If This Town Could Talk...

The others in the room nodded and murmured in agreement over the Heather’s suggestion, with the exception of Zack, who shook his head and backed away. Though he appreciated the sentiment, he was adamantly opposed to having his name on company title. Having spent less than a day working in the business, it was a prestigious honor that he didn’t deserve. He didn’t resist being named CEO, since that had been clearly ceremonial and temporary. ‘Bishop-Ravers Corporation’ was to be permanent and enduring, and, in fact, it only made him feel rather pathetic that they were giving him such an accolade to soothe his self-doubt.

“I can’t let you do that,” Zack insisted firmly. “Maybe in the future, like Robert says, you can add my name, but I don’t feel right letting you put my name in the company title right now, when I’ve barely been involved in the business.”

“You say that, but you’ve done more work for Ravers Enterprises than Heather ever has,” Robert reminded him.

“Hey,” Heather said, hands on her hips again. “I was practically raised in the halls of your hotels and on the floors of your conference rooms. I’ve quite possibly spent more of my life on company premises than anyone else in this room.”

“That’s only because you cried any time your father and I left and refused to behave for any of the nannies and Au Pairs we hired.” Brooke leaned over to Zack. “You should have seen her. Those adorable chubby red cheeks…”

“Mom! I was not chubby!” Heather insisted, too proud of her now perfectly crafted body, honed by hours of cheerleading practice, to admit she’d even had an ounce of baby fat ever.

“Either way, that’s not really work experience,” Daniel noted to his niece, before looking to Zack and adding, “But I don’t think that should matter. Whether you worked a day, or a year, it wouldn’t make a difference. This isn’t Ravers Enterprises anymore. It’s a new creation, and you, Zack, were here for its creation. More than just a warm body, you have been integral to its conception.”

“I didn’t do any more than Chastity did. And Brooke is neither a Ravers nor a Bishop, so I do think it’s unfair to single me out like that. Wouldn’t Azure Rocks Developments be more neutral and representative of everyone?” Zack suggested, throwing out any idea that came to mind and hoping that something stuck. “Or who says we have to change our name at all? The old Ravers Enterprises probably won’t keep their name. They can’t. There isn’t a single Ravers still within the company after today.”

“If this is to be a fresh start, then we should have a new name to reflect that. Anything else would simply be confusing, or misleading. You said it yourself. We’re selling a brand as much as an actual business, so our name should reflect who we are and what we do,” Robert argued softly, disagreeing without a hint of anger.

“Since this is the first company decision to be made, then we should make it the way any of our policies should be decided,” Brooke suggested, sensing that the disagreement was going around in circles, and knowing they were short of time. “Let’s put it to a vote.”

“Excellent idea,” Daniel concurred. “Would someone like to call the motion?”

Heather’s hand shot up in the air. “I will. I nominate ‘Bishop-Ravers Corporation’ as the official title of the new company.”

“Seconded.” Robert said quickly after.

“Okay, the motion to be brought to vote is the title of the new company. All those opposed to ‘Bishop-Ravers Corporation?” Daniel asked.

To his dismay, but with a complete lack of surprise, Zack was the only one of the group to vote against the new name. Instead, he could only watch as he was inevitably outvoted. The only way he’d successfully discard the name now was if everyone else abstained, which he knew would never happen.

“All those for?” Daniel looked around as the others followed his lead in raising a hand and saying, “Aye.” With an understanding nod, he and the others lowered their hands, and he announced, “With a vote of five to one, it has been decided, the official name for the new company will be ‘Bishop-Ravers Corporation’.”

“Tough luck,” Heather joked, with a patronizing pat on the back.

Zack hung his head. This is what it was going to be like for the rest of his life he thought, outnumbered and outplayed by Ravers. Though he didn’t take the defeat too seriously, it was, after all, only a name. If he didn’t deserve it now, he would simply have to work extra hard to be worthy of the privilege sooner rather than later.

“Fine,” Zack begged. “If I can’t get you to take my name out, can you at least not put it first?”

“So, Ravers-Bishop, then?” Robert said thoughtfully.

“I only put Bishop first because it was alphabetical, not because you’re better than me, Zacky,” Heather replied, smirking. “But, if that’s what you want, I guess that’s an acceptable compromise.”

“Then the official name will be ‘Ravers-Bishop Corporation’. With that decided, finally, we should move on to what we’re actually going to do,” Daniel continued, returning to his original issue. “As in, what sort of company do we want to form?”

“What do you mean what kind of company should we form?” Heather queried, frowning in confusion. “Development and tourism, just like Ravers Enterprises. Isn’t that the point, to beat them at their own game?”

“It’s certainly the most logical option, but it’s not the only one, and it comes with a severe disadvantage in that we’ll be fighting an uphill battle against a direct competitor who is more established and has infinitely more resources,” Robert noted, his sombre tone cutting through the previously jovial mood. “Unfortunately, the only assets we take with us in leaving are Ravers Manor, the cabin and the Ravers Palace Hotel in town. The Lake Hotel and anything else built after my father was ousted is firmly tied up in ownership to Ravers Enterprises as part of their demands. That includes ongoing projects, such as the Silver Lakes project, though not the cabin itself. I hadn’t signed it over yet, since I was waiting until I was able to buy the Rivera Cabin before doing so.”

