Page 12 of Insufferable Boss

“What if we upped our offer?” I asked. “Would you be willing then to participate in the major decisions made?”

“Ah,” she said. “So this is a bribe of some sorts?”

I was amused.

“Even if it is, there is no doubt that it thoroughly benefits you. There is absolutely no drawback to it.”

“Except my time and focus on the things that I actually want to do myself,” she said.

“Mn,” I replied. “I guess you could say that, but purchasing your company will make it a subsidiary of ours, which means that whatever benefits us would benefit you as well.”

“True, but you have run the company exceptionally well so far, and the last thing I would want to do is interfere.”

I nodded.

“I agree, but the problem is that other people now also have just as much right as I have to interfere, hence the need to establish some form of order.”

She stared at me, so I continued.

“Do you have a price, then, that will make you consider interfering? I have asked that you sell your rights to me, but you haven’t expressed any interest in this. Plus, the terms of your father’s will state that the sale of any sort is only eligible after the rights have been fully vested in two years and after you have also worked in the company for two years. So, I’m hoping that by then, you would have a more suitable response for me.”

“True,” she said, and I nodded.

“But I do have a question for you.”

“Go ahead,” I replied.

“Is it true that the bylaws state that no major decision can be made without all owners in agreement, right?”

“Sure,” I said.

“So am I to believe that no major decisions have been made so far because my input hasn’t exactly been needed. You all have done well so far without me so I'm not sure why I need to explicitly be involved now. I mean, I haven’t protested, have I?”

“No, you haven’t. But, Miss Mercer,” I called, trying to control my temper. “We’re no longer all in agreement as I’d hoped we’d continue to be. The particular issue at hand now, for instance, is major, and we have been unable to resolve it consensually as done in the past. This leads me to believe that if some measure of control is not exerted, things will only get more difficult in the future.”

“What are you talking about exactly?” she asked, and I dropped the inferences.

“Dividends. The other members are looking to increase the percentage paid out to them annually, and I can’t allow it.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Well, because they made the same request a few months earlier, and in order to move on to other more pressing matters, I allowed it. But as the last two quarters were wonderful, and the annual payouts are around the corner, they want another increase. I can’t let that happen again. However, I am only one man against two others, my sister, and your brother, so I'm going to need you on my side to fight this one because it is an incredibly dangerous habit that shouldn’t be encouraged.”

“Hm,” she said. “Even if I were to join you, though, it would bring the decision to a tie, so it doesn’t exactly resolve the issue, does it?”

“No, but having you in my corner is a first step. And being who you are, it may be all we need to resolve this. Two of us, I believe, can be quite formidable.”

She considered this, and through it all, she stared at me.

“There is no way that buying my company won’t look like you’re buying my vote,” she said.

“I'm not bothered about how it looks,” I said. “I just need this resolved so I can focus on actually running the company, which both of them are a severe hindrance too. You’re not close with your brother, are you?”

“No,” she replied. “Especially not since our father passed away.”

“Yeah, this is apparent.”

The waiter brought our food then, and we began to eat. I watched her, refusing to interrupt throughout the meal as she considered things quietly, and midway through, she set down her fork and responded.

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