Post by Ginny on Jan 3, 2018 9:37:14 GMT -6
The meeting took place Friday Oct. 27, 2017 at The Roadhouse on the night Kate Upton and Hannah Ferguson held their Victory Party to celebrate Kate winning the JMDD Jeweled Bra & Hannah the Welterweight title.
* * * *
While Blake Lively was getting a welcome to the Roadhouse waitstaff speech - and an uncomfortable pre-employment physical - from Marge the bartender, four women held a business meeting in a small private room just off the grotto. Upton and Ferguson were there thanks to a summons from Stephanie McMahon who had a "business opportunity" for them. Jeri Ryan was the fourth woman.
Ryan told them though it wasn't well known, the Academy had serious financial problems. Since Kim left, Ginny cut one corner after another to keep up with her cash shortfall. She hired trainers from Eastern Europe on the cheap, stopped paying Stone and Basinger, then replaced them by using fighters as trainers. Ryan, Theron, even Lindsay Lohan took a turn.
But no matter what she did, the Academy hemorrhaged green like the Grinch she'd become. Earlier that day Ginny had laid off the last of their clerical staff and told Lohan and Pelas to cover the phones and type the schedules. God help the Academy!
Upton and Ferguson exchanged an ...and this is important to ME why... look. Stephanie saw it, smiled, and explained Ginny's had other - non-boxing related - trouble pressuring her. McMahon didn't say what, or how she knew, but the bill collectors Ginny would face are more likely to break her legs than take her to court to collect. She was vulnerable and if they played their cards right, Stephanie told them; they could take over the Academy, lock, stock and barrel, at a nice discount.
"Why would we want that collection of over-the-hill has-beens, rejects, and wannabe's?" Hannah asked dryly, adding an eye-roll for emphasis. Upton supported her with a snarky giggle, but showed restraint by not rolling her eyes. Ryan - one of the has-beens - blushed but kept silent.
McMahon pointed out why; ticking them off on her fingers. "First, Jennifer Lawrence is one of the best lightweights in the FCBA. She can fight welter, too, as Kate can testify. She's young and will be around another decade. There's Lively who hasn't had a lot of success, but she's attractive and marketable. Then there's Theron..."
Seeing Upton and Ferguson's dismissive reaction to Charlize's name, Stephanie smiled. It was just what she expected, but she knew something few, if any, did.
"Despite what Tess writes," Stephanie explained, "Theron's world famous; her name and face are marketable in any country. She looks like a million bucks in a dress... if not a boxing ring... and tickets to her fights sell! Promoters want her on their cards - just not in a main event. Her appearance fees will stay high for several more years - especially if we're careful who we put her in with. After that..." she shrugged. "We could re-brand her as a celebrity wrestler and there are other - less PG-rated, I admit - but equally lucrative things we can do to her once she ages out of celebrity boxing. But there's an even more lucrative upside..."
Kate and Hannah perked up at more lucrative but their eyes opened wider as Stephanie explained that, when Kim incorporated the Krushers back in the 90's, she retained rights to Theron's fights. When Ginny took over and renamed the stable, the articles of incorporation still held those rights.
"Whoever buys the Academy gets those rights, plus the corporation, plus their fighters, plus the Academy building and grounds, AND a couple of downtown rental properties. All the videos of Theron's fights will be worth millions in years to come, even after she's no longer around celebrity boxing fans will want to see some of the greatest women's boxing matches ever put on."
"But it'll cost a fortune!" Ferguson protested. "I made some pretty good money modeling, and winning the welter title was a nice pot, but not THAT much!
"Well, I have enough... probably," Kate boasted. "But why would I bet it on Theron! I agree Lawrence is still growing in value; but Lively's at her ceiling now. Her only value is as a plaything and that for only a short..." she stopped mid-sentence and closed her eyes, imagining how much fun they could have... "How much?" she asked, her tone suddenly so icy cold it sent a chill down Hannah's back.
"Three to four million...tops," Stephanie said, winking at Ryan.
"NO WAY! I can't come up with anywhere close to that," Hannah protested. "Even though it DOES sound like a sweet opportunity."
"Up front? Or can payment be structured; over, say, a year?" Timing seemed Kate's only concern.
Ryan waited until they calmed down, then told them the $3-4 million figure wasn't for EACH OF THEM, it was the TOTAL - if they wanted in! Ginny was going to be forced to liquidate to get her lender off her back. Jeri already had Lively, Lohan and Pelas pressing Ginny to sell, only Lawrence and Theron were on the fence.
"Theron owes her big time; she'll ride the old mare off a cliff before switching horses. But I think Jen can be convinced... IF we have the capital to modernize the gym, hire real trainers and staff, and do the upgrades Lawrence has been pushing her to do for some time."
"Where's Theron?" Hannah wanted to know. "Nobody's seen her since, uh, well..." Hannah had heard what happened at the Roadhouse between Charlize and Righetti, she just wasn't sure how to say it in front of Ryan.
"... since the night Righetti kicked her ass!" Stephanie finished. "Theron headed for parts unknown to lick her wounds with a friend - or maybe the other way around. It could've gotten twisted in the retelling."
Jeri explained the text she got the day after the fight from Charlize's phone saying she'd be out of contact for a week or two. "We really need to get Ginny convinced to sell before Char gets back so it's a done deal before Theron even hears about it."
Kate wondered if active fighters in one stable were allowed to own another stable. Stephanie told her if owners can control two, or more, stables fighters should be able to! Besides, your names will be hidden by a shell corporation DBA as... as whatever name call it. No way anyone can track it to you. As silent partners your names won't be in any record, only Jeri and my names are on paper. And Jeri, after she retires won't be an issue. At most she'll do 1-2 JMDD fights - if someone wants to pay to slap her big ol' fun bags around!"
Ryan did NOT look happy about that prospect - one reason she was retiring!
After discussion, Kate and Hannah agreed to each put up one million dollars for one and a half million shares of common stock in the new partnership. Stephanie and Jeri would have to come up with the rest - however much was necessary to seal the deal. Steph and Jeri would get preferred stock - McMahon 10 shares and Jeri 7.5 shares. The preferred stock wasn't publicly traded, but common stock - issued at $1/share - fluctuated with the market. It would make Kate and Hannah each, a half million dollar profit the first day after the purchase!
Based on current market value, Stephanie estimated in a couple of years - when the real estate market rebounded - they could sell the Academy building, grounds and the rental properties for "up to seven million dollars" enough to make them all comfortably rich.
* * * * * *
Two months later... December 29, 2017
Charlize, ever since her return from the two week sojourn after her humiliating loss to Righetti in October, had been pushing Ginny to sell "...before it's too late. You wait any longer," Charlize said, "and the Wi...waz's name, will have a couple of his girls drop by to break your legs. We won't be able to stop them, there's too many and they're too tough. You sell now and walk away with enough money to get out from under his thumb and live like a queen."
Ginny was facing a deadline - pay her debt by the end of the year or else! She'd talked to real estate brokers, and her bank, but nobody wanted a handful of broken down celebrities with long-term contracts. Ginny had made a mistake under pressure from Jeri Ryan and Stephanie McMahon - the only prospective buyer - when she'd signed Theron, Lawrence and Lively to five year extensions of their current contracts. At the time McMahon was the only one who'd even talk about making an offer and she wouldn't buy the Academy and then have all her fighters walk away when their contracts expired. Ginny would have to negotiate extensions that would lock them into staying or the deal wasn't happening!
