Page 17 of The Bourbon Bargain

We don’t think so. Judging by a long string of past activities, the brothers are playing a game of just showing us what we want to see after receiving harsh criticism from the public as of late. They’ll have to do more than one trip to a now-closed mine to change our minds.

Olympus International holdings all over the world have come under scrutiny for allegedly horrible working conditions, outdated or nonexistent safety equipment and procedures, and industry-wide low wages for the workers doing the back-breaking labor that makes the brothers rich. This may be the first industrial accident that has made headlines, but it’s likely not the only one to ever occur at an Olympus-held entity. You know we will be digging through their dirt and finding what secrets they are hiding, or seeing just how deep the rot goes.

Where was big brother Hayes while Payton and Zander were on a humanitarian mission? He was spotted out on the town with his lady love, Paige Fairchild, rather than crossing oceans with his brothers. The pair were seen dining—ahem,canoodling—at trendy hot spot, Rare, and eating street food for dessert after. Is that a dig on the fare at Rare, or just a penchant for a good dessert? It made our cold little hearts happy to see the love birds reunited and back to their PDA-filled outings around Atlanta. Maybe the eldest Olsen is learning that your significant other should be placed before business, and that’s why he didn’t make the trip with his brothers. What forced the newlyweds apart for over a week prior to this randy reunion? We’re still stumped on that, but happy nonetheless that our favorite It Couple is back in the arms of Atlanta again.

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thirteen

Hayes

“We’rebeingsued.Aclass action suit brought by the workers of the South African mine, represented by a nasty New York firm that has a history of looking for opportunities like this,” Zander informs me through the phone call playing through my car speakers.

I scowl, even though Zander can’t see it. “Have legal deal with it, that’s what they’re paid for,” I reply, my patience already too thin for this conversation.

“It’s not just Olympus that is being sued. It’s us. You, me, and Payton. They want to hold us accountable in addition to Olympus.”

“That’s bullshit! There is no way this will hold up.”

“Well, like it or not, that’s what the suit says, and it will be public knowledge in a short time. We’re going to be crucified in the media even more so than when the mine collapsed last week. Our team is combing through the suit and finding everything they can to combat this, but it’s still a real issue we have to face until we can make it go away,” Zander snaps. Clearly, he’s already been down this road and doesn’t want to deal with it. My brothers returned from South Africa feeling hesitantly optimistic a few days ago, so this unexpected new roadblock is once again slowing down our progress at pulling Olympus out of the mud.

“Get PR to work on a statement. We need honesty, not culpability. This is a publicity nightmare, and I would guess there is more to it than just the ambulance-chasing law firm cashing in on the opportunity of a lifetime. We have enemies, and they want to see us fail at every turn. There’s money and power backing this bogus claim, and we need to figure out that trail before we can know what we’re really dealing with.”

“Payton is already drafting statements with PR. You can join them and add your two cents when you finally deem us worthy of your presence today.”

“I was working on another problem. I’m almost there; don’t get your panties in a bunch wondering about my schedule,” I say before I hang up.

Making sure Paige was fully satisfied before I introduced her to the team at Underworld Spirits for her first day as head of the company took priority this morning.

Now, I’m thinking she’s getting the better deal finding her place at a new, and unblemished, company than I am with the string of issues mine is facing as of late.

I can feel the tension when I step out of the elevator at Olympus, eyes averting as I stride through the office space heading for the boardroom. Are we having a crisis of conscience with the staff in addition to all of the rest of the shit that is falling on us? We’ll have to improve morale before they start talking and leaking sensitive information to the press, or worse, the Atlanta Haute List.

That stupid blog. It’s not even a real media outlet, yet it has so much sway over what happens in Atlanta and the South at large. What they report often gets picked up by actual media sites and goes viral for some reason. I’ll be checking the company NDAs today to make sure that they’re iron-clad in case I catch wind of a rat in our midst that needs to be dealt with. I have no problem letting someone with loose lips go, no matter what their title may be.

“Good of you to join us, Hayes,” Payton says when I push into the room and settle into my seat at the head of the table. Zander may be the CEO, but we all know I run things and get the coveted spot anytime the three of us are in the same meeting. Sometimes being the eldest has its perks.

Carina quickly places a stack of documents with sticky notes attached in front of me. She’s been taking notes in my absence. She also settles a fresh mug of coffee in front of me, assuming correctly I will need the fortification for what’s to come.

I nod my thanks and turn my attention back to Payton.

“Break it down for me. Who is really behind this, because I know it’s not just some scammy law firm seizing the day and hitting us with a bullshit lawsuit.”

“We’re working on cracking that now. We have people in New York positioned close enough to gather the intel, but it will take more time to root it all out. Time we don’t have. So, we have to be proactive and address what we can now, and be ready for more to hit us,” Payton says, tapping his tablet and sending what’s on it to the main screen for the rest of the room to see.

“Our main objective is addressing concerns in the suit that we were somehow aware of the issues with the mining equipment and structure yet didn’t plan to fix anything. We don’t want to be seen as negligent, but we also have to contend with the fact that the quickness of the sale kept us from doing our due diligence and we actually put off those inspections in favor of buying the property as-is,” Diego says from my right, tapping a pink sticky note in my pile.

I lift it and see a waiver of inspection attached. Great. Now practices are being called suspect. This is how we do business, often blasting through a deal and waiving whatever we have to in order to make it happen on our timeline. It’s a common enough practice but can look a bit risky from the outside.

“Second, we have to address the allegations of human rights violations in the working conditions of the mine. It’s carefully worded, but there is blame being passed to us that the workers were not allowed to unionize and were punished for bringing safety and workplace concerns to management,” Luca adds.

“Not to mention they have managed to corral the remaining workers to put this together so quickly. Someone is working against us on the ground in South Africa. Maybe the former staff we are in the process of replacing?” Zander muses from the other side of the table. “They were all happy enough when we showed up, checks in hand, ensuring they were paid for the year and all medical bills would be handled by us last week. I don’t know what would have changed their minds so fast to want to be part of a lawsuit now.”

I nod in agreement and see his eyes narrow that I’m not disagreeing or finding a way to fight with him. I point to the legal team. “I want whatever information we have about the condition of the mines, and how we may have missed that they were in danger of a collapse. Was it covered up in any documentation, or not disclosed in the sale, to begin with? This will be a definitive point for us to stand on, or fall to our death, so be thorough.”

Heads nod and notes are scribbled while one of the members quickly leaves the room to get the rest of the team started.

I look to Payton and Luca and their motley mixed band of PR and operations staff. “We need an even better statement to release today. No in-person needed, just something we can distribute quickly.” I snap my fingers, thinking of the main wording. “Olympus International, as well as the Olsen family, are deeply troubled by these allegations and are doing everything in our power to discover all of the details. We are known for our integrity and accountability and find no truthfulness in the suit brought against us by an opportunistic law firm representing a consortium of people we have already aided.” I wave my hand in the air, looking for input after that start.

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