Maybe it was my nerves getting the best of me. Maybe it was the lack of experience I had conducting business in some fancy modern corporate office. Maybe it had something to do with the heat wickedly dancing in the air between Jesse and me. Whatever the reason, my palms were sweaty, my pulse was ticking wildly, and I was crossing my fingers that this meeting with Integrity Investment Group would go smoothly and end quickly. Maybe I was just scared of potentially embarrassing myself during the presentation...

I studied the boardroom we were waiting in. It was a classy space on the fiftieth floor of Two California Plaza, a blue hued glass panel building that screamed serious business only. From the massive windows above a coffee bar, you could see many of the neighboring skyscrapers. I caught a glimpse of the SkySlide in the distance. It was a beautiful view, but Erica, Jesse, and I were quickly getting bored of sitting there, staring out the windows.

We'd stepped off the elevator twenty minutes prior, and our meeting had been scheduled for nine a.m. It was nearing nine-fifteen and the executives from Integrity had yet to make an appearance or give us an E.T.A.

"Do you guys deal with this a lot?" I cocked a questioning brow to Erica who tipped her head back in her chair and groaned.

"This is only the second time we've experienced anyone, client, partner or otherwise, not being on time." She rolled her eyes and began tapping her fingers rhythmically against the glass table top. "If Integrity wants to work with us, they're not giving us good reason to agree to a deal."

I hoped for all our sakes that this was not an indication of how Integrity always conducts business. If Advantage agreed to a partnership with these people, purely based on how they didn't seem to value our time, I could see things going downhill for us. This prompted me to start worrying again about my job security.

Just when it looked like Jesse was about to get up and go rip somebody a new asshole – in a professional manner, of course – the illustrious chairman of the board, Michael Roth, waltzed into the room, unfazed by our disapproving expressions, and proceeded to take a seat at the head of the table.

He gave a quick nod to me and turned to Jesse, extending his hand. Roth hadn't even waited for his colleagues to enter the room. What an asshole, I thought.

"Something awry, Mr. Reese?" the chairman asked in a condescending voice.

Jesse stood up, smiling like nothing was on his nerves – killing him with kindness, I assumed. "Not at all, Mr. Roth. It's just that my father taught me to never shake hands with a man sitting down."

Erica snorted a laugh beside me.

With a disgusted look, Michael Roth stood from his kingly seat and engaged in a visibly firm handshake that I was sure didn't feel welcoming in the slightest.

"This is my C.O.O., Emily Fischer." Roth introduced us to the raven haired woman donning a gorgeous citrine dress as she filed into the room, shaking each of our hands before sitting down opposite me.

Something about Emily seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. I chalked it up to her having one of those faces that made most people think they'd seen her before.

"Very nice to meet you, Miss Fischer," Jesse greeted her with charm. "This is Erica Hernandez, our C.O.O., and our executive assistant, Vanessa Hamilton."

The way Jesse introduced me, coupled with the fact that I was even in the room, allowed to be a part of such a huge business dealing, made me feel like I was floating on a cloud. I was so excited to finally be taken seriously by my superiors and actually have people ask for my opinions.

That didn't change the fact that I was still nervous, though, but I hoped that after a few minutes in I'd get the hang of it and my tensing shoulders would relax.

"Well, let's just get down to business, Reese," Roth barked, tossing folders to each of us that spelled out all the details of our could-be agreement.

Jesse brushed off the rude tone and began flipping through the inside documents with a tired look on his face. I figured he was giving that look on purpose, maybe trying to come off to Roth as being dissatisfied with the contract. I'd heard that Michael Roth had quite the ego and expected everyone to be happy with whatever bone he threw them. Maybe Jesse had a trick up his sleeve.

"Something wrong?" Emily piped up with a twinge of concern in her eyes. "We have plenty of time to go over the fine details."

Jesse cleared his throat and flopped the folder shut, sliding it back to Roth, who was obviously taking offense already.

"I'm only going to say this once, because you know exactly what your risk assessment attorneys have done with this to short change and demean Advantage Republic in at least twelve different ways." Jesse commanded the room, leaving his chair and sauntering towards the windows with a cool demeanor. "I don't have any use for a partnership in which my employees will be unnecessarily replaced within a few months, nor do I feel that it was fair in any way to expect me to sign a non-disclosure with you, or for Integrity to lower their offering price out of spite when I requested guaranteed job security for my employees. Mike, we flew all the way across the country to meet with you to craft a partnership that worked out well for both of us, but judging by your lack of humility or interest in actually conducting real business here, it doesn't appear to me that we have anything left to discuss."

