Till The Last Drop

As Jane learned from her boss and after grant writing for too little money, the wording was everything.

So, when she placed the notebook on the table 30 minutes into negotiations, she made sure there was no misunderstanding when she said, “I believe we were at 40 grand.”

She tapped her nails on the cover. The businessman, Richard, cringed before schooling his face.

“I agree to 15 if I call correctly,” he said. “It’s still just a notebook. My notebook, specifically.”

“We’ve already gone over why that’s a false claim.” She rolled her eyes. “I get you didn’t want sticker pieces all over the back but once this notebook crossed the store’s scanner, it was mine. Paid in full.”

“It’s still my private property,” he argued. “It doesn’t matter if I set it down and you picked it up when I wasn’t looking.”

“This notebook is $32.09, including tax. That’s enough for you to sue me if you want it back,” she said. “But from the frantic scribbles and the dates, I’m guessing you don’t have that kind of time. So, again I say, 40 grand. What more do you want? I came down from 50.” The man looked at her for a moment before chuckling. He sipped at the black coffee he had nursed since they started the conversation. Her throat was tight with nerves, and her finger twitched for something to hold on to. Negotiations would be so much easier for her if she could keep still.

“I’ll be right back,” she went to the counter to order a latte.

The urge to pull out her phone made her while she waited made her hand itch, but she resisted. She had to look calm and collected right now. Nor did she want anything to distract her from the black notebook in her grip. She huffed out a laugh. The biggest moment of her life was happening in a café during her lunch break, all because of a mistake she made last Saturday. She looked at the croissants on display, her mood dampening.

What would she give for some tacos at that moment…

“Black Forest Latte for Plain Jane,” the barista announced. She rolled her eyes as she stepped up.

“Plain Jane.” The barista set the cup of coffee down in front of her, gently enough not to ruin the leaf design in the foam. Her fingers brushed his as she grabbed her drink. While his gaze was stoic, his touch lingered a beat longer than usual.

“Coffee Joe,” she said breezily before turning back to go to her table, the sound of her heels cutting through the background noise of the café. She sat down with a huff, taking a small sip before setting her drink down. Richard had a well-meaning smirk on his face as she sat down.

“Rule number one: don’t piss off the bartenders or baristas,” he said.

“I’d like to think both me and him have an apathetic relationship,” she stated.

“Really?” he said. “Because this is your fourth cup, and I don’t see any improvements.”

“I like coffee, and he likes tips.” She sat up straighter, determination entering her gaze. “But let’s focus on why we’re here, shall we?”

“We shall,” he said. The businessman straightened up. He stared at her for a moment and she tightened her grip on her cup. His eyes flickered to her hand for a moment but kept his face neutral.

“20 thousand,” he said. Jane opened her mouth to protest, and he held up his hand. “Give me a chance to sell it to you.” She scowled but sat back, gesturing him to continue. He smiled before leaning forward. She knew if he stood up, he would be towering over her.

“You need a chance to start over,” he said, “I know you do. You wouldn’t be fighting so hard for more money if you didn’t. And I’m going to assume that if you had the money to do it, you would. Am I wrong?”

“…And what makes you so sure that I can’t start over with 40?” she asked, giving in.

“40 is a lot harder to explain to a bank,” he said.

“And twenty isn’t?”

“Not if you frame it right,” he told her. “Look, I lost my private property. I put out an award for it. You received that award. Now, considering my spending history, I wouldn’t make a decision that cost more than $20,000. Unless you’re a house.” He winked and Jane forced a smile. “The point is, I can get you one step closer to whatever change you’re trying to make. Why toil away trying to wait months on end, fighting responsibilities along the way when you could have what you need right now? Doesn’t that sound better than a drawn-out lawsuit?

A small shiver went down Jane’s spine at the veiled threat. It seems like she reached his ultimatum. She stared at the leaf design in her latte before taking a sip. She sighed before opening the notebook to the first page, which was blank. She pulled out a pen and started writing.”

“Whoa, whoa—”

“Give me a second,” she snapped. “It’s nothing bad.”

The businessman sighed but didn’t interfere, even though she wanted to stomp his foot to keep int from tapping. She rolled her eyes but finished the paragraph that she wrote before showing it to him.

“I, Richard Olsen, have recovered this classic black Moleskine notebook on this day, July 18th, 2018, which had been previously missing as of July 14th, 2018. In recovering the previously mentioned notebook, I have agreed to pay Jane Arbor an award amount of $20,000. This reward is for the recipient to use as they so choose without interference,” she recited. She placed the notebook and pen in front of him. “Sign it. And date.” He raised his eyebrows at the contract before smiling.

