Mr. President 1(121)

I feel the tension in my jaw ease a little after releasing those words, but I look over again at Gerard and see that my frustration has simply transferred to him. We've been arguing for over 45 minutes.

He shakes his head and slaps his palm down on the table. "I don't understand! It makes no sense!"

"I don't expect you to understand." My voice is now resigned to the situation.

"Why?" he asks. "Why do you insist on holding onto Simulated Pleasures LLC? You've released your ownership on everything else. Just explain that to me!"

"Why can't you take no for an answer?" I reply.

"I told you everything that Luca Giannoni has told me, sir. Mr. Morozov has taken a special interest in your phone sex operation, and he's keen to purchase it from you. He's offering you an excellent price. You won't get this price anywhere else. I can promise you that. Why not sell before the ship sinks?"
#p#分页标题#e#
"Who says the ship will ever sink?" I ask. "You heard yourself that this is the most profitable phone sex operation in the tri-state area."

"Come on, Arsen. You know as well as I do. Phone sex won't remain profitable forever. Young people want web cams and free porn streamed to their cell phones. Why call when you can see the real deal, you know what I mean?"

"Phone sex is an art. I don't think it'll ever be completely dismissed like you say it will."

"Maybe so, but it'll be relegated to some small niche. Why not cash in when the money's still very good? You'll be a very rich man from the sale of this."

"I'm already a rich man!" I growl. "Are you forgetting that? I'm worth billions, so before you say another word about money, I want you to remember everything Dad left me with."

My mood has soured again, and I want nothing more than to end this meeting, but Gerard can be like a fly that won't go away and his incessant buzzing in my ear is wearing me down. He's doing a good job of making me think that this issue may never go away. Nothing I say seems to deter him. He always has a rebuttal, and frankly, it's pissing me off.

I know rationally speaking I should be blaming this on Luca Giannoni and the Russian Mob that wants to buy me out. But instead the anger is manifesting itself toward the one man who is always there for me.

And he’s giving it right back to me as much as I’m giving it to him.

"Yes, yes, of course you're a rich man! No one is doubting or forgetting that. But who has ever said no to more money? Arsen, I just don't understand it. It's completely irrational and bordering on madness! Why are you so hell bent on throwing away a golden opportunity? Why can't you see the value in this deal?"

“Maybe it’s the way the mob is going to treat the staff?” I say, rhetorically.

“What’s wrong with how they treat their staff?” Gerard asks. “It’s always on the up and up.”

“You wouldn’t feel a little guilty knowing we just sold someone’s business to the mob?” I shoot back.

“It didn’t seem to stop you from unloading the porn studios, the web cam operations, the sex dungeons, the brothels, the escort services, and strip clubs,” Gerard says. “Name one time for the other businesses when you brought up an issue with how the mob treats its workers.”

“That’s not the same Gerard, and you know it!” I shoot back. “The strip clubs independently contract out to the girls. They can leave any time. Hell, we don’t even know if they’ll come in on any given night if its raining or snowing. And the bouncers and managers are all men; they can take care of themselves.”

“The other businesses?” Gerard asks.

“They’re too decentralized. The sex dungeons, if the mob wanted to lay down the law or do anything, no one would show up. And we contractually dealt with everyone on the web cam operations or the porn studios. The escort services we just got a cut. Nothing much would change.”

“And so nothing much would change for this sale either, Arsen,” Gerard says, getting up and grabbing a glass of water and running his hands through his hair. “This is the best deal that’s out there and you’re dragging your feet.”

“These people that work at Simulated Pleasures have never worked with gangsters before,” I tell Gerard.

“And neither have you, Arsen,” Gerard says to me. “We’re not dealing with blue chip corporations here. They can make this personal.”

“Then why would I want them in the lives of my current employees?” I ask back. I think I’ve got a point.#p#分页标题#e#

But I know that Gerard has one too. Why didn’t I care so much about letting the mob into the livelihoods of the employees at the other establishments? I mean, fuck, I just told myself back then that they were tough and they could handle themselves.