Post by Josh Eagles on Jul 20, 2010 16:51:50 GMT -5
The first step towards my future in the Kingdom of Pride had been taken. In one of the toughest battles of my life I had managed to overcome the heart and soul of Adam Abel and make him tap out in the middle of the ring to win the Beat the Clock Challenge and earn my spot in the Main Event to compete for the top prize in the KoP. The match hadn't been easy and it took everything I had to sink Abel and finally put an end to my losing streak against him but it proved to me that I was elevating my game to farther levels every week. This had been what I was training for, the chance to rise above the controversy and the nay sayers and prove that I was still one of the greatest in the World. I wanted to give the fans a show and a champion that they would never forget and I was well on my way to doing that. But I also knew that Abel was only the first step.
I had many more challenges in front of me, more people waiting to make a statement against me and every week was going to be a struggle. I looked forward to it, I was ready for it. I knew I was on the right path after so long and I could feel nothing but good in front of me. But sometimes all of that can take a passengers seat to other things. While I wanted to spend all my time preparing and basking in the glory of the victory and planning what to do next I couldn't. I had a business to run. I tried to ignore it like once before but Katie would not have any of it, in fact every day she was piling more of the work load onto me. This week I was actually making the initial contact of a company who wanted to take over another company. It had been awhile since I had talked hostile take-over ... but hey it couldn't be much worse then getting in the ring?
Today our scene opens and we can be shocked to find out that once again Josh is wearing a business suit like he is some sort of professional. He is sitting at a long wooden table with mounds of files and papers piled up in front of him and he is leafing through them. Katie Chang is dressed in a very professional skirt and nice shirt as well and is hovering around him and seems to be pointing at different things in the piles.
"The key is the employee's of Mendcom. They have very old school owners and they feel their employee's are like family. If we are going to make a successful deal in this then we need Gemworks to agree to keep those employee's on and firm. I don't think money is the issue here."
"No Katie I don't believe it is at all. But I mean being that Gemworks is a multi-million dollar company and Mendcom, while quite revolutionary has troubles grossing $2 million annually, yeah money isn't the problem."
Katie gives Josh a dirty look and Josh looks up at her with the 'I've been doing this a long time I know what I am doing' look. They are intruded on though as the door opens and in come multiple different men and woman in their business attire who seat themselves on opposite sides of the table. Katie stands back quietly as Josh sits there and watches everyone be seated, taking clear stock of everyone who enters.
"Gentlemen and Ladies I am glad we could all get together. My name is Katie Chang I am present as the assistant to Josh Eagles of Eagles Enterprises to oversee and attempt to negotiate the terms of purchase of Mendcom today. As you can see in front of you ..."
Katie is cut off as murmurs start to spread at a rapid pace across both sides of the tables and quick glances at Josh who is sitting quietly at the head of the table. One man wearing a Gemcom badge looks towards Katie.
"Ms. Chang when you contacted me on behalf of Mendcom you informed me you would be handling this case and the discussions. We don't mean any offense but from our understanding Mr. Eagles you happen to have a very shrewd and ruthless form of negotiating."
"I assure you Mr. Lext..."
Katie is once again cut off but this time by Josh merely raising his hand.
"Mr. Lextington I believe. Let me assure you that the stories you have heard are merely horror stories passed around by large companies to scare smaller companies before I arrive as they see it as giving them an upper hand. While I may in fact be hired by Gemworks to oversee and facilitate the happenings here today I am in fact impartial to the result. To me I see two sides, with two demands and they need a median and I am hired to make not one but BOTH sides of the coin see that median and help a mutually constructive agreement be made. So please rest assured that I am not going to try and take your family I want what works best for everyone."
There are a few more murmurs around the table and then finally Mr. Lextington gives a nod indicating that they should continue.
"Now I must ask that you excuse my rash and impulsive behavior today as I understand this is supposed to be our first meeting to lay things out and get things underway. But as years of experience not only in this field but in a very aggressive wrestling career I have found that the weak and the slow are quickly left behind. Both sides have given me excellent files and excellent offers to each other and I think we can make a quick settlement on this deal, likely within this meeting."
