At my place I quickly put some coffee on and changed into a comfortable sweat suite. I was about to go to the house to see dad and Megan and to talk with Cole about the weekend. I was hoping he was brining Jessica and we would have a fun elating time. I was serious about a short meeting with Jace. I was pouring some coffee when my phone buzzed and I smiled when I saw it was Winnie. I said, hi babe what's up? Well you have had quite a day. As soon as she deflected the question I asked, so how are things. She started to cry and said it's bad because of Uncle Bill. He blasted you and told mom that you were a bad influence on me and I shouldn't be going anywhere with that sex maniac. Babe, what's your dad saying? Mick, he is just taking this all in and saying nothing. Babe are your rents home? Mick, they are. Will babe I'm on my way over and I want to talk with them alone. I hung up and grabbed the first jacket I saw which was my letterman's jacket, fuck it went with the sweat suit.
I poured my coffee in the sink, grabbed my keys and the phone buzzed again. I looked at it and again it was Winnie and I let it go to voice mail and jumped into the Wrangler. Five minutes later I was ringing the door bell and Winnie opened the door and said Mick, please just go back home. Then I heard Winnie, if that's Mike let him in. That was her dad and I was surprised. Winnie pointed to the living room and I was concerned as it was a much more formal setting that the game room. Once there Mr. Tillinson stood, shook my hand and said Mike, I'm glad you decided to stop over, we don't see much of you. Mrs. Tillinson just sat there smiling. Mr. Tillinson pointed to a chair and said Mike have a seat. I took off my jacket and set it on my lap. Winnie started to sit on the sofa beside her dad and was told that they wanted to talk with me alone and it wouldn't be long. She was pissed and stormed out of the room.
When it was the three of us Winnie's mom said Mike, why did you ruin my brother's life? Well Mrs. Tillinson, I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm having trouble understanding how you came to that conclusion. I came here tonight to ask what a business decision has to do with Winnie and my relationship. Guys, aside from all that I would like to explain my relationship with Bill. Winnie's dad said Mike, that would be a great idea. Well, Continental's top managers along with Bill met with me to discuss their project at the former Homestead Works. I explained that I was not into retail real estate development and while I thought it was a great idea, it was complicated. There were three municipalities involved and each would want something. They even offered to pay me and I actually laughed at that. Then there was the visit to my office and he was ultimately escorted out of the building for a major security violation.
Before we go further security at our company security is very important as we have a more than a few government contract that are very sensitive. The third floor is very secure and not everyone has access. Heck, I had to have a security clearance before I could enter the floor. Recently our COO changed things so that top executives would not have the same requirements as everyone else. When I heard about that I changed things back to the original plan. In discussing things with the COO I discovered it was changed to make her life easier. I suspended her without pay and required an apology to the entire company for seeking a special arrangement. She opted to resign. Security is fundamental to our business.
Back to your brother, he then tried to get me to look at his proposal, seeking an advantage because of "family connections" I politely reminded him that I was dating his niece and that I didn't consider that a "family connection". He was once again escorted out of the building. This time it was a normal procedure. Now let's talk about Bill's proposal. It contained no new or different materials and if he had read the guideline he would have seen that that was a requirement. He used Aluminum and Glass and the winning proposal used Titanium and glass with a newly developed PPG coating and there were solar panels. His building was a compacted "X". One fourth of the building viewed the river and it contained offices and not open space. He had toured our building with the other executives from Continental. Yet his proposal, presented on Continental letterhead finished second. Then he requested an explanation and that lead to me and my legal team seeing the original proposal, not the redacted version. I sat at that meeting and didn't say a word. My legal team dealt with the meeting. The lawyers decided to send a copy of the proposal to the legal team at Continental as it appeared it was their proposal. Throughout all this Mrs. Tillinson was very quiet but she finally asked Mike, was that necessary. I looked at her and asked, are you suggestion I participate in a deception? Yes, I could have done that but it would have been unethical and at the least they will be a force in the area once they figure thing out and I don't need complications. I will tell you this, no matter what Bill's position might be he is not welcome at any of my companies and I am serious about that.
Mrs. Tillinson then took a deep breath and asked Mike, why would my brother say you are a bad influence on Winnie? I smiled and said, I have no idea but if you want to take his word for it I would suggest that before you do that you should at least hear what your daughter has to say. Mike are you having sex with Winnie? I stood up and as I was putting my jacket on I said mam, that a question you need to ask your daughter. Aim leaving before I loose it and I'll call Winnie in about an hour. No matter what I have a business meeting at the Winery in New York. If she is permitted to come fine and if not that's fine as well. Understand we are both 18 and headed to the same school in the fall. Enjoy the rest of your evening. I was out the door quickly and went straight to the house and found dad and Megan in the game room. Megan laughed and said wow you really rated a complete hour on GMA. I laughed and said well I was pampered and didn't even have to touch a door. Megan laughed and said well that's good practice for when you are President. I almost fell out of the chair laughing. Cole must have heard me and he came down from his room. As soon as he appeared dad got up and fixed everyone a drink, I laughed when Cole was given a scotch. So it was the 3 guys with scotch and Megan with wine.
