herself in front of C J in case any last minute adjustments to his pants were still in order.
Breaking free from the phone conversation momentarily without registering C J’s presence, Jeff asked, “How about some dinner or are you still working on Max’s article? If you’re still at it I can pick something up and…” Jeff stopped abruptly and shifted gears when he noticed C J and extended his hand. “Mr. Fairchild, it’s great to meet you but Zoe didn’t mention you were in town,” he said, looking her direction.
“I had some unexpected business in the city before heading overseas and decided to stop in and see if I could get a first look at the final interview. Ms. Alden is insisting I must wait for publication, so I plan to try and persuade her over dinner tonight. Would you care to join us?” C J said while shaking Jeff’s hand.
Jeff quickly looked between the two of them and said, “Sorry but I’ll pass on dinner. There’s probably someone’s ass I need to chew out for something stupid they’ve done. Oh, congratulations on the contract you pulled off. It seems you bested Hercules Oil and picked up some prime acreage in the west Texas basin. Rob Scott had that on the newswire an hour ago.”
“Strange. There was no press release, so I don’t know how that news has already hit the street, but thank you. That contract moved fast and was just finalized this morning,” C J answered, a bit perplexed.
“Zoe, go ahead and catch dinner with Mr. Fairchild. Max’s article can wait,” Jeff said as he turned to exit her office. “Great to meet you Mr. Fairchild. Enjoy your stopover in the city.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thompson,” C J said as Jeff left Zoe’s office, closing the door behind him.
“Boy, is he always in such a hurry?” C J asked as he turned to look at Zoe.
The look he saw on her face stopped him from asking his next question. Zoe literally looked like she was primed and ready to blow. Not at all sure what had happened to change her mood, C J just kept quiet and waited.
“You son of a bitch,” Zoe started. “How could you not tell me about this deal and let it break on the Reuters newswire before your interview is published? You didn’t even give me an inkling that something big was in the works.”
“Zoe, you know I couldn’t tell you about a deal that wasn’t finalized. Contract negotiations are never public knowledge until the agreement is a done deal,” C J answered, not sure how he had gotten in such deep shit.
“How about informing me today? Did the idea that I might wish to edit it into the interview occur to you?” Zoe declared.
“Seriously? No, my motivation for coming here was to see you, not to talk about business,” C J answered, an edge to his voice, “Why the hell is this so important? It’s just a land deal, not anything unusual in the oil business.”
“Rob Scott, of all of the reporters to break the story; I loathe that asshole and I am sure he is delighted as hell to feel like he one-upped me,” Zoe said.
“It’s not that big of a deal, and if you want the details on the acquisition I’ll give them to you now. You can add it to the interview or not,” C J said.
“Not that big of a deal to you, but in my line of work coming in second with news doesn’t cut it,” Zoe shot back.
“I thought your interview was an in-depth piece on the industry and Marshall Petroleum’s contribution, not a quick write up about breaking news. It seems I had your interests figured all wrong. I’ll let you get back to your writing, Ms. Alden. Sorry to break your concentration,” C J said, swiftly exiting the office.
“Crap,” Zoe said aloud as she paced between her desk and the office door. If C J Fairchild expects me to run after him he can forget it. Rob Scott, just thinking about his delight at breaking this story got Zoe so furious she wanted to scream. Instead she
Breaking free from the phone conversation momentarily without registering C J’s presence, Jeff asked, “How about some dinner or are you still working on Max’s article? If you’re still at it I can pick something up and…” Jeff stopped abruptly and shifted gears when he noticed C J and extended his hand. “Mr. Fairchild, it’s great to meet you but Zoe didn’t mention you were in town,” he said, looking her direction.
“I had some unexpected business in the city before heading overseas and decided to stop in and see if I could get a first look at the final interview. Ms. Alden is insisting I must wait for publication, so I plan to try and persuade her over dinner tonight. Would you care to join us?” C J said while shaking Jeff’s hand.
Jeff quickly looked between the two of them and said, “Sorry but I’ll pass on dinner. There’s probably someone’s ass I need to chew out for something stupid they’ve done. Oh, congratulations on the contract you pulled off. It seems you bested Hercules Oil and picked up some prime acreage in the west Texas basin. Rob Scott had that on the newswire an hour ago.”
“Strange. There was no press release, so I don’t know how that news has already hit the street, but thank you. That contract moved fast and was just finalized this morning,” C J answered, a bit perplexed.
“Zoe, go ahead and catch dinner with Mr. Fairchild. Max’s article can wait,” Jeff said as he turned to exit her office. “Great to meet you Mr. Fairchild. Enjoy your stopover in the city.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Thompson,” C J said as Jeff left Zoe’s office, closing the door behind him.
“Boy, is he always in such a hurry?” C J asked as he turned to look at Zoe.
The look he saw on her face stopped him from asking his next question. Zoe literally looked like she was primed and ready to blow. Not at all sure what had happened to change her mood, C J just kept quiet and waited.
“You son of a bitch,” Zoe started. “How could you not tell me about this deal and let it break on the Reuters newswire before your interview is published? You didn’t even give me an inkling that something big was in the works.”
“Zoe, you know I couldn’t tell you about a deal that wasn’t finalized. Contract negotiations are never public knowledge until the agreement is a done deal,” C J answered, not sure how he had gotten in such deep shit.
“How about informing me today? Did the idea that I might wish to edit it into the interview occur to you?” Zoe declared.
“Seriously? No, my motivation for coming here was to see you, not to talk about business,” C J answered, an edge to his voice, “Why the hell is this so important? It’s just a land deal, not anything unusual in the oil business.”
“Rob Scott, of all of the reporters to break the story; I loathe that asshole and I am sure he is delighted as hell to feel like he one-upped me,” Zoe said.
“It’s not that big of a deal, and if you want the details on the acquisition I’ll give them to you now. You can add it to the interview or not,” C J said.
“Not that big of a deal to you, but in my line of work coming in second with news doesn’t cut it,” Zoe shot back.
“I thought your interview was an in-depth piece on the industry and Marshall Petroleum’s contribution, not a quick write up about breaking news. It seems I had your interests figured all wrong. I’ll let you get back to your writing, Ms. Alden. Sorry to break your concentration,” C J said, swiftly exiting the office.
“Crap,” Zoe said aloud as she paced between her desk and the office door. If C J Fairchild expects me to run after him he can forget it. Rob Scott, just thinking about his delight at breaking this story got Zoe so furious she wanted to scream. Instead she
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