Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [58]
“Kiki Aellia. And of course you are Tom’s sister, Annie. Welcome to the Grayson Coffee Company.”
“Thank you.”
“We have a small dining room we can use to have some coffee and sweet rolls or we can sit in my office. I’ve carved out thirty minutes from my schedule to see you today.”
Gee whiz, a whole thirty minutes. Annie felt herself start to bristle. The hell with the dining room. She continued to bristle when she said, “I can state my business in five minutes. I certainly don’t wish to intrude on your busy day. A cola would be a little more refreshing than a cup of coffee. Shall we get on with it?” Annie said in a voice that could have chilled milk.
Kiki Aellia’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows shot upward. “Certainly,” she said, leading the way to a beautiful office filled with native flowers. It smelled heavenly.
Annie sat down and crossed her legs. She knew the woman across from her was assessing the total cost of her clothing as well as the handbag. Best money I ever spent in my life, Annie thought sourly. Where the hell is Parker?
“Let’s cut to the chase, as they say. I cannot handle an increase in coffee prices. In fact, I came here to ask you in person to shave two dollars a pound from your price.”
“That’s out of the question, Miss Clark. Labor prices have gone up. Kona coffee is primo: We have no other choice. Unlike the other coffee exporters, we have not raised our prices in seven years,” Kiki said flatly. “Unless you want your coffee unroasted.”
“If that’s your final word, then there’s no point in my eating into that thirty minutes you allotted me. I would like to leave you with a thought,” Annie said, getting up out of the rattan chair. “If I take my business elsewhere, which I will, that means you have to peddle two hundred forty thousand pounds of coffee somewhere else. Where’s the logic to that? I don’t know if Tom told you or not, but we’re adding something new to the Daisy Shops. We’re going to start selling coffees by the pound. If our projections are on target, we would be tripling our order. So you see, the price cut is essential. Are you sure you want to risk losing ten million dollars a year? That’s at fourteen dollars a pound. Roasted, of course.” Annie looked at her watch. She’d used up eight minutes. She smiled sweetly. “I’m staying at the Whaler. Perhaps you’d like to think about this. I’ll give you until five o’clock this afternoon. It was nice meeting you Miss Aellia. Oh, my brother said to say hello. I can see myself out. Cat got your tongue? Mr. Grayson seems to suffer from the same affliction when things get to the squeeze area. By the way, where is he?” Annie asked boldly.
“On Maui. He only comes in two or three times a week or so to check on the laboratory. I didn’t know you knew my brother, Miss Clark.”
Brother! “We met many years ago.” Kiki was Parker’s sister. If Parker’s sister was working at the coffee company that had to mean her tirade twelve years ago had hit home. “Your brother owes me twelve thousand pounds of coffee. Feel free to mention that to him.” Annie wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw shades of panic in the beautiful dark eyes.
“Perhaps I can rearrange my schedule and we can discuss matters. Negotiations are always . . . interesting.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t. Rearrange your schedule I mean. I don’t negotiate. Heads of state negotiate. I’m just a lowly multimillion-dollar company that does business with you. That’s just another way of saying we do it my way, or I take my marbles and go home.” Annie looked at her watch. “Oh, dear, I’ve taken up four more minutes of your time. Five o’clock, Miss Aellia. Not one minute later.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Miss Clark.”
“You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t bargain. Fourteen dollars a pound is a fair price. I pride myself on being fair. Thirteen would be better, but it’s such an unlucky number.”
“I’ll need to talk to my brother.”
“Do whatever you feel you have to do, Miss Aellia. My price is firm, and so is my deadline. One more thing. It’s a small matter, but small matters sometimes influence decisions.