Billionaire Flawed 2(32)

Mr. Dibney sat back in his chair and didn’t pursue his thought any further. But it was obvious that he had a lot more he wanted to say.

I grew a bit more fascinated by my boss when he talked like that. He was shrewd when he needed to be and never minded using the stick instead of the carrot. His powerful words gave me a new sense of accomplishment and I wanted to live up to them.

“Mr. Dibney, you’ve given me a great idea. I’m going to add a provision that any money accrued on the 3% figure, that you so obviously hate, will be deposited in a trust for my personal assistant to do with as she pleases,” Tom said.

I quickly did the math in my head and nearly fainted thinking about the numbers. The amount of money would be nearly 1.2 million dollars.

“Now see here, Tom. Throwing money around doesn’t do any good for this company. You’re going to cost a lot of jobs if this deal doesn’t go through. Are you prepared to deal with that?” Mr. Dibney spouted.

“If a deal is to cost jobs, I should make it yours. The amount of money in bonuses you make at years end would shore up the loss quite readily. So, I should hope for your sake that this deal goes through.” Spat Tom.

I couldn’t tell if Tom was interested in this conversation or not. He had a stake in the outcome of this deal, but treating an old businessman like this felt a little harsh, even by my standards.

I leaned in and whispered in Tom’s ear. “You don’t have to keep fighting for me, if that’s what this is about. I get annoyed by racist rhetoric but I’m professional enough to deal with it.”

Tom turned and whispered back. “I like watching him squirm, he knows it’s a good deal, he just wants more money for his pet projects. Besides, you’ll need some seed money when you start your own business and I want to be an investor.”

I felt giddy again knowing that he was being serious about giving me a percentage.

It was around then that another group of people entered the meeting room. They looked like penguins lined up in a row as they sat on the opposite side of the table.

“Mr. Ellis,” began one of the men; it was Mr. Benjamin Riley a lawyer whom we’d had favorable dealings with in the past. “I see you wanted to increase the margin by 3%? I don’t think my client is able to go that high with the economy as it stands. We can go as high as 16%.”

Tom stood up, and looked over the crowd of new people at the table.

“Need I remind you all what this deal is for?” Tom started. “We’re here to change the lives of so many people.” He walked down the line of chairs while he spoke. “This is to secure the land rights for the park. Are you really trying to profit off the backs of subjugated minorities? I know I’m not. That’s why I’m waiving my usual fees to make this deal happen.” He stopped and leaned against Mr. Dibney’s chair, which continued to fluster the old man.

“You might be waiving your fee, but you stand to make a lot of money from this deal, hiring people from your own company to build a project that the city is commissioning from you.” Mr. Riley leaned back in his chair. “You also will own the land rights for any businesses that build on the site meaning that we couldn’t go near it with any franchise we own. You’re asking a lot, even though you know we need to sell, the deal is still raw.”

“I’ll not have any franchises mucking up this community center, nor will they tarnish the parks. This is to be a place for small local business to thrive and build up. The only way for people to care about their community is to be active members of it. I’ll build the buildings, I’ll handle the rent check, but you’ll still get paid a fair share, and more than a fair share. I could give you less than twenty percent, but instead I’m giving you more than eighty.”

Tom was right and they knew it.

The group of men talked amongst themselves for a moment and returned. “We’ll sign and we hope you might reconsider the option at a later date.”

Tom had received his increase in price, which was great for him and great for the people. Hands were shaken, papers were signed, and I couldn’t help but respect him just a little more.

The room cleared quickly, and Tom stared out the 60th floor window looking out at the expanse of the city. He may like to keep his feet on the ground, but it was obvious that he loved surveying his domain.

“Did I make a change, today?” he asked suddenly.

It took me a moment to piece together an answer. “You are improving the lives of a community in which I used to live. Of course you made a change today.”

I cleaned the space a bit, replacing water glasses and readying papers to be filed or shredded.