More mumblings pass between Stuart and Markus. ‘My client and I need to discuss your offer. May we take five minutes outside?’
‘By all means,’ Gregory says, his tone almost bored.
Once the door clicks shut, I whip around to face him. ‘Are you kidding me? Onemillion? That’s insane.’
‘Actually, Scarlett, it’s not. The kid’s got something and I stand to lose a lot more than one million if he succeeds in line with projections or if a bigger company takesBlack Diamondsfrom him and gives it the right kind of support.’
‘Even so, you doubled your offer, Gregory. That tells him your first offer was a joke and your second offer probably was, too.’
‘Seriously, Scarlett, you’re going to tell me how to conduct a business negotiation?’
‘I’m going to tell you hownotto conduct it.’
‘Scarlett, this is my world. This is what I do.’
‘You could have fooled me!’ I rise and walk to the window, feigning looking out to the towers and twinkling lights but watching him regard me through the reflection, his smug smile frankly pissing me off.
He scoffs like I’m a kid taking a tantrum andthatpisses me off even more. ‘I’m intrigued by the kid. I want to see where this goes.’
I do a one-eighty, arms folded across my chest. ‘And you’re willing to blow one million pounds to find out?’
‘It’s small fry. If it doesn’t work out, it’s an expensive mistake, but I didn’t get where I am today because I shy away from risk.’
You shied away from one risk for long enough.
I’m glaring at him as the door opens, adding to my temper by forcing me to fake a smile.
Standing, I can appreciate just how un-lawyer-like Markus looks, with his unkempt appearance and all-round general manner and poise. He starts to speak before his arse even hits the chair. ‘My client believes his product is worth more than one million.’
I bite down so hard on my gums, my mouth tastes metallic. Gregory raises one hand to his chin and I know he’s going to make another offer.
I can’t let him. I won’t. ‘It’s a shame your client doesn’t seem capable of speaking for himself, Markus,’ I say. ‘If he could, he might be able to justify to my client why in God’s name this technically basic game that’s similar to a lot of games already on the market and that has almost non-existent IP protection is worth even half a million pounds, let alone more.’ I turn my attention to Stuart. ‘Do you understand the real reason Constant Sources wants to buy your game? We want to remove your game from the market. Not because it’s worth money now, but for the off chance that a company with enough time and energy might buy it and turn it into something more. Specifically, a company who knows how and has the money to protect the rights in the game properly. As a piece of technology, your game is practically worthless. But with no registered intellectual property portfolio,Black Diamondscould be recreated if it fell into the wrong hands. And do you know what you could do about that? Nothing. Unless you have a bottomless pit of money to step into a ring with wealthy businessmen, you can do absolutely nothing. Has your lawyer told you that?’
‘My client doesn’t need this,’ Markus says, coming to stand. ‘We’ll find a new buyer. Come on Stuart, let’s go.’
‘Yes, of course, you’ll find a new buyer,’ I say with sarcasm that should be aimed at my unhinged boyfriend. ‘Let me tell you how that goes. You sit around a table like this for hours, again, and the person you sit across the table from will know your offering is built on sand. That your international intellectual property portfolio is non-existent. So, let’s say that person offers you half of what my client is offering and you accept because you’ve realised,finally, that your offering isn’t as valuable as you’d thought. My client will go to your buyer and buy the game from him fortenmillion pounds. So, your buyer wins two times and you have half of what you have on the table right now.’
‘Stuart, let’s go,’ Markus urges, eye-balling me as if I give a damn.
Stuart leans back in his chair. ‘Wait, I need to think.’
I shuffle in my seat so that I’m looking right at him and in the most nurturing voice I can conjure, I reason with him, the final, gentle nudge across the line. ‘Look, Stuart, your greatest asset right now is your mind. You can create something better than this game and with one million pounds, you could have the time and resources to do exactly that. Can I be honest with you?’
He nods.
‘I advised against Constant Sources making this deal at all. In my view, the risk is just too high; I can’t see beyond your not having registered your rights in the game. Now it’s after eight at night and I’m wondering whether you want to sell this game at all. If you don’t, that’s fine. I’ll gladly see my client walk away from this deal but I can promise you one thing: the offer on the table will not increase and you won’t get a better offer elsewhere.’
I take the sale agreement out of my document folder and writeone million poundsinto the commercial schedule then rest my pen on top of the contract and slide it across the table.
‘Take the deal, Stuart.’
He looks to his lawyer, who nods without a word.
Stuart takes the pen and turns it in his fingers.
‘I had a figure in mind when I came into this room,’ he says. ‘You haven’t met it.’
Gregory sits forward, resting his forearms on the table. ‘Stuart, my lawyer has told me to walk away at one million.’ He casts an eye to me and beneath his business façade, I can tell he’s pissed that I’ve trampled his negotiation. ‘I will walk away. But first, let me put something else on the table for you. You can take one million; that’s my top offer. Or, you can take seven hundred and fifty thousand and come to work for me. At Constant Sources, from this office in London.’ He leans back and re-crosses his legs. ‘I think you’ve got something, a hunger in your eyes, business in your mind, and I like that. I also think that, with guidance, you could be a solid creator. You’re nineteen; take this opportunity and come to me whilst you work out which you are: an entrepreneur or a designer.’
