A Good Little Girl Like You (A Sample)

Tuesday, September 18

Rebecca sat in her supervisor's office, staring at him

across his desk. Mark Danforth used to work in the group

with her, but thanks to a very successful deal with a Latin

American country, he recently got promoted to run the

group. Now he thought he was the only one at Ultra

Threads who understood international negotiations.

Smug idiot. Rebecca tossed the letter she'd been reading

onto his desk. "You can't bribe people in the Czech

Republic, Mark."

"Sure you can. Everyone wants more money. You deal

with Russians all the time. Don't they demand a little extra

on the side here and there?"

"It varies from country to country. People in unstable

countries, like the Latin American one you're so famous for,

expect bribes. Everything is so uncertain for them that they

need satisfaction up front. Russia is much more stable, so

you don't bribe them up front, you just give them a little

extra at various stages to speed things along. And the Czech

people don't want it anywhere-they expect a fair deal. If

you bribe them, they become suspicious that the deal is

bad." She threw her hands out and shook them. "You've got

to know the culture."

"Sorry, Rebecca. But the Czech deal is very important-

we can't afford for it to fail. I think we should add a little

extra on the side to sweeten your offer. That way, there won't

be any hitches."

"Trust me. The deal I wrote has no hitches in it. If you

add a bribe, they're going to reject it. Please don't do that."

Mark scowled. "Hey! I'm the boss here-I know what

I'm doing. You just stick to deal writing, and I'll polish them

so they get signed." He waved his hand toward the door.

"Anyway, aren't you on your way to Moscow for a little powwow?

Maybe you should wear some sexier outfits-tilt

things in our favor."

Offensive bastard. She considered reporting him for

sexual harassment. Then they would fire him and she might

get to run the group. She could certainly do a better job

than Mark.

But Rebecca knew it wasn't that easy. Reporting his

comment wouldn't do a thing to him and would only make

her position in the group worse. If she'd learned anything

from her first job, it was that the world worked that way.

Rebecca didn't need any more of this today. She got up

and gave him an icy stare. "Don't you ever tell me how to

negotiate-I know these people better than you ever will.

And don't treat me like a sex toy either. This company has