Page 37 of Taste Me Daddy

Michael took one final moment to gather his thoughts and focus on the target.

Using all of his business skills and the psychological markers that he had developed over the years working on huge deals with high stakes, Max calmed himself until he felt ready to go.

I’m doing this for me, and for Korben most of all.

Stay calm. Stay controlled.

Don’t give Phillip a single glimmer of opportunity…

Michael followed the same path as Max and Harrison before him and before he knew it, he was turning into the lounge bar. Immediately, Michael’s eyes fell upon Phillip…

‘Well, well, well,’ Phillip said, his slicked back blonde hair and thin lips adding to his smug disposition. ‘I wasn’t sure if you were going to show. Drink?’

Michael stood before Phillip and watched as a single flick of Phillip’s wrist saw a server scurry over with two glasses of champagne.

‘Thank you,’ Michael said, his show of politeness designed to not give away the strength of his disgust in even having to take this meeting. ‘Let’s talk.’

‘Indeed,’ Phillip replied, sipping on the champagne, and taking great pleasure in its taste. ‘This is a thousand dollar bottle, by the way.’

‘Good for you,’ Michael replied, unimpressed. ‘I’ll lay it out for you, Phillip. You need to back off my investments, and you need to stay away from Korben’s Kandies. I’m not here to negotiate, I’m here to tell you how it is. There doesn’t have to be a fallout between us. I don’t want any drama. I’m simply setting the expectations that I expect you to meet.’

With that, Michael toasted his champagne glass and waited for Phillip to counter.

Michael didn’t anticipate that Phillip would cave in and agree to his demands, but Michael was interested in seeing precisely what Phillip would fire back with. Michael knew from years of experience how to get a rival to show their hand, and he was more than confident that Phillip would fall into this trap.

Show me what you’re thinking, Phillip.

Lose your cool, act out…

Show me your weakness.

But it soon became apparent that Phillip had improved his self-control and composure since the last time the two men had met. Not only did Phillip not fall for Michael’s trap, but it became apparent that Phillip was more than capable of setting his own traps too…

‘I’m thinking that I’ll complete a takeover of each and every one of Korben’s Kandies main rivals,’ Michael said. ‘Using that as leverage, I’ll ensure that the department stores and boutique venues will only come to me. Then, of course, there’s the Japanese market too. I’ve already got that one squared off, so I’ll be more than ready to put a stop to Korben’s Kandies succeeding there too. So not only will I come after your other businesses, but I’ll make sure that Korben’s Kandies is blown out of the water at each and every turn.’

‘You’re bluffing,’ Michael said, feeling a wave of anger coming over him. ‘You’re still the devious snake you were back when I let you into my circle before booting you out as soon as I figured out who you truly were.’

‘Am I bluffing, Michael?’ Phillip enquired, sneering as he turned his phone to show an image of Korben walking out his workshop. ‘You’ll be glad to know that my men waited for Korben to leave before accessing his computer and drawing down all the company data.’

This revelation was enough to send Michael into a rage.

Michael stood up and promptly flipped the glass table that separated him and Michael.

‘You stay the fuck away from Korben!’ Michael roared, suddenly finding himself being restrained by two burly security guards, with Harrison and Max joining the melee to free him. ‘This isn’t over, Phillip. Not by a long shot.’

‘We’ll see,’ Phillip laughed, a look of fear on his face giving way to his all too familiar smugness. ‘Say hi to Korben for me!’

And with that, Michael, Max, and Harrison were bustled out of Slice Bar by a quintet of doormen.

‘Fuck! I totally blew it!’ Michael raged, the night sky above him.

Michael could tell from the looks on Max and Harrison’s faces that the situation had gone every bit as bad as it felt like. Suddenly, Michael knew that he was going to have to dig deeper than he imagined.

‘Come on, let’s bounce,’ Max said. ‘I suggest a whisky at the closest dive bar we can find. It’s time to stick together and work this shit out, just like we used to back at Princeford when shit went down.’

‘I agree,’ Harrison said, a look of concern on his face. ‘Phillip clearly had all that planned in advance, including the intervention of the doormen. We need to fight fire with fire.’

Michael nodded, but his head was still spinning, and his body was full of adrenalin.

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