But now that Ginny was obligated to pay for their extended contracts, the deal was about to collapse at the last minute anyway. Stephanie showed up at Ginny's attorney's office with three checks - one for 4 million; one for 3 million and another for just 2 two million. Stephanie said she'd sign the check that was her "best price" - based on the estimated value of all the extended contracts; the fighters expected earnings, and the value of the real estate and "other items" - all of which HAD to be listed in detail in the purchase contract by name, location, and current assessed value.
* * * *
At 2:00 PM, Friday, December 29th...
Ginny's bank was closing in an hour until the New Year. A clause in the purchase agreement they'd already agreed on said that all money, assets, property, personnel, contracts and 'any other items of value' in, on, around, or in the possession of, the Academy, its officers, officials, employees or agents, would be included in the sale and transfer to the new legal entity at midnight on December 31st, 2017. If the deal wasn't signed by that time, Stephanie had threatened to withdraw her offer and Ginny would have to deal with her lender on her own with no funds to pay him!
Ginny was tearing her hair as she kept checking the clock while Stephanie and the lawyers haggled over the list, the estimated values - even the spelling of a street address for one of the rental properties! Ginny had to deposit Stephanie's check so she could write her own check to pay off her debt by the deadline she'd been given by the Wi... by her loan holder!
Finally, a half hour before bank closing time, everything seemed to have finally been settled... now they had to wait for the final changes to be made in the contract, copies printed out, then signed and the signatures witnessed. Ginny begged Stephanie to give her the check now so she could deposit it, but McMahon was adamant. She wasn't handing over the check until she had Ginny's signature on the contract.
Ginny called the Academy where Lindsay Lohan - who wasn't happy about being downgraded from "perennial JMD contender" to "office temp" - answered on the eighth ring. Ginny asked for whoever else was there, but Lohan told her brusquely, "Everyone's gone home to get an early start on New Year's. They just went off and left me by myself... thank you so very much!"
Ginny told Lindsay to get her ass in a car and, "Get down her right THIS MINUTE! I've got an important job. If you do it, you'll never have to answer phones again." She hadn't got the word 'again' out of her mouth before she heard the dial tone as Lohan hung up and ran out the door!
Just fifteen minutes before bank closing, Lindsay came in just as Ginny and Stephanie were shaking hands over the contract. Stephanie was about to sign the contract and was giving Ginny a cashier's check for $3,000,000! Ginny quickly wrote on the back, FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, gave it to Lindsay, and told her to take it to the bank and deposit it in her personal checking account. She wrote her account number on a sheet of note paper then Lindsay raced out.
The bank guard was just about to lock the door when Lindsay brushed past him, saying something about an emergency, ran to the counter and told the cashier she had an emergency deposit. She grabbed a deposit slip, opened her purse and took out a slip of paper with the Academy's account number and copied a series of numbers onto the deposit slip, then gave it and the check to the cashier.
A minute later, LiLo had the confirmation! She put it in her purse and left with a smile; even pausing to kiss the guard on the cheek and wish him, "Happy New Year" as she left. She waved for a taxi and as she waited at the curb sent Ginny a text letting her know she'd deposited the check, "...just in the nick of time... they were closing as I walked in."
Then Lindsay headed out to the beach to spend the weekend with Paris and her friends; leaving Ginny to answer her own phone!
Late that afternoon, Ginny paid her debt off with a personal check drawn against the three million dollars Lohan had deposited. She felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She still had nearly two million in her account to live on and was, for the first time in years, debt-free!
* * * *
Tuesday, January 2, 2018...
It was with a light heart that she headed in to the Academy after spending the weekend with an old girlfriend on Catalina Island, only to find a sign on the front door saying the Academy was under new management and "all access is restricted until further notice." The door was locked and her key no longer worked in what looked like a new lock!
She called the number on the sign and got a recording referring callers to another number. When she called it, a asked her name and reason for calling. After she explained, she was transferred to Stephanie McMahon who told Ginny the new partnership had taken possession at the stroke of midnight 12-31 and changed the locks "to protect our property."
Ginny demanded to be let in to retrieve her personal effects from her office and apartment, but Stephanie told her, "that won't be necessary." Explaining that her personal items were packed and put in storage until Ginny decided where she wanted them delivered... adding snidely, "Of course, there's packing, storage and delivery charges, but I'm sure you can afford those now you're rich."
Ginny fumed as Stephanie said something that sent cold chills down her spine. "Oh your friend called a few minutes ago. He said your check bounced and he's sending several "lady friends to collect in person." She couldn't think of what to say as McMahon continued. "I told him don't bother, you moved out. You better take advantage of my 'heads up' to get in touch with him to put things right... before its too late," Stephanie said as she hung up!
Ginny hurried to her car, and only after she'd sped away from her former headquarters did she call the president of her bank to ask, "What the hell happened to my money?"
The bank president explained he'd just gotten off a call from her creditor who'd asked him, more or less, the same question! He told Ginny in very apologetic terms, "I had to tell him there are no funds in your account. I'm sorry..."
Ginny interrupted to ask... no, actually DEMAND(!) "What about the deposit late Friday that..." she hesitated briefly - "...my assistant, Ms. Lohan deposited?"
After consulting his computer, the bank president explained a late deposit HAD been made, but it was to her "commercial" account, not to her "personal" account which her check was written on. He apologized profusely, but pointed out the account number on the deposit slip was the business (Academy) account, NOT her personal one. "If you'd like to transfer the funds to your personal account," he explained smoothly, "just come in and fill out the form to shift the funds to your personal account."
Ginny turned her car around and started to drive to the bank to do just that, when she realized she no longer could access the "business account" because it (the Academy) had been sold - and everything including its business assets - and liabilities - belonged to Stephanie 'Freakin' McMahon! She had Ginny's three million dollars!
Ginny pulled over and, after crying, took a deep breath and called her erstwhile creditor to explain - at least tried to explain - the mix-up. He sounded - on the phone when he couldn't get his hands around her throat - understanding and her "generously" (his word!) allowed her until the end of business to "make good your debt, or I'll have (lady's names censored) pay you a visit." That was something Ginny very much did NOT want to happen and assured him she'd "fix it" and hung up.
After trying to think of any alternative - none came to mind - she did the only thing she could and called Stephanie. When she got thru to McMahon, she begged, pleaded, and pretty much told the b*tch she'd do "anything" if she could get her money back... money that "that dimwitted, drug-addled, sl*t Lohan" had accidentally deposited in the wrong account.
Stephanie allowed as how she could certainly see Lohan screwing up something like that, but - she explained without being able to hide her glee - "a contract is a contract!" All funds in any Academy account as of midnight 12-31-17 automatically became her new companies property!
But, under the circumstances, Stephanie said that she'd, "magnanimously and graciously" (HER words!) advance Ginny a loan to cover as much as she needed to get (Wazziz' name) off her back long enough to figure out a way to repay Stephanie's loan of.... "Oh, let's call it a round million. I'm in a generous mood today. I just closed a huge business deal!"
"But....but...but...," Ginny stammered. "I can't repay a loan that big. If I could, I'd have paid that money-grubbing son-of-a..."
