“The bastard didn’t even offer health insurance for his factory workers. It really is no wonder he was losing everything,” Derek continued to rage.

“Well just remember these people are scared about their jobs and don’t know you’re different. It would be a really good idea if the first thing you do is call a meeting and reassure them,” Daniel said.

“You’re right, again. I wasn’t planning on doing that but I’ll call a meeting first thing tomorrow. I want to spend today looking around and then eliminating some of the dead weight,” Derek told him.

“Sounds like a plan, son,” Daniel offered, as he slapped Derek on the back.

They rode to the new office in silence. Derek was immensely satisfied to see the crew working on the new sign out front. The old one was down and the new sign was going up with his corporate name on it. Each time he saw that, his heart skipped a beat with pride.

He knew he had to take apart most of the corporations he bought up. He made far too much money not to split them apart, plus some of the companies were unfixable. He did love to keep the good ones together though, turning them back around. He could provide so many jobs for people and the feeling of success, as he fixed them, was what drove him.

Derek walked into the building, surrounded by his best team members and his father. He knew they made an intimidating sight and he enjoyed the looks on the staff members faces as they walked down the hallway.

They approached security. That had been the first change he’d made. He always put in his own security team, immediately. He didn’t want the previous owners stepping foot back in the buildings after he took them over.

“Good morning, Mr. Titan, it’s good to see you,” the guard greeted them.

“Hello Tim, how are things going here?” he asked.

“Everything has been mellow the last few days. Mr. Freeman tried to come in the day after the take-over but was escorted out and hasn’t been back since,” the man reported.

“I’ve had new badges created and no one enters without one of them. All employees who are kept will receive their badge before they leave today. There will be a lot of people let go and I don’t need them sneaking back in and causing trouble. I also want several security personnel up on the twenty-fifth floor to escort people down as they’re let go. Today, unfortunately isn’t going to be a pleasant one.”

“No problem Mr. Titan, I will send them up right away,” he answered.

“Here’s your new badge and some for your men. Some workers will be in over the next few days setting up key pads for all the elevators and exits. Here’s the list of men who will be here doing the work. These men and only these men are allowed in. If their company tries to send over replacements call me and I’ll let you know if they’re approved or not,” he finished.

“Okay boss,” Tim replied, then set to work making phone calls.

Derek spent the first part of the morning exploring the huge building. The most time was spent down on the bottom floors, assessing the factory and its workers. They were eyeing him with trepidation and he knew his father was right; he needed to speak with them soon. The work was going slow and he noticed obvious mistakes being made. He knew a lot of that had to do with their lack of enthusiasm for underpaid work and part of it had to do with the fact they were so unsure of their futures.

He decided to call a meeting right away. It wasn’t the employees’ fault that the previous owner was a horrible man. Derek knew their attitudes would change, once they knew the changes he was making.

He spoke to his men, who went in search of the foreman on each floor. It only took about thirty minutes and he had all the factory workers assembled. He looked out at the massive crowd. There were about five-hundred faces looking up at him with fear. The job market was already terrible and all the people were in fear of joining the ranks of the unemployed.

He stood at the make-shift podium and grabbed the microphone. “My name is Derek Titan and I’m the new owner of this corporation. First, I want to assure you all we’re keeping this company open,” he started. He heard several people release the breaths they were holding. He also saw many in the crowd visibly relax.

“There will be some changes made but I think you’ll like what we have in mind. It will benefit every one of you. I’ve looked through the financial records and you’ve been woefully underpaid and not offered benefits. You’ll receive a ten percent wage increase and offered health insurance. By the end of the day you’ll receive paperwork showing the changes. You’ll have to go through a background check to continue working here but you’ll see things are going to be much better,” he continued talking.

He was now seeing smiles in the audience and some with their mouths gaped open. He had to fight his own smile from spreading across his face. He needed to appear confident and in charge. He couldn’t appear to be a friend. The boss had to be respected, not necessarily liked.

“If you work hard for me and meet production deadlines you'll be rewarded. I want to turn this company around, into what it should be. You make quality products here, so let’s be a quality company as well. I want investors to walk through these stations and see happy employee’s, doing an above quality job. The better you do, the more bonuses you'll get. We will be setting up some HR representatives down here in the offices and bringing each of you in over the next few days to sign paperwork. This is a new corporation and if you do choose to leave we'll offer you a severance package. If you have any questions, please wait until you’re called in so we can move things along quickly,” he finished.

