I was told to expect a lot of local travel with this position. Apparently, Mr. Burns didn’t require his clients to come to the office, and instead visited them so they didn’t have to take time out of their schedules. It’s not a big deal, but it would be easier for me if meetings took place in the office. I’d be able to fit more people into one day instead of having to spend extra time traveling.
For the next two hours, I look over my calendar and pull files to look over for the clients I’m going to be meeting this week. Before I know it, I hear someone unlock the office door and walk in.
“Hello?” someone calls out.
I move quickly from my desk to the front of the office.
A woman with blonde hair is placing her things on her desk. She’s an older woman with wrinkles forming around her blue eyes. She smiles kindly and holds out her hand. “You must be Celeste. I’m Deborah, your assistant. But you can call me Debbie.”
I shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Debbie. I’m so happy to have you here. I feel like this would be a lot more to adjust to if I had to do it all on my own. At least you can give me a rundown on everyone in town.”
She laughs. “I know all the details,” she agrees.
“I have a meeting later today with Mr. Slade. What can you tell me about him?” I ask, leaning against her desk as she takes a seat and starts up her computer.
Her eyes grow in size and she presses her lips into a tight line. “Well . . . Mr. Slade is . . . to be frank, he’s a total pain in the ass and I feel for anyone who has to deal with his shit on a daily basis.” She smiles sweetly, like that last sentence just got away from her.
“Really?” I ask, sitting down in the empty chair across from her.
She nods. “He’s been nothing but a problem for Mr. Burns. You see, the brewery has been in the Slade family for years—decades, actually. When they took us on as their legal counsel, Morty Slade was running it. But it’s since been passed down to Morty’s son, Drake. And that’s when all the problems really started.” She brushes a grayish-blonde strand of hair behind her ear. “That family has been surrounded by scandal since the brewery started. It’s common knowledge around here that Alan—Morty’s father and Drake’s grandfather—paid off the zoning commissioner and got him to move some property lines so he could build the brewery. The thing is, there’s no proof, which means he got away with it. Since the day construction started on the brewery, the other families in town have had serious issues with the Slade family. And those problems haven’t stopped. They believe their land was stolen from them—making the Slade family billions in the process as they’ve grown to become one of the largest breweries in the country. Every now and then, one of them will pitch a fit about something, but mostly, it’s just bad-mouthing around town. The Slade family is basically the black sheep of this town. In the eyes of the locals, they can’t do anything right. It doesn’t matter that they single-handedly rebuilt the only school in town, or that the tax money the brewery pays is the money that gets things done around here. It doesn’t matter that they donate to every charity event.”
“So what you’re saying is that the Slade family isn’t really bad? They just have a bad rap?”
She nods. “Yes, for the most part. Drake and his brothers grew up being hated. It’s turned them into outsiders. They’re not accepted no matter what they do. After a while, they just stopped trying. They rarely come into town, which means you’ll have to go to him for any appointment. Drake is arrogant and believes that since he’s the client paying us the most money, he’s automatically the most important. He will call and want something at the drop of a hat, and he can’t be told no or hang on. He wants what he wants, when he wants it.”
“Deep down, how do you feel about Drake Slade?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I don’t think he’s a bad guy; I think he’s just misunderstood.” Her face reddens. “But I’ve always had a thing for the bad boys.” She lets out a nervous giggle and I can’t help but join in her laughter.
After our giggles die down, I sit back in my chair. “So what I need to do is befriend Drake and get him to join the town, while getting the town to accept him. Once everyone is happy, I’ll get those signatures and we’ll be able to move forward with this expansion.”
“Easier said than done,” she says, tapping her pencil on her desk. “Three families believe their land was stolen by the Slades.” She opens her desk and pulls out a map. “Mr. Burns had the land photographed by drone.”
When she unrolls the map, it’s a big photograph of the brewery. There’s the massive building with a rather large parking lot. Surrounding it is nothing but farmland.
“This corner lot here belongs to the Reynolds family. The plot on this end belongs to the Jones family. And here in the center is the Smith family. They claim the Slades stole their back 20 acres. And this land across the street is owned by the Mason family.”
“Wait, why do we need approval from the Mason family?”
“Because this area is technically a farm zone. Any business that moves next to their property line has to be agreed upon, because the noise of running a factory can be disruptive to the farm animals. When animals are disturbed, they get stressed and lose weight, meaning they won’t bring in as much at auction.”
“But the brewery is already there. They’ve already agreed, right?”
“They agreed for the plot of land the brewery’s on now. However, Mr. Slade’s plans call for the expansion to be built across the street. That plot of land already belongs to the Slade family, but it wasn’t in the original contract with the Mason family. You have to get the Mason family to agree to the land being used as a business zone instead of a farming zone.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be too hard, right? I doubt one more building is going to affect their livestock when they’re already used to the brewery being across the street.”
“To a normal person, yes. But these families aren’t normal people. The Slades are hated. Word has it that the Mason family is going to deny their request just because they can. They were well-paid when they signed the contract decades ago, but the new generation running the farm now has had a beef with the Slades in the past. They’re just looking to put a kink in their plan.”
I throw myself back and a long breath escapes me. “This sounds like it’s going to be a royal pain in my ass.”
She nods. “I hope you’re up for a challenge.”
“What choice do I have?”
I spend the morning organizing my office before heading out for my dreaded meeting with Mr. Slade. Debbie wishes me “good luck” as I pass by her desk.
“Thanks. Something tells me I could really use it,” I laugh out as the door closes behind me.
I get behind the wheel and pull out my map since my cell doesn’t work out here in the middle of nowhere, and I’m the only Tesla owner with a broken GPS. Starting the car, a sense of dread settles over me. Suddenly, I’m filled with nerves and fear. What if I can’t get the job done? I’ve never let down the firm before. And if Drake Slade is as bad as Debbie claims, then he’s not going to make my job any easier. My only hope is getting him to let his guard down. I have to make him want to be a part of this town—want to be friends with the people who live and work here. It’s the only way this will work, and I just pray he can see that.