To You and Back

Chapter 2: The Negotiation

When one half of the double doors to his office burst open without warning, Peter was not surprised. Across the room behind his desk, he looked up to see an apoplectic Charlie striding towards him, mid-sentence even before the door, swinging wide, had banged against the wall. Peter sat back in his chair with an air of calm; he had been waiting for just this.

"So, I can't transfer, I can't quit, they won't even let me leave the building until I saw you," Charlie was saying in fury. "What are you going to do, lock me in here forever?"

"A modern day prince in a modern day tower? I like that."

"Don't play games with me, Peter." Charlie stopped on the other side of the desk and looked down at him, his blue eyes dark and stormy. "I am not in the mood."

Peter looked up at him. "Clearly," he said. "Then let me talk to you about a career opportunity. Please," he gestured to the guest chair, "at least stay and listen to my proposition. If you decline afterwards, you'll be free to leave."

Charlie looked at him. Once more he was faced with the decision to flee or face this man who knew how to talk to him too well.

"I am NOT going to be your slave," Charlie said.

"You're being dramatic."

"Am I? Tell me you didn't do this just so you could boss me around."

Peter's lips twitched with a smile. "Well, it's not the only reason..."

"Oh--!" Charlie turned on his heel.

"Charlie, wait," Peter called, getting to his feet. "Please, I was joking. Come on," he coaxed the other man back. "Come on, come back. This is a legitimate opportunity for you, and one it would be a mistake to pass up."

Charlie turned a frowning look at him, while Peter rose his brows. Slowly, Charlie walked back to the chair.

"That's a good boy," Peter said.

"You keep talking to me like that, and I swear—"

Peter held up his hands, palms out.

They kept eye contact across the desk, like combatants circling a ring, and slowly lowered themselves into seats.

"First," Peter said, lacing his fingers together on the polished top of the wooden desk, "let me explain why I requested you from the secretary department."

"No," Charlie interrupted. "First you tell me why you put me there in the first place."

Peter inclined his head. "Fair enough. After the interview and looking over your resume, I thought that would be a better use of your talents than the sales department. Yes, you have the required interpersonal skills, but you also have exceptional organizational ability. And you have something that is the number one prerequisite for a secretary."

Charlie tried to maintain his sharpness, but a sense of pride that came from the compliments of the other man softened his words. "And what is that?"

"Discretion." Peter gave him a knowing smile, and Charlie looked away. "Oh, sorry," Peter added. "Was I not supposed to mention—"

"No," Charlie said firmly. "You're not."

Peter smiled. "Very well. Then, I'll add that secretaries make more than sales reps, and they have premier chances to network, with unparalleled access to clients. In fact, one of the secretaries from legal recently left to start their own practice and took a handful of clients with them."

"You're encouraging me to steal business from you?"

Peter shrugged. "More will take its place. And if you do decide you want a change of pace, there's opportunity for lateral promotions to other departments. You could even have this office," he said, sweeping a hand at the room.