She Handed Me a Paper Plate, So I Canceled Her Whole Family novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: Grounds

On Friday I walked into the Stamford Chamber of Commerce lunch with Daniel at my side, on purpose.

Two hundred people were eating chicken at round tables, and every one of them had seen the petition.

It had reached the business pages by Thursday night.

PATHLIGHT CEO NAMED IN SPOUSE'S ADULTERY FILING, said a headline on somebody's phone.

Conversation dropped as we crossed the carpet.

"Smile," Daniel muttered.

"I am."

"You look like you're about to bill someone."

"I'm going to," I said, and smiled wider.

We took the table at the front, and the woman beside me found something to do with her salad.

Across the aisle sat a rival chief executive I had beaten for two contracts that year.

He was a heavy man with a heavy watch, and he lifted his glass toward us with great friendliness.

"Hartnell. Reeve. Good to see you both working so closely."

A few people at the next table laughed into their napkins.

I put my fork down.

"Thank you," I said, in the carrying voice I used for investors. "You're right, we do work closely. He's in every one of my meetings."

I let the silence go one beat longer.

"He reads every contract I sign, line by line, and tells me what I missed. It's an intimate business."

The man with the watch began to smile.

"In fact, you'd know," I said. "You lost the regional grocery account to us because he found the clause in your pricing that doubled the fee in year two."

The smile left his face.

"I imagine some of your people are in this room," I said, looking around gently. "Please, ask them how close we are."

Somebody at the back clapped once and stopped.

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