"UNH-UNH!" Stephanie interrupted. "No bad language on my cellphone. My 'WWE-&-Friends' plan frowns on certain words. Knowing who we're talking about, I'm pretty sure you were about to use two, or three, of those."
"But..." Ginny whined pathetically. "Without that money, I'm poorer than I was before. I lost the stable, the real estate holdings... everything that made me who I am. OH MY GOD! If Kim finds out I lost everything she built up, she'll kill me!"
"Now, now," Stephanie assured her. "None of that. I know how difficult this must be for you. I'll call my associate at the Academy... (tsk-tsk) we really must find a new name, that one's so retro... Anyway, I'll call and have her arrange a place for you to stay for a few days; buy you time to get your feet on the ground and figure out how to earn enough money to repay my 'extraordinarily generous' loan to my old rival now she's down on her luck. Eh?"
Ginny couldn't think of the words to thank Stephanie... mainly because she would have chewed off her arm rather than thank the b*tch who'd stolen THREE MILLION DOLLARS from her and then refused to return it!
As soon as Ginny ended the call, Stephanie smiled and looked across her desk at the woman sitting there with a slip of paper in her hands. Lindsay Lohan looked up and asked, "So, how'd your call go?"
McMahon tossed a banded stack of hundred dollar bills on her desk in front of Lindsay and said, "Good job. Now... the deposit receipt?"
Lohan swept the $100,000 dollars off Stephanie's desk and replaced it with the deposit slip from the bank. The one she'd filled out - not with Ginny's personal account number she'd given her - but the Academy "business" account number Lohan had found written on the blotter of Ginny's desk and copied in hopes it would come in handy. And it had.
When Stephanie had learned how unhappy Lindsay was with Ginny and how badly she wanted out of the Academy, Stephanie and Lindsay hatched a plan to delay Ginny at the contract settlement long enough that she had no choice but to have Lindsay - who'd sent everyone else at the Academy home early - take the check to the bank for her! All Lindsay had to do was switch two digits in the account number to have Stephanie's $3,000,000 put into the very account that Stephanie's new corporation would get in two days. And the best part was, only Stephanie and Lindsay knew about it. Which meant McMahon wouldn't have to share her "windfall" with Ryan, Upton and Ferguson!
As Stephanie looked at the receipt, she asked, "You think your forgery of her handwriting will stand up to a professional handwriting examiner's inspection?"
Lindsay grinned. "If they compare the handwriting on that deposit slip to recent samples of Ginny's handwriting, it'll be confirmed as hers or, at worst, inconclusive."
"How can you be so sure?" Stephanie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because," Lindsay said smugly. "For the last few months, I've been signing her correspondence for her, writing her memos. I even went into the files and replaced her handwritten drafts with my own copies. Unless they go back more than two months, the handwriting will match because it's my handwriting... that should be close enough for 'government work'."
"Good! Thanks for everything. I'll see you're taken care of as soon as we get settled. I know you haven't been happy under Ginny's mismanagement. Consider that," she pointed to the stack of bills, "as just the first payment of a very generous severance package. And I'll be sure you get a sterling recommendation letter... though I doubt with your record of accomplishments you'll need one."
As soon as Lohan had gone, McMahon picked up her phone. "Jeri, Ginny's going to be there in a while. I told her my 'associate' would find a place for her to stay for a while. Here's what I want you to do..."
* * * *
Tuesday, a few hours later...
Ginny arrived back where her day had begun, in front of her old headquarters. She knocked on the door and Jeri Ryan opened it. Before Ginny could say why she was there or what she wanted, Jeri said, "I just heard from Stephanie. She told me... well, I guess most... of what happened. She told me to set you up with a room and so forth for a few days until you get everything straightened out. Right this way."
Jeri took her to the stairs, but instead of leading her up to the living quarters, they went down to the basement. "Where are we going?" Ginny asked nervously. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been in the basement; it had to have been years ago, long before Kim left.
"Oh, I thought you knew," Jeri said. "Ever since Stephanie knew the deal would go thru, she's been contacting people to fill jobs in... " Jeri hesitated, "...whatever the new name of the stable will be. Even I don't know it yet. They're going to start arriving tomorrow and Stephanie's movers are bringing her stuff in today. We set up a room down here for the caretaker. You can have his room and I'll tell him to sleep in his old broken down car in the lot. It's not like anyone's going to break in!"
Ginny took one look at the dark, dank, windowless room that looked like a medieval monk's cell in a monastery - but without the charm and amenities a monk would have. It didn't have a sink or toilet - and she was certain even the women at the State Prison got those!
Jeri pointed out the bathroom "right down the hall, next to the furnace. It's got a working toilet, a sink, and a quaint little shower. I used to use after a hard workout if Bell was on one of her tirades. But since you ran her off, I haven't had to come down here. Thanks for that!" Jeri added, "I'm sorry the sheets haven't been changed, the caretaker slept down here yesterday, but I'll have some fresh ones brought down tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me," she grinned, "Stephanie and I are going to the Polo Lounge tonight with some friends to celebrate."
As Jeri started to leave, Ginny grabbed her arm. Jeri looked down at her hand, then back at Ginny's face. "Take your hand off me, you insolent b*tch!" she sneered. "I don't have to put up with this crap any more. You're not in charge of me any more. You just stay down here in your hole and don't make trouble. Stephanie may care what happens to you, but I don't! And don't worry that there's no lock on the door, the building's empty and the movers bringing Stephanie's furniture will be long gone before ten o'clock.... which I remember was your usual bedtime."
Ryan spun on her heel and stormed out of Ginny's room, back upstairs to the Academy office where she called Stephanie to report, word-for-word her conversation with Ginny.
Stephanie laughed, "You really called her an insolent b*tch?" Jeri admitted she had and McMahon said, "Well, if the shoe fits. Oh, don't tell Ginny, but I think I may be able to solve her problem with her debt collector to our advantage. I should know and can tell you about it at dinner. No sense saying it twice so I'll tell you, Kate and Hannah then. Ciao!"
* * * *
Wednesday morning, January 3, 2018...
Ginny awoke to she sound of movers moving in furniture and boxes for the women arriving to start their new career with Stephanie's still nameless stable. She hadn't brought anything with her, not even a change of clothes, so she had to go down the hall in her panties and bare feet, being careful where she stepped. The shower was a rusted tin enclosure with a threadbare shower curtain and a dirty, tattered excuse for a towel hanging on a hook. After her toilet, she took a quick shower - with barely enough lukewarm water coming out the shower head to wash with - no need to blend cold water in to avoid being scalded!
She put on the same clothes she'd worn the day before and went upstairs to find something to eat. But the "kitchen" was in the process of being renovated by the new owners, so she'd have to drive to a diner for breakfast. Her car was blocked moving vans and she waited an hour before one was unloaded and she could leave. After an unusually modest breakfast, she sat in her car and thought about what to do. Having a roof over her head solved one problem, but the location and quality of the "roof" made her want to move out as soon as possible.
While Ginny was failing to find a solution to HER problem, across town in her office Stephanie McMahon was working on a solution to HER problem - what to do about Ginny. McMahon was a decisive businesswoman with a few ironclad rules about money. First, never give it away once you have your hands on it. Ginny was out of luck thinking Stephanie would return the money now she had it. Second, Stephanie believed in making her money work for her, so she went about finding a way to put some of her "ill-gotten gain" to work for her benefit. At the same time, putting any hope Ginny had of getting her hands on it to rest - permanently.
