Of course, the trendy, modern decor of this office building wasn’t meant to put a person at ease. It was a lure, intended to draw people inside and intimidate them once they were stuck waiting.
“Mr. Forte, what brings you to our offices?”
Forte smiled. The man facing him had the voice he’d spoken to over the phone. But this wasn’t the man in charge. “Mr. Zerta. Do you do all the recruiting for your organization, or do you divvy up the duties with others?”
His host tugged on the edge of his suit jacket. “This is still a relatively small private organization. I’m solely responsible for the recruiting at the current time.”
“Ah.” Forte nodded, then waited. He let the silence settle around them with an awkward weight. He could be a patient man.
Zerta cleared his throat. “I do apologize for the security procedures, but I’m sure you must be used to being searched for weapons.”
It’d been a thorough pat down in addition to walking through a weapons-detection unit. They’d been looking for surveillance equipment on his person. They hadn’t found any.
“I can understand the need for precautions.” Forte kept his expression amiable. He was there to deliver a message and see what the reaction might be.
This wasn’t the man he needed the reaction from, though.
“Why don’t we step into my office and we can discuss our offer?” Zerta gestured to a room completely walled in glass.
It was a fish bowl, basically. Forte made a mental note again to be happy he didn’t have an office job requiring him to come to work day in and day out in this sort of environment. Hell, wearing a suit today was irritating enough, and he wasn’t even strapped with uncomfortable surveillance equipment underneath his dress shirt.
Keeping pace next to him, Haydn didn’t seem to be bothered by his surroundings. Then again, the dog didn’t have to wear a suit.
The man offered him a seat with his back to the main portion of the office and the entrance. Forte took the indicated seat but set it so he could be positioned at an angle to have a better view of who might be approaching from behind. Haydn’s presence sitting next to him helped ease the tension of being vulnerable with nothing but glass at his back.
“As you know, Mr. Forte, we’d be very interested to add you to our team here at Labs-Anders Corporation.” Zerta sat behind his desk and began typing at a Bluetooth keyboard. After a moment, he turned a monitor to face Forte. “We’ve a proposal assembled for you, including a structured compensation package to use as a basis for each contract you accept as part of our organization.”
Forte only half listened. There were people walking past in the hallways. Some turned and glanced his way with the same curiosity anyone might have working in the same environment day in and day out. Those people just wanted to catch a glimpse of the new face. But there were a few, no more than two or three, who walked by at a measured pace and looked him up and down. They weren’t surprised, and their interest was sharper than idle curiosity. Those were the men and woman he was there to get a look at. Or more specifically, when he looked at them, so did Haydn.
“I think it’s obvious we’ve put together an attractive offer.” Zerta was finishing up his pitch. “A man of your skill sets and experience is valuable and we hope you’ll agree working with us is equally of benefit for you.”
Forte tipped his head to one side, pretending to consider. “Perhaps.”
Zerta’s face flushed red. “This offer is extended without room for negotiation.”
Forte raised his eyebrows. “Is that so? I find that hard to believe.”
“We’ve already expended significant resources in our interactions with you.” Zerta snapped his mouth shut.
Temper, temper. This man had a short fuse. How fun.
Forte shrugged.
A vein began to literally pop out on Zerta’s forehead. The man had to have some insanely high blood pressure. “If you aren’t enticed by our offer, I’ve been authorized to inform you that our organization is prepared to apply pressure on certain persons of interest in order to assure your cooperation.”
“Already threatening me. Tch.” Forte shook his head slowly. “I don’t respond well to threats.”
“There was a contract out on a young woman named Sophie Kim.” Zerta ground out the revelation as if Forte didn’t know.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Forte shot back. But he had what he wanted. All they’d needed to do was acknowledge the existence of it.
“We—”
Forte stood. “Threatening me and mine isn’t the way to gain our cooperation. This is not the kind of team I want to work with and you all know it. I shouldn’t have to say more, but just to be sure, I’ll say this clearly: Leave Sophie Kim alone. We’re done here.”