Booking Glory-Chapter 54: Argument

Brent was stunned by that reply. He didn’t know how to reply to that. He flapped his mouth a bit unable to form a coherent reply before asking Rob again.

"What if their product was shit? Mind you, I still think they are shit. But, you seemed to disagree."

"It doesn’t matter. They have no competition. So, if the idea has merit and they don’t have any competition in the market, then, even if their product is shit, it will sell. They can improve slowly."

"You are unbelievable!!!"

Brent threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Seriously, I have been presenting you with all these awesome ideas and you end up picking that garbage? Why don’t you invest in my company instead of IndiSoft? I have told you countless times that we are going to change the world. I would have liked to have you on as a partner," Brent said agitatedly.

"It was the same question your uncle asked," Rob sighed causing Brent to deflate a bit. "And I told him what I am going to tell you now. Be prepared, this won’t be pretty and I do not want to lie to you."

Brent’s face took on a stubborn cast as if he was preparing for war. Rob let out a long breath and spoke.

"It is simple Brent. I don’t see any value in investing in your company. Don’t take me wrong, I like you. I like you a lot. In fact, you are one of the few I would call a friend. But, I am not rich like you..."

"I am not rich. It is my uncle who is rich..."

"And that uncle takes care of you. Do you think you would get a place in a prime location as your office without someone helping you out? You think you can muck around with your friends about computers without earning anything for months without anyone supporting you from behind?"

"I have to work my ass off seven days a week. Sometimes, I even had to stay till midnight in LWC to complete my work. And that is how I earn money. By putting my blood, sweat, and everything I have into it. I work my ass off, Brent, and you don’t."

"Don’t deny it. I can understand your dream, heck I even support it. But, you having a dream doesn’t negate the fact that your uncle supports you. While I work, you goof around with your friends. So, when I am looking to invest my hard-earned money, I am gonna go with a company that actually does something."

"We are doing a lot of things too. I have told you. I even gave you a tour of our projects," Brent said heatedly.

"And what is their progress since I last came? No, don’t reply. I know already. You guys have found some other great ideas and are working on it too simultaneously. That means you made zero progress in your project since you introduced it to me."

"You see where I am going, Brent. Your company doesn’t inspire me with the confidence to put my hard-earned money into it. When I invest, I am looking to make more money. I do not want to give away my hard-earned money so a few geeks could tinker to their heart’s content, Brent. I may like you as a friend, but this is different."

"So, all you are saying is that I may be your friend, but you won’t put your money into my dream. Is that it?" Brent asked heatedly.

"No, no, no. I would gladly invest in your company if I have some confidence that my money will make some difference. Tell me, Brent, how much have you spent so far? How much has your uncle given to you so far? And what have you got to show for it? A bunch of half-finished projects? For fuck’s sake, at least complete one project and show it to your uncle and me."

"Then, we can talk about me investing in your company. All I see in your company is that it is a bunch of loose sand. I see geeks tinkering around with computers. I don’t even understand half the things they say, but I know one thing for sure. They aren’t doing anything worthwhile."

"You can’t say that!!!" Brent gritted his teeth.

"I am saying it as I see it, Brent. Do you want me to take back my words? Sure, I will do it. All you need to do for me to take it back is one simple thing. Finish one of your projects and show me. I will take back everything I said. Fuck, I will even invest my next savings in your company. I will even get you Dacey’s autograph. So, can you do it?"

For the first time, Brent didn’t reply in anger. He looked as if he was seething inwardly. But, he didn’t show any of it on his face. He merely turned away and started the car.

"I will drop you at your house. You don’t need to come to a place filled with geeks tinkering with computers," Brent said monotonously and started driving.

Rob let out a curse in frustration, but he didn’t talk either. He didn’t have anything else to say to Brent.

*****

"Hello, this is Rob Williams," Rob said picking up his phone.

"Hey Rob, this is Anthony here. I just heard from Brent that you and he are done. Can you tell me what actually happened? He isn’t telling me anything," Mr. Walker’s voice came from the other end.

"Oh, that!" Rob deflated a bit.

It still stung that his first friendship after passing over had ended so abruptly. Rob wasn’t exactly sure whether the mistake was with him or Brent was just overreacting, but he felt uncomfortable with the way things ended between him and Brent.

