The Modest Business Proposal

Chapter II


A gorgeous woman was standing alone in front of the Hilton Hotel, her hair was mostly up except for a few curled strips that lye’s on her shoulders. She was wearing an elegant black dress and one side of it went down to her ankle, she wore high heals and the straps weaved around her delicate legs. Her make up was light but very well done. It seemed that every man and woman for that effect stole a glance at her as they were entering or leaving the hotel. Her phone rang.
“Hello, Katherine speaking” she answered
“Where are you?”
“I am in front of Hilton, and you are unfashionably late”
“Sorry, I’ll be there in a moment”
As Jayson approached the front of the Hilton Hotel, he did not recognize her, she was stunning. He never imagined that this was the same woman he was with just a few hours earlier. She was well dressed and if not for her linage he thought, his parents would probably like her.
“You are late!” she said pouting
“Sorry, but you look great” he said looking at her up to down again
“Well lets get going”
His parents were from old money family. They were white aristocrats, they smiled politely as Jayson pulled out a chair for Katherine to sit down. Her manners were excellent, there was not a flaw in her behavior, Jayson was surprised. His parents smiled, but there was some shock in their eyes.
“Jayson, I thought we were having dinner with your fiancé?” his mother said
“We are” and he gestured at Katherine
“What happened to Hellen?”
“She called me and cancelled the engagement, she said she found someone more suitable and richer than me and her parents agreed, I thought the Robinsons already notified you?”
“Well we did get a call asking for a postponement of the wedding today, and I though that is what you wanted to talk to us about”
“No need to postpone, I am in love with Katherine, and she saved me when I was heartbroken over Hellen, so I am getting married just to a better woman than was planned”
His parents were shocked.
“Well tell us about your family” his father spoke directing the question to Katherine
“I am afraid you will be disappointed” she said looking down shyly “but I am very fond of your son, so please keep that in mind as I tell you about my lineage” she said shyly
“Of course dear, go ahead” Jaysons mother encouraged
“I was born in Russia and my father died when I was a child, so I never had a father figure. My mother had a masters degree and she worked as a manager of a bank to support my family. I was raised by my strict grandparents that focused on manners and education and music. My mother and I immigrated to U.S. when I was 13. I graduated from Chicago University with Bachelors in Business Administration.”
“So you can play a musical instrument then?” Jaysons mother asked
“Yes, Mam, I play the violin, I actually have a concert next week, if you have any interest I can provide you with front row tickets”
“Oh, that would be lovely George wouldn’t it?” she asked her husband, he grunted in reply
“Where did you work after you graduated?” George asked with skepticism
“Modests Inc.” she answered
“I see” he said with a smile, that was definitely up to something


The dinner went by smoothly; Katherine showed full knowledge of current event, classical music, even on the topic of horse racing she was able to input into the conversation.
After the dinner Jayson offered to take her home but she insisted on taking a taxi. He gestured to her that he will call her, and she nodded.
“Jayson, What are you thinking?” his father yelled “She is after you money, she is a nice girl, but she will not survive in our world”
“Well that’s for me to decide isn’t it?”
“You want to see if she marries you if you had no money?” his father yelled grabbing Jaysons arm
Martha stepped in between her husband and son, she usually never got involved in their quarrels.
“So you want to see what its like to be divorced” she said in stern voice. George immediately let go of Jayson and stepped back. His wife never spoke to him in that voice before, he felt like bucket of ice water was dumped on him.
“I like Katherine a lot” she said smiling “We caused our son enough pain with Helen, lets now let him make his own decision” and with that she left the two men
“I will not approve this marriage, I will show you her true colors” said George stumping away into his office

George picked up his address book and after flipping through the pages grabbed the phone.
“Hello, Fred, this is George”
“Oh, I haven’t heard from you for a while”
“I need to ask you something, you know of a Kathrene, she supposable worked at your company after graduated Chicago University”
There was a silence, Fred’s tone change “Yes, I know her, where is she?”
“Well I had dinner with her tonight my son wants to marry her, but I wont allow it, I need you to tell my son about her true colors, I mean I assume you fired her right?”
Another long pause “Can you arrange for me to meet her?” Fred asked
“Yes of course, you can then tell me all about her in front of her, maybe then she will give up”
“Alright tomorrow, can you do it tomorrow?”
“I will see what I can do”
George grabbed a card he got from Katherine and dialed her number.
“Hello Katherine speaking”
“Hello Katherine this is George, Jaysons father, I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me tomorrow, there is something I would like to discuss with you”
“Certainly, where and when would you like to meet?”
“Tomorrow noon, at the same restaurant as today”
“I will be looking forward to seeing you”
“Alright then bye”
George sat smoking his cigar smiling to himself.

Katherine knew this was coming, she knew that George was not pleased with an idia of a commoner no matter how educated and well mannered entering into his family. This man only cared about the money and keeping it in the family and increasing it was his number one goal. That’s the reason she gave him the name of Modest Inc., she knew he would have called them to verify, and she left that company with a bang that no one there would be likely to forget. To her surprise Jayson never called.




