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magic, exactly. I’m just giving people the tools they need to communicate in a respectful, constructive fashion.”
    “As opposed to shouting obscenities at each other and hurling paperclips across the conference table?”
    “Right,” Adam frowned. “How’s the CEO’s eye, by the way?”
    “Better. He’ll be joining us today, of course. Here’s an agenda for today’s meeting. The list at the bottom has the names and titles of everyone who’ll be part of today’s discussion.”
    She slid the piece of paper across the table toward him, and Adam skimmed over it. Ten minutes for introductions, that was good. He’d try to push for twenty, maybe introduce a brief get-to-know-you exercise to help break the ice. He made a note in the margin beside an item about salary cap negotiations. Better to save that conversation for the next meeting, to wait until they’d established a better sense of safety and security.
    His eyes dropped to the names of participants. Phil Gallow, the CFO. Adam hadn’t met the guy yet, but he’d heard good things. Brett Lombard from the Oregon Nurses Association—he’d spoken with him in a phone conference a couple weeks ago. Mia Dawson from the NICU—he didn’t know anything about her. Susan Schrader from—
    “Mr. Thomas?”
    Adam looked up from the paper and caught the worried look in Kendall’s eyes. “Yes?”
    “You’ll be—um, well, discreet about all this, won’t you?”
    “Labor negotiations are always confidential.”
    “Yes. Yes, of course.” She fidgeted with her pen. “This organization has had problems in the past with the media.”
    “Yes, I read about that. The previous CEO’s wife was running an escort service on the side?”
    Kendall pressed her lips together and nodded once. “Yes. It was before my time at Belmont, and obviously that particular CEO is no longer with the organization.”
    “But the media hasn’t forgotten?”
    “Nor have the employees. Their trust in Belmont’s leadership team faltered after the incident. As I’m sure you’re aware, public perception is vital with a respected organization like Belmont.”
    “I understand completely,” Adam said. “I appreciate your desire to keep things out of the newspaper and off the local airwaves. While I can’t control the actions of the bargaining team, I can assure you of my own discretion.”
    “Good. That’s good.” Kendall took a deep breath. “I want to apologize again for my failure to make our meeting the other night. Family emergency.”
    “Not a problem. I totally understand. I hope everything’s okay now.”
    She gave a tight nod, then folded her hands together on the desk. “I—um—I understand you also do other kinds of mediation? Outside the corporate world?”
    “That’s correct,” Adam said, not sure what she was driving at.
    “Your website mentioned you do—uh, marriage counseling?”
    Adam pushed the meeting agenda aside and gave her his full attention. “Not exactly. I spent ten years as a corporate attorney before going through a rather difficult divorce. It gave me some perspective on my career and my life choices, so I went back to school for a degree in counseling. When I’m not working with companies to improve their labor relations, I’m in private practice as a marital mediator.”
    “Marital mediator?”
    “For couples going through divorce,” Adam said. “Or deciding whether to divorce. The idea is to work through the issues in a spirit of cooperation instead of launching costly legal battles. It’s surprisingly effective, not to mention much less expensive than a courtroom fight.”
    Kendall sat nodding, her eyes glittering beneath the fluorescent lights. She didn’t say anything, so Adam cleared his throat. “Are you looking for someone to work with in that capacity?”
    She looked down at her hands. “Maybe. I’m not sure. I’m sorry, this is very unprofessional of me—”
    “Not at all,” Adam said. “Bridging the gap between