Have a Nice Conflict by Tim Scudder

Author:Tim Scudder [Scudder, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The morning had raced by, and John felt impending doom churning in his gut as the clock on his desk hit 12:55.

Dr. Mac hadn’t returned his call yet. There would be no

advice, no pep talk. He was on his own for this one.

John had spent some time over lunch trying to think

back on his interactions with Bonnie over the years. What

could her motivation be? From everything he remembered,

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it was looking like Green or Red. There were signs that

could point to either one. She always came to a conversation

fortified with an arsenal of data, which she quoted with

whiz kid dexterity. But unlike Gail’s exacting and reserved

delivery (or Green-speak as John was starting to call it),

Bonnie spoke with a passionate, no-nonsense, results-driven

approach that reminded him of his own. After an exhausting

internal debate, he remembered the blends. He didn’t have

to choose one; she was probably both—a Red-Green blend.

She wanted to win, but only if she had an indisputable,

rational case for it. John hoped he was right about her,

since over the past hour, he had been planning a Red-Green

strategy for the conference call.

12:59. John dialed the designated number and punched

in the pass code. An automatic greeting welcomed him to

Delta’s teleconference center. Blake was already on the line.

‘‘Hello?’’ said John.

‘‘It’s just us, boss.’’ said Blake. ‘‘I hope you have a plan.’’

‘‘Actually, I think I do.’’

A few seconds later, a chime announced Bonnie’s arrival

on the call.

‘‘Good afternoon, everyone,’’ said Bonnie.

‘‘Hello, Bonnie,’’ offered John.

‘‘How are you, Bonn?’’ asked Blake.

‘‘Fine, thanks.’’

‘‘How’d your husband’s trip to Thailand go?’’ asked

Blake. John cringed. Blake’s love for chitchat had always

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Chapter 6

struck him as superfluous and inane. Since working with

Mac, though, John realized Blake’s best weapon in sales had

been his ability to build close relationships with his clients.

This, however, was not the time or the person for it. John

imagined that Bonnie had prepared for this call even more

than they had. She had her chess pieces lined up, and she

was itching to start moving them.

‘‘It was fine,’’ said Bonnie flatly.

‘‘So.’’ John jumped in to block any more Blue chatter

from Blake, ‘‘I hear we have some things to talk about.’’

‘‘You know, I’ve done business with you guys a long

time,’’ said Bonnie. ‘‘And I’d like to stick with you, but

I’ve got orders to cut costs. And quite frankly, one of your

competitors has offered prices that are significantly better

than yours. So as much as it would pain me to do it, I’m

afraid I need to make a switch.’’

John’s stomach dropped. ‘‘Did you sign a contract with

them?’’

‘‘Well, not yet. But we’re talking some big numbers.

We’re going to need a much deeper discount.’’

There it was. John knew this had been coming all day,

but it still packed a punch.

‘‘It’s just business. You understand,’’ explained Bonnie

casually.

‘‘I understand,’’ said John. It wasn’t the sarcastic re-

sponse he wanted to give, but he was doing his best to stay

composed. He knew being baited into conflict would take

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the conversation down a destructive path—one he would

not have as much control over.

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