09-26-2023, 04:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-19-2023, 11:13 AM by dude_man. Edited 1 time in total.)
Previous parts: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
Talks with the Hahalua management had gone well, Xander thought as they left the building. They really seemed to be doing all they could to entice Remi to make the move to Hawai’i. “Remi, are you really considering this?” He asked.
“Of course.” Remi said. “I’m seriously considering every offer. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well... Elaine ran the numbers and she’s not sure about their chances.”
“Perhaps. It’s difficult to run analysis at the moment with so many moves yet to be made, though. She was similarly questioning when presented the Colorado plan, no? Yet the numbers the Yeti front office provided were much better.”
Xander frowned. Should Remi be trusting these teams’ internal analysis, really? It’s not like they have no incentive to exaggerate their chances.
“When cross referencing those numbers, we could see no discrepancies. Perhaps we should request similar information from Honolulu, and ask Elaine to repeat her analysis.” Remi continued.
That made a lot of sense. Xander trusted Elaine’s analysis unfailingly, after her younger brother Raphael had put them in contact recently. “Look man, I don’t know if I make the ISFL without Elaine’s analysis,” the younger Delacour had said. Upon seeing the numbers himself, and going over them with Monty – another old college friend who served as Remi’s accountant these days – Xander was convinced.
“I’ll see what they’ll give us,” Xander said.
“I have a meeting at the harbor this afternoon,” Remi said, with a subtle emphasis on ‘meeting’, as if to ensure Xander got his meaning. “Caspian set it up.”
“With her?”
Remi said nothing.
While Remi was at his ‘meeting’, Xander received a call from a New York area code.
“Lysander Ashburnum?” The voice on the other end of the phone said. Xander flinched slightly at the use of his full name. He was used to it in business settings, though for some reason he hadn’t anticipated this being a business call.
“Speaking,” he said.
The voice on the other end of the phone went on to make an offer on behalf of the New York Silverbacks, for Remi. Xander thought it odd that they weren’t going directly via the man himself, but didn’t question it too much. Most likely Remi had sent them his way, though even that was strange. Why not go via Tony, like usual? Then again, Remi did lose all interest in the world at large when it came to his pursuit of Leilani. Wouldn’t be the first time he forgot that Xander wasn’t actually his assistant.
It was actually quite odd how unfocused Remi got when seeking Leilani, but then how intensely focused he became Leilani was actually in his life. Xander recalled a situation in Cape Town, where Remi had had ... a dalliance ... with Leilani on the morning of what was to be his final race for Elite Ostrich Racing. Xander had been worried about the effect on Remi’s ability to race, especially given how much money he knew the Black Axe brothers were hedging on his victory. Normally, this would have given him less reason to be concerned, but this time, Xander knew the race couldn’t possibly be fixed in any way. The Rainmen were involved, and for all you could say about these gangs, they did operate with a sort of honour code. If the Rainmen were backing his biggest rival in this race – a fellow called Mandla Nkosi; Caspian was still incapacitated at this point, after their disagreement – then the Black Axe brothers wouldn’t tamper with anything. That would be a breach of their code of honour. Of course, if Remi wasn’t at his best, that would be a different kind of breach.
Anyway, Remi showed up on time, and seemed more than a little “on edge”. Understandable. If he messed this up, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it would cost him his good standing with the Black Axe, and by extension, probably Leilani. Turned out, he raced the best race of his career. When speaking to Soulman about it a few years later, he had laughed. “You know Xander, this is what Leilani does to a man,” he had said. “Why do you think Leilani is so popular? Of course, you will feel good, but this is a given. Leilani is special because, unlike the other girls, you don’t have the downside. She sharpens you.”
He hadn’t thought about it like that.
“...so you’ll pass the offer on to your client?” The voice on the phone said.
“Of course.” Xander replied. “You should know Remi is very much in-demand, though.”
“We’d expect nothing else. Hopefully the numbers are right, and we come out on top.”
Xander said nothing. There were certainly bigger offers on the table, most notably the frankly silly money being offered by New Orleans. But if Remi wanted to be a champion, New York might be the best choice. Especially since they could match the offers on the table from Honolulu and Colorado. Of course, Leilani was a factor, whether Remi would ever admit that to a prospective employer or not. Well, of course he wouldn’t. That would be giving away some of his negotiating power, and Remi was nothing if not a ruthlessly effective negotiator, when he wanted to be.
With that in mind, it was strange that he’d ever even considered hiring an agent. It was the right call, of course; the intricacies of ISFL contracts were sometimes esoteric, and even Xander’s vast experience and knowledge of law was of limited use. Remi only needed him to do final checks, anyway. He had largely handled all negotiations himself since his first professional contract in Japan.
It occurred to Xander that this whole thing must be difficult, though. And despite the sums of money on offer, he realised he did not envy his friend’s situation.
“So we’re agreed, then?” Xander could just about hear Caspian’s voice on the other side of the door. They had all returned to the hotel, and Remi being Remi, he had hired a massive suite in which the three of them were staying. Xander was in his room, had been resting up after a long day following up on offers for Remi, getting formalised contract offers in place. The time differences made things tricky, and he’d have to follow some up at around midnight local time. The offer from Orange County was intriguing, in particular, and might appeal to Remi, he’d thought. Would be best to have a conference call of some sort at a more suitable time, and let Remi judge for himself.
“We are agreed,” Remi said. “If you can ensure Leilani will be able to move freely through,” Xander didn’t catch that bit. “Then yes. I will arrange the meeting.”
Xander paused, considering whether to open the door. He decided not to. It was probably for the best that he didn’t have all the details.
