As soon as I entered, I noticed the Count and Countess look at me with interest. I know my parents must have said a lot of things about my ventures, but I'd like to do it myself since this will be a big client. I sat near my mother and introduced myself and after a few round of pleasantries, thr Count went straight to the point,
"I heard you had something to discuss with me, young man"
"Yes Lord Graham, I wanted to know if you were interested in a new business venture which I've opened in our territory"
He cut me off before I could continue. Rule no 1 during negotiations, never let the flow go out of your hands, he's good.
Count - "I've heard, the newspaper was it? Quite a good way to spread information but it's pretty cheap and it's target audience so far looks like common populace which honestly won't bring too much profits. So far if I've gotten anything, do tell me" he said with a small smirk. So he can show emotions
Rule no 2, try to downplay the product or the person itself to get maximum benefits. He couldn't go at me since my parents are here so he went after the product, I think he's a good choice.
"Lord Count, you're kidding right? please tell me you are" I threw the bait, like hell I'm gonna let him control the flow of the conversation. As expected, he had a small frown
Count - "What do you mean, young man?"
Got him!!
"Lord Count, I don't know if you're trying to insult both of our intelligence or you haven't really thought about this as a long term ambition than a short term goal or you haven't gotten enough information of what my agency actually does"
I could see his lips twitch, the countess had a frown and my parents were trying hard not to laugh, I had learnt from them and I've had experience in this world and they knew it. First an insult right back at him for insulting my work, second another insult to his thinking process for underestimating me and third a dig at his information capabilities. I didn't let him say anything and continued
"First, it's not just a way to spread information, it's a way to control information and keep the populace informed. Second, it's not cheap, our monthly profits is around 400,000 bucks and increasing. Third our target audience isn't specific, while you may think that its the common populace, they're just the highest number consumer group. And if we're talking about profits, if you can manage to connect the dots, I'm sure you'll see it. While I've already given away quite the sensitive information, I've always respected the work that you've done Lord Count, so consider this a goodwill from my side"
A few important facts which I don't mind sharing to my father's friend and a personal compliment to top it off. He kept his silence for a moment and I saw his eyes widen for a moment, I mean if you can control the news you control the public opinion and he must've noticed how the people of our territory were praising their family's achievement like they knew it all. After thinking for a while, he said,
"Tell me more, I know this isn't the end, I can assure you that I'll invest, but how much depends on the value this will provide"
Now to nail it with a hammer
"I understand. Everytime a newspaper is issued, we give out little information about different regions, people and current times to the people. This may not seem like much, but with time people form opinions, we don't need to state anything directly, just give them the facts with proof. We keep our shareholders' identity a secret and sometimes the news can to through them. Like say, some bird decided to talk about a troublesome noble who's illegal things like slavery with proof, and how the the head of the newspaper organization opened a little training camp for orphans or even less privileged to ensure they can get a job within the agency when they grow up and how the Count had donated a lot of money to this cause and vowed that he would get to the bottom of this. We can probably time the article to cause less chaos as well "
I said my piece. What I basically told him was that he could take care of three birds with one stone. One control the flow of information, two take care of the noble that was delving into slavery by using his citizens, which he had no proof of. Even if he did it'd be buried by some other nobles. Three, time it well, meaning when the crown prince makes his visit to their territory to view one of the richest place in the kingdom to talk about important things, which will enrage the prince since he's a proper honorable prince and once he checks everything, he'd be enraged and probably take some measures, while Count can immediately 'donate' money to help people and the proof can also be credited to the count.
What I showed him just now, was the information collection capability, from the slave business to the prince's visit, the ability to control information and remove cancer from the roots and gain profits and advantages in political power. The room descended into silence, everyone understood the implications of what I just said, undermining an another Count's authority and reputation while increasing your own. Good graces with the Crown Prince and just maybe political power to stand on the shoulder of the giants. I let them think over it. After a long time, the Count sighed
"Very well, let's hear it, what are the terms the how do we go about this"
Before I could answer, my father interjected
"Son, before you continue, they're going to our future in-laws. We decided to engage Benjamin and Christina"
I see now, I've gotta give concessions, well no worries, this is good too. They like each other and I get an advantage over it. Ultimately I gave away 10% of my shares without a single penny, but what I got in return was the complete ownership of the agency that will open in their territory and labor as well. Of course my people will still be at the top but others don't matter. I told him a lot of things, but i didnt tell him that i was doing all of this for information itself. Their territory is the hub of higher ranking people, and there'll be a lot of juicy stuff available. I also bought another place for my future plans, but for now I explained all about the shareholders system and the exclusive products and information available to him.
After this, I was pretty tired and left.
Graham POV -
That was, eye-opening, to say the least. The amount of information I just got overwhelmed me and he got me. I have to say, it was. . . . . . . . impressive. I would've loved to have him as a son In law as well but my daughter is too rebellious. Maybe in the future. I looked at Wilson and Elicia,
"Are you sure he's just 8-years old?"
Elicia just smiled wryly and said
"He has always watched me deal with different negotiations and his father as well. He somehow mixed both of our styles"
Makes sense, because that was absolutely astonishing how easily he took advantage of me, still this was good for me even if it was a bait, it was a juicy one. And I'll make sure to get rope him in one way or another hehehehe
General POV -
After their discussion, it was decided that the Count was responsible for most of the setting up expenses since 10% was worth a lot of money especially considering the potential it held. After staying a few more days, the Winstons left, it wasn't the last of their visits for sure. The news of the engagement wasn't told to anyone for now. On their way back, the Winstons family naturally discussed Asta, and Graham said
"He was impressive, way more than I could've imagined. He just gave me a huge gift that could solve a lot of troubles at once while also gaining advantages for himself" He didn't want to admit that he was taken advantage of in front of his daughters, never. Christina had stars in her eyes learning about her brother in-law but Angela looked thoughtful, she hadn't heard her father praise someone so highly while having a wry smile, as if he was tired. She was perceptive, she could see her was very impressed. She was going to learn, and improve. Subconsciously she had made him her target to surpass, and this decision would one day change how her entire life functioned.
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A/N -
Although I've decided on a harem, I do not want to make cardboard girls, I want the romance to grow, I want to experiment different characters, I want it to be as natural as possible. Any thoughts on the possible FMC expectations?