"Of course, Tabby. I look forward to it, things have been far too regular and boring around here recently."
I grinned and went into my office, looking around. I wanted Francine to have her back to the door, so I decided that the best position for the meeting was at my desk. It wasn't like she was going to be in a friendly mood anyway. While the newspapers didn't have all the information out there, the initial reports of a group of Latin Kings being involved in what the police were saying was a "gangland style hit" had to have her worried. Of course, the cover story itself made us all laugh.
I did my best to busy myself as I waited for Francine to arrive. The meeting had been set up quickly, last night before the Latin Kings went out to the docks. In my message, I had insinuated that I was ready to strike a deal, but didn't say so clearly. It was sure to confuse her, which was exactly what I wanted. I'd won the first round of our little war, and by the end of the evening she would have thought I'd won the second as well. Why was I doing this?
She'd find out soon enough. In the meantime, I sent off a quick e-mail to Gene at the Spartans, along with another to Helen Watters about the grand opening of the community center. I had just clicked send on Helen's message when Vanessa knocked on my office door. "Tabby? Ms. Berkowitz is here to see you."
"Please, show her in, and get some coffee ready," I said. Vanessa nodded, hiding her smile perfectly. She knew how to play the game that was for sure.
Francine came in, and despite what had to have been a stressful past eighteen hours or so, she still carried herself like a cross between a bully and a queen. Practically shouldering Vanessa out of the way, she came into my office like she owned the damn building. I wondered if that was what Marie Antoinette was like before the French guillotined her. "Tabitha, it's nice to see you again."
"Good morning, Francine. Please, have a seat."
Francine started to sit down at the coffee table, before realizing that I wasn't moving from my office chair. She played it off well, setting her purse down on the chair before coming over. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your invitation?"
"I felt like we needed to clear the air between us, Francine," I answered. Under my desk, I tapped a button that was hooked up to my computer, silently beginning to record everything that was happening in the room. While I didn't know if I would turn over anything to Bennie Fernandez, it was always helpful to have a little bit of extra ammunition to offer. "You know, the past few months have hardly been profitable for the Union, and I'm quite frankly sick and tired of the bullshit that I have to deal with to get my business done. I think I need to make a major change in the city's landscape, and you are exactly the woman to help me do it."
"I don't know what you mean," Francine replied, looking for all the world like a child who had just gotten their hand caught in the cookie jar, but still didn't give a shit. Cocky, arrogant, and sure of her impending victory. It was so ludicrous that I was having difficulty controlling my smile. "I mean, I'm not sure how the Union could help you."
"Well, before I ask more, perhaps you could explain that more to me. Let me just say I've gotten the impression that if I go along with the Union on certain things, the road towards getting what I want gets radically smoother. How is that?"
"That depends on what MJT can offer the Union," Francine replied. "I mean, how much more are you looking to invest in the city?"
"We currently have an investment fund in the eight figure range," I replied. "I'd have to check with Marcus directly, but my goal is to triple the amount of businesses that MJT is invested in within the next two to five years."
Francine blinked, momentarily given pause. It wasn't often when someone flatly said they wanted to buy stake in over ten percent of the businesses in a major city, along with also stating they had a investment fund of at least a hundred million dollars set aside to do so. The best part was, I was understating things. If Francine knew exactly how much money MJT had access to, not even including what we could leverage or borrow, she'd probably have a heart attack. "That... that's quite a feat, Tabitha. Do you really feel that you can do all that with this two woman operation running out of the top floor of a gym?"
"I think that if the road were smoothed for me, yes I could," I said. "But that's where the problem lies. You see, if I have to spend half my funds hiring attorneys and fighting the Union and the city in courts, I can't do nearly as much as I want to do. So, while it might hurt me a bit, I think in the long run I can do better working without the Union in the way."