“I like how you think, Jane.” He scribbled his signature under the paragraph with the date next to it. He pushed it back to her before reaching into his bag and pulling out a checkbook. She snorted.

“How old school,” she commented.

“You should be happy about that,” he said as he filled out a check. He placed it on the table, and Jane reached for it, but he covered it before she could grab it. “Not so fast,” he said. Richard grabbed the notebook and quickly wrote another sentence down. He turned it towards her to read.

I, Jane Arbor, have received the reward of $20,000 from Richard Olsen for the recovery of his private property in full via check on July 18th, 2018.

“Sign it,” he smirked. “And date.” Jane’s mouth twitched a smile, but she bit it back.

“Touché.” She signed the agreement quickly before whipping out her phone. “Just in case, I need proof later.” She also took a picture of Richard, the notebook and check in the frame with him.

“Smart girl,” he commented before pushing the check towards her. She snatched it from the table, quickly folding it and putting it in her inner jacket pocket. “You know, I could give you some advice about what to do with that money over dinner.”

“Sorry, I’m previously engaged,” she said breezily while taking another sip of her latte.

“Well, whenever you’re done making that big change, you should call me.” He grabbed his bag and stood up; his notebook tucked under his arm. “It was nice negotiating with you, Jane.”

She nodded and watched him leave as she finished her coffee. Jane shook her head when he was gone, her body relaxing while her tongue protested against the taste of decaf.

By all logic, the plan should have blown up in her face. Yet, there sat a $20,000 check practically burning a hole in her pocket.

The barista, Joe, slid into the seat across from her.

“Nicely done,” he said. Jane smirked as she placed her cup down.

“I completely understand what you meant. Being as audacious as a man is thrilling. And you got so worried when I went down.” Joe shivered at the memory.

“You were giving in too easy,” he protested.

“Hey, I needed to let him know I could go down,” Jane argued. “We hit our target, did we not?”

“Exceedingly well.” Joe pulled out photocopies of the notebook she just gave back. On there were copies of Richard's written stock predictions. There were more calculations than Jane’s eyes could handle, Joe’s notes covering them all.

If anyone asked her if she purposely stole the notebook of a stockbroker, she could honestly answer yes. She was pissed off to find that someone had written in the new notebook she bought and was on her way back to demand a refund if it weren’t for Joe explaining what the rows of numbers meant. She was no thief, so of course, she always planned to give it back…but like Richard said, why toil away at work when a better opportunity was right in front of her?

Joe researched the market while she researched Richard, going back to the bookstore sans notebook to set up a time to meet. From his impatient response, she knew he needed his notes back sooner than later. From a quick LinkedIn search, she saw he could afford to pay for it. So, her and Joe came up with a system of signals sent through coffee designs for when to push, turn the conversation, and when to surrender.

Joe wrote the script, she set the stage, and they both got standing ovations for their work.

Not bad for four days of prep. They always had a good rhythm, a fact that lingered on Jane’s mind more and more each day…

“Okay, here’s how you’ll want to split up your investments,” Joe said, pushing a folded piece of paper over to her. “Pay close attention to the dates. Whatever you do, don’t buy before then, and the amounts are the max you should invest, okay?”

“Wall Street must be hurting without you there anymore,” Jane commented as she pocketed the piece of paper.

“What can I say? My favorite smell is espresso,” he said dryly. She laughed a little as she stood up. He did the same, gathering the photocopies and handing them to her. “Shred these when you get home.” She took them, placing them deep in her purse.

“I will send your $4,900 after I deposit the check tomorrow,” she told him. Joe looked at her bemused.

“$4900? We agreed on 5K…” She shrugged.

“I need some leeway to take you to a nice dinner. For our date.” She shrugged. Joe’s eyes widened, a blush covering his cheeks.

“Our, um, a date?” he said. Jane smiled at him sweetly.

“I figured it would be much better than a thank you.” She stepped close to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Besides, I already told Richard I was previously engaged.”

“I…uh…”

“Is that a yes?” she asked, her nerves surfacing once more. Maybe she read Joe's lingering touch from earlier wrong…

“Yes,” Joe quickly said. “We can—yes. It’s a date.”

“Great,” she said, her smile instantly coming back. “I gotta get back to work. Put my notice in and everything. See you tomorrow, Coffee Joe?” He smiled, shyly looking down while revealing dimples she’d never seen before. She decided she would get him to smile more.

“See you later, Plain Jane,” he teased, squeezing her hand quickly as she stepped around him to leave.

She checked her watch as she stepped out. At this rate, she would be 15 minutes late for work, but she wasn’t bothered. She only had two weeks left anyway. She looked back into the café, where Joe had returned behind the counter, his blush still lingering on his face.

Like Jane’s boss always said, the wording was everything.