Chapter 3
COLIN
Without question, I was playing the worst game of golf of my adult life. Usually, this was one of the activities I could competently perform. Zach and I played nearly every weekend, but today clearly wasn’t my day.
For the past nine holes, I’d been absolute awful and the streak wasn’t ending. I watched with my hand pressed my forehead as my ball soared through the air, landing squarely in the middle of a sand trap for at least the third time.
Khaled Saad walked with me to the edge of the bunker. Grinning, he rested both hands on his club while I climbed into the sandpit. “You know, seeing as you love the sand so much, you should visit us in Egypt sometime.”
“At this rate, he should just move there,” Alex said, his laughter echoing across the fairway.
I groaned. “You’re both very funny. Hilarious, really.”
Quietly fuming at myself and not even sure why I’d been invited to this outing in the first place, I hit the ball and seriously wondered if they’d asked me to come just so they’d have someone to pick on. I honestly didn’t understand why they’d have brought me here otherwise.
Khaled and Alex seemed to have forged an instant husband bond, as if their wives’ enduring friendship naturally extended to them. Meanwhile, I was closer to pretty much every one of Alex’s brothers than I was to him and I’d never even met Khaled before last night.
That was the other reason I was fuming. I couldn’t fathom why I suddenly sucked at golf when I played predictably well every weekend. It was like fucking clockwork, but not now that Khaled Saad was here.
Before my father’s spectacular fall from grace, the Saad family had been considering using Thayer Steelworks to establish labs and warehouses in the States.
GlobalStar, the Saad Family business, was the parent company to over two dozen other companies that dabbled in pharmaceuticals, chemical compounding, research, production, and development.
They were a powerhouse and they’d been exploring North American expansion. We would’ve been able to write our own ticket if the deal with them had materialized, but then Dad’s arrest had tanked our reputation, and all possibility of a deal with the Saads had gone with it.
Consistently embarrassing myself in front of the man poised to take over GlobalStar probably wasn’t helping my family get back in their good graces. Not that Khaled seemed at all wrapped up in any of that old history today.
If anything, he’d been infuriatingly pleasant and friendly. I was simply making too much of a fool of myself to enjoy getting to know him.
By the time we reached the eighteenth hole, I was so far behind that I seriously considered just walking into Lake Michigan and staying there. Mercifully, the game ended, the final numbers ugly enough that I preferred not to know my score.
Alex clapped me on the shoulder as we walked back up to the parking lot. “Chin up, man. We all have bad days sometimes. Let me buy you a drink and we’ll grab a late lunch. You’ll feel better after.”
I sighed, but the clubhouse offered air-conditioning and alcohol, both things I desperately needed right now. We settled at a table beside the windows overlooking the course and ordered a round of drinks. Then Alex and Khaled inevitably started talking shop.
Honestly, I was surprised it’d taken them this long, but as soon as the drinks arrived, Khaled dove in, eyes intent on Alex across the table. “Ashanti tells me you might be able to help with a problem I’ve been having.”
Alex’s head tilted slightly. “I might. It kind of depends on the problem, though.”
“Yeah, but this should be right up your alley,” he said. “I’ve been struggling to expand GlobalStar into the western market.”
Alex nodded slowly, a slight crease appearing between his eyebrows. “Your products are already here, so what’s the problem?”
“Costs,” Khaled replied. “My father and I want a chemical processing plant in the States. Our logistical expenses are insane with having to import everything. We’re one the largest manufacturing groups in the world, but we’re just not getting a foothold here.”
He rubbed a hand across his jaw, the frustration beneath his calm exterior subtle but obvious. Building chemical infrastructure wasn’t simple, though. Neither was finding the right location or obtaining regulatory approval.
Alex usually had an answer for everything, but it looked like even he was stumped on this one. “Ah, I understand. Chemicals are a problem.”
“I was hoping you’d say you had a solution,” Khaled said. “Everyone tells me that’s your specialty.”
Alex laughed. “Usually, it is, but I’m afraid I’m not sure how I or Westwood and Sons can help you with this. I’m assuming you’ve thoroughly investigated building an entirely new processing facility?”
Khaled’s chin dropped in a nod, but the expression on his face was too grim for that to be an option. A real pity, since that was what Thayer Steelworks could’ve helped with.
“It’s too expensive and too heavily regulated,” he explained. “We’d be talking about investing several billion dollars to get the facility up and running, with no promise of an adequate return.”