"It’s alright, Mr. Walker. We just had an argument. He didn’t take too well to knowing I invested in IndiSoft," Rob explained just the bare bones.

"Oh... Rob, I swear that he didn’t hear that from me. I only talked about how he is just goofing around with him yesterday. I never even mentioned your name," Mr. Walker said hurriedly.

"No, no, no, Mr. Walker. I was the one who informed him. I know you didn’t tell anything about me. We went to a product launch event that IndiSoft had. He was a bit curious about why I was so interested in them. So, we just talked. One thing led to another and I ended up blurting out to him," Rob laughed a little self-deprecatingly.

Mr. Walker sighed from the other end.

"I was actually hoping that you would be a good influence on him. Those idiots he hangs around with are still acting like children. They don’t have any idea of the world’s responsibility. But, you are different. I hoped that he learned at least something from you," Mr. Walker sighed.

"Don’t worry, Mr. Walker. It will blow over. I don’t blame you or anyone else. It was just an argument that got out of hand. I didn’t expect him to react so strongly," Rob tried to console Mr. Walker.

"I hope so, son. I really hope so. We will see how things turn out. At least this will give him a much-needed boot up his ass," Mr. Walker grumbled. "Anyway, you said something about IndiSoft launching a product. How did it go?"

"It was alright. I am not looking to cash out when their stock price rises. I am looking to invest long-term. So, even if this product didn’t get a great response, I have confidence in them to do better. And the people there looked as if they knew what they were doing, so I guess, it’s a good thing overall," Rob replied.

"Hmmm, then it’s fine. If you need any help, don’t hesitate to call. You may have fought with Brent, but you don’t need to keep that in mind when approaching me," Mr. Walker said.

"Sure thing, Mr. Walker. Actually, I don’t know any other lawyer other than you," Rob chuckled.

"It is never too much to know more lawyers and doctors son. I may not know everything. Even I sometimes consult with my friends on some cases. So, don’t be hesitant to reach out to other people," Mr. Walker advised sincerely.

"I will, Mr. Walker. No matter who I meet, you will always be my first option," Rob smiled a little.

"Ha ha ha... that’s good to know. I will hang up. You young people will have plans for the weekend. I don’t want to spoil them."

"Not at all, Mr. Walker. You can call me anytime."

"Ok, Rob, good luck with your next week’s program. I am eagerly waiting to see what happens between Dacey and Diana. You left all of us in a lurch last week, eh?"

"I try, Mr. Walker. After all, that is my job. Don’t worry, you will like what you see next week."

"Good, I am counting on it."

"Sure."

*****

"My, my, looks like someone’s a little down today," Nelson teased as he took a seat near Rob’s table.

Ever since he walked in to make a deal with Nelson, Rob had made it a ritual to visit Top Slam bar every Sunday. For one, it allowed him to keep in touch with what the ordinary audience thought about wrestling as a whole.

It also allowed him to see the reactions and hear the feedback and expectations of wrestling fans from the ground level. And Nelson was an amazing company as well.

"Don’t mention it, I got into an argument with a friend of mine and I am now nursing my wounded heart," Rob joked turning towards Nelson.

"Lady?" Nelson asked wagging his eyebrows.

"You think I have time for that shit?" Rob chuckled.

"Come on, you are just 21. This is the age where you roam picking up girls left and right. Not to mention you are in the wrestling business. Do you know how much that is a turn-on for girls in this city?"

"Never known and never intending to find out as well," Rob laughed sipping his whiskey.

"Gah, you still going with that on-the-rocks shit. Why don’t you try something different tonight?"

"I prefer this. It has what I need."

"And strong stuff too," Nelson commented sniffing the glass.

"So, what news have you got for me?" Rob asked changing the course of the conversation deftly.

"Nothing much. Your recent stunt with Dacey’s character has left people scratching their heads. They don’t know whether to boo or cheer her. But, they are even more interested in her stuff now."

"Don’t worry, they will get back to hating her soon enough," Rob said shaking his head.

"Is that a spoiler? Is Dacey going to do something bad again?" Nelson asked eagerly.

Rob mimed shutting his mouth and zip locking it. Nelson rolled his eyes at that gesture.

