“Tell you what,” I begin. “How about we just enjoy a lovely meal together? We can talk shop, and you can make me grovel for your forgiveness after.”
For the first time since she sat down, a small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth – but she’s quick to quash it. Instead, she raises her wine glass and taps it against mine, the high-pitched ping of the glasses seeming to dissipate some of the tension in the air.
“Deal,” she states. “Just be ready to do a whole lot of groveling.”
I laugh softly. “That’s fair.”
The conversation as we dig into our meals is slow and tentative at first, but it gradually loosens up. It’s not altogether that long before we’re joking and laughing together again. Of course, the bottle and a half of wine we’ve gone through may have helped grease the wheels, but whatever. The important thing to me is that the atmosphere between us is light and jovial. As we talk and laugh together, there’s a sparkle in her eye that’s good to see. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that she was having a good time.
Moments like these have been rare in my life – moments where I’m completely at ease with a person. With Berlin, I feel like I can be less guarded than I usually am. She makes me feel comfortable in ways nobody else has before. I know I told Rider those doors that led to a future with somebody – a family of my own – were closed to me forever. I said it because I truly believed it. Have for a long time.
But Berlin makes me see things differently. She makes me feel things I haven’t felt before. Makes me believe things I never thought possible – or at least, not realistic. I’m not saying there’s a white picket fence, two-point-five children, soccer mom, PTA meetings, and minivan life in our future. There’s just something about her that makes me think anything is possible.
But I know the laughs, smiles, and kumbaya moments we’re sharing all have a shelf life. It’s a thought that bums me out. Though hopefully, we can get through the tough, unpleasant bits and circle back to this place we’re in right now. That’s my sincerest hope for this evening – that we can find a way to keep things light and headed in a good direction. I want to explore this thing between us, and judging by the look in her eye, I can see that Berlin does as well.
Eventually, the meal comes to an end, and as the waitress takes our plates away, she seems to take the good vibes along with her. Berlin’s expression grows serious, and the smile that has charmed and dazzled me all evening fades away as well, leaving a hollow feeling in the center of me. Hopefully, this is a temporary condition.
“So, I guess we should talk business,” I say.
She nods and gives me a small smile. “We should.”
The waitress comes back and offers coffee and dessert, but Berlin declines, so I do as well. She gives me a smile and lays the check down on the table then disappears again, leaving Berlin and I sitting there with a growing sense of awkward tension in the air.
“So what did you want to talk about, Sawyer?”
“The first thing I want to do is tell you that I appreciate your passion,” I tell her. “I admire how willing you are to fight tooth and nail for these people.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re about to tell me something I’m not going to like?”
Berlin braces herself for what I’m about to say, her body tensing up like she’s expecting to take a physical blow. I give her a small grin, knowing this is not going to go the way she thinks it will. But I need to make some things clear to her first.
“One thing I need you to know is that I’m running a business,” I begin. “I know you think I’m the devil incarnate, but I have a responsibility to everybody I employ to do right by them as well. And believe it or not, my company provides a lot of jobs. Hundreds, if not thousands.”
“And are you telling me this as a justification for kicking hundreds of people out of their homes?”
“Honestly, I don’t need to justify anything,” I tell her. “I’m a businessman, and all I’m doing is earning a living.”
“Sawyer, you are –”
I hold my hand up to cut her off again. “Hear me out before you pass judgement,” I interject. “Because of you, I’ve had to do a lot of thinking and soul searching about the Atwell project. Because of you, I had to take a fresh look at it.”
She opens her mouth – no doubt to deliver me a scathing rebuke – but then seems to think better of it. She closes her mouth again without saying anything, apparently understanding this is going to go her way and wanting to hear me out.
“I’ve run the financial impact delaying the Atwell project will have on my company and let me say it’s significant – I’d be taking at least a ten million dollar hit,” I explain. “But I’m going to delay the project for two years. Once that two years is up, though, the Atwell will be coming down. This is a delay, not a cancellation of the project.”
Berlin stares at me wide-eyed, her mouth hanging open. There’s a long moment of silence between us. Then, the expression on her face shifts. She looks like she’s waiting for me to drop the punchline on her. And when I don’t, her expression shifts yet again – this time to one of utter joy. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, and she clasps her hands over her mouth.
“Are you serious?” she gasps.
“I am.”
“This is
