Samantha plopped down beside Eden and started braiding her long blonde hair. “Okay, here’s the deal. Kevin’s called three times now. I’m tempted to block his number, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Besides being my almost-husband, he was a friend of mine for a year before we started dating in college. He is devastated by Sheri’s affair.”
Eden snorted. “It’s called karma, Baby. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”
“I get that, I really do. Finding out on my wedding day that he’d been cheating on me with my maid of honor was not my happiest moment. I still can’t thank you enough for talking to all the guests and handling everything.” Sam sighed. At least she was no longer tearing up or raging at the thought of that day.
“It was the least I could do,” Eden said as she grabbed Sam’s hand. “Now tell me what Kevin wants.”
“Well at first he just needed someone to listen to him. He needed a shoulder to cry on. That was four weeks ago, but last week he was wondering if he could come and visit. Supposedly he wanted to see if we could visit Washington D.C. together. But I said no, I was too busy.”
“Damn, you didn’t laugh in his ear? What the hell, Sam? That is a hard no. No way, no how, no sir. Please say you’re not considering it.”
“Of course, I’m not. I’m not a masochist. He torpedoed his bridges with me. I was just trying to be a friend to him. It was when he mentioned the visit that I was thinking about blocking his number.”
Eden held out her hand. “Give me your phone. I’ll block it right now.”
“You’re not going to do that.”
“Yes I am. Give me your phone.”
Sam heard the timer for the cakes. “Saved by the bell. Let me get the desserts.”
Eden followed her into the kitchen. “Give me one good reason not to block the slimy little bastard. Give me one reason.”
Sam reached into the oven and pulled out the cookie sheet with the ramekins on it. “I can’t,” she sighed. “Let’s have dessert, and I’ll block him. You’re right. He’s being a pest that I don’t need.”
When they got back to the dining room, Sam explained the problem with Pam. “Geez, your problem is you’re too damn nice. If I had someone on my team running around behind my back going to one of the bosses, I’d eat ‘em for lunch.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” Sam protested.
“Would too.”
“Eden,” Sam started patiently, “I’ve seen you in action. Except for eviscerating Sheri at my wedding, you are always diplomatic when dealing with problem people. I might be ‘too nice’ in your opinion, but that’s not entirely true. Most times I’m just crap at confrontation and being a boss. So how do I handle Pam?”
It took a few moments, and a few bites of cake before her friend answered. “First, I’d take some management classes. If you don’t have the time, read some books on leadership. I can recommend some. But right now, this is how you handle Pam. You take her aside, preferably off-site for coffee. You tell her how much you enjoy having her on the team. You start asking her leading questions, like; ‘do you want this project to succeed?’, ‘do you want to see the team succeed?’ She’ll say yes. Then you convince her that as a leader your job is to make your team look good. Really work hard on this point. Drive it home. So, tell her that you’re going to tell everyone it was a joint effort between the two of you to come up with the color scheme.”
Sam was beginning to understand. “You’re right, I don’t care who gets credit for the color scheme, as long as the project is a success. My job is to make the client happy and to lead a cohesive team. But I hate lying.”
“You’re not lying. Pam’s ugly-ass color scheme inspired you to come up with something good, therefore it was a team effort. Let Pam have this win. Then work to teach her how you came up with this. It’ll help as you specify the rest of the areas in the hotel.”
Sam sat back. She felt like a rock had been lifted off of her shoulders. “You’re an evil genius.”
“Nope, I had a mentor who taught me this shit. Now he was an evil genius. He’d been a diplomat for forty years before he retired.”
“Do you two still keep in touch?” Sam wanted to know.
“Absolutely. I’m still in training. He lives in D.C. When Asher was on this last mission I went and visited him. I could tell he was still elbow-deep in foreign affairs. Retired, my ass.”
Sam laughed.
“So, about Ezio,” Eden started.
“What about him? It’s great he’s asking about me, but in my opinion the ball is in his court.”
“Well, you should be expecting it to come flying over the net pretty damn soon.”
Sam thought about the man who had starred in some of her most erotic fantasies. “Yeah sure, Eden. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Eden laughed.
“What’s so darned funny?”
“I bet Asher that his pretty-boy friend was going to have an uphill climb with you, and it would serve him right. My guess is that he’s had it pretty easy with the opposite sex for far too long.”
“He’s not a pretty-boy,” Samantha protested. She thought about Ezio’s intense green eyes, and how his big body had made her feel safe out on the dance floor. He was all