Stephanie was on the phone to the man Ginny still owed money to... or she was on hold for the man Ginny still owed money to. Being on hold was bad, but Mantovani elevator music was NOT what she wanted to hear and it was making her nuts. So when his secretary came on to apologize and explain he was in a meeting, Stephanie threw a fit! "Well, drag him OUT of his meeting. I'm calling to put money in his pocket, not listen to this musical crap from the last century!"
When he finally came on and started to apologize, Stephanie interrupted and told him she really didn't care who he was doing on his desk - though she allowed as how, considering the exorbitant interest he charged on his loans, she was certain it was indeed a beautifully crafted desk of great quality. "Now, would you like to talk about how we can work together to make both of us happy, or would you rather tell me about your fantasy of doing a big-boobed blonde magazine writer on your office furniture?"
They bantered back and forth, but finally got down to business. Stephanie knew, or strongly suspected, that half of the money Ginny owed this shylock was just compounded interest and any real loss, if he suffered a loss at all, would be the principle. She proposed that she purchase Ginny's loan from him for thirty cents on the dollar, pointing out it would not only clear his books of a bad debt, and put most - if not all - of his original investment back in his pocket - but "best of all," she said, it would keep word from getting out that he couldn't collect from an old woman he never should have loaned money to in the first place because she was such a bad credit risk.
He didn't like being lectured to - not by a woman, and certainly not by a woman who was right on (almost) every point - not that he'd ever admit that to McMahon. They argued; they negotiated; they even came to an agreement on several peripheral issues without getting around to the real reason Stephanie called. Eventually, though, they arrived at a meeting of the minds.
He would "sell" Stephanie the loan - he'd never let anyone say she talked him into it, the story they would both agree to put out, if a story were ever necessary, would be HE went to her with an offer and, silly businesswoman that she is, he bamboozled her into taking on an uncollectable debt.
Then, he asked her why she wanted to buy it so badly. Stephanie smiled as she told him the truth, "When you called and offered it to me, it just sounded so good it never occurred to me what a terrible mistake I was making!" He liked that and they (figuratively) shook hands over the phone on the deal.
He sent one of his girls over with Ginny's loan agreement papers, and she gave the "girl" (a woman in her mid-thirties) a cashiers check for the amount they'd agreed on. When Stephanie read the loan papers, she saw she'd not only paid back the entire original amount of his loan to Ginny, she'd also given him another $32,875. Still, it only amounted to forty-five cents on the dollar of the full outstanding amount. Given what she was getting in return, Stephanie could live with it.
She called Jeri and told her to tell Ginny, or if she wasn't around to leave a note on her door, that she had talked to the man Ginny owed the money to and they'd worked out a deal. If Ginny wanted to know what the deal was, she'd have to come to Stephanie's office that afternoon. If she wasn't there, it was going to start costing her more money each day until she showed up. When Jeri hung up, she clapped her hands and gave a happy shout. She felt better than she had in months!
That afternoon, Ginny showed up at McMahon's office at 12:45PM, afternoon, and was shown to a seat in the waiting area outside Stephanie's executive suite. Stephanie kept her waiting until almost two, then Stephanie finally came out of her office. Ginny popped to her feet and hurried over to intercept Stephanie and she walked with her to the elevator, wanting to know what was going on and what happened with her loan. Stephanie was curt, abrupt even, telling her she'd been in an important meeting all morning and wasn't about to cut it short to deal with "your pathetic personal issues. She said she was going to a late lunch, then I have another meeting. If you're here when I'm through with that, I can see you then for five or ten minutes, no more," she said, as the elevator doors closed in Ginny's stunned face.
All afternoon, Ginny nervously paced Stephanie's waiting room, eyeing the clock. As each minute ticked off, the minute hand clicked another minute nearer to four o'clock! At five before the hour, Stephanie, who had entered through the back, private, entrance an hour before, stuck her head out the door and looked around, acting surprised to see Ginny still there.
"Oh, right, I'd forgotten about you. Come in, this won't take long," she said, then turned and went back behind her desk. As she sat down, she thought about her earlier conversation with the loan guy and pondered if what she was about to do would qualify as "doing Ginny over her desk."
"Your friend called me," Stephanie told her. "We had a nice, long, talk. Apparently, he'd heard I was hiding you from his debt collectors. I put him straight and told him I was providing a place for you to stay, but putting you up at the same place he should be looking for you, hardly qualified as hiding.
"Once we got past that, I asked if there was anything I could say, or do, to help put things right between the two of you. His answer was I could pay your debt. Needless to say, that's not going to happen," she said and saw Ginny's expression go from cautiously hopeful to despair in a heartbeat.
Stephanie then dropped her bombshell! "He offered to sell me your note, and after an hour or two of hard negotiating, I agreed - in principal. But before I give him any money," she lied - having already paid him - but Ginny knowing that would lose any leverage Stephanie had.
"If I take on your note, I expect you to work for me as long as it takes to repay your debt. I'll find a job, or two, in my new organization for which you are qualified; then let my management team decide on a fair compensation package - almost all of which will go to reducing your debt. You'll keep just enough to get by on. If you are willing to do that, I'll have a separate agreement drawn up between us that will become an addendum to your loan agreement. Once you settle you debt to me, you can leave, or if you wish to remain in my employ, and we can mutually agree on acceptable terms, you may stay. But until such time as you repay every penny, with interest, you'll be expected to follow any and all orders without hesitation. Do you agree?"
Ginny was so overjoyed at the prospect of not having her legs broken by the Wi... er, the loan shark, the implication of the terms Stephanie laid out didn't register. She nodded quickly and said, "Of course I agree. Oh, thank you Stephanie. I'll never forget you for this." Stephanie nodded, and muttered, "No, you won't."
She told Ginny to go back to the waiting area and someone from legal would be along to get her signature on the paperwork. After that, someone else would take her to personnel where, "They doubtless will have masses of paperwork for you to fill out. But then, you used to run your own business," Stephanie said cheerfully. "I don't have to tell you about employment paperwork. Well," she said, offering Ginny her hand. "It's going to be great having you under me. I hope it brings you half as much pleasure as I expect it will give me."
They shook hands and Ginny left Stephanie's office with a spring in her step for the first time in days.
Stephanie made two phone calls. The first to her Personnel Director. "Ginny agreed. Put the wheels in motion before she has time to think about it." The woman told Stephanie everything was ready and her assistant would be up to get Ginny's signature in five minutes, or less. "After that, things are automatically going to happen."
Her second call was to Jeri Ryan. "We got Ginny...at least she's going to sign the contract in a few minutes." Then Stephanie detailed exactly what Ginny's job was going to be and how she was to be treated. "When she returns to the Academy tonight... damn I hate that name... put her back in her hole and make sure she understands that's her new 'apartment' - provided as specified in her employment contract she's getting food, housing, and we even provide her 'uniforms'. That way, there's no need for us to give her anything other then a minimal daily stipend for.... I'm not even sure what she'd need it for. But I'm sure she'll think of some frivolous way to spend fifty cents a day. Maybe she'll save it to pay off her debt to me sooner, who knows!"
