Conor awoke the next morning with a new sense of purpose. Jessica had been his wife for four years, and he had not lived up to his end of that contract. Any hostility Jessica leveled at him had been earned by his own failures and his own lack of care for her need for security and financial stability. It was time to change that.
He crept out of the room, but found that Jessica had apparently awoken before him and already left for the family offices. He ate a quick breakfast of dry cereal and then called Mr. Nuri.
"Yes, Mr. Bentley?"
"Can we have a business meeting? With Mr. Miros if possible?"
"I will have a car pick you both up. My office will have a meeting room available within an hour."
Conor was amazed at Mr. Nuri's efficiency and dedication. He had meant what he said when he had told Conor he could call any time.
***
An hour later, Conor found himself stepping out of a sleek black car, staring up at an impressive forty-story glass building, with a sweeping arch across the entrance. Conor instantly felt he should have dressed up some, instead of walking into such a place in just his jeans and t-shirt. As he made it to the front doors, he expected the two broad-shouldered men at the entrance to forbid him entry, but instead, they politely opened the glass doors for him. He made his way to the counter where a cute young woman was sitting behind the reception desk, wearing a formal business suit and skirt, and sporting thin frame glasses.
"May I help direct you today?"
"Umm, yes. I am here to meet Mr. Nuri..."
The young lady looked at him as if she wasn't sure if she should be sorry for him or impressed that he had a meeting with Mr. Nuri. "Is Mr. Nuri expecting you?"
"Yes, Mr. Nuri said to meet him here..." Conor glanced at the clock, "well, now actually. He mentioned a conference room."
"Ok, I will page his staff, and someone will be down shortly."
A minute later, a gentleman in his mid-twenties, came hurrying over.
"My. Brantley?"
"Yes?"
"My name is Jarad Brown. I am one of Mr. Nuri's paralegals. If you will follow me, Mr. Nuri will meet us shortly in the conference room."
When they arrived, Mr. Nuri was already seated at the center of a horseshoe-shaped table, neat stacks of paper placed at several of the available seats. Mr. Miros was seated at one side, and what appeared to be a team of young paralegals on the other.
"Ah, Mr. Brantley, come in. please sit." Mr. Nuri gestured to the seat at the head of the table. "These are a few of my assistants. Each is very capable in their field. You have met Jarad, my up-and-coming financial law expert. This here is Ana Brooks, who you met the other day. She is our resident real estate genius. And Abby Wiess is our investment guru. There are a few others that work with me but these three are the main ones assigned to your account."
Conor was speechless. He couldn't fathom that he actually had a whole team assigned to his account! Who was he to merit such treatment? His account was maybe 60,000 copper dragons? Three whole gold Dragons. These people should be used to managing hundreds of gold dragons per day!
"If you are ready, we will begin." Mr. Nuri offered.
"Umm, right... Well, thank you all for meeting... umm... Mr. Miros, how is your business coming along?" Conor asked.
"Very well, Mr. Brantley," said a nervous-looking Mr. Miros. He too had likely never set foot in such a high-end firm such as this, nor been surrounded by such high-profile lawyers. "I am actually in need of more material to shoot. I only had a small backlog of images to sell. If I could find a willing business with some good architecture that would be great."
"I think I can assist with that. My wife's family owns several malls and franchise shops. Most are not doing as well as they could, and I would like to begin marketing for them. Sadly, my wife rejected the idea and doesn't think her father would fund such an endeavor, preferring to stick to old marketing methods. Mr. Miros, what would you say to the idea of taking photos of some of the more recognizable features around the malls and franchises? Perhaps some indirect marketing could help draw people to those areas?"
"Why, yes! I know the mall area! The architecture around the mall would make for some grand stock images. We could even do a campaign for the city tourism board that is like a scavenger hunt, and make sure to include each of the Cochan family's locations in the hunt!" exclaimed Mr. Miros, now overjoyed with his creative opportunities.
Mr. Nuri nodded, "People would have to visit each store and get a stamp. There are several things that could happen with that including a small carnival with vendors from around town. I have many contacts that would gladly join into something like that as co-sponsors."
"Yes! That would be perfect! Now... I believe there is an odd bit of fine graffiti on the side of the mall on Main street. It's like two huge wings. I bet if we capture that, not only would it sell, but it would likely attract many people. You can almost stand in front of the wings and pretend to fly yourself." Conor chuckled to himself, remembering doing just that a few years ago.
They discussed possible scenes and how a campaign might work, and which companies might be best to pitch the new photos to, before Mr. Miros finally stood to take his leave. "Gentlemen, ladies, I believe I have my work cut out for me. If you don't mind, I will leave you to it. If you need me for anything, just call. Mr. Brantley, I look forward to meeting you this afternoon near the mall. I think you might just make a great model for some of these photos."
Conor balked, "I. umm, ok. What should I wear? I not sure I really have much that would work for modeling."
"Leave that to me. I have a contact." Peter Miros said with a smile as he walked out.
After Miros left, Conor turned to the team. "Thank you all. I have to ask though... are you all seriously working on my account?"
Liam Nuri stood and come around the table to face Conor. "Mr. Brantley, what you do not know or fully understand, is that each of us serves Celia in our own ways. Your mother was a treasure, and through her wisdom, each of us was able to achieve far more than we could have ever dreamed."
"In her honor, and to serve Celia, we serve you now. In the future, so long as you ask, we will endeavor to assist you in your business deals and more. While I can't simply hand you a fortune, what I can do is help clear obstacles, and perhaps provide leverage where needed." Mr. Nuri said with a smile.
Abby Weiss then added, "As your business ventures grow, if you plan to acquire certain businesses, if they provide a profitable venture, I may be able to allocate portions of our Dreadnaught Investing Firm portfolio to align with your goals. Again, with Celia's wisdom guiding and Mr. Nuri's approval, this will hopefully prove profitable for us all, and possibly allow you to accelerate plans where your own funds may be insufficient."
Conor was speechless for a while as he considered the enormity of what Mr. Nuri and his team were saying. "Why?" was all he managed.
"Celia guided your mother to assist us, and so long as you follow Celia's wisdom, we will trust in that wisdom."
"I am not sure what that means."
"In time, young master Brantley. In time, you will learn to listen to Celia's voice. Don't ignore it when her tug comes." The team of paralegals gathered behind Mr. Nuri and each gave a slight bow to Conor.
"Ah, one more thing," said Miss Abby Weiss, "as your financial investment advisor, I suggest that you allow me to communicate with your human resources department to set up a small drip of maybe 15% of your income to your investment account. Right now, Mr. Nuri already has me working with any profits from the spice merchant to build a small portfolio for you, but anything you can add will be beneficial. I can also add any profit from future ventures directly to such an account. Any time you request I can let you know its balance. For now, the funds you have already provided will likely be tied up in long-term investments, but once we reach certain milestones, we will be able to convert portions to provide you with regular monthly dividend payments."
"Umm, yeah, that sounds great... but I am not sure pops really has that kind of department. He mostly just hands us cash at the end of the night based on sales," Conor said, a bit of shame coloring his cheeks as he stood before such accomplished people. While he had graduated with a basic two-year business management degree and understood finance, these professionals before him clearly were at a different level when it came to the overall picture.
Abby Weiss produced a document authorizing her to manage his account and had Conor sign before the team saw him to the entrance door.
Conor turned to the team, remembering a blessing his mother had often shared. "Celia's blessing be upon each of you, and may her wisdom guide you."
"Best of luck in your ventures Mr. Brantley. And may Celia guide your steps," called Liam Nuri as Conor got back into the same black car that had dropped him off.