Page 9 of The Second Ending
She might survive the morning, after all.
Soon, Masako and her assistant hurried in. Lana was an efficient young woman in her mid-twenties, whose dreamy manner belied her capabilities. She was rather pretty, with large brown eyes and a ready smile. She always seemed like she hadn’t quite heard what you just said, but could repeat it verbatim if you asked.
They exchanged greetings, thanked the young man from Laconia who offered them coffee, and waited. Masako brought out her laptop, Lana arranged her tablet and some notepads before her, and Ashleigh stared at the door, willing it never to open, willing the floor to open up and swallow her.
But to no avail. She was still sitting there in one piece when the traitorous door did swing wide, and Marcus strode through. There was not the first suggestion in his demeanour that he was anything other than confident, and not a sign that he even noticed her.
He nodded his head to Masako, who stood to shake his hand, and said the right things when introduced to Lana. His eyes only flickered to Ashleigh when Masako mentioned her name.
“Well, let’s get to business,” he announced without another word. “We have a lot to discuss, and hope we’ll be able to reach some sort of agreement that will be of benefit to all of us. I believe you have some plans, Ms Matsuzawa? Or,” he turned towards Lana as she began shuffling some stapled piles of paper, “Miss…”
“Lana will do,” she replied.
“Ah, we’re dispensing with formalities. Excellent. I’ve never been one for artificial puffery.” Now his eyes did dart towardsAshleigh, for just a moment, just long enough. “First names it shall be, then. More collaborative, after all. Cooperation is the best way to get anything done. I disapprove of antagonism for the sake of it. Well, Lana, what do you have there?” His businesslike smile widened as she gazed up at him.
She returned his grin, handed over the document she had in her hand, and the discussion began in earnest.
It was a painful meeting, but not unproductive. Marcus didn’t say a word to Ashleigh, and deigned to look at her only when necessary, but she knew she was ornamental here. Masako had the matter well in hand, and Lana provided any backup that was needed. Both sides left with a clearer understanding of the other’s real goals, and more dates were proposed for further discussion.
“Thank you for meeting with us, Marcus,” Masako shook his hand again on the way out. “I think we can come to a compromise that will suit everyone.”
“My pleasure,” he replied. Then, looking directly at Ashleigh for just a moment, he flared his nostrils before turning to Lana. Now that smile came out again, the one that had worked its way into Ashleigh’s heart all those years ago. But this time it wasn't directed at her. “I’m looking forward to our next meeting,” he said to the assistant, shaking her hand too. It wasn’t lost on Ashleigh that he held onto Lana’s hand for longer than the situation called for. Or that he didn’t offer any such goodbye to Ashleigh herself.
This was going to be a long, and painful set of negotiations, and she swallowed down the lump that worked its way up into her throat.
CHAPTER 5
LANA
Marcus satin his most comfortable chair, staring at the television. He’d put some popular show on to distract himself, but it wasn’t working. He was getting frustrated with the plot, annoyed at the actors, and he kept losing track of who was sleeping with whom this week.
This ridiculous situation with the kids’ playground was eating him. He just needed to get on with the project. He had no time for this nonsense. The land was his—or, it would be as soon as the last details of the sale were finalised—and he had all the zoning and construction permits lined up. His investors wanted the buildings up, and they wanted them up fast. Time was money, after all. You can’t sell what you don’t have. And now he was committed to another long series of negotiations with this damned neighbourhood association, and with the press breathing down his back, he had to play nice.
Actually, he grudgingly admitted, some of their ideas weren’t half bad. That woman, Masako, had a good head on her shoulders. He’d been expecting a whole lot of weeping and wailing about the lost fields, with no proposal other than keeping things exactly as they were, and he’d been surprised by her willingness to find common ground, if he could use thatawful pun. Her suggestions were sensible and well thought out, and if he managed to play his cards right, he could come out smelling like… well, not like roses. But not like manure.
The scheduled meetings would allow both sides to refine their thoughts and come up with concrete plans—another dreadful pun—which they could take to their ‘people’, Masako’s association and his board and investors.
So that, then, wasn’t what was bothering him so much.
Of course it wasn’t. Why was he still trying to fool himself? It was Ashleigh.
She’d just become a mouse over the years. Her horrible family had won, and they’d crushed her. That wasn’t the woman he’d loved once. He felt nothing for her anymore.
Nothing.
It was all over, had been for years. Anything he ever felt was dead and gone.
He didn’t care at all.
With this new determination in mind, he had to figure out what to do about it.
He needed someone else. He needed to show himself, and her, that whatever they had once been to each other, that was gone. Dead. Kaput.
The other woman at the table, now, had caught his eye.
Lana. She was too young for him, but hey, he was hardly ancient. Thirty-nine wasn’t a fossil. He had all his hair, all his teeth, was in good physical shape thanks to the side projects he still did himself and his daily jogs. And, er, everything else still worked perfectly well, thank you. Lana was what? Twenty-five? No problem. She’d like a more mature guy who could splash a bit of cash around her.
She’d given him that big smile, too. Maybe it was time to add flirting to the menu. Who knew—maybe it really would lead to something. God knew, he could use a bit of romance in hislife. It was, perhaps, a bit risky to fraternise with the enemy, but he could turn on the charm towards her now and see what happened later, once they’d finished battering out some deal.
