our offer in the first place.

I could tell Harry had his business partner in the palm of his hand, completely enamored by his effortless charm, so this was my chance to get Carter under my wing. Normally I would've had a bit more to go on, so I could control the conversation better, but he had kept out of my reach all this time, never giving me too much to go on, never meeting me in person. I have a feeling he did his research on me, and knew if I got my hooks sunk into him then it would be all over.

"You've got to be kidding me with this?" I toss the proposal onto the table carelessly, sending them a message. I take in a deep breath and decide to end this back and forth. I'm at my wit's end with this damn account, and everything from earlier was starting to become a little too much to suppress. I was fidgeting with my fingers, my leg was bobbing up and down, and I had drank an absurd amount of water tonight. "What's the problem here, Alexander? Why have you been playing this game?"

Everyone at the table looks at me, his lawyer looks taken aback, as does Orsen, never having seen me close to anything like this. Harry has been around me enough and heard me speak of all the different techniques I've used to close a deal, so he just sat back in his chair ready to watch.

Carter raised his eyebrows at me and answered, "I'm not playing a game, Madison-"

"Then what's stopping you?" I interrupt him, trying to get to the point of all this.

He looked at me for a moment before asking, "Maybe we should set up a time to go over all this. This time I hope Mr. Konrad can make it."

That's when it hit me: he felt slighted by my father. I'm sure when he heard that a Konrad was interested in investing he thought of him, not his twenty-six year old daughter. "So that's what it is. You want to deal directly with my father."