Just as she was about to end the call, Stephanie shouted, "I've got it!" When Jeri asked what she got, Stephanie said, "A new name for the stable... I'm calling it Chimera!"
Tomorrow... more about Chimera!
* * * *
While Blake Lively was getting a welcome to the Roadhouse waitstaff speech - and an uncomfortable pre-employment physical - from Marge the bartender, four women held a business meeting in a small private room just off the grotto. Upton and Ferguson were there thanks to a summons from Stephanie McMahon who had a "business opportunity" for them. Jeri Ryan was the fourth woman.
Ryan told them though it wasn't well known, the Academy had serious financial problems. Since Kim left, Ginny cut one corner after another to keep up with her cash shortfall. She hired trainers from Eastern Europe on the cheap, stopped paying Stone and Basinger, then replaced them by using fighters as trainers. Ryan, Theron, even Lindsay Lohan took a turn.
But no matter what she did, the Academy hemorrhaged green like the Grinch she'd become. Earlier that day Ginny had laid off the last of their clerical staff and told Lohan and Pelas to cover the phones and type the schedules. God help the Academy!
Upton and Ferguson exchanged an ...and this is important to ME why... look. Stephanie saw it, smiled, and explained Ginny's had other - non-boxing related - trouble pressuring her. McMahon didn't say what, or how she knew, but the bill collectors Ginny would face are more likely to break her legs than take her to court to collect. She was vulnerable and if they played their cards right, Stephanie told them; they could take over the Academy, lock, stock and barrel, at a nice discount.
"Why would we want that collection of over-the-hill has-beens, rejects, and wannabe's?" Hannah asked dryly, adding an eye-roll for emphasis. Upton supported her with a snarky giggle, but showed restraint by not rolling her eyes. Ryan - one of the has-beens - blushed but kept silent.
McMahon pointed out why; ticking them off on her fingers. "First, Jennifer Lawrence is one of the best lightweights in the FCBA. She can fight welter, too, as Kate can testify. She's young and will be around another decade. There's Lively who hasn't had a lot of success, but she's attractive and marketable. Then there's Theron..."
Seeing Upton and Ferguson's dismissive reaction to Charlize's name, Stephanie smiled. It was just what she expected, but she knew something few, if any, did.
"Despite what Tess writes," Stephanie explained, "Theron's world famous; her name and face are marketable in any country. She looks like a million bucks in a dress... if not a boxing ring... and tickets to her fights sell! Promoters want her on their cards - just not in a main event. Her appearance fees will stay high for several more years - especially if we're careful who we put her in with. After that..." she shrugged. "We could re-brand her as a celebrity wrestler and there are other - less PG-rated, I admit - but equally lucrative things we can do to her once she ages out of celebrity boxing. But there's an even more lucrative upside..."
Kate and Hannah perked up at more lucrative but their eyes opened wider as Stephanie explained that, when Kim incorporated the Krushers back in the 90's, she retained rights to Theron's fights. When Ginny took over and renamed the stable, the articles of incorporation still held those rights.
"Whoever buys the Academy gets those rights, plus the corporation, plus their fighters, plus the Academy building and grounds, AND a couple of downtown rental properties. All the videos of Theron's fights will be worth millions in years to come, even after she's no longer around celebrity boxing fans will want to see some of the greatest women's boxing matches ever put on."
"But it'll cost a fortune!" Ferguson protested. "I made some pretty good money modeling, and winning the welter title was a nice pot, but not THAT much!
"Well, I have enough... probably," Kate boasted. "But why would I bet it on Theron! I agree Lawrence is still growing in value; but Lively's at her ceiling now. Her only value is as a plaything and that for only a short..." she stopped mid-sentence and closed her eyes, imagining how much fun they could have... "How much?" she asked, her tone suddenly so icy cold it sent a chill down Hannah's back.
"Three to four million...tops," Stephanie said, winking at Ryan.
"NO WAY! I can't come up with anywhere close to that," Hannah protested. "Even though it DOES sound like a sweet opportunity."
"Up front? Or can payment be structured; over, say, a year?" Timing seemed Kate's only concern.
Ryan waited until they calmed down, then told them the $3-4 million figure wasn't for EACH OF THEM, it was the TOTAL - if they wanted in! Ginny was going to be forced to liquidate to get her lender off her back. Jeri already had Lively, Lohan and Pelas pressing Ginny to sell, only Lawrence and Theron were on the fence.
"Theron owes her big time; she'll ride the old mare off a cliff before switching horses. But I think Jen can be convinced... IF we have the capital to modernize the gym, hire real trainers and staff, and do the upgrades Lawrence has been pushing her to do for some time."
"Where's Theron?" Hannah wanted to know. "Nobody's seen her since, uh, well..." Hannah had heard what happened at the Roadhouse between Charlize and Righetti, she just wasn't sure how to say it in front of Ryan.
"... since the night Righetti kicked her ass!" Stephanie finished. "Theron headed for parts unknown to lick her wounds with a friend - or maybe the other way around. It could've gotten twisted in the retelling."
Jeri explained the text she got the day after the fight from Charlize's phone saying she'd be out of contact for a week or two. "We really need to get Ginny convinced to sell before Char gets back so it's a done deal before Theron even hears about it."
Kate wondered if active fighters in one stable were allowed to own another stable. Stephanie told her if owners can control two, or more, stables fighters should be able to! Besides, your names will be hidden by a shell corporation DBA as... as whatever name call it. No way anyone can track it to you. As silent partners your names won't be in any record, only Jeri and my names are on paper. And Jeri, after she retires won't be an issue. At most she'll do 1-2 JMDD fights - if someone wants to pay to slap her big ol' fun bags around!"
Ryan did NOT look happy about that prospect - one reason she was retiring!
After discussion, Kate and Hannah agreed to each put up one million dollars for one and a half million shares of common stock in the new partnership. Stephanie and Jeri would have to come up with the rest - however much was necessary to seal the deal. Steph and Jeri would get preferred stock - McMahon 10 shares and Jeri 7.5 shares. The preferred stock wasn't publicly traded, but common stock - issued at $1/share - fluctuated with the market. It would make Kate and Hannah each, a half million dollar profit the first day after the purchase!
Based on current market value, Stephanie estimated in a couple of years - when the real estate market rebounded - they could sell the Academy building, grounds and the rental properties for "up to seven million dollars" enough to make them all comfortably rich.
* * * * * *
Two months later... December 29, 2017
Charlize, ever since her return from the two week sojourn after her humiliating loss to Righetti in October, had been pushing Ginny to sell "...before it's too late. You wait any longer," Charlize said, "and the Wi...waz's name, will have a couple of his girls drop by to break your legs. We won't be able to stop them, there's too many and they're too tough. You sell now and walk away with enough money to get out from under his thumb and live like a queen."
Ginny was facing a deadline - pay her debt by the end of the year or else! She'd talked to real estate brokers, and her bank, but nobody wanted a handful of broken down celebrities with long-term contracts. Ginny had made a mistake under pressure from Jeri Ryan and Stephanie McMahon - the only prospective buyer - when she'd signed Theron, Lawrence and Lively to five year extensions of their current contracts. At the time McMahon was the only one who'd even talk about making an offer and she wouldn't buy the Academy and then have all her fighters walk away when their contracts expired. Ginny would have to negotiate extensions that would lock them into staying or the deal wasn't happening!
