Page 26 of Semantics

“It’s literally just asking him to take a meeting. He’s all business. He’ll get it.”

Violet turned around when she heard her phone ringing.

“Who’s calling you? I haven’t gotten an actual phone call in, like, six years,” Arlowe said.

“Yes, you have. You just don’t answer. And it’s an unknown number, so I don’t know. It’s probably business. I’ll be out in the garage in a minute. Hello?” she answered the call.

“Hi. It’s Stella.”

“Stella?” Violet said, feeling completely unprepared to actually talk to her.

Arlowe took the hint and left her room without another word.

“Yeah. I thought it would be better just to talk this out since email is getting us nowhere. Got a minute?”

“Um…” Violet looked at her calendar as if she had to be honest with Stella and couldn’t just tell her that she didn’t have a minute. “I have… a meeting in five.”

“We can keep it short. Violet, I’m trying here, okay? I’m aware our product isn’t cheap. It’s not built that way, either. It’s got all the bells and whistles that the competition doesn’t, which is why it’s expensive. I gave you ten percent off, when I didn’t have to do that, and I can lend you Monique for forty hours instead of thirty if that would help get you to sign, but that’s all I can do unless you can do something for me.”

“Something for you?”

“Yeah, introduce me to the other Russell companies.”

“I told you, I’m not part of the group, Stella. I started this company on my own with my friends. I don’t have connections there.”

“Your father is literally the CEO.”

“Yeah, and I see him twice a year, at Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s it. We don’t talk about business. He’s not exactly happy that the daughter he spent all that money on sending to the best schools decided to turn against him and start her own company instead of running his one day.”

“Turn against him? You wanted to do your own thing. How is that turn–”

“I don’t really need therapy from you, Stella,” she interrupted. “I need twenty percent off. That’s all we can afford, okay? I’ve got a budget, and I need that plus whatever extra time with Monique you can offer.”

“I can’t, Violet. I’ve got power, but that kind of deal is going to cross the CEO’s desk. He’s very involved, and he’s going to wonder why the hell I agreed to that without something in return. Can you get me one meeting, at least? Throw me a bone.”

“No, I can’t,” Violet stated and nodded to herself.

“Then, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can agree to twenty percent and everything else we’ve talked about.”

“Well… Fine,” she said.

“Fine,” Stella echoed. “I guess you have a meeting.”

“I do, yes,” she lied.

“Then, bye forever, Violet Russell. Good luck with your business, I guess. And it’s nice to know that you’re still pretty much exactly how I remembered you.”

Stella hung up then, and Violet grunted and wondered why she was always like this around this woman.

“Hey, I’m getting out of here,” she said a few minutes later after grabbing her bag, shoving her computer inside it, and walking into the kitchen, where she saw Arlowe and Enya at the table.

“Where are you going?” Enya asked.

“Coffee. Need anything? I’m going to work there for a bit, so it’ll be a while. I need to clear my head.”

“The call with Stella went well, then?” Arlowe joked.

“Not now, Arlowe. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”