The private jet had touched down at the nearest airport, with two limousines waiting for the team from Tesladyne. It was a one-hour drive to the little town where Williamson Plumbing had its headquarters in its main factory. One vehicle held the negotiating team and their bodyguards, and the lawyers were in the other. Like two distinct breeds of animals, it was better to keep them apart until they confronted a common enemy. Both teams joked as they drove through the small Ohio town of Greenwater.

  Like many small towns in the US, over half of the businesses were boarded up and vacant for years. But there was a change as they came to the far end of town. Several street vendors were doing a brisk business, and a farmer's market was set up in the parking lot of a closed supermarket. Several eateries looked new, and a hardware store had signs advertising their Grand Re-opening.

  The youngest member of the three-man negotiating team remarked, "Looks like there's some healthy revitalization going on. It's small potatoes, but someone in the real-estate division might want to look into it." Dan was still young enough to be networking and building his base within the company, unlike the two older men, secure in their positions. Arthur gave a knowing wink to Dick, then amused himself by letting their junior tagalong know how the world works.

  "Only if you don't like them. We won't be keeping much here past year one. We'll consolidate the manufacturing process into one of our vacant factories, keep the best and youngest of the machinists, and let the rest go. Within three years, this will all be closed up and the town will be back to normal."

  "Ah, right. Seems a shame in some ways. But the economics of keeping production here won't maximize our profits. I'm probably influenced by that place advertising sandwiches. But small loss, not like any of us will be visiting this town ever again."

  "This is how things work, Dan. The best and brightest people come to work for us, and the rest stay in their little towns, working retail or coaching football. And it's the same with small companies. We absorb the innovators, giving them a chance to be part of something bigger and better. The others make a go of it for a few years, and if no one buys them out, they close up. It's the natural order of how the world works, and goes back to the feudal era. Society needs a broad lower class scattered across the countryside and providing labor to a middle class that works for the people at the top. Serfs, Merchants, and Kings."

  Pulling into the gravel parking lot of the main building, the two teams merged, entering the building in standard order, with bodyguards entering first, holding doors, then the main team and lawyers last. The eight men wearing expensive suits were met by an older secretary behind a worn desk wearing a flower print dress. She smiled as they came in and pointed to a doorway. "Hi, head on back through that door on the left and down the hall past the snack machines. Pete and Joe are down in the big meeting room. Help yourself to some coffee in the break room if you need a cup."

  One look at the break room with its ancient coffee pot and tin of cheap coffee was enough to hurry the men in suits down the hallway. The bodyguards, however, grabbed large styrofoam cups of the dark brew that had been on the burner for hours. Good coffee, bad coffee; it didn't matter if it helped keep them alert as the lawyers droned on for hours. This should be a short meeting: present the contract and check, get a few dozen signatures, and be on their way. But you never knew.

  If the break room had looked primitive, the meeting room was worse, typical of small business owners who never moved from factory offices to a shiny headquarters. One large table had been augmented with two folding tables. The owners of the small firm were on one side of the table, with room for eight on the other side. The team was thrilled beyond measure not to see a lawyer present. A mistake on the owner's part that made their job so much easier.

  "Hey, good to meet you, I'm Pete, and this is Joe. Grab a seat and some coffee, and we can talk about things."

  Hands were shaken all around, and introductions made, then Arthur started the ball rolling. "I see you've been looking over the contract we sent over. Pretty standard in a sale like this. You get to retire with millions in the bank, and we take over, running your business for the next hundred years."

  "That sounds good, none of us is getting any younger, but Joe and I had a few questions. It's important to us that we take care of our guys who helped build the business. They're worried about the sale, and I can't blame them. We'd asked for a few things to guarantee our guys get taken care of: wage guarantees, keeping the business here in Greenwater, and the right to unionize if they want to."

  Arthur pointed to one of the lawyers who stepped forward. "We did see your lists of requests, Mr. Williamson, but keeping them in the contract would have greatly delayed, or even negated, the sale of your business to us. And they don't need to be there, frankly. Tesladyne is happy to keep the manufacturing here, even if we expand and add an additional factory for the product elsewhere. Wages will, of course, stay the same, and we have a generous schedule for raises. A union, though, is out of the question. Company policy. Unions simply complicate things, putting barriers between the management of the business and the workers we value. Everything a union would ask for, Tesladyne gives its workers through our Worker Incentive and Morale Program. It's better than having a union, and you'll have an on-site representative of Tesladyne to handle things for you during the transition period and beyond."

