Wynwick Woes

Downtown Azure Rocks was a familiar sight for both Ravers brothers, even if the modest headquarters of the Wynwick Family Foundation was not. Modest only in terms of comparison to the Ravers own properties, of course; though the angular, anti-symmetrical post-modern styled four story office, adjoined to a taller seven story block failed to pierce the same skyline as the sixty-eight story concrete and glass international styled offices of Ravers Enterprises, or indeed the art deco stylings of the Ravers Palace Hotel, it’s design was intended to reflect the humility of the organisation behind those doors. Along the tallest edge solar panels, on a hot, sunny day such as this, provided almost enough electricity to power the entire building.

Parking, Robert stepped out of his car and took a moment to admire the building while he waited for his brother. They’d agreed that it would be best to take separate cars, for now, least anyone saw them together and reported it back to the Enterprises board. It was unlikely, but caution had to be taken as they prepared to undertake the riskiest portion of their plan. Daniel got parked a little further away, and came strolling down the street to join his brother outside the Foundation’s headquarters.

“Eye-catching, isn’t it?” Daniel remarked, as they began moving, in unison, towards the main, double doors. Robert only offered a grunt in response.

Inside those doors, was the wide-open space of the lobby. Colored lines on the floor directed visitors towards the main reception desk all the way at the opposite end of the high ceilinged room, whilst the sides were lined with chairless desks, tablets projecting information about the organisation’s many projects and beneficiaries onto the unblemished, pure white walls. A gentle reminder to anyone who visited of the all the good that they did. Robert looked at them each in turn. Libraries, schools, museums, the very fabric of Azure Rocks that had been weaved by Wynwick hands over the decades.

It was nothing that Robert didn’t already know. What the projections didn’t tell was that Robert’s own father had a hand in most of these projects, from helping to develop a new elementary school building to assisting in securing funding for renovations to the library, but their contributions went unacknowledged. In part he blamed the negligence of his own father, but the Wynwick family shouldered some of that blame too. And it had been a valuable experience, teaching the young man that Robert was at the time, that not all the Wynwicks were not entirely the mild-mannered and selfless philanthropists they sold themselves as.

Robert approached the desk and addressed the young male receptionist, recognizing him as another of the Wynwick clan, though from which branch he couldn’t be sure. The precise number of Wynwicks across the country, and even across the sea was unknown, but they seemed to pop up everywhere, though none more concentrated than in Azure Rocks, the origin of their great dynasty. The receptionist confirmed the appointment Robert had wrangled on the drive over and directed another employee, a twenty something girl and probably another Wynwick, to lead them to the chairwoman of the foundation, Fiona Wynwick.

Fiona was exceptional. Robert wasn’t too proud to admit that. In the time since their fathers and grandfathers had feuded, sometimes directly, sometimes through intrigue, the new generation had come to a mutually beneficial arrangement. The Ravers Technology Grant was awarded through the Wynwick Foundation, and, in return for some generous donation, the Wynwicks had agreed to exclusively use Ravers Hotels to host their charity galas and awareness dinners. However, that had been primarily done at the Lakeside Hotel, which boasted the larger ballroom compared to that of the more residential orientated Palace Hotel.

The young female guide took them up the elevator to the first floor, another distinction between the two. Whereas Robert’s office sat upon the highest floor of his tallest building, Fiona Wywick specifically choose the lowest floor, besides that of the lobby, to suggest a down to earth appearance, as appropriate for the head of a philanthropic organisation. But unlike some of her predecessors, Robert knew that, for Fiona, it wasn’t all a show. She genuinely cared for the people of Azure Rocks. A characteristic he hoped would make it easier to convince her to lend them her support.

Opening the doors onto the small, unassuming office space, the men’s eyes immediately fell upon the sight of the silver haired thirty-four-year-old behind the desk. She rose to greet them, her fit, athletic figure in a purple, off the shoulder Georgette dress coming into view. The three-quarter length flutter sleeves bounced as she extended a hand, first to Robert, then to Daniel, before indicating that they take the seats on the opposite side of the desk.

