With just five days left before Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein's three-year contract expires, negotiations between team CEO Larry Lucchino and his protege remain strained, as Epstein yesterday met with Lucchino and rejected an offer of $1.2 million a year for at least three years, according to a major league executive with knowledge of the negotiations. It is not known whether that is the Red Sox' final offer, but it is believed that the matter will be resolved either way in the next 24-48 hours. While money is a major factor in the negotiations, it is growing increasingly apparent that there are other issues, namely a personality clash in management styles between Lucchino and Epstein that transcends chain-of-command questions. The latest Sox proposal is well above the three-year deal averaging $850,000 a year that the club is believed to have offered Epstein as part of its original proposal, and would more than triple the $350,000 salary Epstein is believed to have received in 2005, the last year of a three-year deal for just under $1 million.