Michael Roth looked irate. A blazing shade of red was creeping up his face and I half expected steam to shoot out from his ears like a pissed off cartoon character.

"Excuse me, Jesse," Roth sneered, standing up to confront Jesse at eye level. "Maybe you've forgotten your place. You're in my city, my building. My company is the one making the offer to rescue yours, since you clearly can't run your own business without running it into the ground. If you think you can come into my boardroom and try to boss me around, you've got another thing coming, buddy."

Jesse, insulted and probably fuming underneath, stayed completely calm, refusing to give in to the temptation and slug this man. For a moment, I wished he would. The asshole definitely deserved it. But Jesse just stood there, coolly listening to every venomous word spat from Roth's mouth, and once the man finished his rant, they simply stood there, Roth glaring at Jesse and Jesse seemingly shrugging the whole thing off.

I looked to Erica with worry. What the fuck was about to happen? I was pretty sure there would be a withdrawal of the contract offered and probably a call to the police at the very least. I wondered if security was on their way to escort us out already. This was not going at all how I'd thought it would.

Erica gave me a knowing look, understanding my concern, but she didn't say anything. She was going to let Jesse handle the situation, leading me to wonder if this wasn't the first time she'd witnessed an incident like this.

"Are you finished?" Jesse smugly asked, his arms crossed over his chest with an expression that said he was tired of listening to bullshit.

Roth looked like he was going to come unglued, angrily throwing his fist in the air and starting to repeat some of the same complaints he'd just thrown a minute prior. I started imagining him firing pistols at the ground and jumping up and down like Yosemite Sam.

Emily quickly scurried out of the room, probably to call security, while Erica finally interjected herself into the argument, trying but failing to calm the man down. Jesse, at this point, was attempting to talk some sense into the idiot, but that wasn't working either. This left me awkwardly sitting at the table, bearing witness to the biggest shit show I'd ever seen in a boardroom.

Clearly, Michael Roth was not a man you could reason with. And that reminded me of my former would've-been father-in-law. Brad's father had been the exact same way, all business, always expecting everyone to agree with his every word, and God help you if you ever even asked him a question about a clause in one of his proposals. He'd become known as a loose cannon around the office, and he probably knew what people said about their boss behind his back, but no one dared ever challenge him to his face. He had his employees so terrified of him, some were even too scared to quit, for fear that he'd sabotage their future careers. These were all things I'd heard about Michael Roth, too, and I was disgusted.

"I've heard enough," I said in a moderate tone, emerging from the last seat at the table.

If they'd heard me, no one had paid attention, so I repeated myself louder, turning to face the group.

"Excuse me. I said I've heard enough!" I proclaimed with the fury of a livid parent, and this got their attention.

What in flying fuck was I doing?! This was probably an A+ way to get myself fired, but I was so disappointed in Integrity and so infuriated with Michael Roth and the way he was treating my bosses who had been so committed to crafting a good partnership. I couldn't not make my opinion known now. Maybe it was the terrible memories of Brad's dictator-like father that this man trigged in my brain, or maybe it was simply the way he was conducting himself as the biggest piece of shit I'd yet encountered in the corporate world, but Michael Roth had lit a fire under my ass and I was going to let him have it.

"Aren't you an assistant?" Roth grumbled at me like I was a mere servant and not worthy of his time.

I dismissed his jab and proceeded to dig my hole deeper. If it lost me my job, so be it. At least I would've spoken my mind and done what I felt was the right thing.

"Mr. Roth, my bosses and I have poured over every line of this contract for days on end. I've reviewed your provisions so many times, I can probably recite the damn thing in my sleep. We came here with the best intentions. We were willing to work with you to create the best possible outcome for both companies. This should have been a good deal for everyone involved. It's really a shame you let your ego run your mouth and ruin it."

Jesse was watching me intently, his expression not giving away how he felt about my statement one way or the other. Erica, whose jaw was practically dragging the floor in shock at my words, appeared speechless, which was probably the only reason she hadn't interrupted me.