But now that Ginny was obligated to pay for their extended contracts, the deal was about to collapse at the last minute anyway. Stephanie showed up at Ginny's attorney's office with three checks - one for 4 million; one for 3 million and another for just 2 two million. Stephanie said she'd sign the check that was her "best price" - based on the estimated value of all the extended contracts; the fighters expected earnings, and the value of the real estate and "other items" - all of which HAD to be listed in detail in the purchase contract by name, location, and current assessed value.
* * * *
At 2:00 PM, Friday, December 29th...
Ginny's bank was closing in an hour until the New Year. A clause in the purchase agreement they'd already agreed on said that all money, assets, property, personnel, contracts and 'any other items of value' in, on, around, or in the possession of, the Academy, its officers, officials, employees or agents, would be included in the sale and transfer to the new legal entity at midnight on December 31st, 2017. If the deal wasn't signed by that time, Stephanie had threatened to withdraw her offer and Ginny would have to deal with her lender on her own with no funds to pay him!
Ginny was tearing her hair as she kept checking the clock while Stephanie and the lawyers haggled over the list, the estimated values - even the spelling of a street address for one of the rental properties! Ginny had to deposit Stephanie's check so she could write her own check to pay off her debt by the deadline she'd been given by the Wi... by her loan holder!
Finally, a half hour before bank closing time, everything seemed to have finally been settled... now they had to wait for the final changes to be made in the contract, copies printed out, then signed and the signatures witnessed. Ginny begged Stephanie to give her the check now so she could deposit it, but McMahon was adamant. She wasn't handing over the check until she had Ginny's signature on the contract.
Ginny called the Academy where Lindsay Lohan - who wasn't happy about being downgraded from "perennial JMD contender" to "office temp" - answered on the eighth ring. Ginny asked for whoever else was there, but Lohan told her brusquely, "Everyone's gone home to get an early start on New Year's. They just went off and left me by myself... thank you so very much!"
Ginny told Lindsay to get her ass in a car and, "Get down her right THIS MINUTE! I've got an important job. If you do it, you'll never have to answer phones again." She hadn't got the word 'again' out of her mouth before she heard the dial tone as Lohan hung up and ran out the door!
Just fifteen minutes before bank closing, Lindsay came in just as Ginny and Stephanie were shaking hands over the contract. Stephanie was about to sign the contract and was giving Ginny a cashier's check for $3,000,000! Ginny quickly wrote on the back, FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, gave it to Lindsay, and told her to take it to the bank and deposit it in her personal checking account. She wrote her account number on a sheet of note paper then Lindsay raced out.
The bank guard was just about to lock the door when Lindsay brushed past him, saying something about an emergency, ran to the counter and told the cashier she had an emergency deposit. She grabbed a deposit slip, opened her purse and took out a slip of paper with the Academy's account number and copied a series of numbers onto the deposit slip, then gave it and the check to the cashier.
A minute later, LiLo had the confirmation! She put it in her purse and left with a smile; even pausing to kiss the guard on the cheek and wish him, "Happy New Year" as she left. She waved for a taxi and as she waited at the curb sent Ginny a text letting her know she'd deposited the check, "...just in the nick of time... they were closing as I walked in."
Then Lindsay headed out to the beach to spend the weekend with Paris and her friends; leaving Ginny to answer her own phone!
Late that afternoon, Ginny paid her debt off with a personal check drawn against the three million dollars Lohan had deposited. She felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She still had nearly two million in her account to live on and was, for the first time in years, debt-free!
* * * *
Tuesday, January 2, 2018...
It was with a light heart that she headed in to the Academy after spending the weekend with an old girlfriend on Catalina Island, only to find a sign on the front door saying the Academy was under new management and "all access is restricted until further notice." The door was locked and her key no longer worked in what looked like a new lock!
She called the number on the sign and got a recording referring callers to another number. When she called it, a asked her name and reason for calling. After she explained, she was transferred to Stephanie McMahon who told Ginny the new partnership had taken possession at the stroke of midnight 12-31 and changed the locks "to protect our property."
Ginny demanded to be let in to retrieve her personal effects from her office and apartment, but Stephanie told her, "that won't be necessary." Explaining that her personal items were packed and put in storage until Ginny decided where she wanted them delivered... adding snidely, "Of course, there's packing, storage and delivery charges, but I'm sure you can afford those now you're rich."
Ginny fumed as Stephanie said something that sent cold chills down her spine. "Oh your friend called a few minutes ago. He said your check bounced and he's sending several "lady friends to collect in person." She couldn't think of what to say as McMahon continued. "I told him don't bother, you moved out. You better take advantage of my 'heads up' to get in touch with him to put things right... before its too late," Stephanie said as she hung up!
Ginny hurried to her car, and only after she'd sped away from her former headquarters did she call the president of her bank to ask, "What the hell happened to my money?"
The bank president explained he'd just gotten off a call from her creditor who'd asked him, more or less, the same question! He told Ginny in very apologetic terms, "I had to tell him there are no funds in your account. I'm sorry..."
Ginny interrupted to ask... no, actually DEMAND(!) "What about the deposit late Friday that..." she hesitated briefly - "...my assistant, Ms. Lohan deposited?"
After consulting his computer, the bank president explained a late deposit HAD been made, but it was to her "commercial" account, not to her "personal" account which her check was written on. He apologized profusely, but pointed out the account number on the deposit slip was the business (Academy) account, NOT her personal one. "If you'd like to transfer the funds to your personal account," he explained smoothly, "just come in and fill out the form to shift the funds to your personal account."
Ginny turned her car around and started to drive to the bank to do just that, when she realized she no longer could access the "business account" because it (the Academy) had been sold - and everything including its business assets - and liabilities - belonged to Stephanie 'Freakin' McMahon! She had Ginny's three million dollars!
Ginny pulled over and, after crying, took a deep breath and called her erstwhile creditor to explain - at least tried to explain - the mix-up. He sounded - on the phone when he couldn't get his hands around her throat - understanding and her "generously" (his word!) allowed her until the end of business to "make good your debt, or I'll have (lady's names censored) pay you a visit." That was something Ginny very much did NOT want to happen and assured him she'd "fix it" and hung up.
After trying to think of any alternative - none came to mind - she did the only thing she could and called Stephanie. When she got thru to McMahon, she begged, pleaded, and pretty much told the b*tch she'd do "anything" if she could get her money back... money that "that dimwitted, drug-addled, sl*t Lohan" had accidentally deposited in the wrong account.
Stephanie allowed as how she could certainly see Lohan screwing up something like that, but - she explained without being able to hide her glee - "a contract is a contract!" All funds in any Academy account as of midnight 12-31-17 automatically became her new companies property!
But, under the circumstances, Stephanie said that she'd, "magnanimously and graciously" (HER words!) advance Ginny a loan to cover as much as she needed to get (Wazziz' name) off her back long enough to figure out a way to repay Stephanie's loan of.... "Oh, let's call it a round million. I'm in a generous mood today. I just closed a huge business deal!"
"But....but...but...," Ginny stammered. "I can't repay a loan that big. If I could, I'd have paid that money-grubbing son-of-a..."
"UNH-UNH!" Stephanie interrupted. "No bad language on my cellphone. My 'WWE-&-Friends' plan frowns on certain words. Knowing who we're talking about, I'm pretty sure you were about to use two, or three, of those."