The next day she arrived early to the restaurant, in jeans and a T-Shirt. She was ready and welcomed a good battle, she reasurched her apponent well. She knew she would win today, she knew her position, she studied her apponent and she set up the environment for this battle. She sat at a corner table drinking coffee with her legs crossed while having a cigarette. She had no trouble getting into the place in street clothes due to that she has established a good reputation and she use to often bring big clients to this place. When the waiter was about to dismiss her she asked for the manager, who profusedly apologized and asked her what table she would prefer. She told him who would be joining them, and the manager knew the two gentlemen very well. She asked him to show them to her table when they arrived. She watched him scold the waiter who almost turned her away, she felt sorry for him. The two gentlemen in suits arrived promptly at noon, they were shown to the table and as they sat down Fred said “I see now you are showing your true collors, I brought an old friend of mine to join us today” he looked at Fred, but Fred was pale and was avoiding Katherines stern stair.
“Alright, George you brought Fred here to expose my true collors right? Well lets hear it Fred?” she said demandingly taking another puff from her cigarette.
“I am Sorry” Fred murmured
“I couldn’t hear you well you should speak up, it seems you said sorry”
“I said I sorry Katherine, what do you want? Telll me?”
“Hmm… No you tell me what do you want coming here after making sure I couldn’t get a job at any other consulting firm”
“I want you to come back, you name the salary, I’ll pay it, tell me what I can do to make it up”
“Ha” she laughed looking at George who was so stunned his mouth hung opened. George thought he brought a cat to kill this mouse, but the mouse seemed to have turned into a lion and now it seems that his friend was in need of saving.
“George, you seem quite today, and you are looking at me as if I am the bad guy here, lets have Fred explain” she looked at Fred
“I noticed Kathrine when she was interning at our office, she had a way of enchanting the customers with ideas that no one else in the office ever considered. I offered her a job and she insisted strongly I invest in an investment I thought was bad. I invested, but later the value I invested was only worth 1/4th its original value. I fired Kathrine”
George was pleased “And right thing you did, why would you want her back?”
“She said she was disappointed in me, that I didn’t trust her, she had a contract with so I could fire her without proper procedures. She said If I promise to not pull out the money I invested she would quit on her own, so I agreed. One month later the investment rose to twice the value I put into it. But apart from the investment I noticed that my old customers that I did business with for ages seemed more and more distant, at one of my parties I was told, most of the biggest customers were consulting to Kathrine and in that time their profits rose greatly, when she was leaving they offered her jobs, when she said she enjoyed consulting, they offered to leave my firm and to use whatever firm she was at, but she told them that it would be in their best interests to stay with Modest. Inc, and they did. But just in case I made sure no other firm would hire her, so I wouldn’t loose my customers.” After he finished there was a silence
“I heard you are thinking of getting married?” Fred asked
“Yes, I am Jayson is a very gentle and a smart man”
“You know, I have a son too, and if you are thinking about getting married maybe you could meet him, you know I always wanted a child like you, and if you marry into our family no one would appose not to mention I could retire without a worry about the future of the company leaving it in your hands?”
She smiled seeing the shock on George’s face.
“But I really wanted to marry Jayson, but it seems his father is so againt it that he would bring me his friend who will offer me to marry his son instead. I am sorry but I rather not marry anyone if I cant marry Jason, and it seems the George is so againt this marriage, that I will have to decline Jayson myself” with that she threw 100$ on the table and left.

“Jayson” George yelled stomping into the reception of his sons company “Where the hell are you?”
“Ser. Do you have an appointment?” the secretary asked
“No I don’t and since when do I need one to see my son, in the company he created using my money?” George was really wired up.
Hearing all the racket Jayson opened the door to look what was going on. George walked up to Jayson pulling him into the office”
“Dad, whats going on” his father was pacing up and down the office
“I had dinner with your fiancé” he said almost mumbling
“I am sorry, but I am not going to marry some rich girl instead”
“No, No You will absolutely not!”
“What?” Father you are not making sence”
“You have to marry this Katherine, and as soon as possible before someone else steals her. Next week right? The wedding is next week!”
“Huh! I thought you were against us..”
George didn’t let him finish “I was wrong, it happens once in a while you know, but I think she is thinking about canceling the wedding. You should go see her! Now!”
“But I am working, I cant slack off”
“Listen to you father go find her and make sure she has an engagement ring on the next time I see her?” and with that George stomped out of the office.
Jayson picked up the phone calling Katherine
“Hello Katherine speaking” she said in a cheerful voice
“What did you do to my father he was just in my office”
“So he was mad huh? But at least I was able to put him a little more down to earth I think”
“You can say that again, He told me make sure that you have an engagement ring and that we get married no later than next week”
“Sorry, I guess I overdid it, I know you wanted you parents to be against the marriage, but now you will be doing what they want you to do. Sorry.”
“What are you, you know today is the first time in my life I heard my father admitting he was wrong”
“So you are not mad?”
“No, I am not, I was just surprised, what did you do?”
“It’s a secret”

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