Talks with the Hahalua management had gone well, Xander thought as they left the building. They really seemed to be doing all they could to entice Remi to make the move to Hawai’i. “Remi, are you really considering this?” He asked.
“Of course.” Remi said. “I’m seriously considering every offer. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well... Elaine ran the numbers and she’s not sure about their chances.”
“Perhaps. It’s difficult to run analysis at the moment with so many moves yet to be made, though. She was similarly questioning when presented the Colorado plan, no? Yet the numbers the Yeti front office provided were much better.”
Xander frowned. Should Remi be trusting these teams’ internal analysis, really? It’s not like they have no incentive to exaggerate their chances.
“When cross referencing those numbers, we could see no discrepancies. Perhaps we should request similar information from Honolulu, and ask Elaine to repeat her analysis.” Remi continued.
That made a lot of sense. Xander trusted Elaine’s analysis unfailingly, after her younger brother Raphael had put them in contact recently. “Look man, I don’t know if I make the ISFL without Elaine’s analysis,” the younger Delacour had said. Upon seeing the numbers himself, and going over them with Monty – another old college friend who served as Remi’s accountant these days – Xander was convinced.
“I’ll see what they’ll give us,” Xander said.
“I have a meeting at the harbor this afternoon,” Remi said, with a subtle emphasis on ‘meeting’, as if to ensure Xander got his meaning. “Caspian set it up.”
“With her?”
Remi said nothing.
* * * * *
While Remi was at his ‘meeting’, Xander received a call from a New York area code.
“Lysander Ashburnum?” The voice on the other end of the phone said. Xander flinched slightly at the use of his full name. He was used to it in business settings, though for some reason he hadn’t anticipated this being a business call.
“Speaking,” he said.
The voice on the other end of the phone went on to make an offer on behalf of the New York Silverbacks, for Remi. Xander thought it odd that they weren’t going directly via the man himself, but didn’t question it too much. Most likely Remi had sent them his way, though even that was strange. Why not go via Tony, like usual? Then again, Remi did lose all interest in the world at large when it came to his pursuit of Leilani. Wouldn’t be the first time he forgot that Xander wasn’t actually his assistant.
It was actually quite odd how unfocused Remi got when seeking Leilani, but then how intensely focused he became Leilani was actually in his life. Xander recalled a situation in Cape Town, where Remi had had ... a dalliance ... with Leilani on the morning of what was to be his final race for Elite Ostrich Racing. Xander had been worried about the effect on Remi’s ability to race, especially given how much money he knew the Black Axe brothers were hedging on his victory. Normally, this would have given him less reason to be concerned, but this time, Xander knew the race couldn’t possibly be fixed in any way. The Rainmen were involved, and for all you could say about these gangs, they did operate with a sort of honour code. If the Rainmen were backing his biggest rival in this race – a fellow called Mandla Nkosi; Caspian was still incapacitated at this point, after their disagreement – then the Black Axe brothers wouldn’t tamper with anything. That would be a breach of their code of honour. Of course, if Remi wasn’t at his best, that would be a different kind of breach.
Anyway, Remi showed up on time, and seemed more than a little “on edge”. Understandable. If he messed this up, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think it would cost him his good standing with the Black Axe, and by extension, probably Leilani. Turned out, he raced the best race of his career. When speaking to Soulman about it a few years later, he had laughed. “You know Xander, this is what Leilani does to a man,” he had said. “Why do you think Leilani is so popular? Of course, you will feel good, but this is a given. Leilani is special because, unlike the other girls, you don’t have the downside. She sharpens you.”
He hadn’t thought about it like that.
“...so you’ll pass the offer on to your client?” The voice on the phone said.
“Of course.” Xander replied. “You should know Remi is very much in-demand, though.”
“We’d expect nothing else. Hopefully the numbers are right, and we come out on top.”
Xander said nothing. There were certainly bigger offers on the table, most notably the frankly silly money being offered by New Orleans. But if Remi wanted to be a champion, New York might be the best choice. Especially since they could match the offers on the table from Honolulu and Colorado. Of course, Leilani was a factor, whether Remi would ever admit that to a prospective employer or not. Well, of course he wouldn’t. That would be giving away some of his negotiating power, and Remi was nothing if not a ruthlessly effective negotiator, when he wanted to be.
With that in mind, it was strange that he’d ever even considered hiring an agent. It was the right call, of course; the intricacies of ISFL contracts were sometimes esoteric, and even Xander’s vast experience and knowledge of law was of limited use. Remi only needed him to do final checks, anyway. He had largely handled all negotiations himself since his first professional contract in Japan.
It occurred to Xander that this whole thing must be difficult, though. And despite the sums of money on offer, he realised he did not envy his friend’s situation.
* * * * *
“So we’re agreed, then?” Xander could just about hear Caspian’s voice on the other side of the door. They had all returned to the hotel, and Remi being Remi, he had hired a massive suite in which the three of them were staying. Xander was in his room, had been resting up after a long day following up on offers for Remi, getting formalised contract offers in place. The time differences made things tricky, and he’d have to follow some up at around midnight local time. The offer from Orange County was intriguing, in particular, and might appeal to Remi, he’d thought. Would be best to have a conference call of some sort at a more suitable time, and let Remi judge for himself.
“We are agreed,” Remi said. “If you can ensure Leilani will be able to move freely through,” Xander didn’t catch that bit. “Then yes. I will arrange the meeting.”
Xander paused, considering whether to open the door. He decided not to. It was probably for the best that he didn’t have all the details.
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