Uncontrolled Spin: The Power and Danger of Spin ("Un"missable Series Book 1) (30 page)

Ricardo objects, saying, “The value of the property exceeds thirty million dollars. Fifteen is a toddler’s offer.”

Sean gently reminds Ricardo, “Yes, that’s true, but only if it were a fully leased complex with a financially stable long term tenant, which you don’t have at this time and probably won’t get in the near future.”

Ricardo glares at Sean. “I appreciate the offer,” he says through gritted teeth, “but I am inclined to reject outright. However, because I know you well, I will consider it.”

Sean shakes his head sadly. “Unfortunately, this offer is only good until Thursday evening. If the deal isn’t done, Bonnie will take her chances on the property deteriorating futher and purchase it at fire-sale prices.”

“Understood,” Ricardo replies, and he rises to leave.

When Sean rises and offers his hand to shake Ricardo’s, Ricardo simply looks at it and walks away with a gruesome sneer. Sean watches as his tense shoulders disappear with a staff member. Then he sits down and calls Bonnie with an update.

“We need to implement plan B with Hugo. Ricardo doesn’t seem inclined to work with us.” Sean figures the increased pressure on Hugo will force Ricardo’s hand, knowing he still stands to make several million dollars for himself and his investors or risk the possibility of losing both the money and his investors for good.

Bonnie tells Sean, “I know the drill. I’ll implement the plan as scheduled. Can I go back to shopping now?”

Sean chuckles and replies, “Yes, see you later.”

When Wednesday rolls around, Hugo is on time for his meeting with Sean and Bonnie. Jessica goes for a run, then lays out by the pool while the meeting is in session. Bonnie begins the conversation by chastising Hugo for his mining practices, indicating that Mark was far more forgiving than she will ever be.

Hugo defends himself politely. “Mrs. Stevens, you do understand that Diablo Mining hasn’t violated any laws in Brazil.”

Bonnie clucks her tongue and says, “I don’t much care, Mr. Montes. Brazilian laws are far inferior to international best practices, which, as a prominent shareholder in Global Metal Refining, I will expect any of the vendors we work with to adhere to, unless you simply do not wish to do business with us anymore.”

Hugo, sensing he has seriously irritated Bonnie, backtracks hastily and asks, “What could I do, as a genuine faith gesture, to demonstrate my sincerity in Diablo Mining’s ability to comply with your wishes?”

Bonnie considers for a moment, then replies, “You know, I’m actually very interested in purchasing the old Nike factory to develop an environmental study’s center. I’m prepared to pay Ricardo fifteen million dollars for the property, but he doesn’t seem inclined to accept my offer. If I must, I’ll wait him out and purchase the site when the price has come down even further… Or, on second thought, perhaps I’ll just buy out his investors one at a time, until I control the majority interest, and fire him as the managing partner.” She pauses, allowing the implications to sink in, then continues, “However, I would prefer not to go that route. If I have to, I may not look kindly on your promise of sincerity or Diablo Mining’s supposed intentions to follow the mining industry’s best practices. Mr. Montes, have I made my intentions clear to you?”

Hugo, looking slightly pale, replies, “You are quite clear. I understand completely, and I’ll have a very serious discussion with Ricardo today. He will either contact you directly by tomorrow morning, or I will reach out to you personally very soon. Thank you for this opportunity to show Global Metal Refining my loyalty.”

Bonnie smiles sweetly and says, “Wonderful. I’ll be waiting to hear from you soon. Have a good day, Mr. Montes.”

Hugo drives straight to Ricardo’s office, walks in, and tells him to cancel all of his meetings and plans until they have decided what to do with Mrs. Stevens’ offer to purchase the factory.

Ricardo, annoyed at the interruption, growls, “There is nothing to decide. I’m not selling the factory at that price, period.”

Hugo tells Ricardo to listen to him before making that type of decision, because it also has ramifications for Hugo’s business.

Ricardo gives Hugo a dubious look. “How does this affect Diablo Mining?”

After Hugo explains his conversation with Bonnie, Ricardo looks pissed and says flatly, “They are pressuring you to get to me.”

Hugo agrees. “You know, without my political connections, that factory would have never been built,” he tells Ricardo forcefully.

“Well, that’s true, but that is all in the past now!” Ricardo insists.

Hugo is angry at Ricardo’s blatant disregard of his help. “You still need my connections, and one of the main reasons I have those connections is because of Global Metal Refining. If Diablo Mining loses that contract, my political connections, and subsequently yours, disappear. This isn’t a fucking joke.”

Ricardo asks, “Jesus Christ, what do you want me to do?”

“Contact your investors, explain the problem with losing the potential long-term tenant, show them that accepting this offer produces a thirty percent per annum gain on their investment, and ask for their support in the proposed deal. If the investors reject the offer, explain the possible ramifications of losing some, if not all, of their investment capital. If they still reject the sale, then we will all have to live with the consequences, but at least that way I may be able to salvage Diablo Mining’s relationship with Global Metal Refining.”

Ricardo swears openly as Hugo struts nervously around the office. He makes the calls to each of his investors, who all agree, given the circumstances, they should take their profit and get out of the property as soon as they can. Ricardo calls Sean and puts him on speakerphone for Hugo’s benefit.

“I have decided to agree to sell the factory to Bonnie, at her stated price. We will sign the contract as soon as it is delivered to us.”

Sean requests that Ricardo come by the villa. “The contract is already drawn up and awaiting your signature,” Sean says, and then asks Hugo to come with him so Bonnie can see he fulfilled his promise of loyalty.

Hugo answers, “Yes, alright. We’ll be there within the hour.”

“Perfect. I’ll let Bonnie know the good news.” He hangs up the phone.

