Unfortunately for Ross, the messages on his machine were ominous.
There were a couple of problems.
As with RFS, part of RossShell's reason for being a mega successful company, was to acquire, buy, and fold into RossShell, smaller marketing companies that either might be in trouble, or had retiring CEO's looking to sell their companies.
Of course, as the CEO of RossShell, Ross had to make the final decision of what companies to buy, and which to pass on,
During the time that Ross was working to iron out Tim's mess caused by the now terminated account manager, Tom., Ross was in New York for longer than he usually was, also due to the time frame which he could not travel due to his Botox shot.
A combination, of Ross not being at one hundred percent, and making a few bad decisions himself, and approving a few bad suggestions given to him by a few account managers, which Ross did not investigate throughly enough for himself due to being engulfed in solving Tim's mess, several things "went bad" which were a combination of a few smaller companies that were formerly independent and now owned by RossShell, and just a few bad acquisitions, which RossShell had, had all "Fallen down" at the same time.
Ross sat back, and began adding up on the computer what the "grand total" of the losses was.
The total, about "Five percent" of RossShell's total worth, some of which would have to be paid off by Ross himself.
Ross felt like he had been punched in the stomach.
Ross rose, and immediately went to get his calming medication, took it, and waited for Kayley.
Kayley arrived home a short time later, and found Ross in his home office, sitting on the couch, looking very bad.
"Ross, you look terrible. What on earth? I wanted to welcome you home, which I of course, will, but please tell me why you look so bad" Kayley said with concern.
Ross sighed, stood up, and walked around the room.
"I fucked up, Kale, in a major way. Part of it was my making some bad decisions myself, and another part was that while I was in New York the last time. * The grand total of the losses, in my estimation. is five percent of RossShell's total net worth, Kale" . Ross said glumly.
Kayley was stunned. "Ross, I'm so sorry. That's terrible, baby. This time I cant blame you for intentionally fucking around like you used to, because I know with Vic being the COO, you just mainly approve how money is spent, make final decisions, and do very rare projects like when you had to fix Tim's mess yourself recently" Kayley said.
"I'm upset, pissed, furious. I could be pissed at and fire anyone who suggested something bad to me, but that would be stupid because I made the final decision as to how RossShell spent the money. What I am going to do, is to tell Vic about this, give him the paperwork, and tell him to just please handle it himself as RossShell's COO. and not even to give me every little detail to avoid driving myself crazy and getting sick. When they have a final number of the losses, I will tell Vic to come back to me, tell me what it is, and I will ask Alan Hell to suggest an attorney for us to work it all out, and clean it up" Ross said.
"Ross, please calm down, take a shower, we will talk calmly, and then figure out what to do for dinner. Anything Ross wants. I know my baby is very upset" Kayley said.
Ross kissed Kayley. "Kale, between my health problems with the migraines and shakes, business, and the bad decisions I make sometimes, if I did not have you, I swear I would pack it all in" Ross said.
"Well, you do have me, so dont you dare and do that., You've had losses before. Yes, this will be a significant loss, and yes it hurts, but you've had much worse losses than this. Forget when Tazzio took RossShell away from you and you had RossCo for a while until you got RossShell back. How about more recently when Canada fell apart because John Fish was corrupt. You've survived that. It is just going to be a hit, not a disaster. If you're upset.,I understand that, but please just give it to the right people, try to stay calm, and stay focused" Kayley said.
"I figure I will be upset for a few days, maybe a week, and then shake it off. I'm going to do what I just said, let Vic handle it, and not get myself sick. We both know that my father in all his years as a successful businessman and at his age, has had deals go bad. My Dad always says. "The decision was made, money was lost, you cant undo it. Take the hit, deal with it, and move forward" Ross said.
Ross took a shower, came out, got into his boxer shorts, sat down with Kayley at the dining room table with an iced tea, and tried to :"digest it all" as his father usually said.
