Revenge of the Heir

Strategy

The next morning Eric had meetings with nearly a dozen of the family heads, each of them with sub families that relied heavily upon those funds to live day to day. Most of them families that had been relegated to the fringes because of how far removed from the main players. They had been distant cousins to begin with, and the distance had just grown. Without fail he made the Family head summon those families, as Eric was assessing skills that could be used inside the companies themselves.

Amanda was the last to schedule a meeting, and she walked in holding her head high as he was getting ready for lunch. "Lord Heinrich." she said formally as she closed the door.

"Mrs. Greene." he replied inviting her to take a seat. "May I ask why you are here?" he asked her.

"There are 5 families in my group that rely heavily on those funds, and may not be able to pay their bills without access to them." she reported putting their files on his desk.

"You came prepared, thank you." he said as he grabbed the file and opened it. "Why are none of them employed in one of our many companies?" he asked her. It was a common question he had asked when he saw they were struggling to pay their bills.

"That is not easily answered sir, as some of the other families refuse to hire outside of their own branches. I do not have the resources some of the others do, and cannot utilize the skills of all the members of my family in a profitable manner." she told him honestly.

Eric nodded as he looked through the files, and saw that their skills were varied. "What is your specialty?" he asked her curious.

"My family is in weapons research and manufacturing." she answered quickly.

"Well there is nothing wrong with that. How many members of your staff come from other families?"

"None of them have the skills necessary sir." she replied honestly.

"None of your enterprises can benefit from the skills of anyone from the other families? What if I told you I have already located 2 that might be a benefit to you?" he asked her.

Amanda was surprised, as she thought she had known every member of the family. "I would say send them my way, and I will give them an opportunity. It has always been my philosophy to help the family in any way I can."

He slid both files across the table, and watched as she opened them. Her eyes widened as she saw that they would be perfect for his research division, and knew that what they were currently doing was a waste of their education. "I will do what I can so that these families no longer need to rely on the Family Trust. If I find other family members I believe would benefit you, will you employ them as well?" he asked her.

Amanda nodded as she kept looking at what was in the files she had given him. "Yes I will, although right now we are facing challenges keeping everything operating." she admitted.

"Mrs. Greene, right now I am conducting reviews of all of the companies. What is it you hope I can do to make those challenges less daunting?" Eric asked her.

"We could use an investment from the family trust." she said.

"What would my investment get the family? So far from what I have seen the last 3 times less than 20 percent of the funding provided to you was funnelled into your companies, why?" he asked her.

"I thought it would be best used to pay down debts and use the rest to support the families under my charge." she answered as he nodded.

"Understood, however we will need to address that at a later time. I take it you do not have a background in finance?" he asked her.

"No sir, I was a history major. My business education came on the job when my brother, father and mother were suddenly killed 6 years ago. I was thrust into this position, and have been trying to maintain since." she said as he nodded.

"I see, I have a question for you than. Would you be opposed to learning more effective strategies from someone that has a background in the area?" he asked her bluntly.

Amanda was surprised that he was willing to extend the offer, as it seemed everyone thought she should be more than capable of the job. "I would take any help I can get sir." she said humbly.

"Good, the subject of tribute?" he asked her.

"The funds in my trust account were earmarked for that very thing. Without them, I would be unable to pay the tribute in time sir." she said as he nodded.

"Most families are the same way, as it seems most of us have grown complacent to be rich. Tell me, would you be opposed to a drastic change in the way this family is run?" he asked her.

"If it makes us stronger as a whole, no sir." she replied. "In fact, what I have heard so far gives me hope that this is an actual family again, and not competing companies trying to get a bigger slice of the pie." she told him.

"Good, I will let you know how it goes. Tell the heads of these families they are to schedule meetings with my staff no later than this week for reviews on those who are not contributing to the well being of their families. Let it be known that should a member of the family not contribute, they shall be cast out. We are as strong as our weakest link, and as a family of the Lord's Council, we will not tolerate weak links." he informed her as he had the others as well.

"I will let them all know, may I also inform them that the Family Rules will be strictly enforced?" she asked him.

"Very strictly, which means if your son wishes to inherit your position he will begin the work he must to ensure he is eligible. Otherwise it will go to someone who is more deserving according to the rules. I would also like to assign a full time financial advisor to you, one that will be paid by from my budget." he offered her.

"Who would this advisor report too?" she asked.

"They would report to you, and will also act as an instructor to teach you the finer controls you need to know. I understand you are currently in contract negotiations, do you have an attorney on staff?" he asked her as she shook her head. "If you would like, I can represent you in it at no cost."

"Thank you, I would appreciate it greatly." she said surprised that it had gone as well as it had.

"That is all I would like to address with you for the moment, unless there is something else you need?" he asked her.

"No sir, there is not. Thank you for your help, and I hope this is the beginning of a new chapter in our family." she said as she stood up.

"Get me those files quickly so I can review them before your next negotiation session." he told her firmly.

"You will have them within the hour, and the next session is tomorrow morning at my office complex." Amanda said before she walked out of the office and made a call.

"Include your current contract as well please." he said loudly as she nodded.

That evening Holly walked in with Devon, both of them coming from the research floor in the building as both were being onboarded for the company.

"Eric, it seems that the fracture is more severe than even I believed with no support. This family would be fractured even more if Kevin had actually became the Lord." Devon told him.

"I am learning that as well, this family seems to be all sorts of dysfunctional. It will be a miracle to get through this transition intact beyond the three families to dismantle." Eric replied.

"What do we do?" Holly asked.

Eric sighed as he knew without a doubt that this would be the most important answer. "We will see when I complete my interviews with the remaining family heads, so far 7 of them have agreed to support me. The other 5 are willing to consider supporting me, and have made clear they do not support Kevin." he told them.

Devon shook his head as he heard more, knowing that the lower seats not supporting the head was a major issue in the long run. "This situation is more dire that even I thought. The support could help you, however it could just as easily blow up in your face. When do you meat with the families from the mid and upper tiers?" he asked.

"I am not yet, however after this I think it is time I do so. I have never even heard of a family so fractured, even when they have been taken over by people outside of the family." Eric said nervous about the prospects of what he was facing.

"What is your plan?" Hellen asked him.

"I think it is time to begin my investments with the money I have available. If I can get enough support in the mid and lower families, I might be able to combat the families from the court." he said knowing that it would be a fight. "We start by seeing just how much support Kevin has in the families."