Read The Game Online

Authors: Camille Oster

The Game (8 page)

BOOK: The Game
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“Nothing,” she said.  She had spoken before she thought and she wished she hadn’t, but then she refused to be a chicken.  “Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“Probably more than you can count,” he said dismissively.

“I guess that depends on your definition between a girlfriend and a date,” she said.

“And what would you say the difference is?”

“I don’t know, someone you care about, someone you want to spend your downtime with.  Let’s say someone you’ve cooked for.”

“I don’t cook.”

“Alright, someone you’ve introduced to your parents.”


That’s a stupid definition.”

“You’ve never introduced anyone to your parents?” she said disbelievingly.

“Not on purpose,” he said with a smile.  It was the first time she’d seen him smile.  It was a kind of lopsided smile that just conveyed wickedness.  It also made her insides melt.  That was the smile of a shared secret and she wasn’t sure whether she should feel honored.

“That is shocking,” she said with a little amused shake of her head, “you’re one of those guys.”

“What guys?”

“A serial dater,” she accused.  He shrugged, she had obviously got to the truth, although it wasn’t a great leap, he was photographed in the papers with a new girl every weekend.

“And what about you, are you looking for a husband, someone to give you 2.4 children and a nice house?”

“What is wrong with that?”

“It’s boring,” he said.  She was a little shocked at first due to the fact that he’d just referred to her dream as boring.  Obviously a recurring perception.  She could take it to heart, but she let it flow off her. 

“If having a family and a normal life
is boring, then maybe I just am,” she said.  It was actually something she wished she had said to her ex, but she had been too shocked at the time to really react.

“And what kind of man would you like to shackle yourself to?” he asked.  She got the feeling that he perhaps
didn’t have an entirely good opinion of the institution.

“I’m not actually fussy,” she said a little bit jokingly.  “Just a decent person, I think.”  Alright, this was not the direction she had expected the conversation to go.  Far from it, but it was nice to discuss something a little less charged than the Clarion partnership
proposal.

“What
about the girl at the Hyatt?” she asked.  He shrugged. 

“Girls like that
aren’t the marrying kind,” he said.  “And if they are, they’re not overly concerned with decency.”

She wanted to ask what the whole point was of being with those
kinds of girls, but she could well imagine the look he would give her.  He thought she was naïve and silly, she expected.

The waiter returned and Jane ordered pasta.  She didn’t think she could manage anything heavier.  He didn’t seem to have any such qualms as he ordered a steak with a rich béarnaise sauce.  She wondered if the
heat affected him at all.  He’d spent a bit of time here; maybe he acclimatized easier because of it.

“Are you planning on staying in your role for long?” she asked after a few moments of silence. 

“I have no plans to leave,” he said.  “I am often approached, but have found no reason to move on.  I’ve always worked on the kind of projects I wanted to at Symax.”

“You seem to get the most distinguished ones.”

“You have done well in Contil,” he said.  “What do you think your next step is?”

“I haven’t really planned a next step,” Jane admitted. 

“So you’re not one of those girls who ruthlessly climbs the corporate ladder, looking for the next opportunity.”

“I suppose I take it one opportunity at a time.”

“What do you like to do outside of work?” he asked.  She felt a little like she was being interrogated.

“Normal stuff, I guess.”  Actually she couldn’t think of an answer.  She loved pottering around the house, reading, normal kind of things, but they sounded boring in her head. 

“A very evasive answer,” he said with a smile.  She couldn’t help but be impressed with his smile; it had a charm that she suspected every girl noticed.  Combined with his eyes, which seemed to pick up on the tiniest detail.  She felt like she was being scrutinized, which might have been the purpose of this dinner.  She wondered if she was actually here for some reason.  Maybe he was having a ‘quiet’ word with her, like he had in the pool.  So far he hadn’t gotten to the point of the evening, which may be some form of intimidation.  She had felt it on more than one occasion. 

“I’m just quite
normal; I don’t have any extreme hobbies like kite boarding or para-gliding.  I like normal things, shopping, lunch with friends.”


How positively mediocre.” he said.  He was teasing her, but she wondered if underneath the lightness, he was mocking her.


Normal things with normal friends.  You can call it mediocre if you want.  I say if it works, don’t worry about it.  Don’t you have friends?”

“Honestly, not really.
  I have more acquaintances than I can count, they usually serve a purpose or engage in a specific type of activity, but I don’t sit around a yak about my week.”

Jane furrowed her
eyebrows; she couldn’t imagine what his life was like.  She couldn’t really imagine how he lived.  “I would get really lonely.”

“Alone perhaps, I wouldn’t go as far as to say lonely,” he said. 
“Perhaps more a difference between men and women.”

“I don’t envy you,” she said honestly.  Her statement
surprised him, she could tell.

“A lot of people do,” he said.

“I’m sure.”  The food arrived and she busied herself.  Maybe pasta wasn’t the best choice.  It was spaghetti and it was messy eating.  Utterly delicious though.  When they were finished, he ordered another scotch for himself and a gin and tonic for her.  He didn’t ask her, he just ordered it.  It was the first time someone had ordered something for her without asking, except perhaps Edmund when he ordered in expectation of her arrival.  She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it.  Maybe it was normal for him.  Maybe he’d just forgotten that he hadn’t asked her, but he did remember what she ordered before.

The drink arrived and she grabbed the heavy glass.  It felt strange taking a sip of something that had been imposed on her; although there had been so many things imposed on her in this job,
so what was a drink? 

