Page 9 of Extradition (Mobsters + Billionaires 1)
“Our stocks are going to take a hit. A big one. Survivable if we can stop the bleeding now. Your grandchildren’s grandchildren will still be living in yachts off the Amalfi coast, but our investors will not be happy.”
“This one video is doing that much damage?”
“You haven’t heard?”
Gripping the edge of the conference table, I ask, “What haven’t I heard?”
“The deal with Weston Eanes is off.”
Weston Eanes, the wildly popular forward of the Manchester United Football Club, is a huge cash cow for us and one of my favorite soccer players of all time. And he no longer wants to do business with us.
“He was supposed to sign this morning. We added the inclusive language he wanted. We even worked with distributors to ensure that shoe stores carried all of his styles in the men’s and women’s departments.”
Dan shakes his head and becomes the second of my employees to shove their phone into my hands. He opens Instagram and navigates to Weston’s page.
It’s a picture of Weston looking straight at the camera, his expression solemn. The post reads: It is with a heavy heart that I move away from Wolfe Athletics. It’s important that the people I work with share my ideals: morally, ethically, financially. These avenues are not exclusive of each other but work well in advancing the betterment of people while making a profit. I refuse to work with people who are stuck in an old way of thinking, one that only serves to benefit themselves.
Well, shit.
“Old way of thinking? I’m the youngest CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. I’m thirty-five, top of my class at Harvard, head of one of the most successful athletic shoe companies in the world. I’ve got Nike looking over their shoulders. We even agreed to stop manufacturing our shoes out of those places that had some…”
“Practices that enslaved actual human beings?” Dan says, grimacing.
I’m growing rather tired of discovering everyone’s grimace face. It feels a little too close to their sex face if you ask me.
“Yeah, those.”
“Then it shouldn’t surprise you that one of the things people are bringing up is that while you left those industries, you did nothing for the people involved. Those indentured people you left behind have no way of paying off their debts. Or they do, but you wouldn’t like the stories I’m hearing.”
Not for the first time this morning, a shameful sensation burbles in my gut.
I hate emotions.
I’m going to need Grayson to book me an appointment with Brock to work out this frustration. Ignoring the heat rising in my cheeks, I refocus on Dan.
“So, what’s the move? Do we buy the factory? Do we buy the people out of slavery?”
“I think a good first step is cooperating with the international investigation. We have information that will allow them to find these people.”
“We cooperated with the authorities.”
Dan shakes his head. “We only gave them what was legally required and not a drop more. We could’ve given more in the way of names and locations, but it would’ve made us look bad, so we withheld it.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, remembering the conversation with my father and how he casually threatened to convene the board if I couldn’t prioritize the company’s financial health. Getting him to cooperate with the bare minimum cost me more than I care to admit.
Jesus Christ. I’m really beginning to hate that man in the rumpled shirt. Just as I’m probably-not-seriously contemplating a hitman, Jackson from Human Resources walks up.
“Yes, Jackson. I’ve seen it. I know.”
“Oh, you know. I guess that makes it all worth it then because I’ll be lucky to get any sleep this week.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he keeps going. “And don’t worry. I know that the softball game I’ll be missing tonight—my son’s first softball game ever—isn’t nearly as important as pulling your ass out of the situation you’ve created.”
I recall the framed family picture on Jackson’s desk, and more guilt sloshes around in my belly.
“I didn’t create this situation in a bubble. Yes, I put the emphasis on forward-thinking, but a lot of this is standard. Why are people complaining about this now?”
Jackson raises his brow. “You know damn well I bring it up every time this board convenes. Other companies are starting to treat their people like humans, and those people are talking. We require college degrees for even the lowliest work, and we don’t pay people for their expertise. So now we’ve got a well-educated group of people calling bullshit on capitalist ideologies. You should read a book every once in a while.”