  Joe looked at Pete, who shrugged and said, "I don't like it. That's a lot of trust between someone we've never met."

  Arthur barely hesitated, "Nothing to worry about. Dan's already expressed interest in the area, and he's anxious to get started. He can take up residence in town immediately and begin the transition, and head up the W.I.M.P program."

  Dan stiffened, then put a brittle smile on his face. "I'm ready to get to work, and we can talk over all of your concerns and how to handle them. And as Arthur said, I'm excited about the chance to take on a new role in Tesladyne and enjoy the benefits of a small town. I was drooling over the new sandwich shop as we drove by."

  A cheerful voice said, quite unexpectantly, "Then I'm glad Eric and I picked up plenty. That place was packed. Sorry for taking so long." A young woman, of around twenty years, had walked in holding two large bags from Josie's Hand Carved Sandwiches. She set the bags down and handed a large sandwich wrapped in wax paper to Joe and then Pete. "Here we go, roast beef on rye with cheddar for Joe, and Pete has the ham on white toast with American. I've got an assortment. Anyone else? What will you have, Dan?"

  There was some amusement on the faces of the Team from Tesladyne as Dan sighed and said, "Anything is good for me. The rest of the team ate on the plane, but I've got a bottomless stomach."

  She smiled and handed him two sandwiches. "Here, take a ham and a roast beef. I got lots. I'm used to people who can eat enough for three." She put a sandwich on the table in an empty spot next to Joe, and one for herself. "Eric is getting some coffee. He can't live without it. Just ignore me. I don't want to interrupt important business." She took a large bite of her sandwich and grinned at Dan. "Man, these are good. I'm a little jealous that you're moving here."

  Dan did his best to take her advice and ignore the girl. "Now that we've addressed your concerns about taking care of your employees, is there anything else you'd like to bring up?"

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Well, yes. Let's talk about the price you're offering. It seems a bit low. Our sales are on an upward curve, and the business is profitable. We think you can do a little better than this."

  The team had been expecting this; they always tried for a little more. "Tesladyne is making a generous offer, but we are also a forward-looking company. There's no guarantee that your company will remain profitable, but we're willing to pay you 10% of the net profits from the business for the next ten years if we sign today." Dick pulled out the addendum he had ready and went to present it to Joe Williamson. The annoying girl grabbed it and began to look through it as she ate her sandwich.

  "Young lady, if you don't mind..."

  "Oh, no problem. I don't mind looking it over. Won't take long. I'm a fast reader...Oh, and I already found what I'm looking for. Dead giveaway when you said Net, not Gross. The list of things you want to subtract from gross profits includes all advertising, management fees, travel expenses, and quite a few other things that have nothing to do with this end of the business. It just shifts expenses from the parent corporation to this business, making things unprofitable." She handed the paper to Pete, who didn't bother looking at it.

  Dick looked furious. Look, that is a complicated legal document that you can't possibly understand. I don't appreciate the interference. Mr. Williamson, can we please get back to business, and can you ask this girl to please leave?"

  Joe started to say something, but Pete said, "Can't do that. She bought the sandwiches. I appreciate that, and nice to have her insight. We're getting old, and so is our lawyer, Jake. He was happy to head home for a nap and let Miss Belinda take over for him."

  The lawyers all began talking. "She is hardly qualified as legal counsel."

  "I wouldn't be so sure of that. I think she passed her Bar exams just yesterday and is licensed in this state." I've got the paperwork in my briefcase if you doubt it. I think the ink is even dry on the signatures. We made a couple of stops on the way down from the state capital. Nice people there, very understanding." Another person stepped into the room.

  At first glance, he resembled the management team, but his suit showed signs of wear from long hours, and he was in much better shape than anyone except the bodyguards. He set down his briefcase and picked up his sandwich. He grinned at the people across the table. "Strong coffee and a good sandwich make a working lunch enjoyable. So does tearing into a yellow-dog contract. Seriously, is that the best you could do?" His eyes slid over everyone, evaluating and dismissing most of them, but he nodded politely to the bodyguards.