Ross could remember one contentious conversation with one woman regarding insurance for one of the now likely insolvent companies, and becoming so upset that Ross had raised his voice to her, because at the time Ross had wanted to cancel the insurance he had on that company, and change to another company which had better and more prudent coverage for both the company itself and it's workers. The coverage had finally been canceled, but Ross had endured a terrible time hearing the "sales pitch" before he had become so fed up and said. "Madam, dont give me the sales pitch. I know that's your job because I used to be in insurance myself. Cancel the damn coverage, and dont give me the sales pitch. I dont want this option for my company!" Ross had remembered ranting.
Ross and Kayley called in for dinner, and got Italian food. They ate, sat up and watched TV, and digested the food, and then Ross just wanted to go to bed, ie, sleep.
"Babe, I know I have not seen you in a few days, and you know that when I usually come home from OKC we make love. I'm really shaken up and not in the mood, so may I please take a raincheck. I will make it up to you when I calm down" Ross said.
Kayley kissed Ross. "Of course, sweetie. After 27 years you dont have to explain anything to me. You're tired from your trip, and this hurt things even more" Kayley said.
Ross took his calming and sleep meds, and did not sleep much that night. He tried not to let the "Five percent" bother him, but the combination of the bad decisions, and the money, gnawed at him a bit.
The next morning, Ross called Vic.
"Vic, Good Morning. One thing. I received a few bad messages on my home office answering machine last night. A combination of things between bad decisions on deals and companies RossShell bought that both I bought when I was in New York last time on Tim's extended project mess cleanup, and projects I approved by other account managers which went bad, add up to what I figure is five percent of RossShell's net worth. I'm going to give you the paper work. We are going to find an attorney recommended by Alan Hell, give all the work to that person, and try to forget about it. I'm upset, but I will calm down. I just want to feel like it cant be undone, and we have to accept the bad decisions, and the losses, and move forward. I'm sure you understand" Ross said.
"Of course, Ross. I am so sorry about the bad decisions, and the financial losses. Please just give it all to me, I will sort it all out, and then just give you a report to sign for the grand total so you can focus on other things" Vic said.
"Thanks, my good friend and savior. Take care. Have a good weekend, and I will see you on Monday" Ross said.
"Of course you will" Vic said.
Ross clicked Vic off, and tried to *forget about the losses. Every time they entered his mind, he became upset, and he did not want to get sick over something which he could not change.
Overall, except for the OKC trip, Ross had experienced a very bad few weeks. First having to clean up Tim's mess and fire the new account manager, Tom, and now this.
Again, Ross tried to put it out of his mind, but it would take some time.
That day, Steve called from OKC.
Steve started talking about something regarding RFS and Ross politely intervened.
"Steve, if you and Mister P want to discuss something you think is best for RFS, might you please do is amongst yourselves for a ,couple of days? My head is not clear, and I must take care of something at RossShell on Monday first before I can even begin to think about making any other decisions regarding money" Ross said.
"Of course, Ross. You sound terrible. Is something wrong?"
"Well, you already knew about Tim's mess. I "Hope" and I say "Hope" that is cleaned up. I'm not even thinking about that now , because something else bad happened when I got home yesterday. Without going into details, let;'s just say that a combination of bad decisions made and approved by me at RossShell, are likely going to cost RossShell about five percent of it's net worth. It is not a devastating hit, but it is a signifcant amount of money, and of course I'm upset" Ross said. .
"I'm so sorry, Ross. Okay. I will tell Mister P what you just told me. Please take care of what you have to at and for RossShell, and we will talk in a couple of days" Steve said.
"Definitely by Tuesday at latest, maybe later Monday, depending on what I have to do to try and sort out this mess" Ross said,
Ross hung up with Steve.
Ross tried to go through the weekend quietly with Kayley. They rested. Ross did not have the energy to have intercourse, but he managed to satisfy Kayley in "other ways"
Kayley understood, and was patient, and wanted to let Ross try to start settling the mess, before making requests from and of him.
On Monday, Ross put on his work uniform of blue blazer, dress shirt, slacks, shoes, with tie in pocket, and took the "mess of paperwork"
Ross met with Vic briefly when he got to the office, gave Vic the paperwork, and swore to himself that he would not allow himself to become engulfed in this where he could not think or focus and move ahead with other things.
After this "known to be hit" that RossShell was going to take, there could not possibly be more problems for Ross when he got to the office.?
Or could there be?
