It's been two months since Derek started his life as Derek Quinton, heir apparent to the Quinton Consortium. During that time, Derek kept his promise to his parents Peter and Lea Quinton and studied the companies he took over that are part of the Quinton Consortium.
In that time, Owen Beck made sure Derek's identity is kept secret. Everyday, Derek will disguise himself and not to further draw too much attention, requested Hector to chauffeur him in his family's Mercedes G-class.
This type of car is rather common in the Townsville business district and would not arouse any suspicion. Derek would also lunch in to keep studying his companies.
Amanda Walsh, Derek's secretary, did her part, taking time and effort to update Derek and keep him up to speed with his companies' events and statuses.
These companies deal in various industries, including real estate, media, finance, hotels and resorts.
Derek and Amanda were having a discussion on real estate when they heard a knock on the door. It opened and Owen stepped in.
"Young Quinton. Master and Madam Quinton are here to visit you." said Owen.
Derek's face lit up. "Send them in; and next time, no need to ask for my permission when it comes to my parents. Amanda, please prepare some tea for them."
"Yes boss." replied Amanda.
Peter and Lea Quinton entered Derek's office and embraced their son.
"My son. You look well." Peter complimented. "How is work coming along?"
"Everything is going just fine, Dad. Sorry I have not spent enough time with you and Mum but I promised you I'll be spending the past two months studying these companies."
"That's ok, son." Lea replied. "It's good to see you settling down this quickly in your new role. Very soon, we will be able to hold a board meeting and introduce you to the managers of the companies you have taken over."
"Speaking of which, do you have plans on how to move these companies forward?" asked Peter.
Derek replied, "Yes I do. In fact, Amanda and I were discussing some real estate plans when you came in."
"That is correct Mr. and Mrs. Quinton." Amanda chimed in as she offered the Quintons some tea.
"Nice starting point son. What plans do you have?" asked Lea.
"Well, Amanda and I are discussing potential ideas involving real estate and hotel resorts."
"Well let's hear them. Amanda, feel free to chime in too. You'll be working closely with Young Quinton anyway so you may as well join in too." said Owen.
"Yes. That's a good idea." Peter seconded that notion.
Amanda sat herself next to Derek and joined in the conversation.
"So, like I said..." began Derek. "Amanda and I were discussing potential projects involving real estate and hotels. We came up with three projects in mind."
"The first one is BDT mall. From what we have gathered, it has been existing in the business district for the last fifty years. It needs an overhaul. We need to give this mall a face-lift and make it the best mall in the business district."
Derek continued, "Preliminary plans that we have for this mall are tearing down the mall and rebuilding it back up again. Our purpose for this new mall is to cater and be accessible to the masses. We want everyone in Townsville to come into BDT mall and enjoy themselves."
"That's a really good business idea son. Have you thought about the process in more detail?" asked Peter.
Amanda replied, "Buying over the mall is the easy part. Our legal team can handle the proceedings in days. Once we do that, we want to send out scouts to be mystery shoppers in all the shops in the mall. The reason for that is so we know which tenants we want to keep when the mall is rebuilt and which ones we want to ban from the mall."
"For those we want to keep, we will temporary relocate them to areas near the mall. We are more than willing to pay for their rent at their temporary spaces because we believe that they will stay loyal to us and continue to be successful with us."
"An ambitious plan for a longstanding mall." replied Peter. "One piece of advice son. Respect the mall's history while bringing it to the 21st century."
"Understood Dad." replied Derek.
"So, what's project number two?" asked Owen.
Amanda replied with a hint of pride, "Mr. Beck, have a look out the glass wall behind you. Do you see that empty plot of land near the beach? I suggested to Mr. Quinton to build a beach resort there."
"Amanda was instrumental in coming up with that idea." continued Derek. "That empty plot of land is big enough to build at least a six-star hotel with the top-of-the-line facilities and high-class guest rooms that cater for families from all walks of life. In addition, Amanda suggested acquiring the area surrounding the empty plot for camping stays, or as Amanda calls it, 'glamping'."
"Ahhh...build stylish and cute looking tents to attract the younger generation. Nice touch, Amanda." praised Lea.
"Thank you, Mrs. Quinton....not to be mean but I was surprised Master Quinton does not know what glamping is." joked Amanda.
"It's true. I got to keep with the current slang and terminologies, otherwise I'll sound old even at 25. Haha." replied Derek, slight embarrassed.
"So, what's the third project?" asked Peter.
Derek replied, "This one is more personal...at least for Amanda anyway. I heard that she stays in the suburbs far away from the business district. She also shared with me how her friends and acquaintances our age have to travel for hours from their houses to their workplaces here."
Amanda continued, "We heard about a condominium situated nearby the business district. As I recall it's a ten-minute bus ride one way from the condo location to the outskirts of the business district. We intend to buy out the whole condo and subsequently rent it out to people like me who stay for away in the suburbs."
Derek confirmed Amanda's intentions. "Amanda and I believe with lesser travel time, people can socialize more and have a balance between work and having a life. Besides, they can always go back to the suburbs on weekends if they see fit."
Owen listened with great intent. He knew Amanda's back story and grew interested. To him, Amanda was like the daughter he never had.
Owen chimed in, "That's very thoughtful of you Amanda and Young Quinton. I have two nephews who are working in the business district. I believe they will enjoy this arrangement, especially since they have to take public transport everyday and they stay quite far too."
Peter then gave his verdict, "Overall, three great plans and projects. Have you given yourselves a timeline to complete them all?"
"We estimate about three years for the mall and the resort. The condo acquisition takes approximately two to three months" replied Derek.
"In that case, we'll leave you two to execute your plans. Just don't forget to come home for dinner, son." said Lea.
"Yes. we have to go now. We are flying to New York with Owen tonight for a business trip. We'll be back by Saturday. Let's have breakfast together the morning after we come back. Owen, Amanda, join us too." said Peter.
"I'll be honoured, Sir. See you Saturday." replied Amanda.
With that, Peter, Lea and Owen took their leave and Derek and Amanda went back to their discussion.