Page 10 of One Year Ago in Spain
Yolanda and Kwame launched into an update on where negotiations stood with the officers of Einstein Corp., the company that Intelligentsia was trying to acquire. Across the deskfrom Claire, the two first-year associates typed notes furiously on their laptops.
Claire had a yellow legal pad on her desk, just in case she needed it. But mostly she didn’t. She lived and breathed this merger and knew every nook and cranny. She’d written all the main acquisition documents, and if she wasn’t the author of all the side agreements, she had read them at least a dozen times.
“So,” Yolanda said. “Jennifer Kahale-Brewster is demanding that Intelligentsia double the number of RSU grants in her employment agreement, or she won’t sign.”
Claire put the phone on mute to explain to the first-years. “RSU stands for restricted stock unit, which is incentive compensation given to executives.” The associates dutifully scribbled down the definition.
Mitch blew up. “Double the RSUs? Who does she think she is that she can hold this deal hostage?”
“To be fair,” Claire said, “Jenniferistheir chief technology officer.”
“I don’t care if she’s the fucking president of the United States,” Mitch said. “Tell her that if she insists on being so damn unreasonable, then how will she feel when the merger falls apart and she getszeroIntelligentsia stock?”
The first-years had gone still, eyes wide. But Claire pursed her lips and tried not to laugh, because she knew Mitch well enough after working with him for the past eight months that she understood how to manage him. Mitch Tahir led with fire, and he only respected those who could fire back.
“You need her, Mitch,” Claire said bluntly. “She can hold thisdeal hostage and you’ll end up giving her exactly what she wants, because without her, you have nothing. There is no point in buying Einstein Corp. if you don’t have Jennifer on board. So let’s not waste your time—”
“Fine, fine,” Mitch grumbled. “Give Jennifer what she wants. Next?”
Claire winked at the first-years, who were looking at her like she’d just defused a bomb with her bare teeth.
Kwame, the other employment lawyer, began explaining the pros and cons of lengthening the chief operations officer’s contract.
The door to Claire’s office opened. Her secretary, George, popped his grizzled head in and waved to catch Claire’s attention.
She shook her head and pointed to the phone. Why was George interrupting her? It was obvious she was on a call, and he could easily look at her calendar and see that it was a very important one.
But George, who was usually great at anticipating Claire’s needs and requests, took another step into her office and made his hand into the shape of a phone with pinkie and thumb extended, and put it up to his ear.
Annoyed, Claire mouthed,Not. Now.
George, however, started to look panicked. Then he strode over, grabbed the yellow legal pad from in front of Claire, and scrawled in Sharpie and underlined twice.
There was an accident.
Matías’s sister is on your other line.
Claire’s heart went into freefall.
She couldn’t move.
But she could hear every pound of her pulse. Feel every twinge of nerves as their focus shifted from the adrenaline of a billion-dollar merger to the terror of something happening to Matías. She choked as she tried to remember how to breathe.
“Claire?” George whispered.
“Oh god!” she shouted as the weight of George’s message truly hit her. She jumped up from her chair, loudly knocking over her mug of pens in the process.
The call went silent for a second.
Then Mitch said, “Is there a problem, Claire?”
“I—I have an emergency. Continue without me,” she said, already halfway out of her office.
“This is unacceptable, Claire—” Mitch was saying, but she didn’t hear the rest because she was hurling herself into the hallway after George.
“Matías’s sister is on hold,” he said. “You can take the call at my desk.”
Claire careened around the edge of George’s cubicle and snatched the phone, hands shaking as she pressed the blinking red button.