"But..." Ginny whined pathetically. "Without that money, I'm poorer than I was before. I lost the stable, the real estate holdings... everything that made me who I am. OH MY GOD! If Kim finds out I lost everything she built up, she'll kill me!"
"Now, now," Stephanie assured her. "None of that. I know how difficult this must be for you. I'll call my associate at the Academy... (tsk-tsk) we really must find a new name, that one's so retro... Anyway, I'll call and have her arrange a place for you to stay for a few days; buy you time to get your feet on the ground and figure out how to earn enough money to repay my 'extraordinarily generous' loan to my old rival now she's down on her luck. Eh?"
Ginny couldn't think of the words to thank Stephanie... mainly because she would have chewed off her arm rather than thank the b*tch who'd stolen THREE MILLION DOLLARS from her and then refused to return it!
As soon as Ginny ended the call, Stephanie smiled and looked across her desk at the woman sitting there with a slip of paper in her hands. Lindsay Lohan looked up and asked, "So, how'd your call go?"
McMahon tossed a banded stack of hundred dollar bills on her desk in front of Lindsay and said, "Good job. Now... the deposit receipt?"
Lohan swept the $100,000 dollars off Stephanie's desk and replaced it with the deposit slip from the bank. The one she'd filled out - not with Ginny's personal account number she'd given her - but the Academy "business" account number Lohan had found written on the blotter of Ginny's desk and copied in hopes it would come in handy. And it had.
When Stephanie had learned how unhappy Lindsay was with Ginny and how badly she wanted out of the Academy, Stephanie and Lindsay hatched a plan to delay Ginny at the contract settlement long enough that she had no choice but to have Lindsay - who'd sent everyone else at the Academy home early - take the check to the bank for her! All Lindsay had to do was switch two digits in the account number to have Stephanie's $3,000,000 put into the very account that Stephanie's new corporation would get in two days. And the best part was, only Stephanie and Lindsay knew about it. Which meant McMahon wouldn't have to share her "windfall" with Ryan, Upton and Ferguson!
As Stephanie looked at the receipt, she asked, "You think your forgery of her handwriting will stand up to a professional handwriting examiner's inspection?"
Lindsay grinned. "If they compare the handwriting on that deposit slip to recent samples of Ginny's handwriting, it'll be confirmed as hers or, at worst, inconclusive."
"How can you be so sure?" Stephanie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because," Lindsay said smugly. "For the last few months, I've been signing her correspondence for her, writing her memos. I even went into the files and replaced her handwritten drafts with my own copies. Unless they go back more than two months, the handwriting will match because it's my handwriting... that should be close enough for 'government work'."
"Good! Thanks for everything. I'll see you're taken care of as soon as we get settled. I know you haven't been happy under Ginny's mismanagement. Consider that," she pointed to the stack of bills, "as just the first payment of a very generous severance package. And I'll be sure you get a sterling recommendation letter... though I doubt with your record of accomplishments you'll need one."
As soon as Lohan had gone, McMahon picked up her phone. "Jeri, Ginny's going to be there in a while. I told her my 'associate' would find a place for her to stay for a while. Here's what I want you to do..."
* * * *
Tuesday, a few hours later...
Ginny arrived back where her day had begun, in front of her old headquarters. She knocked on the door and Jeri Ryan opened it. Before Ginny could say why she was there or what she wanted, Jeri said, "I just heard from Stephanie. She told me... well, I guess most... of what happened. She told me to set you up with a room and so forth for a few days until you get everything straightened out. Right this way."
Jeri took her to the stairs, but instead of leading her up to the living quarters, they went down to the basement. "Where are we going?" Ginny asked nervously. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been in the basement; it had to have been years ago, long before Kim left.
"Oh, I thought you knew," Jeri said. "Ever since Stephanie knew the deal would go thru, she's been contacting people to fill jobs in... " Jeri hesitated, "...whatever the new name of the stable will be. Even I don't know it yet. They're going to start arriving tomorrow and Stephanie's movers are bringing her stuff in today. We set up a room down here for the caretaker. You can have his room and I'll tell him to sleep in his old broken down car in the lot. It's not like anyone's going to break in!"
Ginny took one look at the dark, dank, windowless room that looked like a medieval monk's cell in a monastery - but without the charm and amenities a monk would have. It didn't have a sink or toilet - and she was certain even the women at the State Prison got those!
Jeri pointed out the bathroom "right down the hall, next to the furnace. It's got a working toilet, a sink, and a quaint little shower. I used to use after a hard workout if Bell was on one of her tirades. But since you ran her off, I haven't had to come down here. Thanks for that!" Jeri added, "I'm sorry the sheets haven't been changed, the caretaker slept down here yesterday, but I'll have some fresh ones brought down tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me," she grinned, "Stephanie and I are going to the Polo Lounge tonight with some friends to celebrate."
As Jeri started to leave, Ginny grabbed her arm. Jeri looked down at her hand, then back at Ginny's face. "Take your hand off me, you insolent b*tch!" she sneered. "I don't have to put up with this crap any more. You're not in charge of me any more. You just stay down here in your hole and don't make trouble. Stephanie may care what happens to you, but I don't! And don't worry that there's no lock on the door, the building's empty and the movers bringing Stephanie's furniture will be long gone before ten o'clock.... which I remember was your usual bedtime."
Ryan spun on her heel and stormed out of Ginny's room, back upstairs to the Academy office where she called Stephanie to report, word-for-word her conversation with Ginny.
Stephanie laughed, "You really called her an insolent b*tch?" Jeri admitted she had and McMahon said, "Well, if the shoe fits. Oh, don't tell Ginny, but I think I may be able to solve her problem with her debt collector to our advantage. I should know and can tell you about it at dinner. No sense saying it twice so I'll tell you, Kate and Hannah then. Ciao!"
* * * *
Wednesday morning, January 3, 2018...
Ginny awoke to she sound of movers moving in furniture and boxes for the women arriving to start their new career with Stephanie's still nameless stable. She hadn't brought anything with her, not even a change of clothes, so she had to go down the hall in her panties and bare feet, being careful where she stepped. The shower was a rusted tin enclosure with a threadbare shower curtain and a dirty, tattered excuse for a towel hanging on a hook. After her toilet, she took a quick shower - with barely enough lukewarm water coming out the shower head to wash with - no need to blend cold water in to avoid being scalded!
She put on the same clothes she'd worn the day before and went upstairs to find something to eat. But the "kitchen" was in the process of being renovated by the new owners, so she'd have to drive to a diner for breakfast. Her car was blocked moving vans and she waited an hour before one was unloaded and she could leave. After an unusually modest breakfast, she sat in her car and thought about what to do. Having a roof over her head solved one problem, but the location and quality of the "roof" made her want to move out as soon as possible.
While Ginny was failing to find a solution to HER problem, across town in her office Stephanie McMahon was working on a solution to HER problem - what to do about Ginny. McMahon was a decisive businesswoman with a few ironclad rules about money. First, never give it away once you have your hands on it. Ginny was out of luck thinking Stephanie would return the money now she had it. Second, Stephanie believed in making her money work for her, so she went about finding a way to put some of her "ill-gotten gain" to work for her benefit. At the same time, putting any hope Ginny had of getting her hands on it to rest - permanently.
