Page 13 of About that Fling
“Nor have the employees. Their trust in Belmont’s leadership team faltered after the incident.” She paused. “There was also an unfortunate situation last year with a forensic nurse charged with arson?—”
“She set fire to the hospital?” Adam couldn’t believe he’d missed that story.
“No, no the hospital. It happened at a winery forty miles from here, and our chief relations officer worked like crazy to keep any mention of the woman’s employer out of the media. She was mostly successful.” Kendall frowned. “Like I said, this was all before my time, but suffice it to say, our image has taken some hits in recent months.”
“Sounds that way.”
“And as I’m sure you’re aware,” she continued, “public perception is vital with a respected organization like Belmont.”
“I understand completely,” Adam said. “I appreciate your desire to keep contract negotiations out of the newspaper and off social media gossip channels. While I can’t control the actions of the bargaining team, I can assure you of my own discretion.”
“Good. That’s good.” Kendall took a deep breath. “I want to apologize again for my failure to make our meeting the other night. I had a personal situation to deal with”
“Not a problem. I totally understand. I hope everything’s okay now.”
She gave a tight nod, then folded her hands together on the desk. “My best friend is having some issues with her fiancé and I’ve had my hands full supporting her.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yes, well. Thank you.” Kendall cleared her throat. “I—um—I understand you also do other kinds of mediation? Outside the corporate world?”
“That’s correct,” Adam said.
“Your website mentioned you do couples counseling?”
Adam pushed the meeting agenda aside and gave her his full attention. “Not exactly. I spent ten years as a corporate attorney before going through a rather difficult divorce. It gave me some perspective on my career and my life choices, so I went back to school for a degree in counseling. When I’m not working with companies to improve their labor relations, I’m in private practice as a marital mediator.”
“Marital mediator?”
“For couples going through divorce,” he said. “Or deciding whether to split up. The idea is to work through the issues in a spirit of cooperation instead of launching costly legal battles. It’s surprisingly effective, not to mention much less expensive than a courtroom fight.”
Kendall sat nodding and glanced out the window. “My friend should probably talk to someone.”
Adam studied her face, wondering if “friend” was code for Kendall herself needing help.
She snapped her gaze back like she’d just read his mind. “It’s not me, I swear. But my friend—she’s actually done some work with Belmont’s food service department, but anyway.” Kendall cleared her throat. “They’ve been together ten years and it’s a really tricky breakup.”
“I understand.”
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m kinda rattled, and I know this is very unprofessional of me?—”
“Not at all,” Adam said. “Bridging the gap between emotional and professional is what I do.”
“Yes, that’s why we hired you.” She stood up and ran her hands down her pencil skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. “Shall we head over to the conference room?”
Adam studied her for a moment, then stood and stepped around the desk. “If you like, I can put together a list of local practitioners. There are some very good couples’ counselors in the Portland area. Let me make some phone calls for your friend, okay?”
Kendall seemed to hesitate, then nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I also appreciate your discretion. With everything.”
“Not a problem at all,” he said. “Let’s go to the conference room.”
They walked in silence down the hall and around a corner to a narrow corridor. Kendall paused at a blue door, hand on the knob. She turned back to Adam and offered a small smile.
“You ready for this?”
Adam nodded. “Let’s get this party started.”
She gave a weak smile, then turned the knob and pushed into the room. Adam walked three steps behind her, his eyes scanning the room for familiar faces. He noticed a thin man wearing a blue suit and a dark scowl, and Adam tried to smile at him. The man looked startled, then gave a stiff smile in return.
