Page 18 of Due Diligence

“Nope,” I said, not missing a beat. “I was clear when I talked to Corinne Tyler that I didn’t want to see you back in this officeagain, and yet here you are. This has me questioning the sanity of the team over at Davenport-Ridgeway. If this is the kind of decision-making I can look forward to when I sell my life’s work, then I’m hesitant, if you catch my drift.”

“There’s no mistaking it,” she responded—and I had to say her tenacity was admirable. If she spoke to me the way I did to her, I would have walked out of the room by now.

I flicked an eyebrow upward and slanted my head. “So I reiterate: no. We can’t move forward.”

“Then it sounds like you’re walking back on the deal,” she noted, her tone unwavering. “Right? What I’m hearing, if I’mcatching your drift, is that you’re content to pass on five hundred million dollars.”

I paused, knowing that we were about to play an exceptionally dangerous game of chicken. “I want you off this deal,” I said, actively working to keep expletives out of my sentence. “That’s it. End of story.”

Cassie exhaled through her nose. She observed me for a few moments, wrangling in the silence like a pro. Good for her. I was still going to win this one—whether or not she knew it.

“Fine. You don’t want me on the deal—I get it. But who the fuck do you think you are trying to get me fired?”

Her response was soft-spoken, but somehow much more jarring that way. Neither of us reacted to her words the way that we should have. As a professional, Cassie should have been mortified that she just spoke that way to a business partner. As a stone-cold, seasoned tech douche who once won a share of Tesla stock from Elon Musk himself in a chugging contest, I shouldn’t have been fazed by a girl so prim and blond that she probably could have united every sorority in America under her leadership and challenged the president for rule of the nation.

But the thing was, Iwasfazed by her. The words caught in my throat, and it was only thanks to years of practice and therapythat I could keep the tension from my face. I leaned forward, letting my forearms rest on the tabletop. It was cold, downright uncomfortable. I couldn’t surrender my position though; I just had to grin and bear it. “Let’s be clear, Cassandra. You’re not going to come into my office and ask questions about my decisions,” I finally replied, eyes locked on hers. “I’m not sorry either. I don’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to ensure the best for Libra.”

Cassie scoffed. “And you don’t think I’m good enough to lead due diligence for your beloved company?”

Nope.

“I think the way you’re reacting to some well-timed feedback from your own company is a sure sign that no—you’renotgood enough to lead due diligence for Libra.”

Hearing my response, she shifted from her power pose and stood up straight. “You really think you know anything about me?” She shook her head. “Please. You may think you have me pegged, but I can guarantee you don’t know anything.”

“Okay.”

“And fine—if you want me gone? Screw it. I’mgone.”

Cassie began to pack up her things, preparing to storm out for the third day in a row. Relief started to creep into my being. By the end of the day, she was bound to be out of my life for good—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

But there was still this part of me left unresolved and without closure as I watched her slide her arms into her coat. I could tell I had angered her, but I just wished I had done so much more. It only seemed fair, after what she put me through.

“This is a hell of a story coming from a woman who lied about knowing me,” I called out, just as she put her hand on the doorknob.

Cassie paused with her back to me. Her shoulders pulled together and her fingertips lingered on the edge of the handle,running languidly along the metal. Slowly, she rotated to face me. Her expression was flat, but I could tell she was working to keep it that way. Her jawline tensed, likely the result of her clenching her teeth together.

“You think I lied?”

“I know you did. You knew where we met,” I challenged, nodding my chin at her. “You’ve been trying to hide it this whole time.”

Still sporting a poker face, Cassie folded her arms. “You’re making a lot of assumptions.”

“So, let’s say I’m wrong.” I shut my laptop with a snap. I leaned back in my seat and rested my hands on the armrests. “Let’s say I’m wrong and let’s pretend you don’t remember me. I toyed with that notion once, but it just doesn’t make sense.”

“Why not?”

“You’re many things, but you’re not dumb, Cassandra. I only spent three months in college, but in that amount of time I knew you were in a class all your own. You remembered me.”

Face steely, she continued to stare at me.

“Tell me how you somehow don’t remember throwing a cup of Milwaukee's Best in my face. Tell me how you don’t remember the things you said to the most successful person to come out of our class. I know we were both drunk that night, but we weren’t blacked out or anything.”

Without another word, I got to my feet and I walked over to her. I stopped when I was about a foot away, leaving her staring up at my face. For once, it occurred to me just how small she was. Something about the way she carried herself always gave me the impression she was taller, more commanding. No, now that we were standing right next to each other, for once, I realized she was petite—pure gravitas and nothing more.

I shook my head as I glared down at her. “God, Cassandra, I remember it like it was yesterday. Or should I say,Cassie.” Ireached out and I picked a piece of lint off her shoulder. Except, there was no lint there. Her jacket was pristine—as usual. But my performance must have been convincing enough because she briefly broke eye contact to glance down at my hand.

“Don’t call me Cassie,” she muttered after a long pause, her eyes still averted down at her shoulder.

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