The murmurs that burst out at the table can barely be contained and Katie quickly taps Josh on the shoulder.
"What the heck are you doing Josh?"
"Well Ms. Chang I am doing my job."
"This isn't a wrestling ring, sometimes it takes being subtle and patient to make these deals, aggressiveness doesn't work with these people."
Everyone else is too busy talking to notice the whispered conversation that Katie and Josh are having and so Josh turns more to Katie to whisper in her ear.
"That is where you are wrong Katie. This room is exactly like a wrestling ring. You have two sides and a ref, four walls around you. It's just a different opponent and knowing how to read them. A patient and well thought out game is what it took to beat Adam Abel last week, but this week I am facing a new and bigger opponent, someone who pounds you and is very aggressive. The only way to beat him will be to aggress right back, to not give him the breathing room he needs. When faced with a challenge larger then you, you have to be fast, aggressive, and relentless or get carried away in the tide. It's like this room, but parties are aggressive in what they want and they don't want to back down or give in. If I am going to beat them I have to be more aggressive and force them to see things my way."
Josh flashes Katie a smile and then rises to his feet.
"Ladies, gentlemen perhaps before we all begin to jump to any conclusions you should hear me out? I have looked over the offers and I can see an easy conclusion. I can see that Gemworks has offered a decent amount in the form of $20 million in order to buy this company out, would that be correct?"
Both sides nod in agreement.
"The issue is that we are having is Mendcom wants $30 million and they want all of their employee's to be guarenteed contracts to stay on here. Now that is a big investment difference in the eyes of someone to put into a company that has troubles making $2 million during any given year. BUT at the same time the computer products that Mendcom has created will eventually be revolutionary to the gem industry and the mining industry which let's be frank is why you want to take over this company. So here is how I see it, there is not nearly enough money being offered or promise of a future being offered for a good investment. I propose this instead. The $20 million stands as the cash offer for the purchase of Mendcom, but the Board of Directors also maintain a 2% shares interest in the company. On top of that any Mendcom employee who has been with the company for five or more years is given a conditional one year contract for Gemworks to evaluate their status and if they are deemed not useful to the company Gemworks will provide a decent severance package for them that pays them at least four full months of pay.
This will not take money out of the pocket of Gemworks they do not want to spend up front. It will actually allow you, the Mendcom board of directors to retain value in your product and make more money over time then you would have on a straight buy out as well as give you peace of mind that your employee's are taken care of. On the other side the employee's staying on will allow the transition phase to go much more smoothly and you could find that you have some valued tools already on hand."
Josh smiles around the table and sits back down and everyone is just staring at him. You can see suit's rolling numbers over in their heads, owners looking at him in quiet awe, and Katie is standing with plain shock on her face. Finally one of the men from Gemworks extends his hand across the table and after a moment one of them men from Mendcom takes it and they shake hands.
"Excellent, glad we could come to a quick understanding. Here is the paperwork, I will leave you and the lawyers to work through that and if you have any more questions please contact my office."
Josh tosses a couple thick looking contracts around the table and smiles and gets up and leaves the room. Katie stands still in shock for a moment before quickly following him out of the room.
"Josh wait! What was that in there?"
"That was me doing one of the many things in this world that I am good at."
"But, when, how? You had full contracts written up, offers done and accepted in under an hour? I only gave you those files three days ago!"
Josh smiles and grabs Katie on the shoulder.
"Katie you are asking me to live a double life. I have to step into two different rings each week and that means I have to prepare for two different and I mean very different fights each week. That means I am fast, I learn quick and I expend myself trying to get things done. I run myself ragged even if you don't see it. You told me I had to make this deal and make it a good one to restore some of the lost value of Eagles Enterprises and so I did it. It's just like when I told you that I was going to beat Adam Abel and I was going to move on to get my shot at the big prize. Now that is out of the way there is no reason you can't let me prepare for my match this week."
"But if you can do that there is so much we can get done this week!"
