Chapter 142: Business as Usual: Hannah
I had to admit, I was a bit out of my depth.
I watched as Roman answered emails and took calls. The context of all of it was all in utter business jargon. Acquisitions, interest rates, leverage, scalability, survival strategies, "value add," stocks, and talks of bottom lines. I took little notes when he explained things to me, but I didn’t think my mind was absorbing any of it.
If I was taking away anything from the morning, it was a deeper appreciation for all that Roman did for us. He really was vital to the company, even if he didn’t directly oversee any of their departments. He was a figurehead that had his hand in a bit of everything.
"Time for a meeting. Ready to learn about real estate?" he asked, packing up some paperwork and standing up.
"As I’ll ever be," I chuckled weakly.
We moved out of the office and headed down one floor. That floor was almost entirely conference rooms. We walked in, and Roman pulled a chair next to his at the head of the table for me. I sat up straight and positioned my notebook and held my pen as though I was ready to contribute, even though I had a deep suspicion that the only thing I would understand was that they were talking about land, houses, and buildings.
As people filed into the room, they all came up to greet me. I gave smiles and shook hands. Some of them had looks on their faces that let me know they were mildly annoyed by my presence; however, I didn’t care. It was such a powerful feeling to be the one at Roman’s side, as I knew that none of them would have tried to go head-to-head with Roman over the presence of his wife.
"Good morning, everyone. I’m sure you’re all aware that we are looking to acquire the company Foley Real Estate. They managed to survive the housing market crash, and were even flourishing until about two years ago," Roman started off the meeting. "From my notes, it looks like it is suspected that they hit a bit of a wall when they began having issues obtaining new land outside of their typical area. Then, due to some managerial missteps, they began losing the land they already had. While they haven’t yet put their company out for a buyout, we have some insiders that are giving us a foot in the door. Stanley, I’ll let you take the floor."
A man at the other end of the table stood with a little remote and cut on a projector. They started a presentation on a history of the company, their relationships with the locals, and an in-depth analysis of the decline of the company. I was able to keep up with that portion and even took some notes, but once they got into figures and numbers, I started to get a bit lost in the sauce.
The main topic of the meeting, I knew, was about what kind of offer they should put in for the company. It would need to be enticing enough to keep them from opening to the rest of the market, but would also need to be affordable to implement the changes they needed to within the company and afford to pay off the debts the company had. It was kind of interesting, but I had no ability to even begin to gather an opinion.
The men at the table went back and forth about numbers and figures, debating over amounts. Roman didn’t say anything, just listening intently.
I started to get lost in thought about how it was only men at that table and something about it bothered me. Obviously, because there was clearly a lack of female leaders; but I wondered if there was more representation in other areas of the business.
After an hour, Roman announced his decision. They would offer the company two million dollars profit in the buyout. It was more of a sizeable amount than most of the executives wanted to offer, but what Roman said was final.
People began filing out of the office as Roman sent off an email from his phone. When he stood, he looked over to me. "What did you think of your first conference?" he asked.
"Surprised I followed along so well," I admitted. "Why are you offering more than they want to?"
"I don’t want to leave the owners hanging, and if we don’t start out with one of the best offers they would get if they opened up to the market, then we can get passed up. The amount will give the owner the ability to pay off any personal debts they took on with the company and give them a nest egg to fall back on."
"That’s really thoughtful of you. I thought business was more cutthroat," I stated as we headed into the hallway.
"It can be, but I would rather be fair," Roman replied. "It makes us a more approachable company so that people want to do business with us, or partner with us. It’s better in the long run."
"That’s really sweet," I smiled.
"Did you find a passion for real estate?" he asked, a cheeky grin stretching across his face.
I laughed. "Not even a little."
"Well, let’s see if you have a passion for publishing," he said.
We walked down the hall and into another conference room. Once again, Roman pulled a chair next to him. I was relieved to see a mix of men and women filing into the room. People greeted me again and took their seats.
The meeting went in a similar fashion. Roman made his opening remarks before handing it over to the woman that was in charge of that department. This time, it wasn’t about acquiring a new company, but a brain-storming meeting about ways to reach more readers. The publishing industry had been needing to find new ways to stay relevant the more digital life became.
This time, I had a bit more of a genuine interest in the meeting and could keep up pretty well. The more they got into engagement numbers, trends, and other various key components, the more lost I was beginning to feel. Still, it was something I could see myself lending a hand in if I decided it—though I still didn’t find that spark that I was hoping for. Rather, it just seemed comparatively more interesting than real estate. Though, that wasn’t saying much.
When that meeting finished, we headed back to the elevator. "Any passion yet?" he asked.
"I don’t think so," I sighed. "I’m worried corporate life isn’t for me," I frowned. "I like the idea of having an office and doing something... I just don’t know what that something is."
"Let’s get some lunch," he suggested. "You can clear your head and regroup before starting into the afternoon."
It was then I looked at the clock to realize it was only eleven-thirty. It was going to be a long day, wasn’t it?
We left the building and walked on foot down to a café on the corner. As much as I had been looking forward to the day, it was also nice to get away from the office to do just as Roman said, clear my head. I didn’t want to start feeling defeated by not finding something I cared for, as I knew I hadn’t seen but a small percentage of what all his company had to offer.
Still, I was itching and longing for purpose. I was in dire need of one. Was it normal to feel so lost, even when looking into a bottomless well of options and potential?
We chose a window seat and had more coffee and sandwiches. "Do you eat here a lot?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I usually have food delivered. Need to get the most out of my day as I can."
"Hey now," I pouted, crossing my arms. "I told you not to change anything for me."
He smiled and rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. "Forgive me. Just wanted to treat you to a nice lunch. And wanted to be able to give you my focus."
"You’re too good to me," I blushed lightly.
I didn’t fight it. We enjoyed our lunch, and I did my best to let go of the building tension in my chest.
Things were going to be okay, things took time. I shouldn’t expect myself to find a life’s passion in such a short amount of time, and time with Roman was making me see that. Even with how busy he was, there was an easiness to the way he moved and operated.
After we finished our lunch, we headed back to the building, and I asked, "What’s up next?"
"A meeting about the stock market," he answered.
I couldn’t hold back the audible groan that sounded from me. I knew that was a meeting I wouldn’t even be able to pretend to follow. He chuckled and placed a kiss on the top of my head. "How about you spend some time with Rachel? Secretarial work can be mundane, but she seems to enjoy it."
"That sounds better than a meeting about stocks," I chuckled.