“Thank you for meeting with us, Fiona,” Robert began civilly.

“Well, you’re quite lucky that I had five minutes to spare,” she said, sitting too and smoothing out her dress with both hands down to the ruffled hem at her knees. “I almost didn’t take the meeting. But Robert Ravers calls and says he has something urgent to discuss, well, it makes a girl curious.”

“I do apologize for the briskness of this meeting, but it is rather time sensitive. You see, my brother and I, we’re leaving Ravers Enterprises. Along with a few others, we’re starting up a new company, still in the property development and management sector, The Ravers-Bishop Corporation.” Robert leaned forward as he laid his cards on the table.

“Bishop?” Fiona’s tone betrayed her surprise. She knew the name from the class above her sister at High School, and from the recent news reports. “Your son? Or not son, it’s so difficult to keep up.”

“Son or not, he’s proven himself an asset to our business, and a trustworthy companion to my daughter, so we brought him on board to form this new company,” Robert explained. “Privately owned, for now, but if we were to continue to have your loyalty, well, I think we could go public sooner rather than later.”

Her grey eyes narrowed as she watched them, carefully considering their words. Crossing her legs, she rested back in her chair as she replied, “That would be good for you. What’s in it for me?”

“The old Amusement Park in town. It’s run down and in **** need of repair. It’s a damn shame that, in a town with such a vibrant tourist life a site with such potential has been left to waste. We bought the property and we intend to rectify that misjustice,” Daniel told her calmly. “A safe, fun place for families would be a good thing for the community.”

Letting out a laugh, so loud and high it was almost a cackle, she shocked the brothers. “That’s what you have to offer? An Amusement Park?”

“It’s a good investment.” Robert insisted, his face darkening at being laughed at. “With the tourism this town-”

“I’m aware of the town’s tourism industry. But an Amusement Park is a distraction, and I’m not in the business of fobbing the good citizens of Azure Rocks off with distractions. Distractions don’t solve their problems.” She stood up from her chair again, rather abruptly, and made her way to a small table in the corner. “Do you know what percentage of households in this town are single mothers? Ten! Ten percent. And do you think that an Amusement Park will help them?”

“Ah, yes, the magnanimous Wynwick Family, I forget sometimes,” Robert barked back, as he watched Fiona pour herself a glass of water from a fat, glass jug. “Tell me, how were you helping my father when you tried to take the shirt off his back when he kowtowed low enough?”

She sipped at the water. “I wouldn’t know anything about that. It was before my time.”

“And we’ve all moved on.” Daniel insisted with a pointed look at his brother.

“That’s what I thought too,” Robert said, his brother’s glare failing to calm him down. “When I took over from my father, I put an end to all the one-sided contracts, but it wasn’t until Myles took over that this agreement between our companies was drawn up. My relationship with your uncle was much more fraught and tense than ours was, but we were still able to come to some arrangement. We were supposed to be different. We were supposed to put an end to the fighting between our families, not fuel it.”

“This has nothing to do with the feud between our families. This may be a non-profit, but business is still business,” Fiona argued. “What exactly did you expect?”

“I expected you to honor the agreement made between me, not Ravers Enterprises, me, and your uncle. Instead, I get laughed at and told it’s not enough. Over the last four years, our companies have supported and invested in each other multiple times, and never has it been an issue where one project was rejected because of another cause. We’ve built plenty of ‘distractions’ together, and this problem has never cropped up before.”

“Things have changed, Robert,” Fiona said, sipping at the water again before turning back to her seat. “You can’t expect to simply start a new company and exert the same influence as you once had. I'm not saying this out of any ill-will, but I can’t make deals based on promises that I don’t know if you can keep.”