That would be seen. *
*
There were a couple of problems.
As with RFS, part of RossShell's reason for being a mega successful company, was to acquire, buy, and fold into RossShell, smaller marketing companies that either might be in trouble, or had retiring CEO's looking to sell their companies.
Of course, as the CEO of RossShell, Ross had to make the final decision of what companies to buy, and which to pass on,
During the time that Ross was working to iron out Tim's mess caused by the now terminated account manager, Tom., Ross was in New York for longer than he usually was, also due to the time frame which he could not travel due to his Botox shot.
A combination, of Ross not being at one hundred percent, and making a few bad decisions himself, and approving a few bad suggestions given to him by a few account managers, which Ross did not investigate throughly enough for himself due to being engulfed in solving Tim's mess, several things "went bad" which were a combination of a few smaller companies that were formerly independent and now owned by RossShell, and just a few bad acquisitions, which RossShell had, had all "Fallen down" at the same time.
Ross sat back, and began adding up on the computer what the "grand total" of the losses was.
The total, about "Five percent" of RossShell's total worth, some of which would have to be paid off by Ross himself.
Ross felt like he had been punched in the stomach.
Ross rose, and immediately went to get his calming medication, took it, and waited for Kayley.
Kayley arrived home a short time later, and found Ross in his home office, sitting on the couch, looking very bad.
"Ross, you look terrible. What on earth? I wanted to welcome you home, which I of course, will, but please tell me why you look so bad" Kayley said with concern.
Ross sighed, stood up, and walked around the room.
"I fucked up, Kale, in a major way. Part of it was my making some bad decisions myself, and another part was that while I was in New York the last time. * The grand total of the losses, in my estimation. is five percent of RossShell's total net worth, Kale" . Ross said glumly.
Kayley was stunned. "Ross, I'm so sorry. That's terrible, baby. This time I cant blame you for intentionally fucking around like you used to, because I know with Vic being the COO, you just mainly approve how money is spent, make final decisions, and do very rare projects like when you had to fix Tim's mess yourself recently" Kayley said.
"I'm upset, pissed, furious. I could be pissed at and fire anyone who suggested something bad to me, but that would be stupid because I made the final decision as to how RossShell spent the money. What I am going to do, is to tell Vic about this, give him the paperwork, and tell him to just please handle it himself as RossShell's COO. and not even to give me every little detail to avoid driving myself crazy and getting sick. When they have a final number of the losses, I will tell Vic to come back to me, tell me what it is, and I will ask Alan Hell to suggest an attorney for us to work it all out, and clean it up" Ross said.
"Ross, please calm down, take a shower, we will talk calmly, and then figure out what to do for dinner. Anything Ross wants. I know my baby is very upset" Kayley said.
Ross kissed Kayley. "Kale, between my health problems with the migraines and shakes, business, and the bad decisions I make sometimes, if I did not have you, I swear I would pack it all in" Ross said.
"Well, you do have me, so dont you dare and do that., You've had losses before. Yes, this will be a significant loss, and yes it hurts, but you've had much worse losses than this. Forget when Tazzio took RossShell away from you and you had RossCo for a while until you got RossShell back. How about more recently when Canada fell apart because John Fish was corrupt. You've survived that. It is just going to be a hit, not a disaster. If you're upset.,I understand that, but please just give it to the right people, try to stay calm, and stay focused" Kayley said.
"I figure I will be upset for a few days, maybe a week, and then shake it off. I'm going to do what I just said, let Vic handle it, and not get myself sick. We both know that my father in all his years as a successful businessman and at his age, has had deals go bad. My Dad always says. "The decision was made, money was lost, you cant undo it. Take the hit, deal with it, and move forward" Ross said.
Ross took a shower, came out, got into his boxer shorts, sat down with Kayley at the dining room table with an iced tea, and tried to :"digest it all" as his father usually said.
Ross could remember one contentious conversation with one woman regarding insurance for one of the now likely insolvent companies, and becoming so upset that Ross had raised his voice to her, because at the time Ross had wanted to cancel the insurance he had on that company, and change to another company which had better and more prudent coverage for both the company itself and it's workers. The coverage had finally been canceled, but Ross had endured a terrible time hearing the "sales pitch" before he had become so fed up and said. "Madam, dont give me the sales pitch. I know that's your job because I used to be in insurance myself. Cancel the damn coverage, and dont give me the sales pitch. I dont want this option for my company!" Ross had remembered ranting.
