Before Things Started 1.1

Clyde's POV

"It doesn't matter to me how much it costs, Sam! Just buy the fucking thing already! Additionally, please refrain from calling me every five seconds. If you don't take advantage of this offer while you're talking to me on the phone, I'll take your balls and give them to my dog."

I slammed the phone on the table and clenched both of my hands into fists. I let out a low growl and shook them while pointing at the ceiling. "Jesus Christ, why does it feel like everything has to be so difficult?"

Larry Blade, who has been my best friend for the past ten years and is currently the Executive Vice President of Clyde Enterprise, sat on the opposite side of my desk, wearing a pleasant expression of mild concern on his face.

"Do you have a problem?"

I responded by shaking my head at him. "I sent my car guy to the auction in Vegas to bid on a Ferrari, and he's calling me every ten seconds to keep me up to date on the bidding. For God's sake, just buy the fucking thing!" I exclaim.

Larry asked, "Can you tell me what the last bid was?"

I yelled out, "Sixteen million dollars. The catalog estimated it could go as high as twenty-five million. I'm not sure what the issue is."

I became aware that Larry was smiling at me. At the time, I was a graduate student at the University, and he was teaching me business management. Back then, I didn't even have twenty-five cents, and now I'm throwing a fit over a twenty-five million dollar car that I almost certainly won't ever be able to drive.

"Is it not the case that even billionaires have their own unique challenges to face?" with a sigh, Larry said. While he was sitting with his legs crossed, he removed a piece of lint from his knee. Larry wasn't a billionaire before the public offering of Clyde Enterprise, but after that event, he became very wealthy. Even though it would not have been difficult for him to purchase a vehicle costing $20 million, he never did so because he considered the purchase to be excessive and a waste of money. He once questioned the wisdom of purchasing a Rolex for fifty thousand dollars when one could get the same accuracy from a Timex for only fifty dollars.

Of course, my response was, "Because spending fifty dollars on a Timex won't get you laid!"

The reality was that I was in possession of a lot more cash than I could ever hope to spend.

Clyde Enterprise had developed to the point where it had become one of the largest enterprise companies in the world and had operations in almost every country. I had accumulated billions of dollars, which allowed me to buy anything and anyone I wanted to have in my life. And right at this moment, I couldn't stop thinking about that car!

Larry's grin gradually faded as he spoke the following words, "We need to talk about the Smith acquisition. Put an end to this nonsensical babbling already! It is high time that you made your way back to the salt mines, so get ready!" He took a thick folder out of the briefcase that was sitting next to his chair and began to detail our upcoming acquisition of Smith Telecommunications, which was a regional telco that had run into financial difficulties.

We were going to purchase Smith for a sum that was significantly lower than one dollar. If we were capable of doing so, we would make the necessary repairs; however, if we were unable to do so, we would take it apart. Because this was going to be our very first foray into the world of telecommunications, Larry was understandably apprehensive about the whole thing. And there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. I offered him monetary compensation to take care of such specifics on my behalf so that I would not have to.

He did this while perching his reading glasses on the very tip of his nose and opening the folder, so I couldn't help but ask, "Has there been a problem with the purchase?" As he tore the first page out of the book, he couldn't help but laugh at the beginning.

He slid the page across the desk and said, "I'm looking to prevent problems." He explained that because this is our first telecom acquisition and neither of us is an industry expert, he thought it would be a good idea to have an expert look over Smith's financials and interview the management team before we signed the final deal.

I had a difficult time paying attention if I wasn't constantly doing something with my hands. There was a ball made of red rubber sitting on my desk. It was supposed to be a stress ball, like a rubber ball that you squeeze when you're anxious about something, but it didn't turn out that way.

The letter of engagement from Reign Enterprise, the company that would be responsible for this aspect of the due diligence should it be carried out, was in the sheet of paper that I grabbed with my right hand while simultaneously squeezing the ball with my left hand.

I took the piece of paper that I was holding in my hand and went over my thoughts while holding it up. "So, we're paying Reign Enterprise eleven million dollars to do Smith's due diligence. Please explain why we are unable to complete all of our due diligence in-house?"

"It is beyond my comprehension why the legal department of our company is not taking care of this matter."

Paying Reign eleven million dollars to find skeletons in closets and balance sheet errors were all stupid. However, some details specific to the telecom industry are outside of our purview.

It was mostly a formality because the deal was already finalized, but Larry was a stickler for covering our backsides, which I appreciated. I wouldn't hesitate to spend $20 million on a car, but I detested wasting money on my company.