“Look, my brother needs to calm down, that much is clear, but I don’t make any apologies about this proposal, I think it’s a good one.” Daniel said, trying to allow a leveler head to prevail. “I’d implore you, Fiona, to use reason, and think of the times that we’ve assisted you in being able to make the lives of the citizens of this fine down a little bit better. Apartments, community centers, daycares, we’ve invested and donated and developed them all for you, to provide for those single mothers. We have always been a reliable partner.”

“And in return, you had our loyalty. We could have looked elsewhere for our social events, but we struck a bargain with you. But it’s obvious that you won’t be able to keep up your side of the deal anymore. So, you’re asking my family to shoulder the risks of your ventures.” Fiona returned to her seat, setting the glass on the table, an arm’s length away. “I’m afraid I can’t see anything that you could possibly offer the Wynwick Foundation.”

“Nothing?” Daniel clarified, slightly ****. “So, you’ll continue working with the old Ravers Enterprises?”

“No. This seems like a good opportunity for a clean slate,” Fiona admitted, crossing her legs again and placing her hands on her lap. “I’m not saying that we’ll never work together again, but it’ll be on a project by project basis from now on, when our interests truly align, until…your situation changes dramatically. But for this Amusement Park project, I’m afraid the Wynwick Foundation will have to pass.”

“Come now, Fiona, surely we can come to some-”

“Leave her. I’m not going to prostrate myself at the Wynwick altar for their crumbs,” Robert interjected, dramatically rising to his feet. “She’s clearly already made up her mind.”

She didn’t speak but arched an eyebrow.

“I don’t know why I thought you might actually want to help. I guess I’m the fool for buying into this help the helpless shtick when all it really is is another way for your family to serve its own agendas.” Robert’s temper flared as he turned towards the door, then turned back, pointing his finger. “Don’t think I don’t know that it was Wynwicks that were protesting the Silver Lakes Project, or that I can’t see the shadow of your hand stuck up Dewey’s ars-”

“Robert!”

His brother’s voice made the elder Ravers stop before he could finish. Straightening up and exhaling, Robert looked at Fiona, immediately ashamed of his outburst. Her expression was stony and unmoved. Possibly she was pissed at his accusations, but she chose not to show it.

He’d forgotten how stressful it could get, negotiating with the fate of the company resting on his every decision. Back then though, even if he had made a mistake, he was young enough that he could have easily started again. Now, if he failed, he wasn’t sure if there would be any third or fourth chances, and it wouldn’t also be the end of his career, but also the end for Heather, for Zack, for everyone.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sincerely, as he wiped his face with a large, sweaty hand. “There’s a lot riding on his project. Not just my future, but my daughter’s too.”

“Family to family, you have my compassion,” her momentarily thawed demeanor turned icy again in a split second. “But, I’m afraid, that’s all you have.”

The meeting clearly at a close, the brothers returned to polite courtesies, thanking her for her time before seeing themselves from her office, back to the short hallway leading to the elevator. They made it several steps in a contentious silence, before Daniel broke and snapped at his brother in an angry whisper.

“Well, you blew that.”

“I know,” Robert conceded, reminding himself to be more professional, but something about the Wynwicks still got under his skin. “But it was blown before I even started. She wasn’t going to do anything for us, Daniel, and I’m not going to start making bad or one-sided deals with these people like Dad did. You know how that turned out.”

“Fiona isn’t her ancestors, anymore than we are our father. Do you really think she’d do that?” Daniel countered, continuing before his rhetorical question could find an answer. “And you didn’t have to try and burn the bridge just because we couldn’t cross it.”

“I knew I heard voices.”

At the same time, both brothers looked up to see the shapely, well-maintained body of the blonde forty-year-old Sela Thirlby standing in the doorway to a conference room. Her skin glistened, tanned from constant pool-side sunning. Beneath a short sleeved, black blazer, she wore a sheer lace corset top, that teased and accentuated the presence of her huge breasts, a pair of tight, black pants doing the same for her firm, round ass. To top it all off, her fingers, wrists and neck were covered in an assortment of shiny, dazzling, rings, bangles and necklaces, just in case anyone could forget how extravagantly rich she was.