"There is Katie! If we put our minds together and just went at it we could restore everything E.E. lost in a few short months with me back at the table. But at the same time this isn't my full time job anymore and it's something I pay you very well to do. I am doing what you needed, I am helping but the running of this company still falls squarely on you and your good at it. Sure I like getting in their and mixing it up with some words and aggressive negotiating, but I have a different client to serve as well. There are thousands of people who expect me to step into a ring and do some aggressive negotiating with my body and I am paid well to do that. But in order for that to happen I need to be on top of my game.
I can't spend all my time in a suit. This week I have to face some new guy to the scene Steven Watson Carter and he is a big lad. It's a whole different ball game from Abel last week, the size is bigger, the aggression level heavier, and a whole different thirst in his blood. He will want to make a statement against me, a veteran of the ring, a contender for the Valiant Championship. Any rookies dream is to overcome those odds and launch themselves straight into stardom. But the fact is I can't let him do that. I have to do what I did in there, I have to be aggressive and attack with everything I got and show him what a real Veteran can do."
Katie can only look at Josh and be amazed.
"I think I actually gained a whole new level or respect for you Josh. I mean not much because I personally think you are an egomanical, self absorbed pig. But at least some respect."
"Well Ms. Chang that is the nature of the game. I am a self made man and I've worked hard for everything I have gotten and I will continue to work hard and I won't boast and say I do it just for the fans. I do love to make other people happy, I find it rewarding to put smiles on people's faces and see what they do next. But at the end of the day I do want something for myself to and I will never deny it. I want to be famous again, I want to be cheered and loved, and I WANT to be a champion. It's going to take a little more then pipe dreams and youthful enthusiasm to slow me down that is a promise."
Josh gives Katie one last smile and then turns and heads towards the stairs.
"Don't you want to take the elevator?"
"Not really, I'd rather start my work out now to be quite frank."
Katie laughs but just before Josh goes out the door to the stair he takes off his suit coat and tie and throws them to Katie with a nod and a wink and he disappears down the stairs. Katie looks afronted a first but then just smiles and shakes her head as she goes toward the elevator.
It truly turned out to be an interesting day. I got the business stuff out of my system for the week and hopefully that meant I had Katie off my back for at least a little while. Now I got to focus on what I wanted and that was the ring, though I did enjoy myself today quite a lot. My mind needed to be one one man and that was SCW. I knew what it was like to think everything you wanted would come on a silver platter and I wasn't about to help contribute to the ego of this young rookie. I was going to give him a harsh shock of reality and maybe wake him up a little in a way he would not like.
I had many more challenges in front of me, more people waiting to make a statement against me and every week was going to be a struggle. I looked forward to it, I was ready for it. I knew I was on the right path after so long and I could feel nothing but good in front of me. But sometimes all of that can take a passengers seat to other things. While I wanted to spend all my time preparing and basking in the glory of the victory and planning what to do next I couldn't. I had a business to run. I tried to ignore it like once before but Katie would not have any of it, in fact every day she was piling more of the work load onto me. This week I was actually making the initial contact of a company who wanted to take over another company. It had been awhile since I had talked hostile take-over ... but hey it couldn't be much worse then getting in the ring?
Today our scene opens and we can be shocked to find out that once again Josh is wearing a business suit like he is some sort of professional. He is sitting at a long wooden table with mounds of files and papers piled up in front of him and he is leafing through them. Katie Chang is dressed in a very professional skirt and nice shirt as well and is hovering around him and seems to be pointing at different things in the piles.
"The key is the employee's of Mendcom. They have very old school owners and they feel their employee's are like family. If we are going to make a successful deal in this then we need Gemworks to agree to keep those employee's on and firm. I don't think money is the issue here."
"No Katie I don't believe it is at all. But I mean being that Gemworks is a multi-million dollar company and Mendcom, while quite revolutionary has troubles grossing $2 million annually, yeah money isn't the problem."
Katie gives Josh a dirty look and Josh looks up at her with the 'I've been doing this a long time I know what I am doing' look. They are intruded on though as the door opens and in come multiple different men and woman in their business attire who seat themselves on opposite sides of the table. Katie stands back quietly as Josh sits there and watches everyone be seated, taking clear stock of everyone who enters.
