Conor disappeared into the shower and was thrilled to have the hot water flow over him. The steam lifted the grime from the night in the park off him and his soul soothed as he leaned against the shower wall. The hot water slowly began to loosen tense muscles. He felt as if blood was finally flowing to his brain and his thoughts were able to align themselves. He would fix this, and he would make sure that Jessica was secure in the world and could provide his wife with a home, financial security, and social standing if it was the last thing he did. He was done letting Cynthia poison the world against him, and especially his own wife.
"Mr. Brantley? Your suit is waiting for you," came a soft feminine voice from the door. Conor was startled but heard the door slide shut as the lady left. he wondered if that might have been Anna who had picked him up. A brief fantasy played out in his mind but he opted to wait a minute longer, savoring the warm water before shutting off the shower and stepping out to dry off. A fine towel sat on the edge of the sink for him, freshly steamed judging by the warmth radiating off it. As he finished drying off, he reached for the suit, to discover it was a replica of the same tan suit jacket he'd had tailored when Peter Miros had introduced him to Carlos all those weeks ago, but this one had a stunning black suit vest with a signature red tie. As he began pulling it on, a light hint of orange blossom caressed him. He smiled as he realized the suit was a perfect fit. Mr. Nuri's team was indeed of the highest quality and paid attention to the most minute details.
As Conor walked back to the conference room, he felt like a new man, with new purpose. Through the glass, he could see that negotiations seemed to be wrapping up based on everyone's more relaxed posturing and slower conversation. He pushed the door open, "Ah, have you all reached an agreement for me to approve?"
Everyone blinked when then looked up at the showered Conor, now dressed in a tan full suit and tie, hair combed and his charismatic demeanor firmly in place.
Mr. Nuri stood, smiling, "Mr. Brantley, glad to see you are feeling more yourself. Yes, I do believe we have an offer for you to consider. NewAge Gaming is willing to offer you 1.1 million dragons up front and a 10% equity in their company moving forward. Young Yuri would receive 750,000 dragons now and a 5% profit share on the sale of the game and will immediately start work as one of three lead programmers with the company with a generous salary moving forward."
Conor could feel the second consciousness merging with his as he took a seat at the head of the table and looked at the charts and figures in the document packet before him. He remained silent as he flipped through each page, carefully reading market numbers, projections, and overall company statistics. His mind worked faster than he had ever thought possible and new possibilities emerged and he began to see connections in the numbers, and available funds.
"No."
"No?" Nr. Hartland looked perplexed. "What do you mean NO? This is a very generous offer."
Conor chuckled, "No it's not. It's a paltry fraction of what you value the game to be worth, and what you know our share to be worth. Based on your own data, you value the game at more than twice what you are quoting us. So no, I do not accept. If you want this game, the offer is..." Conor paused and mentally tabulated, "1 million dragons and 20% equity for me. I believe Yuri is excited about his game, and its profit. 1.5 million dragons now plus a 10% of net profits of the game sales for him plus his job salary in addition to a 5% equity."
Mr. Hartland sputtered as he stared slack-jawed at Conor, while Mr. Nuri remained composed, but Conor could see he was surprised by this turn of events. However, the small smile told Conor he was pleased. Mr. Hartland stood and shouted, "I have NEVER, in all my years of business, had anyone...."
Conor interrupted smoothly, "Competent enough to read your company documents and history in a few minutes and ascertain the details of the market enough to know how bad you are swindling them? No, I would think not. But here we are. You are now in the Dreadnaught Law Firm, and here, with my staff, I remain well informed." Conor Winked at Mr. Nuri, Abby, and Jarad when he said this. Of course, they had not offered him much insight into NewAge Gaming but they knew enough to play along.
"Well, yes. You do have a very competent team," Mr. Hartland acknowledged looking again at Mr. Nuri, Abby, and Jarad in turn. "That's...2,500,000 dragons... plus the equity...." He sighed and visibly slumped in defeat. "NewAge needs your game, and we agree, it is designed to the market perfectly, that it will take us to a new level when it launches. Your terms are not unreasonable. I believe we can make this work." He stood to shake Conor's hand, "Mr. Brantley, you drive a hard bargain, but I think I am going to like working with you on our side of the table in the future."
Conor stood but did not shake Mr. Hartland's hand. "I do have one last requirement before we shake and leave the details to my team... I hope it's not too much."
Mr. Hartland frowned and retracted his outstretched hand, slowly stepping back. "Mr. Brantley, we are already at extremely generous terms, what more could you want?"
"It is a company commitment actually. By taking Equity, I am tying Vokrizin to your success. I am making a pledge to you that my company will help ensure your future success as it will now be mutually beneficial," Conor said with a smile.
"Moving forward, under the supervision of my team here at Dreadnaught Law Firm, I require that all companies I manage, work with, or have significant dealings with, contribute 10% of net profits to a new non-profit. Celia's Blessing will be a force for good throughout Bayan province and seek to lift up the city, the poor, and any cases our team deems a worthy cause."
Conor paused the let those words sink in before saying, "What do you think Mr. Hartland? I believe NewAge will benefit from the public relations of this move far more than the small profit loss in the short term."
Mr. Hartland stared hard at Conor, as if he were judging his soul. "Mr. Brantley, I misjudged you, and I don't do that often. In this case, I am pleasantly surprised. Yes, I believe NewAge would be thrilled to partner with you in this." He stood and firmly shook Conor's hand, smiling broadly.
"Well, I will leave the details to you and Mr. Nuri then. If you will excuse me. Mr. Nuri, perhaps Miss Brooks, or one of the others could drop me at home?"
"Of Course. I will have her meet you out front, Mr. Brantley. Don't worry about this. I will finalize the paperwork and have it all ready for you later this week." Mr. Nuri said with a smile.