Harry Charles set the corporate table....He had Water, Sweet Ice Tea and Chips at every seat......
"Harry, did you order the Hoagies and the Cheese-steaks" I asked.
"I'm way ahead of you Kev." he said.
Sheila Jackson....Our Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Her husband and my ace boon coon, Sean Jackson ,Chief Photographer and myself, the managing Editor and acting Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Morris were all here and awaiting our guests....
I was concerned that the parent company that owned our magazine...The Harris Group was trying to unload us... My magazine was the only so called Urban,(IE- Black) magazine in their group of magazines..Even though we turned a decent profit..we often got treated like a red headed step child. I had butted heads with the group more times than I cared to count .We had almost been bought by an unscrupulous former associate of mine who had ties to a known narcotics kingpin. I wasn't going to allow that to happen again.
I was also incensed with a meeting I'd had just the week before with the owners....
''Mr. Morris...Your magazine is turning a nice profit and it does appeal to your targeted market, Young middle and working class African-Americans, Latinos and a few urban whites....but we think we would like to broaden your base." said Irving Whitendale....a guy who dreaded setting foot in Philadelphia and who hadn't been to our offices in two years...
"Oh really? You mean you want to change it." I said.
''Well a few changes wouldn't hurt anything, bring in a few new people , some consultants..." he said.
Then there was another guy, Rich Cornfield...Who I despised....
"Mr. Morris...You list yourself, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, Mr. Charles and 31 office employees.....Yet we pay 38 people. You Have a Mr. Walter Jones, Mr. Owen Todd , Mr. Clerow Hamilton, Mr. Tom Constanoble and Mr. Donnie Johnson listed as uh er "Investigative Consultants" ...What is THAT about?" he asked.
Kool Kat, Clerow, Owen Todd, Peeping Tom and Lockpick Johnson helped me out on a lot of my cases..many of which became big stories...I thought it only fair to pay them and keep them on retainer....I wasn't about to divulge the real nature of their work or what I did on the side...
I didn't like these guys being the owners and having the power of life and death over my magazine...They had tried to vote down my health care plan as well as my profit sharing plan.This was why I had called a meeting of new partners.
Our Attorney, Conrad Nelson and his wife, Jill ,who was also an attorney was present....My wife, Sepia, dressed to the nines, and her business partner, Bonita Foxworth were the first to arrive....Next came Clerow ,himself dressed to impress in a very nice business suit and then came, Chess, Chris Thompson and Donald Smooth......
"Nice spread you got here for us Kev." said Chris Thompson...
"Yeah man....you didn't have to go through all this trouble for us" said Chess...
"Actually...I'm glad he did...I'm hungry" said Donald Smooth.
"I'm wit'cha man" said Clerow as they gave each other dap....
"The Food will be here shortly" I said..
II-
Sheila placed my business proposal on the table.... Chris Thompson ,his buddy Chess and Donald Smooth had a company called C&C Brothers Inc. They owned several apartment complexes and condos as well as a couple of gyms and some juice bars....Their crowning glory was their ownership of a huge shopping center that bosted a modern supermarket type food collective, several franchises of major businesses and plenty of office space.
Our friend, Mabel Jenkins had expanded her business and had opened up her second restaurant in their center..Of all the people present , they were the ones I was most definitely making a pitch to.
"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen...I hope while you're enjoying the food....You've looked over my business
proposal...."I said.
"You basically want us to buy your magazine?" said Chris Thompson....Never one to mince words. I liked that.
"Yeah man, I want each of you to invest an equal amount of Capital in buying this magazine....I plan to start another magazine and a regional newspaper...With you all being equal partners.....There will be a nice payoff for everyone involved." I said.
Chris ,Chess and Donald looked it over.....Clerow, who owned and managed a few apartment complexes and rental properties himself smiled and said...."I'm in boss."
Sepia smiled and she and Bonita said without looking at the proposal- ''We're in!!"
Chess, Chris and Donald continued to talk amongst themselves...I figured that they might be the hardest sell...
Chris Thompson finally came up to me...He wasn't smiling.....
"I guess you guys talked huh?" I said.
"Yeah...Yeah...We was wondering why you had to do all of this? Why didn't you just call us....We in like flint baby" he said with a smile...hugging me.....
Sean Jackson smiled and Had Harry Charles bring in bottles of Champaigne for everyone!
Which meant I could keep all of my employees and hire some more for my new ventures...I now was no longer "Acting "Chief Operating Officer...I was The Chief Operating Officer...The big cheese...I no longer had to answer to anyone...Just give a fair accounting of my magazine's quarterly and annual profits to it's three new owners...My friends...Chris & Chess of C&C Brothers Inc. , Clerow Hamilton of Hamilton Properties Ltd and my wife, Sepia and Bonita of Foxworth & Morris Real Estate.....
They more than matched the price the Harris Group was asking for my magazine and it was sold with no problem...Good Riddance!! I was free! We were free!
Chris and Chess came up to me some time later-
"You know Kev...We have some office space available to you a few blocks from here...We are having that building refurbished and when it's done...You're welcome to move your entire operation there...You'll have three floors instead of this one...and for you...we'll lower the rent from what we'd usually charge.." Said Chess.
"Yeah man, get out of this place and come a little closer to the party.....Josie's is across the street and you can get there a lot faster." laughed Chris.
"Good Deal Guys!" I said.
III-
Sepia and I celebrated that night with a delicious dinner at Bottom of The "C"...
"Wow...Talk about a power move....You've got new partners who bought you out from under your previous owners and you have a new building with three floors....My goodness Mr. Morris....Your sudden success is making Mrs. Morris very moist and aroused." she joked.
"Well Mrs. Morris, you know I live to do just that." I joked.
"As your silent partner....I feel I may have to sexually harass you." she said seductively....
"This is uh highly unprofessional and inappropriate." I said with fake disgust.
"But ahhhh, you won't tell anybody will you?" she asked.
'Helllllllllll no!" I said.
"We Both laughed."
1 comment:
All in the family. I like the closure of the ownership issues from the previous story. Dropping my papers and throwing my pen at you.
SLC
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