“Please return to work and your foremen will be calling you in over the next few days. I need all the supervisors to please meet me over here,” he concluded.

He explained what they'd be doing in more detail to the supervisors, then made his way up to the executive offices. There weren’t many people around. He saw a few secretaries, who glanced wearily at him as he passed but not many others.

He walked up to David Freeman’s old office and sighed with delight. As he stepped through the doorway, he felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. The furniture had already been replaced. He hadn’t wanted to sit in the same seat or use the same desk as that man. He hadn’t touched the other offices but this one would be his when he was working there and it needed to be comfortable.

He sat down in his chair and turned it toward the windows. The office wasn’t as nice as the one back at his main office but it would do. He’d already had a complete overhaul done on it so there was brand new cherry wood floors and expensive furniture. He had priceless pieces of art hung on the walls and a top of the line computer system. He liked surrounding himself with the finer things in life.

He enjoyed the view from the huge windows and his few minutes of peace, before he had to continue his day. It was going to be a very long one and he knew he’d be lucky to get out of there before midnight. People were never happy to be fired and he had a lot of people to let go. He sighed, as he turned back to the computer and started looking through files.

Chapter Three

Jasmine walked into the familiar building, having to fight back her tears. There were men outside, working on placing a new sign. It was more proof the company no longer belonged to her father. She’d been trying to reach him for days, to ask him what had happened. He hadn’t even told her the company was in jeopardy of being taken over.

He wasn’t answering his phone, or returning her calls. She’d been to his place several times and was told he wasn’t there. She tried again that morning but wasn’t able to get past the gates and found a real estate sign on his front lawn.

Jasmine was trying to understand what was going on and why her father wouldn’t speak to her. She knew the new owner of the company was scheduled to be there that day and she was determined to get some answers. She’d worked so hard throughout the years and had some day hoped to own the company she cared so much about, but those dreams were now gone.

She would’ve walked out the doors when the take-over had occurred but she didn’t only have herself to think about. Her anger drained a little bit as she thought about her beautiful son. He looked so much like his father it made her heart ache sometimes with missing the man. She had to remind herself his father wasn’t the same man he used to be.

She started to pass the security desk, when she was stopped. “Sorry Ms. Freeman but we have some new procedures now, can you step over here?” the new guard said to her.

“What’s going on Tim?” she asked, perplexed. She actually liked the man. In a stressful situation, he’d been kind and helpful. He didn’t try to bully people, like some of the old guards had done. She’d came close to filing a sexual harassment case on the last head of security but her father had talked her out of it, saying it would look bad for the company. She’d made sure to never be left alone in the building with the previous guard though because she hadn’t trusted him.

“We have a new security system being implemented,” he told her. He then looked through his computer screen until he found her name. He typed some things in the boxes and then handed her a new badge. “This is just a temporary one. The boss is doing a bunch of cuts and when everything is done, the remaining employee’s will be issued permanent badges,” he finished, looking sorry. She had a bad feeling she was one being let go. She had to suppress the tears one more time.

She got on the elevator and took a fortifying breath. If she was going down, she was certainly going to do it fighting, she thought with determination. This new boss sounded like a real piece of work.

She was currently the head of Personnel and loved her job. She loved working with people on a daily basis. She’d hired most of the factory workers and was more scared for them than anyone else. She fought her father many times to give them better wages and benefits but he had treated her like a child telling her she didn’t know how to successfully run a business.

That was a bit ironic now considering he’d lost his business. Why wouldn’t he talk to her and explain what was going on?

Jasmine walked into her office, to find several strangers there, looking through her computer and files. “What is going on in here?” she demanded.

“Who are you?” an extremely attractive blonde asked her in a snotty voice.

“I happen to be the Human Resources director and this is my office. Who the heck are you?” she replied.

“I’m Amy and we're the current HR team, working on who will be staying or going. The president asked us to escort you to his offices immediately, once you returned,” the snide woman said.

“It would be my pleasure to see the man,” Jasmine spat, as she turned on her heels. She’d give the man a piece of her mind. It was rude to have people going through her stuff without consulting her first. She figured she was getting fired anyway, so she’d say what she wanted to.

She knew the floor well and stormed towards her father’s old office figuring the man would choose it for his own. After all, it was the largest in the building and the guy seemed to have some serious power control issues. Amy was running behind her, trying to catch up.