Stephanie was on the phone to the man Ginny still owed money to... or she was on hold for the man Ginny still owed money to. Being on hold was bad, but Mantovani elevator music was NOT what she wanted to hear and it was making her nuts. So when his secretary came on to apologize and explain he was in a meeting, Stephanie threw a fit! "Well, drag him OUT of his meeting. I'm calling to put money in his pocket, not listen to this musical crap from the last century!"
When he finally came on and started to apologize, Stephanie interrupted and told him she really didn't care who he was doing on his desk - though she allowed as how, considering the exorbitant interest he charged on his loans, she was certain it was indeed a beautifully crafted desk of great quality. "Now, would you like to talk about how we can work together to make both of us happy, or would you rather tell me about your fantasy of doing a big-boobed blonde magazine writer on your office furniture?"
They bantered back and forth, but finally got down to business. Stephanie knew, or strongly suspected, that half of the money Ginny owed this shylock was just compounded interest and any real loss, if he suffered a loss at all, would be the principle. She proposed that she purchase Ginny's loan from him for thirty cents on the dollar, pointing out it would not only clear his books of a bad debt, and put most - if not all - of his original investment back in his pocket - but "best of all," she said, it would keep word from getting out that he couldn't collect from an old woman he never should have loaned money to in the first place because she was such a bad credit risk.
He didn't like being lectured to - not by a woman, and certainly not by a woman who was right on (almost) every point - not that he'd ever admit that to McMahon. They argued; they negotiated; they even came to an agreement on several peripheral issues without getting around to the real reason Stephanie called. Eventually, though, they arrived at a meeting of the minds.
He would "sell" Stephanie the loan - he'd never let anyone say she talked him into it, the story they would both agree to put out, if a story were ever necessary, would be HE went to her with an offer and, silly businesswoman that she is, he bamboozled her into taking on an uncollectable debt.
Then, he asked her why she wanted to buy it so badly. Stephanie smiled as she told him the truth, "When you called and offered it to me, it just sounded so good it never occurred to me what a terrible mistake I was making!" He liked that and they (figuratively) shook hands over the phone on the deal.
He sent one of his girls over with Ginny's loan agreement papers, and she gave the "girl" (a woman in her mid-thirties) a cashiers check for the amount they'd agreed on. When Stephanie read the loan papers, she saw she'd not only paid back the entire original amount of his loan to Ginny, she'd also given him another $32,875. Still, it only amounted to forty-five cents on the dollar of the full outstanding amount. Given what she was getting in return, Stephanie could live with it.
She called Jeri and told her to tell Ginny, or if she wasn't around to leave a note on her door, that she had talked to the man Ginny owed the money to and they'd worked out a deal. If Ginny wanted to know what the deal was, she'd have to come to Stephanie's office that afternoon. If she wasn't there, it was going to start costing her more money each day until she showed up. When Jeri hung up, she clapped her hands and gave a happy shout. She felt better than she had in months!
That afternoon, Ginny showed up at McMahon's office at 12:45PM, afternoon, and was shown to a seat in the waiting area outside Stephanie's executive suite. Stephanie kept her waiting until almost two, then Stephanie finally came out of her office. Ginny popped to her feet and hurried over to intercept Stephanie and she walked with her to the elevator, wanting to know what was going on and what happened with her loan. Stephanie was curt, abrupt even, telling her she'd been in an important meeting all morning and wasn't about to cut it short to deal with "your pathetic personal issues. She said she was going to a late lunch, then I have another meeting. If you're here when I'm through with that, I can see you then for five or ten minutes, no more," she said, as the elevator doors closed in Ginny's stunned face.
All afternoon, Ginny nervously paced Stephanie's waiting room, eyeing the clock. As each minute ticked off, the minute hand clicked another minute nearer to four o'clock! At five before the hour, Stephanie, who had entered through the back, private, entrance an hour before, stuck her head out the door and looked around, acting surprised to see Ginny still there.
"Oh, right, I'd forgotten about you. Come in, this won't take long," she said, then turned and went back behind her desk. As she sat down, she thought about her earlier conversation with the loan guy and pondered if what she was about to do would qualify as "doing Ginny over her desk."
"Your friend called me," Stephanie told her. "We had a nice, long, talk. Apparently, he'd heard I was hiding you from his debt collectors. I put him straight and told him I was providing a place for you to stay, but putting you up at the same place he should be looking for you, hardly qualified as hiding.
"Once we got past that, I asked if there was anything I could say, or do, to help put things right between the two of you. His answer was I could pay your debt. Needless to say, that's not going to happen," she said and saw Ginny's expression go from cautiously hopeful to despair in a heartbeat.
Stephanie then dropped her bombshell! "He offered to sell me your note, and after an hour or two of hard negotiating, I agreed - in principal. But before I give him any money," she lied - having already paid him - but Ginny knowing that would lose any leverage Stephanie had.
"If I take on your note, I expect you to work for me as long as it takes to repay your debt. I'll find a job, or two, in my new organization for which you are qualified; then let my management team decide on a fair compensation package - almost all of which will go to reducing your debt. You'll keep just enough to get by on. If you are willing to do that, I'll have a separate agreement drawn up between us that will become an addendum to your loan agreement. Once you settle you debt to me, you can leave, or if you wish to remain in my employ, and we can mutually agree on acceptable terms, you may stay. But until such time as you repay every penny, with interest, you'll be expected to follow any and all orders without hesitation. Do you agree?"
Ginny was so overjoyed at the prospect of not having her legs broken by the Wi... er, the loan shark, the implication of the terms Stephanie laid out didn't register. She nodded quickly and said, "Of course I agree. Oh, thank you Stephanie. I'll never forget you for this." Stephanie nodded, and muttered, "No, you won't."
She told Ginny to go back to the waiting area and someone from legal would be along to get her signature on the paperwork. After that, someone else would take her to personnel where, "They doubtless will have masses of paperwork for you to fill out. But then, you used to run your own business," Stephanie said cheerfully. "I don't have to tell you about employment paperwork. Well," she said, offering Ginny her hand. "It's going to be great having you under me. I hope it brings you half as much pleasure as I expect it will give me."
They shook hands and Ginny left Stephanie's office with a spring in her step for the first time in days.
Stephanie made two phone calls. The first to her Personnel Director. "Ginny agreed. Put the wheels in motion before she has time to think about it." The woman told Stephanie everything was ready and her assistant would be up to get Ginny's signature in five minutes, or less. "After that, things are automatically going to happen."
Her second call was to Jeri Ryan. "We got Ginny...at least she's going to sign the contract in a few minutes." Then Stephanie detailed exactly what Ginny's job was going to be and how she was to be treated. "When she returns to the Academy tonight... damn I hate that name... put her back in her hole and make sure she understands that's her new 'apartment' - provided as specified in her employment contract she's getting food, housing, and we even provide her 'uniforms'. That way, there's no need for us to give her anything other then a minimal daily stipend for.... I'm not even sure what she'd need it for. But I'm sure she'll think of some frivolous way to spend fifty cents a day. Maybe she'll save it to pay off her debt to me sooner, who knows!"
Just as she was about to end the call, Stephanie shouted, "I've got it!" When Jeri asked what she got, Stephanie said, "A new name for the stable... I'm calling it Chimera!"
Tomorrow... more about Chimera!