“Get ready,” he announces to Bonnie and Jessica. “Hugo and Ricardo are on their way so Ricardo can sign the contract. I’ll let the staff know to have champagne ready for the celebration when they arrive.” Upon the Montes’ arrival, everyone meets on the veranda. They toast to each other and profitable relationships for years to come.

When Hugo and Ricardo have left, Jessica immediately signs the long-term lease with Bonnie. They then share a private toast to a well-planned and executed strategy.

Jessica calls Lidia and asks, “Can you meet with me tomorrow at the villa? We have some things to discuss.”

Lidia replies, “Yes, of course.”

Lidia arrives on time and is surprised to find lunch prepared. She is also surprised to learn that she will be meeting not only with Jessica, but also with Sean and Bonnie.

Jessica explains everything to her. “I would like to offer you the position of production supervisor for the new Beauty Boutique Clothing factory. You would be given authority to hire the people as you please, subject to my review of course. Within one week, my management team would be here to get the factory up and running and we’d be going at full throttle in three months.”

Lidia looks slightly confused. “I am very surprised, because the last everyone had heard was that the Beauty Boutique had refused the lease, and we thought that meant that you wouldn’t be doing business in Brazil.”

Bonnie chimes in, “Ah, yes. We apologize, but that was a negotiation ploy in order to buy Ricardo out of the property at a very favorable price. We can assure you that this is a very serious offer.” Bonnie shows Lidia the lease agreement and the government approvals, and thanks her for all her help so far and continued support in the future.

Lidia excitedly accepts Jessica’s offer, and then she says, “You won’t regret this. All the workers hated Ricardo. He’s a sexist pig. I’ll get the workers I initially planned to hire scheduled to meet the management staff coming from the U.S. next week. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Ms. Silva.” Jessica thanks Lidia in return and welcomes her to Beauty Boutique Clothing: Brazil.

When Lidia leaves the villa, she is torn between joy for her new job and the ability to support her family and the realization that Ricardo has been played by individuals much better at the game than he could ever dream of being. Lidia is delighted that, for once, it is Ricardo getting screwed.

After careful consideration, she decides she must go to Ricardo’s office and give him the news, so that she can watch his reaction herself. She arrives and tells him about everything, explaining, “The Beauty Boutique is still opening in that old factory. I have seen the lease agreement, and they hired me. I am sorry I have to give you this news.”

Through clenched teeth, Ricardo replies, “How could you work for someone as dishonest as Ms. Silva? I can’t blame you for accepting, I suppose, given it’s your only opportunity to provide for your pathetic family. But by agreeing to work for that bitch, you and all the other worthless women from the factory have screwed me out of ten million dollars. What did I do to deserve this type of disrespect from you uneducated bitches?”

Lidia, finally able to stand up to Ricardo without fear of retaliation, tells him, “You have always treated us as second-class people and now—”

He interrupts, saying, “You are second-class people! All of you! You are just women and factory workers. You mean nothing.”

“I don’t have to care what you think anymore, you asshole,” Lidia retorts, then adds insult to injury by saying, “And if that’s your point of view, then you should be thrilled to know that all of us are going to make very good money on this transaction, except you.”

Ricardo spits, “Get the fuck out of my office, you ungrateful bitch.”

As soon as Lidia leaves, Ricardo jerks the phone off the hook and calls Hugo, yelling at him furiously for pressuring him. He explains what he just learned from Lidia.

Hugo simply laughs, “Well, both of us were played very well, cousin.”

Ricardo retorts, “Yes, but I am the one that ultimately gets screwed! Fuck you, Hugo.”

Hugo says, “Calm down. All we can do is count this as a lesson learned and not make the same mistake twice—”

Ricardo hangs up before Hugo can finish his statement and drives over to the villa to confront Sean, Jessica, and Bonnie.

As he speeds up the driveway, Sean warns the staff to get ready for a hostile meeting. “Jess, hurry and go get Bonnie before she gets into the shower. Someone is speeding up the driveway, and I’d bet my ass it’s Ricardo.”

Jessica nods and runs upstairs into Bonnie’s bedroom. Bonnie is slightly surprised when Jessica catches her completely naked, about to step into the shower, but Jess explains that someone is racing up the driveway, and Sean is expecting to need some backup.

“It’s probably Ricardo, and he probably knows about our scheme,” she says with a grim set to her mouth.

Bonnie sighs, throws on a sundress, then quickly follows Jess downstairs.

CHAPTER 19

A WOMAN SCORNED

R
icardo gets out of his vehicle and storms up the outside stairs, and then onto the veranda, where he is intercepted by Sean and Eduardo.

Jessica and Bonnie arrive moments later.

Ricardo looks right at Jessica and shouts between the two men, “You bitch! Why would you lie to me this way? You forced me into taking a deal at half price so you could turn around and make the same deal with someone else and immediately realize a tremendous gain! Then, to add insult to injury, you contract with the woman I introduced you to? Fuck you! What pisses me off the most is that you waited until you had all the governmental approvals before any of this was put into action. You used me and my cousin’s political connections to get what you wanted, then tossed us aside like garbage and cut us out of the actual profits.”

Before Jessica or Sean can respond, Bonnie steps in. “Now, Mr. Montes, it was my idea to structure the deal this way. I gave the Beauty Boutique a very large gift, so Jessica would be forced to cooperate in this negotiation, and I formed the plan. If I had not, you would still have an empty factory, no potential tenants, a large debt, and nervous investors. How long did you think you could hold on paying for an empty building? If you will calm down, we can have a civil conversation by the pool, but if you continue to yell and be extremely rude, you can leave my estate. What’s your preference?”