“Well, what do you guys think?” Sam asked the two women seated across from him in his living room.
Lucy looked serious, going over her notes as well as doing some kind of search on his tablet, while Lara was leaning back elegantly on the sofa and sipping from a to-go cup. He had called them over after finishing his riveting call with Katie. Lucy for her knowledge about their business and Lara for her knowledge about the people like Katie’s father.
“It could be anything. Threatening you, bribing you, trying to buy out your company, I don’t know!” Lucy exclaimed, pulling at her hair with her free hand.
Sam nodded. “So far, he was firmly in the enemy category. Could it be that something changed?” he offered his own thoughts on the issue.
Lara took a slow sip before speaking up.
“People like Maximilian Stelborn usually are very fast with changing how they approach things. If one way doesn’t work, then they will take another route. You handed him defeat after defeat and his guild is middling at best. He knows he is not doing well. So, either he doubles down and does something drastic or pivots,” she explained matter-of-factly.
Sam only had one question. “His name is Maximilian? Could he even be a more stereotypically evil rich person?”
Lara just snorted. “He is not evil. Just a businessman. Or should I call you evil?”
“With the way he likes to torture me with his odd choices, I feel evil is such a weak word to describe him…” Lucy muttered, still looking at her tablet.
Lara laughed a little and raised her cup at Sam. “Well, then here is to our evil overlord!”
“Thank you,” Sam replied wryly. “So, you think this is him realizing that his usual modus operandi is not working and is trying to…what? Join me? Have me lead his guild?” he asked a little confused.
For once, his knowledge of tropes left him unable to parse the objective of this meeting.
Lara tapped a finger to her lips for a few seconds, thinking before replying. “I think… you should go to this meeting with an open mind. Treat him like a businessman and not someone you have been humiliating for the last few months.”
Lucy chose the moment to chime in. “Since Katie’s brother left the Steel Lions, their share of the area they control has been going down steadily.”
“Wasn’t that because we made sure to fuck with them?”
“Well, yes, but it started when David left the guild and then joined ours.”
“What a coincidence…” Sam said mysteriously.
“Sam. You told me to do it.”
“Shhh! It was a mysterious coincidence and let’s go with that…”
Lucy let out an exasperated huff before continuing.
“ANYWAY! Looking purely from an economic perspective, Steel Lions are soon going to be relegated to the second-tier list.”
“Their position in Deep Anchor is so unsure?”
“With your meddling they have never been that stable to begin with, but nowadays there are several other guilds who want to be the big boys around there…”
“Anyone worth mentioning?”
She shook her head. “Nah, most of them realize that we are the biggest around and have already sent messengers over to make a deal.”
“Really? They just send over somebody? What for?” Lara asked curiously.
“Mostly a pile of gifts so as not to grief them…” Lucy explained.
Lara just let out a small sound of understanding while Sam had an idea.
“Hey, Lucy…”
“Oh, god. What now?”
“Ferabor is going to be finished soon. Set aside a few smaller plots for those friendly guilds. Then have a small private auction for them,” he explained with a big smile. “Let’s build some bridges…”
Lucy looked at Lara with a questioning look, who, after a little thinking, nodded. “Sure, we have some small plots that haven’t been assigned to be sold to the big players, so we can cut them up and sell to these people.”
His friend looked back at them before letting out a sigh. “Fine… More work for me…”
“Look on the bright side. At least you aren’t going to be spending your evening with somebody called Maximilian.”
“It’s not that bad…”
“At least if he banishes me to the shadow realm, send somebody to rescue me…”
“What?”
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long before the agreed upon time for the meeting came. Dressed in some classy clothes that looked like every other fancy shirt and slacks combo, but made by a tailor recommended by Lara and cost about ten times or more, riding in a black car with tinted windows, once again thanks to Lara, he arrived at the Stelborn family mansion.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
At least one of them.
Sprawling gardens with all sorts of flowers, bushes, and trees as far as he could see, while a small army of people and technological devices made sure that it looked pristine. The car stopped at the driveway and the driver opened the door for Sam.
Just as he was getting out, the door flew open with the force of the chaos storm, otherwise known as Katie, while a flustered-looking servant was visible behind her.
“Sam!” she yelled happily and threw herself at him, wrapping him in a steel-like hug. “I’m glad you’re here!”
Sam barely had the time to return the greeting before he was being dragged through the building past some very surprised staff.
They ended up in the back garden, which looked exactly as high quality as the one at the front, but much cozier. He could see several smaller gazebos, one surprisingly occupied by Katie’s brother and a woman who looked somewhat familiar to Sam, while the biggest one was filled with a grand wooden table where he could see Katie’s father sitting.
He was wearing a white shirt, perfect for the weather, and was talking to several people standing in front of him while on the table there were several screens and stacks of documents. As they went toward the gazebo – well, Katie rushed, Sam basically flew after the excited girl – he saw as the man dismissed those people, all of them bowing to varying degrees before departing and finally looking at them.
The elder Stelborn’s eyes twitched, but otherwise didn’t react to Katie’s behavior. Instead, he waited, stone-faced, as they arrived in front of him.