"Gentlemen and Ladies I am glad we could all get together. My name is Katie Chang I am present as the assistant to Josh Eagles of Eagles Enterprises to oversee and attempt to negotiate the terms of purchase of Mendcom today. As you can see in front of you ..."
Katie is cut off as murmurs start to spread at a rapid pace across both sides of the tables and quick glances at Josh who is sitting quietly at the head of the table. One man wearing a Gemcom badge looks towards Katie.
"Ms. Chang when you contacted me on behalf of Mendcom you informed me you would be handling this case and the discussions. We don't mean any offense but from our understanding Mr. Eagles you happen to have a very shrewd and ruthless form of negotiating."
"I assure you Mr. Lext..."
Katie is once again cut off but this time by Josh merely raising his hand.
"Mr. Lextington I believe. Let me assure you that the stories you have heard are merely horror stories passed around by large companies to scare smaller companies before I arrive as they see it as giving them an upper hand. While I may in fact be hired by Gemworks to oversee and facilitate the happenings here today I am in fact impartial to the result. To me I see two sides, with two demands and they need a median and I am hired to make not one but BOTH sides of the coin see that median and help a mutually constructive agreement be made. So please rest assured that I am not going to try and take your family I want what works best for everyone."
There are a few more murmurs around the table and then finally Mr. Lextington gives a nod indicating that they should continue.
"Now I must ask that you excuse my rash and impulsive behavior today as I understand this is supposed to be our first meeting to lay things out and get things underway. But as years of experience not only in this field but in a very aggressive wrestling career I have found that the weak and the slow are quickly left behind. Both sides have given me excellent files and excellent offers to each other and I think we can make a quick settlement on this deal, likely within this meeting."
The murmurs that burst out at the table can barely be contained and Katie quickly taps Josh on the shoulder.
"What the heck are you doing Josh?"
"Well Ms. Chang I am doing my job."
"This isn't a wrestling ring, sometimes it takes being subtle and patient to make these deals, aggressiveness doesn't work with these people."
Everyone else is too busy talking to notice the whispered conversation that Katie and Josh are having and so Josh turns more to Katie to whisper in her ear.
"That is where you are wrong Katie. This room is exactly like a wrestling ring. You have two sides and a ref, four walls around you. It's just a different opponent and knowing how to read them. A patient and well thought out game is what it took to beat Adam Abel last week, but this week I am facing a new and bigger opponent, someone who pounds you and is very aggressive. The only way to beat him will be to aggress right back, to not give him the breathing room he needs. When faced with a challenge larger then you, you have to be fast, aggressive, and relentless or get carried away in the tide. It's like this room, but parties are aggressive in what they want and they don't want to back down or give in. If I am going to beat them I have to be more aggressive and force them to see things my way."
Josh flashes Katie a smile and then rises to his feet.
"Ladies, gentlemen perhaps before we all begin to jump to any conclusions you should hear me out? I have looked over the offers and I can see an easy conclusion. I can see that Gemworks has offered a decent amount in the form of $20 million in order to buy this company out, would that be correct?"
Both sides nod in agreement.
"The issue is that we are having is Mendcom wants $30 million and they want all of their employee's to be guarenteed contracts to stay on here. Now that is a big investment difference in the eyes of someone to put into a company that has troubles making $2 million during any given year. BUT at the same time the computer products that Mendcom has created will eventually be revolutionary to the gem industry and the mining industry which let's be frank is why you want to take over this company. So here is how I see it, there is not nearly enough money being offered or promise of a future being offered for a good investment. I propose this instead. The $20 million stands as the cash offer for the purchase of Mendcom, but the Board of Directors also maintain a 2% shares interest in the company. On top of that any Mendcom employee who has been with the company for five or more years is given a conditional one year contract for Gemworks to evaluate their status and if they are deemed not useful to the company Gemworks will provide a decent severance package for them that pays them at least four full months of pay.
This will not take money out of the pocket of Gemworks they do not want to spend up front. It will actually allow you, the Mendcom board of directors to retain value in your product and make more money over time then you would have on a straight buy out as well as give you peace of mind that your employee's are taken care of. On the other side the employee's staying on will allow the transition phase to go much more smoothly and you could find that you have some valued tools already on hand."