We spent about 45 minutes with 2 drinks each and we told stories and simply had a good time. As I was ready to go Cole said Mike, I can't go to the Winery this weekend as I'm trying to get a head start on schoolwork. Mike, how much leeway can you give Liam? Cole, I already cleared him for three tournaments in March and through the Masters. Cole looked at Megan and she said Mike, we have talked with a lot of people and that includes Mr. Palmer and Cole's coach and Fred and we have it down to two agents and we would like you to meet with the finalists and weigh in. Understand Cole has the final say. Cole will need Liam full time and he wants to work with Cole. So when does he turn Pro and is the PGA ok with all this? Well Mike, they like Cole and they can't stop him as there are other 17 year olds playing in other groups and then there are younger people in other major sports and the Olympics.
I looked at Cole and asked, so when is this happening? Cole smiled and said Wednesday at the Palmer Invitational. I took a sip of my drink and said, damn this changes everything. Guys, who is financing this? Dad laughed and said well Callaway Golf. We are trying to get that finalized before we hire an agent. I laughed and said, well that's fine and if you need I'll put Tim on it. Dad said well his firm is dealing with it but not Tim. Cole said Mike, Callaway is reproducing my clubs and they are identical except they have the Callaway logo on them. I have tested the driver, 5 iron and wedge and they feel the same. Ok guys, I give up what's holding this deal with Callaway up? Cole laughed and said well it's a big deal and I wanted to make sure you were on board. I burst out laughing and said well there has been a lot decided and I knew nothing about it so why that? Megan said well this was between Cole and me and he will be dropping out of school and get a GED. I'm good with that as I like the fall back position as a Club Pro. I have researched that. There is no pressure as I believe Cole will know what is best for him. Mike, even your dad didn't know about most of this. Look, I need to go as I have issues with Winnie's mom and her Uncle. Understand, I'll have Cole's back no matter what and I don't think he needs an agent, we can do that in-house. Cole, let's just talk about this the brother to brother. Have a good rest of the evening.
Back at my place I threw my self on the loveseat and thought what the fuck can happen next? I was obvious I was being kept out of the Cole situation and would see what dad had to say. I knew Cole wanted to make all those decisions and I was glad about that and I was rooting for him. All that was left to do was to call Winnie. Winnie answered by saying Mick, I was worried as you said you would call in an hour and it almost 2 hours. Babe, I had to visit the rents and that was more involved than I had thought. Cole, is turning Pro at the Palmer Invitational. Damn, Mick we should do New York next week. Winnie, it would be just us as Cole and Jessica won't be going. He is trying to test out the rest of the year. Mick, who is paying for all this? Winnie, it's a long story and I'll tell you all about it another time. So how are things at your place? Well Mick, dad finally exploded on mom about Bill. He told mom that he is disgrace as a business person and was not welcome at the house anymore. Then he told mom, to get off your case as he thinks you are good for me. Then he said that if I chose Ohio State, he wasn't paying, so I better stay with VT. Mick, we should stay home and I'll spend Saturday night at your place. Babe that's a great plan. Then I said, I'll see you in school tomorrow, sleep tight. We hung up and I thought well that one thing kicked down the road and it will be what it becomes. I simply stripped and jumped into bed, pulling the covers up.
I was up with the alarm and that was never good for my mood. I was getting dressed for the run when I heard rain hitting the window. Turned out it was freezing rain and there would be no run. I was wondering about school as it appeared the roads were covered with ice. I just shook y head and was hoping it was called off as a 2 hour delay would totally fuck up my day. Just then my phone rang and it was JJ. He was laughing and said MJ, a long weekend. JJ you work weekends so why does it matter? MJ, today will be canceled and I have 2 lessons on Saturday but they are late afternoon. So would you be free to hangout tonight? JJ it's a long story but I am as plans changed. I will be hanging out with Winnie Saturday as she is spending the evening. MJ, I don't care just so we have tonight. JJ, count on that and we both need that. We hung up and I dressed for the office.
