Chapter 3
Drew Walker
Prince Walker
“They are saying they can deliver the same quality for five billion less than what we’ve given in our estimate. Apparently, they are building their tech with this whole ‘recycled materials’ nonsense. We all know the Chinese don’t care about the environment; it would only make them look better on paper. It’s the concession they are glad about.”
I could see my father standing over the oak desk in his study, clutching his stress ball in anger; an anger that was hugely justifiable. I was blinded by the positive feedback I’d received from my Chinese correspondent, underestimating the other contenders for this deal. Something my father would have never done. “A bird not yet in hand is still in the bush, no matter how closely it comes to roost,” he’d always said. I ran my fingers over my face in exasperation, wishing my father would just get off the phone and leave me to sort things out on my own.
“How did you not pre-empt this?” he bellowed.
“Dad, I assure you, the Chinese are not going to go with SysCorp. My contacts guaranteed they were inclining strongly towards us. I would not have been so relaxed if I had heard otherwise,” I placated. If they hadn’t cemented things with SysCorp yet, my chance was still there, and I was not going to lose to them.
“Your naïveté amazes me, Prince. The Chinese are cutthroats when it comes to their business dealings. They have no qualms about doing us over. The sooner you realize that the better you’d be at this business. The markdown percentage the Russians are offering is too significant for them to overlook. Even I would take it. You have to beat their price or devise another means to secure this deal. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Dad,” I acquiesced.
“Have you found a suitable partner yet?”
“No, Dad, I haven’t and I’m not looking either. Frankly, I don’t see how my personal relationships can be linked to the matter at hand,” I retorted, fed up with my father’s meddling in my private affairs. Although it seemed like an exaggeration to describe them as private, with the media stalking and reporting everything I did.
“Of course, you wouldn’t see how doing business with a respectable married man would be favored over courting the employ of an extravagant, reckless delinquent.”
“A delinquent who brought this company to where it stands today as a multinational billion-dollar income stream, diversified into patenting and manufacturing tech, telecommunications, agriculture, and whatnot. I did that. Now we have a sizeable straw in every revenue pool you can imagine. Whereas you’d have kept us centered only on real estate,” I retorted in an incensed tone.
“Oh, please. Cedar Inc. was well on its way to ticking that box. I laid forty-five years’ worth of hard work and persistence, building the foundation for you to soar as high as you’re doing now, most of which I spent having doors shut in my face, having business propositions sent back unacknowledged. Now you only need to say my name to get into a building. I went from closing house sales to closing million-dollar deals and yet, I do not toot my horn like you so often do. Neither have I felt as entitled to winning as you obviously have. I would never sleep on a deal of this magnitude,” my father chastised, although he was a brick wall when it came to emotions, I was his only child and I did not know if he’d ever loved anything more than success or status itself.
My father had a tough childhood that had forced him to become ruthless and single-minded when it came to winning. He always felt the need to prove himself to the people who had overlooked him, thinking he wouldn’t make it as far as he had come. It worried him that I took it all for granted, so he had never praised or agreed to any of my accomplishments, probably afraid that it would all go to my head, and I would become overly confident of my abilities. No one, other than my mother, of course, was more appalled at my sudden change in character. My father had hoped that marriage to a girl befitting our status would banish my newly found penchant for scandalous activities.
I was determined not to give my father anymore reasons to deem me incapable. I resolved to get the deal, even if it meant sabotaging SysCorp. I reached for the intercom telephone and pushed the button for Jane’s office. I needed ideas, and my best friend was the wiliest when it came to these kinds of dealings.
“Jane, get Andy on the line now. Tell him I’ve changed my mind about attending his charity gala. And get a nice dress; you’ll be my date for the evening.”
Jane tried to stifle the excitement in her voice. “Ok, Mr. Walker.”