Ross and Kayley called in for dinner, and got Italian food. They ate, sat up and watched TV, and digested the food, and then Ross just wanted to go to bed, ie, sleep.
"Babe, I know I have not seen you in a few days, and you know that when I usually come home from OKC we make love. I'm really shaken up and not in the mood, so may I please take a raincheck. I will make it up to you when I calm down" Ross said.
Kayley kissed Ross. "Of course, sweetie. After 27 years you dont have to explain anything to me. You're tired from your trip, and this hurt things even more" Kayley said.
Ross took his calming and sleep meds, and did not sleep much that night. He tried not to let the "Five percent" bother him, but the combination of the bad decisions, and the money, gnawed at him a bit.
The next morning, Ross called Vic.
"Vic, Good Morning. One thing. I received a few bad messages on my home office answering machine last night. A combination of things between bad decisions on deals and companies RossShell bought that both I bought when I was in New York last time on Tim's extended project mess cleanup, and projects I approved by other account managers which went bad, add up to what I figure is five percent of RossShell's net worth. I'm going to give you the paper work. We are going to find an attorney recommended by Alan Hell, give all the work to that person, and try to forget about it. I'm upset, but I will calm down. I just want to feel like it cant be undone, and we have to accept the bad decisions, and the losses, and move forward. I'm sure you understand" Ross said.
"Of course, Ross. I am so sorry about the bad decisions, and the financial losses. Please just give it all to me, I will sort it all out, and then just give you a report to sign for the grand total so you can focus on other things" Vic said.
"Thanks, my good friend and savior. Take care. Have a good weekend, and I will see you on Monday" Ross said.
"Of course you will" Vic said.
Ross clicked Vic off, and tried to *forget about the losses. Every time they entered his mind, he became upset, and he did not want to get sick over something which he could not change.
Overall, except for the OKC trip, Ross had experienced a very bad few weeks. First having to clean up Tim's mess and fire the new account manager, Tom, and now this.
Again, Ross tried to put it out of his mind, but it would take some time.
That day, Steve called from OKC.
Steve started talking about something regarding RFS and Ross politely intervened.
"Steve, if you and Mister P want to discuss something you think is best for RFS, might you please do is amongst yourselves for a ,couple of days? My head is not clear, and I must take care of something at RossShell on Monday first before I can even begin to think about making any other decisions regarding money" Ross said.
"Of course, Ross. You sound terrible. Is something wrong?"
"Well, you already knew about Tim's mess. I "Hope" and I say "Hope" that is cleaned up. I'm not even thinking about that now , because something else bad happened when I got home yesterday. Without going into details, let;'s just say that a combination of bad decisions made and approved by me at RossShell, are likely going to cost RossShell about five percent of it's net worth. It is not a devastating hit, but it is a signifcant amount of money, and of course I'm upset" Ross said. .
"I'm so sorry, Ross. Okay. I will tell Mister P what you just told me. Please take care of what you have to at and for RossShell, and we will talk in a couple of days" Steve said.
"Definitely by Tuesday at latest, maybe later Monday, depending on what I have to do to try and sort out this mess" Ross said,
Ross hung up with Steve.
Ross tried to go through the weekend quietly with Kayley. They rested. Ross did not have the energy to have intercourse, but he managed to satisfy Kayley in "other ways"
Kayley understood, and was patient, and wanted to let Ross try to start settling the mess, before making requests from and of him.
On Monday, Ross put on his work uniform of blue blazer, dress shirt, slacks, shoes, with tie in pocket, and took the "mess of paperwork"
Ross met with Vic briefly when he got to the office, gave Vic the paperwork, and swore to himself that he would not allow himself to become engulfed in this where he could not think or focus and move ahead with other things.
After this "known to be hit" that RossShell was going to take, there could not possibly be more problems for Ross when he got to the office.?
Or could there be?
That would be seen. *
*
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