Once changed I went to the house and found Cole eating breakfast. I poured a coffee and sat down. Cole smiled and said MJ, there was a lot that went into this decision and AP was dealing with mom. The sponsorship was his doing as he sponsors their equipment. While he has legionary appeal, everyone wanted appeal to the younger generation. That apparently is my new gig. MJ, it's not really a gig, I just do what I do and hopefully win a few tournaments. Ok Cole, what's the deal? Well MJ, I will get all the equipment and I get 200k a year. 25k for a top 10 finish, 100k for a win and 200k for a major. Cole, why isn't that signed? MJ, I wanted to have this talk with you to make sure and I want it signed before we hire an agent. Cole, who has this limited to 3 agents? Well it was a list from a bunch of sources and I don't know who recommended them. I know I left you out of this but I need your help on this. MJ, it's needs done quickly as I want a sponsor for the outfits I wear and I don't want them covered in logos. Cole, I have lunch with the Mayor at Oakmont on Wednesday let's meet them at 4, 5, and 6. That gets you to school, if you are still doing that. Cole just started laughing and finally said that's coming from mister barely there. I asked about Jessica and was told she is good and onboard with all this. MJ, we are very good. I finished my coffee and went to my place.
I fired up my laptop and sent an email to Tim telling him I wanted to meet with him and whoever was working with Cole at noon. Then an email went to Kyle asking if he could meet with me around 2 and if not to please let me know when he would be free. I knew Liam would be around as the weather would keep him in. I knew I had Jack and Riley on Monday afternoon and the Mayor and the agents on Wednesday. I immediately called Cole and when he answered I asked for the names of the three prospective agents. He laughed and said ask Bill at Tim's office. I just shook my head and said thanks. I made coffee and worked on the laptop until 10:00 and then turned it off, grappled a coat and put the laptop in a carry case and jumped into the Wrangler.
Th trip to the office was easy as there was very little traffic and the main roads were good. I parked in my spot and noticed that the executives were in but that there was a lot of empty parking spaces. I just smiled and thought well with our numbers they deserve a long weekend. I went inside and it was the usual security check. On the 4th floor there was yet another person at the reception desk and I was going to contact Maggie and see how we could get that resolved, I wanted that to be one or two people at the most. Kyle waved me into his office and he would be available at 2:00. I said thanks and went to my office. I was shocked to see dad was in and I simply waved and went to my office.
I set the laptop case on my desk and hung up my jacket. My ass had barely hit the chair when Liam appeared asking for a few minutes. I said sure and pointed to the guest chairs. Liam sat down and didn't say anything. I finally said Liam, this is your meeting what do you want? Mike, assume you had a chat with Cole and his mom last night when you got back from New York. There wasn't a question so I just remained quiet. Liam took a deep breath and asked Mike, did that upset you? I shrugged and said Liam, why would that upset me? There was this sick smile and he said Mike, this is hard for me please don't make it more difficult than it is. Well Liam, I told you I would cover whatever you wanted through the Masters and that is still 6 weeks away. Just tell me if you need something different. Mike, Cole will be playing every week starting with the Palmer event until the masters so that means I'll need to resign here. Megan has offered me a contract which pays me $1,000 a week plus a percentage of the winnings, if there are any. What I'm saying is that your support while appreciated is not needed. Liam, what if this doesn't work out and Cole doesn't do well? Mike, I can get a caddy gig in a moments notice. Understand I will stay with Cole until he fires me. I smiled and said well Liam, I appreciate all you have done for me and the company. We both stood up nd Liam put his hand out to shake hands and I went around the desk and gave him a hug and said good luck.
Liam left and while I expected him to leave it was still hard to take. I really liked him and he was a great assistant, almost as good as Dillon. There were however starting to be a lot of openings. There was no COO, the PR thing was becoming complicated with the Major also working at the school, no assistant, no regular receptionist on this floor and that was more than a receptionist. I moved to the club seats and was staring out the window looking at the ugly grey sky and the rain pelting against the window and my mood was getting darker and darker. I must have zoned out and suddenly I realized someone was standing at the door looking at me. Dad laughed and said welcome back to reality. He handed me a coffee and sat down. He smiled and asked, how you holding up? You have had a really difficult week. Then Cole and Megan dumped a load of shit on you and I saw Liam just leave and I'm betting he resigned. Well dad as usual you seem to know what's going on. Why was I left out of the Cole decision and discussions? Mike, that was between Cole, Megan and his advisors. Everyone wanted him to turn Pro, well except Megan and she finally agreed. Mike, they gave you enough to do with the interviewing the Agents. Oh, don't even think for a minute that we could do that in-house. The three that were short listed are very good but Cole will be one of many athletes they represent. It would be nice if Cole had an Agent that was focused on him. That's hard as most people would consider this a real flyer. All the support in the world, while great, won't be worth a shit if he doesn't play well.
