Page 13 of Insufferable Boss

“You don’t have to buy my company,” she said.

I set down my fork as well, completely unsure as to where this was leading to.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You don’t have to buy it, but in return, with having me join operations as well as the board, then I want the company to branch out into a new industry.”

I watched her, and then I smiled because, although I wasn’t surprised, I truly hadn’t seen this additional request coming.

“What division?” I asked, and she replied.

“Fragrances,” she replied.

“Fragrances?” I asked. “Isn't this the same as what you're currently involved in?”

“No,” she replied. “Mine is perfumes, and they’re released in small collections. I want to go mainstream and branch out into fragrances for the market and use them in makeup and home products. Standard Rock already has a significant market share of the home goods industry, so I want to capitalize on this. “But in order to do this, I need the company’s backing and market reach,” she said.

I looked at her for a while as I considered the offer, and then nodded.

“It’s something we will be willing to take into consideration.”

“You should,” she said. “In exchange, you’ll get my contribution and support.”

“Just to be clear, what exactly would you be requiring for this new proposed division?” I asked.

“Everything,” she replied. “Support for the current scent lines that we have and support to expand. A new or added office space, staff, research labs, the works. And this support will be guaranteed for the next five years while we find our feet and get off the ground.”

“And if it fails?” I asked, and she smiled.

“It won’t fail. If it fails, then it fails. That’s business, and that’s why I’m not selling my company for ten million dollars. That’s a lot of money you’ll be saving Standard Rock. Instead, back us up and provide funding.”

I leaned back then and took a sip of my wine while she resumed eating.

“I have a question for you,” I said, and she nodded.

“Go ahead.”

“You never wanted anything to do with the company earlier on when the equity stake was assigned to you. So why the change of mind now?”

“Well, you've been hounding me, haven’t you?” she asked, but I wasn’t going to make light of this as it had been infuriating me from the beginning.

She sighed and responded.

“First of all, my father died. My heart was broken, and it took me a while to recover, so the stake he left me of his billion-dollar company wasn’t exactly my priority. The company wasn’t in dire straits... you’ve been running it excellently for years, so why did I need to be involved? Plus, as stated, we can only transfer or sell the rights after two years of contribution to the company. I had my own company, I was very busy and familiar with it, and my father had never exactly supported my own path. He was always disapproving of it, even though I had managed to make it decently successful.”

“Hence I didn’t want to make my grief worse by thinking about things that didn’t need to be thought about. I’m not trying to gain the whole world, so the equity could be ignored until I could see how it served me, and now that I do see how it can be beneficial, here I am.”

“Hm,” I nodded because I could relate to everything she had just said. We finished our dinner, both of us remaining more or less silent and contemplating, and then the plates were cleared away. I picked up the agreement I had brought with me.

“Given your new demands, now it’s clear that I have to head back, discuss with the other equity holders, and reach a consensus. Only then can I revise this.”

“Sure,” she said. “You know where to reach me, but how long is this going to take?”

“We will call a meeting first thing tomorrow morning, but as always, you’re welcome to be present. In short, since you’re in town for this very purpose, I’m extending the invitation to you to participate in the meeting so that we can resolve this.”

She sighed then, and it almost made me smile because I understood all that was not said in that expression possibly more than anyone else.

“Sure,” she said and pasted a smile at the corners of her lips.

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