Page 37 of About that Fling
There were a couple scowls from the other camp, but most people were observing with expressions that ran the gamut from amusement to embarrassment to thoughtful intrigue.
“It’s harder for my cat to get to when it rolls from underneath,” shared the CFO. “One time when I had it rolling over the top, Maggie spun the whole roll into a giant pile on the floor and then took a nap on it.”
A few people laughed, lightening the mood a bit, and Adam said a silent thank you to Phil Gallow for bringing pets into the equation. That was always a good equalizer with a crowd like this.
“My mom taught me to always roll it over the top.” Adam turned to look at Susan Schrader, the other union rep who’d ended up on the same side of the room as the CEO. The fact that neither had thrown a punch yet seemed like progress.
Susan rubbed her hands together and continued. “She and my dad used to fight about it, actually, and he said she should be thankful that he changed the roll at all.”
“My parents were the same way,” the CEO said, looking surprised to be bonding with his sworn enemy over bath tissue. “My mom liked to fold the end of the paper into a little fan when we had company coming.”
“I just think it looks tidier.”
Adam recognized Jenna’s voice without having to turn, but his eyes slid to the “under” side of the room anyway. Jenna shrugged, her cheeks faintly pink as she touched the pendant at the center of her throat. “When it rolls from underneath, it’s more hidden. It looks neater that way.”
He nodded, trying not to read too much into Jenna’s fondness for keeping things tidy and hidden. He heard his ex-wife laugh across the room, and he forced himself to turn to her with the same impassive expression he’d given everyone else.
“In my house, we count our blessings if the toilet paper makes it onto the dispenser at all,” Mia said. “Preteen girls don’t always have the best recall when it comes to household chores. Honestly, do they think there’s a magical fountain of toilet paper that just appears on the roll?”
“I hear you, sister,” called a woman Adam recognized as a physician who’d been asked to join the bargaining team on the medical side. “Try living with three teenage boys.”
There were some titters of agreement from other parents in the room, and Adam nodded along with them. He’d forgotten Mark had a daughter from a previous marriage, which would make Mia a stepmother now. The uncharitable side of his brain flashed on an image of the wicked stepmother from Cinderella, but most of him hoped the kid was doing okay. That Mia was doing okay.
A movement on the “under” side of the room caught his eye as the chief clinical officer stood and made his way to the other camp. Adam watched him go, pleased at the unexpected acknowledgment of the validity of arguments from the opposite side.
“Changing your mind about your preferences, Doug?” Adam called. “That’s not an uncommon response to hearing the thought processes from the other side of an issue, no matter how small it may seem. Great to see you illustrating that so clearly.”
“Nah, I misunderstood the question when you asked.” He flashed a sheepish grin and tugged his necktie as he took a spot on the “over” side of the room. “Thought you were talking about wiping methods, not how the roll should spin.”
A few people snort-laughed at that, and Adam saw Jenna cover her mouth to hide a smile. Adam grinned and gave the CCO a mock salute. “Doug, in three years of doing this exercise, I can’t say I’ve ever had someone say that.”
“I fancy myself a trendsetter,” the man said, grinning back as he tugged off his tie. Another good sign, Adam thought, glancing around the room again to see a number of others loosening up.
“We can always use more outside-the-box thinkers when it comes to negotiations,” Adam agreed.
He cleared his throat and went back to addressing the whole room. “Okay, so obviously everyone has reasons for feeling the way they do about toilet paper distribution. Can we all agree on that?”
There were a few nods around the room. A board member whose name slipped Adam’s memory raised her hand a little timidly. “I never really thought about why I did it that way. I just always have.”
“I might have to try that trick going under.” Adam turned to see Susan Schrader looking at the other side of the room with an odd mix of surprise and respect. “My cat does the same thing with the toilet paper.”
“Works great,” the CFO said, looking a whole lot friendlier than he’d been ten minutes ago. “We also got one of those scratching posts to put in the corner of the bathroom and that seems to help.”
“I’ll give that a try. Thanks for the tip.”
Adam smiled, always pleased when someone created the perfect segue. “That’s the way it is with a lot of opinions we hold,” he said. “Sometimes there’s a lot of thought and research that goes into them, and sometimes it’s just the way we’ve always done things. Either way, we all have valid reasons for making the choices we make.”
He picked up the glass of water he’d nabbed at the start of the session and took a drink, holding the pause until he set the glass down again. “As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this isn’t just about toilet paper.”
A few folks nodded, several looking decidedly less bored or hostile than they had at the start of the session.
“What I’m hoping right now is that you’re all taking a moment to reflect on the idea that each person in this room has a valid reason for wanting things the way he or she wants them,” Adam said, letting his gaze travel from one team member to the next as he held eye contact for at least three seconds. “Obviously we can’t all have things precisely the way we like in every situation, but we need to keep in mind that everyone’s opinion has merit and value.”
He let his words hang there in the air for a moment as continued making eye contact with everyone. The CEO looked thoughtful, which Adam hoped was a good sign. Mia looked amused, and maybe a little bewildered. Adam wondered what that was about, but didn’t dwell on it as he shifted his gaze to Jenna.
When his eyes found hers, Adam felt his pulse kick up. He fought the urge to look away, letting himself linger for a few beats while the room buzzed around him and everything else melted away. His heart thundered, and he felt certain everyone could see his palms growing damp, hear his pulse thrumming in his head. He watched Jenna’s chest rise as she took a steadying breath. She held his eyes, not looking away, not even blinking.
At last, Adam shook off the trance. He let his gaze slide to the CFO, then the board president, and all the rest of the faces that watched him with rapt attention. Not one of them gave an indication of having noticed his connection with Jenna. Had he imagined the intensity of it, or just the duration?
