I looked up from the papers I was about to sign
and saw Jim standing there, delicately reading over his own set of
documents. I looked at him. He was young and surprisingly
attractive. He was an over-achiever,
just like me, and he was a very hard worker.
He was only 27 and he already owned and managed his factory, but that
was less a testament to his hard work than to the tragedy that left him as the
sole heir to his grandfather’s business.
It was weird to think that our grandfathers had been sworn
enemies. It all started way back when
they were the owners of the only two brass factories in Minnesota. At first they’d been friends—which isn’t a
surprise considering how much they had in common. The need for brass was still high, so they
weren’t yet feeling the heat of competition burning in their hearts.
But as the demand for brass slowly began to dwindle, the two old men
became distant and started to harbor bitter feelings towards one another—especially
because of the tack business, which was where they saw the biggest profit. I don’t know much about his grandfather, but
mine became borderline obsessed with beating out his competition. It was all he really talked about as he aged,
and he spoke of Jim’s grandfather with a fiery hatred I’d never
understood.
Neither of my parents were interested in taking over the family
business, so grandfather taught me the ins and outs of the brass business. Jim’s parents were all set to take over, but
they died in a fire and Jim, their only son, was left with all the
responsibilities and none of the training he needed to run a factory. To my surprise, he reached out to me and
asked for advice.
His brass factory wasn’t doing well, but it meant the world to
him. Though I am very business minded, I
have a heart and I felt for him when he told me this was all he had left of his
family. I decided to help him out by
merging our factories and splitting ownership.
It seemed like the least I could do to help a grieving man do right by
his family.
“Before we sign these documents, let’s get down to brass tacks,” he
said, looking up at me with a broad smile and a small chuckle. He had straight teeth and a twinkle in his
eye.
I smiled back, letting him know that I was in on the joke. I could already tell this was going to be a
successful partnership. I reached for my
pen to sign our agreement.