"You are really an asshole. Can’t you cut me some slack here?"

"Nope, not happening. Just wait and watch like everybody else," Rob said chuckling.

"Asshole," Nelson chuckled good-naturedly. "So, what’s up with Mark Weathers? What he did last week seemed a bit out of ordinary as well."

"He is just adding a little edge to his character to make it interesting. We had a chat and he decided to add some edge to his character to make it more appealing," Rob said without holding anything back.

"Hah, knew you were behind that shit. Now Todd has to give me a hundred."

"Nah, it’s all his idea. I merely told him what I was trying to do. He got inspired by it and decided to try something new. He is eager to get to that next stage."

"True, I think he still has some potential to be more popular. Well, good luck to him," Nelson raised his glass in a saluting gesture. Rob matched it and took a sip from his drink once more,

The raw whiskey going down his throat burned in a good way. Rob let out a satisfied grunt and nodded his head.

"Well, anyway, I got a favor to ask. Can you get Malora in? She is now quite adamant about getting into LWC. She is a big fan of Dacey and wants to work with her," Nelson said after they sat in silence for a bit.

"Sure," Rob rubbed his chin. "But tell her not to expect any TV time soon. We already have too many wrestlers and too little time in the women’s division. If you asked me, it would be better for her to try out somewhere else for now."

"Is that so?"

"It would be better if she had some experience under her belt. As she is now, she will be sent straight to the training center. But, if she had some experience under her belt and had a little fan following, then she would be able to get some TV time when she eventually comes over."

"That does make sense. Anyway, why is the women’s division only doing 20 mins per week? You have numerous stories going on, right? Can’t you increase their TV time a bit?"

"It is not that simple," Rob said shaking his head. "Right now, I am happy with 20 mins of women’s wrestling. It gives me more freedom to build a few more feuds slowly."

"And it is not as if the men’s division is idle either. They have a much bigger roster size and they need a good amount of time to put some wrestlers on TV as well. Take the main event, for example, they have more than six to seven wrestlers who can main event. But, they can’t put them all on the same night right?"

"I understand," Nelson said shaking his head. "All I am saying is that the stories you put out are more interesting than the regular ones. It has generated a lot of interest. And if LWC needs a boost in ratings they need to capitalize on it, right?"

Rob could only smile at that. While he was glad that the fans liked what he was putting out, he knew that trying to raise the time allocated to the women’s division is not that realistic. It may work for one or two months, but repeatedly putting the same talents out there will only make it boring.

He was content with the time he had on his hands. And he didn’t want to step on Robin’s shoes anymore either. He already had a sneaking suspicion that Robin gallantly giving away the main event last week wasn’t an altruistic gesture.

No, Rob felt that Robin wanted him to fail. That was the reason he gave little to no notice of the change in the schedule. If Rob didn’t have something up his sleeve, it could have all come crashing down on the women’s division.

But, the thing that worried him now was how easy it was for Robin to convince Mr. Gibson. Mr. Gibson is not a newbie. He knew the dangers of changing the schedule on short notice, and yet he was willing to do it.

Was it because Robin convinced him about the advantages and viewer expectations? Was it because it was beneficial for the ratings of the whole show? Or was there something else going on?

Rob couldn’t refute much as he didn’t have much power. While he may look like someone with power, Rob knew that was all an illusion. If Mr. Gibson and Robin came out next week and ask to cut off the Dacey-Diana feud, he would have no other option to do that.

The only reason they haven’t interfered in the Women’s division so far is that Rob has been giving good ratings every week. And while it is fresh and new it is easy to get the ratings, Rob didn’t know how long it would last either.

There may be some weeks that the audience wouldn’t be much involved in the segment. There may be some other external factors that contribute to the rating drop as well.

If that happened, what little influence he had amassed will come crumbling down. And the contract he had been given was a huge red flag. LWC wouldn’t even bat its eye if someone wanted to fire him.

As these thoughts churned in his mind, Rob frowned a little and took a sip of his whiskey. He knew that thinking about these things wasn’t a good thing. All he had to do now was to deliver week after week. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yet, that niggling doubt in his mind didn’t go away...

*****

A/N: Hey folks!

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