Alex grimaced. “Yeah, man. I’m sorry, but that’s too rich for my blood. We’re always willing to discuss help with financing, and Westwood already has a stake in GlobalStar, but it’s not big enough for me to justify throwing that amount of money into a processing plant.”
“That’s what I thought.” Khaled took another sip of his whiskey. “We’re not even pitching the construction of entirely new bases of operation here anymore. Years ago, my father looked into it, but it’s just not feasible.”
That made sense actually. The regulatory hurdles alone would make most executives develop a drinking problem. With the possibility of new construction out of the question, I devoted my attention to the club sandwich the waitress set down in front of me.
Just as I thought I would have a moment to lick my wounds while enjoying my lunch, I realized both Alex and Khaled were suddenly staring at me. I frowned, setting my sandwich down with a sigh when I realized where their conversation had gone.
“No.”
Alex smirked. “Neither of us has said anything yet.”
“Sure, but my business is in steel, not chemicals. If we were looking at building a new plant, I would’ve been all over this, but I’m sorry. I don’t see how I can help.”
Khaled turned to face me. “Your business might be in steel now, but it could be in chemicals.”
“Think about it,” Alex pressed. “A Thayer-Saad merger would be the merger of the century.”
I arched both eyebrows at him, almost doubling over with laughter until I realized he wasn’t joking.
“Okay, look, we all know this is what my dad was after back in the day, but like you’ve already discussed, it’s no longer feasible.
Thayer would’ve been the perfect partner for expansion in terms of setting up labs and all that, but not if there’s no steel involved. ”
“There is steel involved,” Alex said, leaning forward with an expression on his face that told me he was already seventeen steps ahead. “Thayer has processing facilities all over the country, all with state-of-the-art facilities and existing regulatory approvals.”
“You’ve also got established logistics networks and an existing labor force,” Khaled said. “That’s two more of the hurdles we’re facing off the table.”
“How difficult would it really be to outfit one or two of those facilities for chemical processing?” Alex asked.
I shook my head. “More difficult than you’re thinking. That’s for sure.”
Alex shrugged. “It’ll be a piece of cake in comparison to building an entirely new operation from the ground up. Plus, you’ll have W&S behind you. With our backing, it could be done with just a handful of signatures.”
Just a handful of signatures.
He made it sound so absurdly simple that I admired him for it, but something like this involved regulators and environmental compliance—and hundreds of millions of dollars—but I supposed GlobalStar had that.
“There would be dozens of burning hoops to jump through,” I said, shaking my head.
Alex pointed between the three of us. “There is no hoop that we couldn’t get through if we’re working together and you know it.”
I glanced at Khaled, but his expression remained carefully neutral. Alex, however, was starting to get excited. I’d seen him like this before and I suddenly knew that I’d already been backed into a corner, so I threw my last card on the table.
“Jane is our CEO, not me,” I said. “She would undoubtedly have opinions about this, but aside from that, Thayer and GlobalStar were already in talks years ago and those fell apart. So what’s changed?”
“A lot has changed,” Alex said. “You and Jane being in control of the company now, for starters. You also have equal shares. I’ll talk to her about this, obviously, but in principle, you can agree without needing her permission.”
As I looked back at him, I caught the way he glimpsed at Khaled, who gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod in response. The entire exchange lasted maybe a split second, but I’d seen it. Something else was definitely going on here. Something they weren’t telling me yet.
I knew it wouldn’t help to press Alex about it while Khaled was here. My brother-in-law might not be my best friend, not even within the ranks of his very own family, but I did know the guy.
Alex was a master of timing and he had the patience, tenacity, and grit to wait for whatever opportunity he was looking for to present itself. He was also supernaturally skilled at bringing people together to make a deal.
If he wasn’t ready to tell me what else was going on, he wouldn’t do it—and he wouldn’t even consider it while the other person was literally still at the table. Finally, I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, turning to look at Khaled.
“What chemicals are you looking to process, exactly?”
There were some that would certainly be easier to gain the necessary approvals for than others.
My mind was already racing through what I knew of GlobalStar and their facilities, mentally wading through just about every chemical they could possibly handle, yet none of them came anywhere close to the answer he eventually gave me.
“Have you ever heard of White Water Lily?” he asked with a shrug.
“It’s one of our family’s largest international brands.
We have an expanding market for its products in both Europe and America, but meeting the demand here without a local plant has become an honest to God nightmare.
It’s perfume, Colin. I’m looking for a facility where we can manufacture perfume. ”