“Tenvery happycustomers,” he counters. “They paid two thousand dollars each for these, so I’d say that’s quite impressive.”
“What exactly do the Tire Toes do?” I ask. “What is their actual purpose?”
“They’re for style and making the tire—which is always left out in the car bragging process—feel good.”
“So, the tires on our cars have feelings?”
“Shhh.” Braxton finally looks over at me. “Let them finish, Dominic. I’m really enjoying this.”
I’m sure.
I mentally check out as the guy drones on. I have six more of these to sit through, and I’m already over it.
Sliding my phone from my pocket, I scroll through my email under the table.
At this rate, there’s no way I’ll have time to step out for dinner between the final pitch and a late-night Zoom with a London client.
As I’m debating where I can possibly go for food, Braxton claps his hands—making me look up.
We’re now alone in the boardroom.
All the Tire Toes have rolled out.
“You know,” he says, “the next time you have the audacity to ask why everyone calls you a selfish asshole, look no further than this meeting.”
“We need to fire whoever let them onto our schedule,” I say. “Did you let them down nicely?”
“I offered ten thousand for their enthusiasm but said we wouldn’t be able to invest.”
“I’m sorry, how much?”
“You spend that on a tie.” He shrugs. “Look at it as a fine for being rude as hell. You didn’t even get up to shake their hands, not even after they left us with a complimentary set of tire socks.”
“Tire Toes,” I correct him. “I’ll send them an apology email. Happy?”
“No.” He smiles. “But I will be if you promise to pay full attention to who’s coming next.”
“What’s the product?”
“Promise me first.”
Hell no.“What’s the product?”
“Straw protectors.”
I give him a blank stare.
I wait for him to tell me he’s joking—that this is just him dishing out sarcasm—but he walks to the door to usher in the next group.
Their oversized pink and green straws tell me all I need to know.
“Tell you what,” he says, “I’ll treat you to dinner to make up for this.”
“My chef’s out of town, and I don’t feel like making a reservation anywhere.”
“That’s not a problem.” He shrugs, pulling out his wallet. He takes out four hundred-dollar bills and hands them to me. “Just use UberEats.”
“Uberwhat?”
