Evolution: A Warlock's Rise To Power

It was almost Lunch time when Mr. Beneil was finished going through the companies accounting. He had looked threw enough record books to be able to spot things that were out of place. Fortunately, this was a relatively smaller company, and he was able to look threw several years of records in only a few hours.

Right when Mr. Beneil closed the ledger, Brax opened the door and walked into the conference room that they were using as an office.

"How is it?"  Brax asked.

"Everything looks in order.  It is not perfect, but that is to be expected.  Without outsourcing the accounting to a large firm, there are bound to be a few small mistakes every year.  It is nothing serious.  They were all corrected at the end of each quarter and everything was accounted for.  How about you?  Did you notice anything odd, or out of the ordinary?"  Mr. Beneil asked.

"Kind of, but like what you said, it was nothing serious.  They had a few chairs stacked up in front of the emergency exit, but they weren't dusty.  My guess is that they were put their recently and it isn't a normal thing for them."

Mr. Beneil nodded.  "We already knew that they had to lay off a few people due to lack of funds.  It wouldn't be surprising to find that they moved all the extra equipment out of the way to make the office and lab look more efficient instead of having empty desks and chairs laying around."

Brax sat down across from Mr. Beneil.  "So… What do you think?  Are you still interested in taking over the company with me?"

Mr. Beneil thought it over for a moment.  "They don't need much money in their current proposal.  I think we should be able to take over the company with a relatively fair price and then they should only need an injection of one or two million dollars to fund the rest of their research.  I say, let's go ahead and take the risk.  Chances are good that they will succeed, and even if they don't and the company goes belly up, they have enough assets that we will be able to get back a good portion of our money if we sell it off piece by piece."

"Okay, sounds good to me."  Brax said with a smile.  He then stood up and started heading towards the door.

"Hold on a moment."  Mr. Beneil said while quickly following Brax.  "I know that you are forking out the most money for this deal, but you should let this senior show you how to properly negotiate."

Brax furled his nose.  "There is nothing wrong with my negotiating skills."  He replied.

"Hmpf, I never said there was.  Don't throw a fit.  Aren't I trying to help you out by passing down my abilities to you?  Are you really going to take care of my daughter without accepting help from anyone?  Don't make things harder than they need to be."  Mr. Beneil said while opening the door and walking out of the room.

"Ah, yes, how rash of me.  Father-in-law, come teach me all your tricks."  Brax said with a chuckle.

He could see Mr. Beneil flinch when he called him father-in-law, but he didn't chastise Brax or make a big deal out of it.  The two then entered the current owner's office and shut the door behind them while a few employees nervously watched from outside.

***

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

Jenna picked up her cell phone and answered right away once she saw that it was Brax.

"Hello."

"Hey, we are done over here.  And I have you on speaker phone in the car."

"That's good, how did it go?"  Jenna asked.

"Everything went well, we are driving back right now.  We ended buying the company.  I own the controlling interest and you father chipped in a good amount.  Once the new product is developed, passes testing and hits the market, we should both earn a decent profit."

"That is great.  Were you able to get along with my dad?"

"Oh yeah.  We have been getting along great.  He says he is my new best friend."

"I never said any such thing about this stupid face."  Mr. Beneil chimed in.

"See what I mean."  Brax responded.  "Father-in-law has even been using his cherished nickname for me as we drive back."

"He, he, I don't think that means you are best friends."  Jenna said with a chuckle.

"See, my daughter knows me best.  She won't fall for you tricks."  Mr. Beneil added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.  But hey, do you still want to get lunch before we head back?  The drive isn't going to be that quick.  We should fill up before heading back towards Flower City." Brax said.

"Hmm, that isn't a bad idea.  I know a good seafood place that is only twenty minutes or so out of the way.  We could swing by there, quick take the next left and I will call and see if we can be seated without a reservation.  But Lunch is on you Mr. Company Owner."

"Ha, ha, no problem.  So, Jenna what are you up too?"  Brax asked.

"Oh, umm… I went out with my mom and sister today.  We are downtown right now."

"OHhHh.  Sounds fun."

"Stupid Face.  We are good on the restaurant, they should be able to seat us if we show up soon.  I have a feeling that this food is going to be estra tasty since you are the one who is going to be paying for it."

"Ah, great.  And you don't need to mind my wallet Father-in-law.  Go ahead and get whatever you want."

"Hmpf, fine.  Maybe I will get some take out to bring back to my girls."

"He, he, he."  Jenna tried not to laugh loudly when she heard her father and husbands pointless bickering.

"Well, your dad seems really hung, so I have to hang up and focus on driving."

"Okay, I will talk to you later."  Jenna said.

"Bye, love you."

"I love you too."

*Click*

Jenna hung up her phone and then here mother walked around the corner.

"Who was that?"  She asked.

"It was Brax and Dad.  They closed the deal and are having lunch before heading back."

"That is good.  Your father is usually always in a good mood after closing a deal.  Hopefully he isn't picking on Brax too much."

Jenna smirked.  "I don't think you have to worry about that.  It sounded like they were getting along great."

Holly and another woman came around the corner.  When the woman saw that Jenna was no longer on the phone, she approached her and began her sales pitch.

"This is one of the best condo's our company currently has listed in the city.  Besides being two floors and on the top of the building, it also has a pool on the balcony as well as a garden and several other amenities.  Why don't you come in and have a look?  If you are satisfied, we can discuss the price.  I shouldn't be telling you this but the developer was never able to sell this unit so it has been on the market for several years already.  If you are determined to own this unit, I am sure that you will be able to get the owner to lower the price."

Jenna nodded as the real estate agent unlocked the door.  "Good, let's go take a look."