Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32760 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
My own metal recycling company, built from the ground up by no one else but me.
I look down at her necklace in my hand. A heart made from 950 grade platinum, and within, a flawless single carat diamond. Nothing too gaudy, just tasteful and delicate. Just like the woman who wore it.
There’s a knock on my door, and from the solidarity, I already know who it is.
“Come in.”
The door opens, and I turn to see Brian, my number two, overall projects-manager, and the only man I truly trust here at the company.
“They’re ready for you.”
I nod, sliding her necklace into my pocket.
“How do they seem?”
“Ready to deal, I’d say.” He isn’t quite smiling, but there’s a hint of one behind his eyes.
“Good.” I nod. “Let’s get this done.”
Brian waits by the door until I step past him, then follows me down the hall to the conference room, where the men from Marshall and Mein Metals are waiting for us. There are seven of them, six of whom don’t even bother getting up from their seats when I enter the room.
It’s a family business, so I address Joseph, the patriarch I’ve been dealing with for the last seven weeks of negotiations. If the children and grandchildren he’s brought along don’t want to bother showing me respect by getting their asses up when they should, then I won’t bother pretending they have any business being here.
“Brian says you’re finally ready to deal, Joseph.”
Joseph’s eyes flicker to Brian as he takes a seat beside me.
“Yes. But you must meet us in the middle, Marlon. What you’re asking–”
“What I’m asking is fair, Joe. Or maybe you’d like to go deal with Kyle Fisher? Have you seen what he’s asking for metal these days?”
Joseph’s eyes narrow. Silence hangs in the air for a long moment–so long that the children behind him, children who will one day be running his company and who he has clearly brought here to learn from him–begin shifting awkwardly in their chairs.
“We will pay three percent more, Marlon. But not six. Not six.”
“Seven,” I counter. “I have Fisher’s phone number. His quality’s not what it used to be. Old machinery, new labor who don’t know what they’re doing.”
I hear a breath from Brian beside me–a breath that I know means he wants to laugh but he’s holding back.
Joseph is glaring at me now, doing all that he can not to break decorum and curse me out. It’s either Fisher or me that he has to go to for buying his metal, and we both know that I’m really his only choice when it comes to quality, so I have him over a barrel.
I actually admire the old man. He built his family’s company up from nothing too and has had them running for just shy of fifty years. But this is business, not charity.
“Four and three quarters,” he replies finally through clenched teeth. “And not a penny more!”
I’m going to take his offer. That’s exactly what I figured he’d come back with, but I don’t accept it right away. I sit there a moment and stare back at him, pretending to stew on it.
Then, after my little performance, I stand up and extend my hand to him.
“Done!”
He rises quickly and takes my hand.
“Done.”
“I’ll have the contracts drawn up,” I say. “Brian will handle it all for you. Enjoy your stay in New York. And have a safe flight back to Michigan.”
I stride from the conference room and step into the hallway. I check to make sure I am alone and let myself smile.
These negotiations have been taking forever. Back and forth and back and forth, and although I was confident I would win out in the end, I’ve been ready for this to be over and done with for a while now.
Soon I will be the number one industrial scale metal recycling company in not just New York but all of America, and my name will ring out on a global scale.
It’s hard to believe that all this success comes from a kid who came from nothing.
I march quickly back to my office, my heart pounding, blood rushing through me, feeling like I could run a marathon or tear a mountain down with my bare hands.
One of the perks of being the boss and designing the building is that I have my own private master bathroom that only I get to use. I go in and lock the door and take a seat on the enormous bench I had placed right beside the walk-in shower.
If only she were here with me right now.
I strip down naked and think about last night–just how gorgeous she was when she came over to me in the bar in that dress that clung to her body and every one of her dangerous curves.
And goddamn, those heels. Thankfully I was smart enough to keep them on her while I fucked her.