  Dick had had enough. "Who the hell are you people, and why are you involved with this? I've half a mind to leave and take my generous offer with me."

  Joe stood up, "My fault. Too involved with feeding my face to do proper introductions. This is Mr. Eric Kresthammer, and the smart young lady is Belinda Seimovich."

  Arthur put a hand on Dick's shoulders before he said anything. "Seimovich? As in, the current CEO of Manpower? I'm curious how this business deal involves you."

  She looked across the table, all business now. "My corporation has agreements with Claw Master Inc. and Rhebus. Both of which have a keen interest in the products produced by Williamson Plumbing. Mr. Babbage was unable to attend today; he's just starting a very large project that needs his attention, and I was asked to attend in his absence. Joe and Pete are old friends of Mr. Babbage, and he wants to make sure they get the most money and the best deal if they are selling their business."

  "This is outrageous."

  "Yeah, so is your offer. Fifty million over ten years, no guarantees for labor, and profit sharing that will amount to zero? I don't think so. Do better."

  "And why do you think we have to. It's very nice of you to stop by, Miss Siemovich, but you are out of your league and treading on thin ice. Interfering in a contract in this way is grounds for a lawsuit. Think twice before saying another word."

  She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed, and considered. "Thought about it, not twice, but many times, and reviewed the pertinent legal precedents. The judge will laugh it out of court, even one in your pocket. This is business, not some polite game of cards. And you might want to look at this agreement between Mr. Babbage and Williamson Plumbing, giving him the first right to purchase the company if Joe and Pete wanted to sell."

  "First rights can be over-ridden by a better offer."

  She shrugged, "Take your best shot. I've been authorized by Mr. Babbage to bid up to a certain point."

  The team conferred for a moment while the lawyers looked over the agreement Milo had asked for when he first gave Joe and Pete his designs and let them patent them. "Sixty Million over ten years."

  Belinda didn't hesitate, "Sixty-five million, cash, today."

  "Insanity. Seventy million, but only if they sign today, with no alterations."

  "Eighty million, all the changes they want."

  "One hundred million dollars, and that is our final offer."

  Belinda considered for a moment. "It's worth more. I'll pay 100 million for 51% of the business, we'll be expanding, but the core business will stay here with Joe and Pete in charge for as long as they want."

  Dick and Arthur looked at each other. Dick closed his briefcase with a snap. "You're insane."

  Belinda glared at him. "Apologize."

  The Tesladyne team looked surprised, and Dick smirked, "Or what? We aren't doing business today, and we are leaving. Time to grow up, Miss Siemovich."

  "Or what? How about after we integrate the machines with the Fusion Care system from Claw Master, we refuse to sell to Tesladyne until they fire you, Dick."

  Arthur looked at her, then at Dick, "Apologize."

  Dick looked disgusted. "No, not to some snot-nosed girl who's bluffing."

  Arthur patted Dan on the shoulder, "I'll be needing you to take over Dick's accounts. We'll talk on the way back. Dick, you're fired, and can find your own way home. See him out, gentlemen."

  The bodyguards took a fuming Dick out of the building and came back. Eric had printed out contracts with the new amount and the guarantees that the Williamson brothers had asked for, and handed them to Joe and Pete. They signed the contracts, and then Eric transferred the money to their account, allowing Arthur and Dan to see the transaction.

  When all the signing was done, Arthur asked the lawyers to leave.

  "Now that you've acquired this business, can you tell me about the integration you just mentioned. The Fusion Care program is of great interest to many people at Tesladyne."

  She smiled at him, all the anger gone from her. "Certainly. As I'm sure you know, the critical variable in a fusion generator is managing heat, which is done with a battery of heat exchangers and the flow of coolant. Small eddies and backflows can occur in the fluid pipes, causing inefficiencies. Mr. Babbage has designs for new machines we'll be producing here at Williamson that will monitor and alleviate some of these problems. He estimates a minimum safe increase from 20% to 23% in the new integrated system. Would anyone like a sandwich? Plenty left. And then we can discuss Tesladyne's needs."

  Dan was already eating his. Arthur took one, and the bodyguards were happy for an early lunch. Joe and Pete discussed employee bonuses and the vacation house on the river that their wives wanted.