“Sela?” Robert remarked in surprise. Fiona’s sister didn’t work for the Foundation, so he didn’t expect to see her at the headquarters, but even more surprising was that she was even giving him the time of day. While his relationship with Fiona was tenable, Sela had rarely thought Robert worth talking to. “Shouldn’t you be out shopping or getting botox?”

The blonde raised a hand in front of her mouth and chuckled, as she turned slightly to show off her body, looking years younger than her age. “You should know Robby, that I’m all natural. I just came by to convince my sister to join me for brunch, but they told me she was in a meeting. If I’d known she was meeting the Ravers brothers, I would have crashed the party.”

“We had a proposal, and she said no,” Daniel filled her in.

“Perhaps I can help.” She said, standing aside to allow them entry into the conference room, while holding the door open.

“Last I heard, you had nothing to do with your family’s business,” Robert said, though he still followed his brother into the room. Their fledgling company couldn’t afford to turn down any help if they get it.

“Not officially, but you don’t get to be part of the Wynwick family and sit things out entirely,” Sela said as she took a seat on the edge of the conference table, legs crossed, hands on her lap, not unlike her sister. “So, what exactly is this proposal?”

“My brother and I, we’re splitting from Ravers Enterprises, to form a new company, the Ravers-Bishop Corporation. We came here to convince your sister to uphold the agreements that have been made between us since your Uncle was in charge, and to persuade her to invest in a renovation of the Amusement Park in town,” Robert explained. “We, or rather I, failed spectacularly on both accounts.”

“I see. Maybe I can help with that.” Sela said with a thoughtful pout. “Do you have proposal in writing?”

“I can have it with you by the end of today.” Robert said. “But how exactly are you planning on getting this through? You aren’t a trustee of the Foundation, and we can’t afford to be involved in anything underhanded right when we’re starting up.”

“Relax. It’s nothing so dishonest. The Wynwick family simply has its own way of doing things,” Sela replied obliquely. “But I can talk to Myles, and some of the other family members, drum up some support behind the scenes to put pressure on Fiona.”

“Why?” Daniel asked, folding his arms. “Why help us against your sister?”

“Don’t get it twisted. I’m not after her job, or anything like that. In fact, I didn’t even think it was possible. Until Fiona actually got elected there had only been one other female chair, and she was only temporary. I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised. I did vote for her. Anyone was better than that creepy Kermit. But I didn’t actually think she would win.” Sela stared at the floor. “I’ll admit, it was a knock to my self-esteem. I’d did everything right, I married the right person, waited to have kids, and even if I enjoyed the party scenes, I’ve never done anything to mar the family name. I did it because it was expected of me, not because I thought to gain something from it.”

“And now you’re realizing you could have gained something from it.” Robert deduced.

“I just want to show my family that I’m just as capable as my sister. Doing business isn’t much different than how I already live; drinks, dinners and schmoosing with the right people,” Sela continued. “But it’s not just about me. It’s about my daughter. Sienna is a bright girl, but if I’m overlooked, she’ll go overlooked and Fletcher will be chosen to succeed Fiona to the chairship of the Foundation uncontested.”

“It’s agreed then? You get to play the game, and we get an investment, as well as your company continuing to honor the agreements it made with my brother in the past,” Daniel confirmed, holding out his hand to shake on it.

But Sela didn’t take it. “Hm, now that you mention it, that does sound a little unbalanced. Almost like you’re taking advantage of my generosity.”

“We already went over this with your sister,” Daniel stated, withdrawing his hand. “We have nothing else to offer.”

“Her, maybe. But I don’t want much…just a little companionship.” She leaned back on the table, arms behind her, chest thrust upwards. “Calum has been away on business for a few days and, well, a lady gets lonely.”

“Oh, and which one of us did you intend to keep you company?” Robert asked with a grin, seeing where this was going.

“One?” She hid her laugh behind her hand again. “Robby, it takes two just to get my attention.”