Roth, despite my pointed insults, didn't seem as pissed off as he had been moments before. Instead, he actually looked to be digesting what I was saying. Maybe, by some near impossible miracle, I had struck a nerve with him that caused him to think about his actions. Maybe.

"I don't believe I've ever been spoken to, much less insulted, in such a way as you just insulted me," Roth said in a blander tone than what I'd expected to come out of his mouth, but his words were thick with disdain.

"I would probably be right to assume that you simply haven't discovered what your employees say about you when you're not raining hellfire in the room," I responded in a collected voice, knowing I was pushing the envelope about as far as it could possibly go. "You see, I used to know someone exactly like you. Another chairman of a big, fancy company. I was close with his family for many years, which I will openly admit was a mistake on my part. I was well aware of the way he treated his employees, clients, associates... just like you treat yours. Fortunately, I cut ties with his family years ago, but one thing I haven't forgotten is the way no one respected him because he made everyone around him feel like they were inferior. I promised myself I'd never work for anyone like him, and considering that's the way you seem to conduct yourself, too, I'll be handing in my resignation as soon as a deal is struck, should you refuse to compromise with Advantage. Although, by the looks of it, I'd recommend to my bosses that Advantage's proposal be withdrawn. I'm sure you wouldn't want to do business with yourself either, if the roles were reversed."

I concluded my speech without my heart leaping out of my chest, though I did feel like my lungs were being squeezed by a Sasquatch. I'd never gone out on a limb and done something so risky with my career before. I realized the magnitude of what I'd done, but it probably wouldn't truly hit me until after my blood pressure relaxed and I got some time alone to reflect on how unlikely it would be that I'd still have a job at Advantage after the day was over.

Turning on my heel, trying to hide my embarrassment, I collected my folder and made a beeline for the door just as Emily returned with two tall, burly security guards we'd seen at the security checkpoint earlier.

"I'm just leaving," I told them, intending to sneak passed and escape the uncomfortable situation, but Michael Roth's voice called me back before I could get out of earshot.

Hesitantly, I stepped back into the room, glancing between Jesse, Erica, and Roth. I suddenly felt as small as an ant, and about as menial, too, but I refused to let it show.

"Who do we need to escort out, Mr. Roth?" asked one of the security guards.

Roth dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "There's no need for that. We have business to do."

Emily stood in the doorway in utter confusion as the men retreated back to the lobby. She looked embarrassed, like she knew she'd done something wrong by calling security and she probably expected him to chew her ass for it later. I felt bad for her.

"Miss Hamilton, is it?" Roth asked in a less angry voice, running a steady hand through his salt and pepper hair. "Since it appears you have some very strong feelings about your employer doing business with my company, I would like to hear your thoughts on this proposal before you leave."

I wanted to ask him why in hell he wasn't having the security dudes hurl me down the elevator shaft, but I kept my composure and returned to my seat along with Erica, Jesse, and Satan Roth, as I was beginning to refer to him in my head.

Focusing my stare on Roth, I threw caution to the wind and began to list each concern I'd jotted down in my notes prior to the meeting – everything from the lack of job security for Advantage employees to the way the entire proposal favored Integrity and provided us with much less financial profit than we deserved.

"I'm also completely against Article IV in its entirety," I noted, tapping my pen against the typed words. "Surely, you don't expect us to agree to a contract that states that Integrity will take full ownership of all real and intellectual property upon the partnership's dissolve. You don't even list any details surrounding an end to the partnership, which tells me we could agree today and you could dissolve our relationship next week and collect all our company's assets. Correct me if I'm wrong."

"That's absolutely right," Erica spoke up with a look my direction that said she was proud of the way I was handling myself, and an avalanche of relief hit my chest so hard just from that gesture, I forgot what the subject was for a few seconds. "Mr. Roth, if this offer is still on the table, we cannot agree to any portion of Article IV. I'm sure you can understand why. Had you allowed us the adequate time and opportunity earlier, we would've been happy to discuss each provision with you in a professional manner. Unfortunately, I just don't believe that we can continue negotiations with your company."

Emily cleared her throat from the doorway, startling me. I'd forgotten she was standing there.

"Mr. Roth, your ten o'clock meeting is here," she quipped and scurried away.

Roth blew out a long, frustrated breath and stood. The rest of us followed suit and he proceeded to shake each of our hands with a nod. Nothing else was said, and the man, comparable to a stone faced Robert De Niro, left the boardroom and us behind.