“Father! I brought him!” Katie declared joyfully as she waved her hands around Sam, who was doing his best to rearrange his clothes after that turbulent ‘journey’.
“I can see that, Katherine,” came the dry reply, then he turned to Sam. “Welcome,” he greeted Sam while motioning toward the chair across from him. “Please, take a seat, we have much to discuss.”
“Thank you,” Sam replied, while taking the offered seat. Katie didn’t wait for any invitation, she dragged over another chair and plopped down at the middle of the table, between Sam and her father, grinning from ear to ear, obviously eagerly looking forward to the meeting.
Her father looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, it was just his eyes that twitched.
The next few minutes were busy as several servants swarmed them, depositing snacks and drinks in front of them – the snack pile noticeably bigger in front of Katie – and serving them to everyone.
Sam took a sip of his drink (naturally perfectly made) and spoke up, not wanting to play the usual games.
“It came as a surprise when I received your invitation,” he stated, looking over the rim of his cup at Maximilian.
The man looked back, directly into Sam’s eyes, and nodded. “It was not an easy decision to make, but as a businessman, it is my job to make the decisions that propel the business forward. This meeting is one of those decisions.”
Sam said nothing, just waited for the man to continue as they both ignored Katie – delicately and with great artistry – shoveling snacks into her face.
“This new market, that you yourself are familiar with, has brought many challenges for us who are more familiar with real world markets,” he continued. “Initially, it seemed that while the market was eccentric, our efforts would be just as rewarding as it was in other theaters of the financial world. However, it seems, Magic Unbound has managed to thwart our, well, my plans at every turn.”
Sam nodded. “Indeed, the game’s world is quite tricky to navigate.”
If it could, Sam was pretty sure, that the man’s face would have looked even more sour.
“Yet, somehow, against all adversity, you managed to weather many storms that came your way. With no discernable background or connections,” came the even-tempered rebuttal.
Sam just shrugged (hopefully elegantly). “Some people can look at a block of marble and create breathtaking sculptures, some can mix paints into creations that awe whomever looks at it. It seems, my talent is to be good at a game.”
“How humble…”
“Well, if the shoe fits…”
“Quite.”
They lapsed into silence, which was broken by Katie speaking. “This is such fun! My brother brings home a girlfriend and my father is finally having fun and not being annoying!”
Her father looked away, still stone-faced, before returning the focus on Sam, as if Katie never said anything.
“Thus, as a businessman, there comes a time when it’s my duty to recognize a Sisyphean task and put an end to a failed… project.”
“And this has something to do with me?”
“Indeed. Just because the project, or rather the guild failed, doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause. Some gains can still be realized from this loss.”
“You want me to buy your guild?”
“Not as such, no. While that would be a short-term gain for me, I recognize opportunities when they came before me. I would rather sell a portion of the guild to you, place the leadership in my son’s hand, and retain a small percentage of the ownership.”
“What if I say no?” Sam asked, leaning back a little. It was one offer they had planned for, but the inclusion of David has disturbed his plans a little.
Maximilian, like a true Maximilian, gave him a Gallic shrug. “There are many people or entities out there who are looking for a foothold in the area where you operate, Mr. Lawrence. Including some rather bloodthirsty people, so I hear…”
Sam looked into the man’s eyes, trying to see how serious the threat was, only to see coldness. Either that man’s way, or no way. Still, there was no need to let the man think that he had won…
“Well, I can feel the love. I suppose it is time to negotiate…” he said as he leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. The man may have set up the situation in his favor, but there was no reason that Sam couldn’t wring out every last cent from his pocket. “What were you thinking about the shares? Ninety to ten?”
The man scoffed lightly. “A pedestrian attempt, Mr. Lawrence. Even my daughter is better than that…”
“Hey…”
“Then, I suppose you have a counteroffer?”
“I think, a much more realistic choice is for your company to own fifty-one percent and the rest be shared between me and my son.”
Sam nodded his head a little. “A great starting point. How about eighty-nine to eleven?” he continued with a grin.
As the other man went to answer, Katie stood up, put down her napkin and spoke up. “Well, if you guys are going to have fun with that, I’m going to tell David the good news!”
With that she threw the chair back and rushed away, toward the distant gazebo where Sam saw David sitting, yelling rather loudly.
“DAVID! Stop snogging that poor girl and listen! I have great neeews!”
Sam blinked before looking back at her father, who let out a tired sigh. “Wish her mother was here, she always knew how to keep her calm and well behaved,” he admitted, smiling wryly at Sam. “Though, since she had started playing with you and your group, her mood and behavior has improved tremendously.” He winced a little. “There is still work to be done, but this is still improvement. Now if we could square away those issues with the Isabella girl, then I would be perfectly content.”
Sam had to snort at that. “She still hasn’t realized?”
Another long-suffering sigh. “Neither of them. It’s equal levels baffling and aggravating.”
For a long moment, the two people, one old and one young, shared an understanding, before the moment passed and the mood of the table returned to what it was before the chaotic interruption.
“Alas, we are not here to discuss my daughter’s peculiarities. We’re, however, here to discuss that atrocious offer. Eleven percent is just insulting, Mr. Lawrence. You can do better than that…”
“Well, how about…”
Owed bonus chapters: ---
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