“But there really isn’t anything else to do in Azure Rocks. New builds and attractions are what make money here,” Heather argued, folding her arms across her large breasts as she thought hard. “The town seems to be growing, but most people that come here and spend money still do so because of the Silver Lakes Mountain.”

“Precisely.” Daniel nodded. “A growth of thirty one percent in the last ten years, to be exact. Thanks in part to new jobs opening up because of the creation of the Silver Lakes Hotel, and various restaurants and bars. There’s no real agriculture to speak of in Azure Rocks, and all the manufacturing is in hands of the Smiths. The rest of the economy is purely tourism.”

“Is there a risk of that crashing, if we become too dependent on it?” Zack asked. “I’m not suggesting we open a factory, but maybe something in the tech sector? It’s a growing market, from what Gavin tells me, and a lot of those jobs can be done anywhere, and you won’t have any direct competitors, at least within Azure Rocks.”

“That is a possibility,” Daniel admitted, but he didn’t seem interested in the idea. “However, it’s not a sector that any of us have real experience in, so it’d require hiring actual advisors. Additionally, with a population of…what was the last ball park, Chastity?”

“Twenty to Twenty one thousand, boss,” the blonde receptionist called out cheerfully without even a moment’s hesitation.

“How many over eighteen?”

“Seventy-five percent.”

“And the unemployment rate?”

“Only three point six percent,” she answered with the same overt happiness and excitement of a dog perfectly replying to its master’s command.

“Hmmm, you’re going to have to hire in a lot of outside workers, either just graduated from Green Hills, or further afield, to even staff the venture. Besides, you’d be completely ignoring the influx of tourists that come to the town.” Daniel took a breath, before smiling at the young man, careful not to seem too dismissive. “I see the sense in what you’re saying, but, to me, it feels like ignoring a large pile of money, just because you’re not getting a big enough cut. A small percent of a lot is better than a lot of nothing.”

“I wouldn’t worry about the tourism in Azure Rocks going anywhere,” Brooke added. “The caves, the waterfall and the lake itself are all natural attractions, and there’s historical significance to the area as well through the Native American contingent, some of whom still live in communities close to town, and there’s even an old speakeasy malt shop in town from Prohibition with ghost stories that attracts the paranormal crowd outside of peak holiday times. The appeal of Azure Rocks isn’t going to wear off any time soon.”

Zack blinked as he simply took in the information. Though he’d been thoroughly rebuked, he wasn’t upset, simply impressed by how much they knew about the town without even looking any of it up. Once again, he felt a little out of his element.

“Wow, you guys know a lot about the town,” Heather audibly echoed Zack’s thoughts.

“Of course, that’s our job. You can’t predict the success or failure of a project if you don’t even know the town you live in,” Her mother replied. “Especially the members of the board, so while Robert was busy conducting the day to day business, when it came to assessing actual new developments and whether they were economically in the company’s best interest, we had to research the consequences it would have on the town. That’s a lot easier to do when you constantly keep abreast of the city and its growth.”

“Don’t be too impressed. They don’t do all the work themselves. They have assistants and aides for that kind of thing,” Robert noted, directing a smile towards Chastity, who beamed back. “Such as Chastity here, as you seen.”

“Absolutely,” Danie agreed. “She’s invaluable. I’d be lost without her.”

“Gosh, guys, you’re making me feel all red-faced,” Chastity said, pressing her palms to her warm cheeks. “Reading facts about the town is fun, but anyone could do it.”

That was true enough, Zack thought to himself, but not everyone could rattle them back off the top of their head. Though he’d already been surprised by how capable she was at her job, despite her ditzy outer appearances, he found that she had many hidden talents he didn’t know about. And both Robert and Daniel seemed quite fond of her. Was it just a professional affection, or was it something more? With her infectious smile, energetic personality and huge tits, he wouldn’t blame them if something had happened between them.

“Are we agreed that we should stick to what we know?” Daniel asked, looking around the room. “Or do we need another vote?” No one protested, so he took it as confirmation to move on. “Very well. In that case, we need to decide what our first project should be before we try to approach clients and investors. We won’t be completely broke,” he added, mostly for Zack and Heather’s benefit. “The Ravers Palace Hotel brings in about several hundred guests a night, and since it’s more centrally located, we’ll have the edge on the old company in terms of attracting clientele, but we won’t be able to rely on it for long.”

“Besides, it’ll look a lot better if we can announce a current development along with the creation of the company,” Robert agreed, though he couldn’t help his lips from curling downwards. “Unfortunately, I don’t see a lot of good ideas. Or at least, nothing special.”

“It’s a pity about the amusement park. Maybe it wouldn’t have been what we needed, but I did quite like that idea,” Heather confessed, dropping her shoulders. “It was my first project.”

“Shit, I forgot about that,” Zack slapped his head. “We still have the Amusement Park.”

“No, we don’t,” Robert told him. “You signed the contract in my name while you were working for Ravers Enterprises. That makes the property legally theirs. Even under my name, because both you and I were representatives of the company, when we leave, everything transfers to the company legally, except for the legacy properties that I directly inherited, i.e. the manor, the cabin and the hotel.”

“Right, except I didn’t sign it in your name,” Zack corrected him, and gestured to Heather. “I signed it in hers.”