Chapitre 15: 14. Making A Scene

The officials from David Corp were beyond flustered as they realized that there had been no back and forth, but only some one-sided groveling of sorts. They naturally ended up agreeing to the terms imposed on them.

Linda, Harrison's PA, fished out the documents she had brought along, and that had been drafted by the company's lawyer.

Harrison rose to his feet at that, and everyone present did the same, save for a bewildered-looking Mandy. He offered her a small smile, and then said in a cold tone, "You have three days to go through the agreement and sign it."

"Yes, sir," one of the youngest officials nodded eagerly his consent, even as beads of perspiration glistened on his forehead.

Linda went to open the door but one of the David Corp men beat her to it. She left first, and then waited for Harrison outside the conference room.

Harrison shifted his focus to his ex-wife and asked the one-billion-dollar question, "Mandy, a word?"

She blushed at once, but he could tell it was more out of ire than anything else.

She heaved a sigh, rose to her feet at long last, and then exited the conference room before him.

Harrison had never had to chase a woman. He was a man through and through, a leader whom people followed – not the other way around.

Nevertheless, no matter his status or reputation, he needed to get some semblance of closure.

Linda didn't breathe a word as Mandy passed by her, almost stomping her feet away, and Harrison followed after her like a love-sick puppy.

"Do you have an office where we could talk?" He asked, and he almost immediately regretted his words.

She was not high enough up the ladder to have her own office, and he knew that.

She spun around to face him, and he stopped in his tracks.

"Are you mocking me perhaps?" Her eyes spat fire at him.

He shook his head negatively. "I would never."

"Is this a game to you, Harrison? Or should I call you Mr. Michaelson now?!" She bellowed at him.

Some workers were glancing their way. The officials, who had tried to negotiate a sweeter deal than they deserved, and who had followed after them, were shocked to say the least.

"How can you even speak to him that way?" One of them let out in an angry hiss.

She shifted her glare from Harrison's face to the man's. "He's no god, last time I checked."

"You little impudent…" another one began, only to be interrupted by Linda's amused giggle.

"Do you have any idea who this is?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, indicating Mandy.

"My new PA?" One of them said dumbly.

"She's Mrs. Michaelson," Harrison's PA felt the need to tell them smugly.

"Well, I am no more, Linda," Mandy told her stiffly. "He and I are no more… We got a divorce."

And with that, she went to walk away again.

Harrison strode the distance between them, grabbed her wrist, and stopped her.

"Dinner, you and I, tonight," he suggested in a tone that was so unlike him, he almost felt sick. "What do you say, Mandy?"

She regarded him with something akin to mockery, and then her focus shifted on the officials who looked just about ready to faint. Harrison waited with bated breath, fearing and yet bracing himself for a rejection.

"I have nothing to say to you," she told him briskly.

"Well, don't you have to eat anyway?"

To say Harrison was desperate would be the understatement of the year. And he felt like the soon to be laughing stock of the city.

He could just sense it.

"Fine," he heard her say at long last on a sigh, "Dino's diner, 8 pm sharp."

"Thank you," he told her softly.

"I dare you to even try to be late," she offered him in a saccharine tone.

Harrison wasn't foolish enough to not recognize the threat behind her words.

"I'll be there," he told her, and she scoffed almost in an incredulous manner. "On time," he added.

"Great," she said in a dismissing tone. "Now, kindly release me. I have a job to take care of and you have your own responsibilities to tend to. And you're also making a scene, Mr. Michaelson."

His good manners obliged him to release her wrist and also to say, "My apologies."

And with that, she soon enough disappeared into the elevator.

** ** ** ** ** ** **

To say Mandy was flabbergasted would be the understatement of the century. She was confused and all different kinds of annoyed.

How could Harrison humiliate her so?

How could he force her hand so?

She hadn't felt like she had had much of a choice in agreeing or refusing dinner with her bastard of an ex-husband.

Truth be told, he had asked gallantly, almost politely, but in a way that left little room for her to refuse him.

All she had managed to say was to condition the where – Dino's diner.

It was a diner that gave off cozy vibes and offered good food, but without the sophistication of a restaurant.

She had basically wagered on Harrison refusing to go to the place, as he was used to the lavish and everything money could offer, but to her surprise he hadn't.

As she sat at her desk, and looked at the screen absent-mindedly, she said to herself that if she didn't enjoy his company, she'd at least enjoy her food.

She could either ignore or anger him into silence. She truly believed she had it all figured out.

When it was time, she thought she had been prepared for the face-off… but, oh, how wrong she had been!