Josh smiles around the table and sits back down and everyone is just staring at him. You can see suit's rolling numbers over in their heads, owners looking at him in quiet awe, and Katie is standing with plain shock on her face. Finally one of the men from Gemworks extends his hand across the table and after a moment one of them men from Mendcom takes it and they shake hands.
"Excellent, glad we could come to a quick understanding. Here is the paperwork, I will leave you and the lawyers to work through that and if you have any more questions please contact my office."
Josh tosses a couple thick looking contracts around the table and smiles and gets up and leaves the room. Katie stands still in shock for a moment before quickly following him out of the room.
"Josh wait! What was that in there?"
"That was me doing one of the many things in this world that I am good at."
"But, when, how? You had full contracts written up, offers done and accepted in under an hour? I only gave you those files three days ago!"
Josh smiles and grabs Katie on the shoulder.
"Katie you are asking me to live a double life. I have to step into two different rings each week and that means I have to prepare for two different and I mean very different fights each week. That means I am fast, I learn quick and I expend myself trying to get things done. I run myself ragged even if you don't see it. You told me I had to make this deal and make it a good one to restore some of the lost value of Eagles Enterprises and so I did it. It's just like when I told you that I was going to beat Adam Abel and I was going to move on to get my shot at the big prize. Now that is out of the way there is no reason you can't let me prepare for my match this week."
"But if you can do that there is so much we can get done this week!"
"There is Katie! If we put our minds together and just went at it we could restore everything E.E. lost in a few short months with me back at the table. But at the same time this isn't my full time job anymore and it's something I pay you very well to do. I am doing what you needed, I am helping but the running of this company still falls squarely on you and your good at it. Sure I like getting in their and mixing it up with some words and aggressive negotiating, but I have a different client to serve as well. There are thousands of people who expect me to step into a ring and do some aggressive negotiating with my body and I am paid well to do that. But in order for that to happen I need to be on top of my game.
I can't spend all my time in a suit. This week I have to face some new guy to the scene Steven Watson Carter and he is a big lad. It's a whole different ball game from Abel last week, the size is bigger, the aggression level heavier, and a whole different thirst in his blood. He will want to make a statement against me, a veteran of the ring, a contender for the Valiant Championship. Any rookies dream is to overcome those odds and launch themselves straight into stardom. But the fact is I can't let him do that. I have to do what I did in there, I have to be aggressive and attack with everything I got and show him what a real Veteran can do."
Katie can only look at Josh and be amazed.
"I think I actually gained a whole new level or respect for you Josh. I mean not much because I personally think you are an egomanical, self absorbed pig. But at least some respect."
"Well Ms. Chang that is the nature of the game. I am a self made man and I've worked hard for everything I have gotten and I will continue to work hard and I won't boast and say I do it just for the fans. I do love to make other people happy, I find it rewarding to put smiles on people's faces and see what they do next. But at the end of the day I do want something for myself to and I will never deny it. I want to be famous again, I want to be cheered and loved, and I WANT to be a champion. It's going to take a little more then pipe dreams and youthful enthusiasm to slow me down that is a promise."
Josh gives Katie one last smile and then turns and heads towards the stairs.
"Don't you want to take the elevator?"
"Not really, I'd rather start my work out now to be quite frank."
Katie laughs but just before Josh goes out the door to the stair he takes off his suit coat and tie and throws them to Katie with a nod and a wink and he disappears down the stairs. Katie looks afronted a first but then just smiles and shakes her head as she goes toward the elevator.
It truly turned out to be an interesting day. I got the business stuff out of my system for the week and hopefully that meant I had Katie off my back for at least a little while. Now I got to focus on what I wanted and that was the ring, though I did enjoy myself today quite a lot. My mind needed to be one one man and that was SCW. I knew what it was like to think everything you wanted would come on a silver platter and I wasn't about to help contribute to the ego of this young rookie. I was going to give him a harsh shock of reality and maybe wake him up a little in a way he would not like.
