The next morning, Conor awoke to frigid winter air. Apparently, winter had finally come, but at least Jessica had let him keep his blanket today. From the kitchen, he heard Jessica preparing breakfast.
"Hurry up Conor. Don't be late for Jackson's! Remember Rent is due Friday!"
Conor rolled out of bed and showered before coming to the kitchen. When he arrived, Jessica had already left for work. He sighed and scrambled an egg, eating it right out of the pan before jogging to work himself. When he arrived, he found a glaring Mr. Matthews waiting for him.
"Care to explain why I have an irate client threatening to sue us after having an accident shortly after leaving our loading dock?"
"Umm, this wouldn't happen to be the same client who insisted that Supervisor Jerry and I load his truck even though that is against policy and Manager Henly insisted we do so anyway would it?"
Mr. Matthews did not look amused as he glared at Conor. Conor opted to continue, "This also wouldn't be the same client for who Mr. Henly signed the release for us to load said load form would it? Or that also signed that he had accepted the loan and signed the waiver? Or that refused the tie-down straps I offered?"
At that Mr. Matthews cracked a rare grin, "This was on signed company waiver's you say? And Mr. Henly authorized it? It wouldn't happen to all be on our cameras also?"
"I don't see why not." Conor replied, "I would be happy to watch them with you and point out any relevant parts."
"Please follow me to the security room then," grinned Mr. Matthews, as he led Conor to a small room with several monitors. Mr. Matthews watched the scene unfold as Conor indeed tried to hand the customer the necessary straps on screen. "I see... well, I will handle this, please return to the loading dock then and don't worry about this."
Conor headed to the loading dock where supervisor Jerry from the previous day was waiting. After filling him in on what just happened, they both had a good laugh.
"I bet that guy will never forget that incident. And don't worry. Mr. Henly may hold a grudge on things, but Mr. Matthews will keep everyone straight and nothing will blow back on you from this. The guy deserved anything that happened to him. I just hope no one else was hurt because of his stupidity."
***
Conor arrived home after his shift to find Jessica pouring over a pile of notes on the kitchen counter again. "Busy day?"
"Huh? Oh, umm, yea." She said distractedly, "Today was the first day of the committee meetings with City Hall and the Chamber of commerce for their upcoming tourism promotions. I am trying to get our mall to be a main attraction during the photo scavenger hunt. The photographer from AperturePhoto was really helpful on that front, pointing out some of the murals around our buildings. But, I don't know. I wasn't expecting a representative of the Benedict family to be there or one from Dragon Corporation. to be pressing for the marketing budget. I was kinda hoping our mall would be the main event."
"Dragon Corp.? What do they own?"
"Umm, well... everything?" Jessica frowned and rubbed her forehead as she squinted at the pages in front of her.
"What do you mean, everything?"
Jessica huffed, slowly dragging her attention away from her papers, "Everything that is profitable, Conor. They own malls, arcades, restaurants, real estate, and more. Basically, the Dragon Corp. is a business conglomerate of every sector. They don't really have much business here in Jinstain, but apparently... after today's meeting it is clear they plan to start moving in this direction. They offered to invest a ton of money with the council."
"Was it accepted?"
"Well, things stalled. The Benedicts still hold sway in Bayan province. Dragan Corp holds more sway in Targu province to the North-west and down into the capital. I think the Benedict lobbyist are keen to keep them out."
Conor looked over her shoulder at the documents. "Is your father considering an offer from Dragon Corp?"
"They did offer to partner on a few of the mall spaces for a generous amount. I am running the rental numbers to see if they line up with what we would want. Right now, I think it would be advantageous to work with them."
"Then why do you look so worried?"
"Because Nyman Banks and his father were there as well as a representative of the Jinstain Bank and Trust, which our family relies on for all our loans. He was siding with the Benedict family. If we work with Dragon Corporation, we could lose all our financial leverage and they might call our loans due! More than that, what if the Benedict family chooses to target us? On the other hand, if we decide to block the Dragon Corp. will they target us instead and drive us out of business?"
Conor looked down into the panicked eyes of his wife. "Honey, we will get through this. One step at a time. You don't have to make a decision tonight correct?"
"No, but we will soon. Dragon Corporation is not known for waiting long."
"Ok, well let's look at it this weekend. Your next council meeting shouldn't be for another week, right? Perhaps I can join you for the next one. I still know many people in the local business world and might be able to help suggest how to deal with some of them."
"Well, maybe. But Nyman...." An odd look ghosted across Jessica's face before she changed her mind and said, "It may be best for you not to come... some people are still upset about your business issue."
"That was over three years ago, and it wasn't even my doing!" Conor said exasperated.
"I... I know." Jessica hung her head, "But that doesn't change public opinion. And with Nyman there and with the Benedict family, I don't think it would be a good idea."
"What does Nyman have to do with anything?" He couldn't help the hint of jealousy creeping into his voice.
"Well... nothing really, forget it. I am just trying to protect you from his bullying and from the inevitable attacks from the benedict family."
Conor frowned at her but decided to let it slide this time. "I can handle myself. And I promise things are looking better every day. I will make sure we can all hold our heads high again soon."
Jessica glanced at him uncertainly but decided to drop the matter. Conor knew he would have to prove his worth to her with action, not just words.