“We have the same building manager. She told me about you.”

Kate was a darling. She bragged about me to everyone.

“I’m Carter.”

Ah, a sexy name to go with a sexy man.

“I’d love to stay and chat some more, but I have to prepare for my meeting.”

“Have a nice day, Valentina.”

––––––––

The morning took a nasty turn when my lawyer called me frantically to inform me he’d been in a minor car accident on the freeway and couldn’t make it in time for the meeting.

“We should reschedule,” he said at once.

“The mediator will arrive in a few minutes. I’ll deal with it.”

After all the hassle it took for both parties to agree on the law firm we’d use for mediation, I wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

I spent the next ten minutes behind my desk, surveying the notes I’d made during my conversation with my lawyer. As I reviewed the notes, I committed everything to memory. I wasn’t going to take them into the meeting. I felt more confident when I spoke freely, and I was determined to appear strong and unfazed, not as if I would bend to the competition’s demands.

At five to eight, my assistant knocked on the open door. “He’s here, Val. I already led him to the meeting room.”

My palms instantly felt clammy, but I sounded calm as I spoke. “Okay. Offer him water, or coffee or—”

“Poison?” Anne suggested cheerfully.

“If you do, you cannot involve me. You’re on your own.” I grinned. “Just tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

I rose from my chair as Anne disappeared from view, then strode with large, confident steps. I wouldn’t allow anyone to take me down, or smear my name, not after working for this dream for more than a decade.

The meeting room was just a few feet away from my own office, and when I stepped inside, the mediator introduced himself as Emerson Smith.

“My lawyer can’t make it this morning,” I told him after inviting him to sit opposite me.

“Would you like to reschedule?”

“No, there is no need. Let’s get on with it. What are their demands?”

“Ms. Connor, I will lay everything out in simple terms. They don’t desire a lawsuit any more than you do. All they ask of you is not to bring that line to market.”

I bristled, moving at the edge of my chair. “All they ask? That would mean admitting I was wrong.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, staring at the wooden table between us. “They have no patent or credible base from which to point their finger at me. We developed the same product at the same time. A hundred copycats will catch up to us two months later anyway. It’s not patentable.”