Ed took a sip of his coffee and said Mike, you are doing too much and starting March 1st I'm back. We will do almost everything together and right after the 4th of July you are on a paid leave and there will be a plane there but it won't be a jet and you won't be flying up here all the time. Then in January it will be back to you and me doing everything together. I want you to have as normal a college experience as possible. I started to say something and dad said Michael James, I'm serious. You gave me the break I needed and now I'm back. Mike, it was times like you are experiencing that almost pushed me over the edge and that fuck up Adam really hurt me. I smiled and said, I know and Megan is good for you, I hope that sticks. Dad laughed and said well you have a busy day, get an assistant. Oh dad, please don't fuck with Kyle or Dillon and let them run the day to day shit. I'll be back in a heartbeat if you stress either of them out and you can put Tim in that group as well. Dad laughed and said Mike, I'm not stupid. Dad, simply got up and started towards the office door and he stopped and said Michael, I'm serious about all I said, I love you. Once I was alone again I thought damn I hope that actually happens.
I wasn't alone for long as Tim and Bill appeared. We all sat in the club chairs and I said. well I had an interesting conversation with Cole and Megan last night and I want to thank you for dealing with all that. I however, have a few questions. Tim immediately said Mike, Cole is our client and there is a lot Bill will be unable to discuss. As for me, I have had no involvement as when I was approached by Megan her request was for a younger lawyer to work with Cole and she explained what was involved. I looked at Bill and asked, so who is paying for all this? Mike, it's pro bono until the contract is signed. Ok Bill, why isn't the damn thing signed? Mike, Callaway has signed it we are waiting on Cole. What's his problem? Mike, it's like crossing the Rubicon there is no going back. He said he will sign it the Tuesday of the Invitational. They have already sent three sets of clubs and he can use whatever putter wants and hopefully that will result in a sponsorship. He will continue with his outfits and attach a Callaway logon to a shirt sleeve. Bill, last question. Why does he need an agent. Bill laughed and said well I don't have the time to deal with an athlete and a caddie and the damn agent works on commission and I will review absolutely everything before Cole and Megan sign. Understand Cole is a minor and Megan needs to sign as well. Bill, while Cole is your client and I won't be asking any questions, please sent you fees to me and I'll pay them. Bill smiled and said, well I'll talk with Cole and Megan about that. I thought damn, he just let me know where I stood in all this. I smiled and said whatever. Them Bill said but just so you know, I'm advising them to reject your very kind offer.
Bill left and Tim stayed behind. Mike, I'm advising you not to pay for Cole's legal fees. He needs to do this alone and if it gets too much for him, just support him by being his brother, not his banker. I laughed and said Tim, I'm starting to understand. Tim and I spent the next hour talking about construction issues, permits, architects and Money. Again the land would serve as the down payment for the construction loan. Then there was a lengthy discussion about sept as there was the mortgage on the other two buildings and that while we had survived the latest slowdown in great shape, Tim felt we needed to increase our reserves. He said that Jordan told him we were in great shape and could survive a long term slowdown or even a recession, Tim want the reserves increased. Then he said that he was concerned about Jack and the drone project. Tim, I'm concerned about Jack and Riley and I'll deal with them next week along with the Mayor. Then Tim said Mike, you have a very full week I'm not sure you can get it all done and the week after is the Palmer Invitational. Tim, I'm not going to that and I have an idea for a replacement for Liam. Also, I'm thinking we can use Jack but I'm not interested in bringing Riley back. We will have to see how that goes. I'm not ready to discuss that. Tim simply smiled and asked that I talk with HR before I make any decisions.
Kyle was next and I was glad that he brought Dillon along. Kyle asked Mike, is your head ready to explode yet?I laughed and said, not quite but it won't take much. Dillon for some reason found that funny and Kyle said Mike, I'm working on the COO situation but I definitely don't want Riley back in that position, we need someone who knows what the fuck they are doing and who has some technology expertise. It will be a while but Dillon and I will manage. First of all between the Pebble Beach experience and yesterday in New York the Textron people are thrilled with how you support and show off the jet. They were wondering if you were going to Orland for the Palmer event? They would like an interview and pictures. Kyle I was not planning on going and if I did it would be an up and back and JJ and his dad's school would need to get a plug in anything they did. Kyle, it would be Saturday and I could bring Cole back if he missed the cut. Mike that would be awesome. Ok, I'll get JJ to clear his schedule. Then Kyle asked about the drones? I told him that I was meeting with Jack on Monday and I would know more then. Mike, Dillon and I would like to take that project as it will involve a lot of government contact and we have those connections and to be honest spaceman needs a lot of attention, unless he hit his head and grew up. I laughed and said fine and that t would start that building first. I was actually thrilled. We talked about a lot of things and we were all pleased with the position of the company.
We finished around 4:00 and I called Winnie and we decided on an early dinner and a movie and a night in. Next I called JJ and asked where he was. He laughed and said at your place sitting on the loveseat drinking beer. I laughed and said well don't get too far ahead of me as I want you functioning. He laughed and said well I'll order pizza. JJ, eating is second or third on the list of thing I need. I'll be there in 30 and I hung up.
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