It wasn’t a huge drink, but they didn’t water drinks down either.  The bitterness was actually perfect to clear the creamy pasta taste from her mouth.  Now she’d had two strong drinks and she was starting to feel a little relaxed.  It could be said that
this slight relaxation was being imposed on her too because in no way did his company feel relaxing.  It felt strange being lulled by alcohol in company that was clearly dangerous.  Not dangerous in the way that he would do anything to her, but he had so much more power than she did, and he would destroy her prospects if it hadn’t been for the support Mr. Carmichael gave her.

“You ready?” he said before long, and she nodded.  They got up to leave.  It was dark outside now.  The distant view had been replaced by a landscape of disembodied lights arranged in strange patterns that highlighted the streets and buildings, and the
surprising number of boats in the water not too far away.

“It really is a beautiful city,” she said unguardedly.

“Yes,” he said.  He pressed the button for the lift and they waited.  She kept her eyes down, he was watching her, she felt it.  His shoes were beautiful, probably Italian.  He did like dressing well.  The wait was unbearable.

She wondered what it would be like to actually be his date, for this to be the end of the evening as they were ready to head back to wherever it was he took his women.  She couldn’t help but feel her stomach flip like it did when you drove fast over an unexpected depression in the road.  Not that she was his date, or ever would be.  This was the alcohol
’s influence, she decided, it made her think stupid things.

They stood facing each other in the lift.  He looked relaxed like he had no concerns in the world.

“The Clarion people are very keen on a deal,” she finally said.  She hadn’t really achieved anything during the dinner.  She had to get on with her plan on getting them all on the same page.

“Of course they are,” he said.

“They seem to have a lot of respect for you.  They are very keen on working with you.”

“I don’t make deals based on flattery, Jane.  You should learn
not to get distracted by such tactics.”

“I’m not distracted,” she defended herself.  “And they were complimenting you, not me.  It’s a good deal.”

“It’s a risky deal.”

“They have excellent resources.”

“They’re also in bed with the competition.”


As is everyone in this industry.”

“I don’t like working with partners that don’t have any skin in the game.  Clarion has no stake in the success of our bid; they are just as well off
with the competitors.  We can get a better partner.”

“Except our response time has effectively been slashed to nothing.”

“It’s my bid, Jane,” he said with finality.  “If Carmichael wants to run it, he’s welcome to, but he’s not here, is he?  I’m not having him ramming stuff down my throat.”   Jane felt the intensity of his words.  Jane felt warning bells go off in her head.  Damon was angry and she had just provoked him.

“I’m just saying we should hear them out.”

“You know full well that Carmichael is doing more than that.  Don’t lie to me Jane, I don’t like it.”

“I’m not lying,” she said.  He stepped a bit closer and she was about to take a step back
, but she forced herself to stay.  He put up his hand toward her back and indicated toward the opening lift doors.

“After you,” he said.  He didn’t look angry, maybe a little amused.

“You’ve got guts,” he said as she stepped out of the lift.  She didn’t know how to respond, not that he gave her a chance to.   They were just about outside and there was a taxi waiting.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane made her way down to breakfast the next day.  It had become the norm that they ate together and there was a group already there before she arrived, including Damon, who was dressed more formally that he
had been the previous evening. 

The taxi ride back to the hotel had been uncomfortab
le, particularly as she seemed so extremely aware of his physical presence.  She hated being accused of lying, it was untrue and unfair.  She was in an untenable situation trying to juggle the different directives and requirements.

Damon
acknowledged her with a nod.  He wasn’t smiling, but she hadn’t expected it as he didn’t smile that often, but she guessed acknowledgement was a step up from the scowl she normally got from him.

There was light banter going around the group.  There had been a Rugby game on between Australia and Argentina, and these things required analysis in the aftermath.  She could watch a game, although she hadn’t in this c
ase, but analysing it afterward was a step too far.  The chatter basically indicated that breakfast was coming to an end.

“What are you doing today?” Damon asked her when they were moving to the entrance of the hotel.

“I am finishing off the evaluation document.”  She got a small version of the sardonic grin.  She was amusing him in some way.  He obviously thought her work with regards to a formal evaluation was a waste of time.

“Does it take into account lack of fidelity?” he asked, referring to his belief that Clarion was working with competitors as well.

“It evaluates proposals, both the strengths and weaknesses, and weights them according to importance.”

“But some things are just deal breakers.”

“We cannot punish someone for standard operating procedures,” she said trying to deflect his scrutiny.

“I can,” he said.

Their taxi pulled up, and she ended up sitting in the middle between Damon and one of the architects.  She suppressed rolling her eyes as the seating arrangements became clear.  She didn’t want to get stuck sitting next to Damon on a squeezed in taxi ride while he ripped her work to bits.

She tried not to touch him, but he was large for the cramped space.  Maybe they should have gotten a third taxi, she thought.  That way she wouldn’t have to touch him. 
This trip was just full of uncomfortable taxi rides.  One shouldn’t have to touch one’s work colleagues.  No matter how she moved, she couldn’t escape touching his thigh.  It was firm and unyielding.  She also felt the material of his pants on her bare lower leg.

She was mortified as she felt her body respond.  Her body was reacting to him being there, so close and touching.  She was even enveloped in his cologne
even though it was very subtle.  She crossed her arms in front of her in case her nipples showed through the revealing silk dove gray blouse she was wearing.  Why had she chosen to wear this blouse?  Because it looked gorgeous with the dark navy pencil skirt.  It made her look professional and she needed to look professional at the moment.  He may not respect her or her processes, but she could look the part.  Although now there was the danger of her looking extremely unprofessional if she reacted like this every time he came near her, because this blouse would show it like beacons.

BOOK: The Game
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