Page 124 of Skins Game

“The purchase price was one hundred thousand dollars, plus assumption of debt,” Kingston told them.

“What?”Nicole yelled, half-jumping out of her chair. “Joe Flanagan sold us fora hundred grand?That’sit?I could have put that on my credit card!”

“That’s why Sidewinder was a moonshot. If we sell pre-orders for a thousand Excalibur and Vorpal sets, plus the expected Rattler profits from the golf retail stores, the expected return is thirty thousand-fold our initial investment.Thatshould win the bet.”

“I can’t believe he sold us to you for such apittance.”

“That’s how bad the debt is. Flanagan financed the retrofit of this building with your labs and bollocks amount of equipment, golf simulators, the million-dollar couches in the lobby, and all the other depreciating assets in here because he didn’t have the cash on hand. Just the interest payment every month is insane. He should have rented the equipment and re-invested profits.”

She lifted her hands off the conference table between them like it was fire, which it was. The table and every other piece of furniture and lab equipment were literally burning cash. “That’s crazy.”

“Sidewinder doesn’t own the building, either. This structure is rented. You’d be better off walking outen masseand starting a new employee-owned company without the debt.”

“But the non-compete and work-for-hire agreements in the contracts,” she said.

Kingston shrugged. “If Sidewinder goes bankrupt, there won’t be an entity to enforce them. You can do whatever you want.”

Nicole flopped back in her chair and tapped the notes before her. “We were making this deal, though. We already made you the offer.”

“Don’t make the deal. Reneg on it. When we write the contract I’ll take to Last Chance, add a clause that says the union can back out on January first for a one-dollar penalty.” He leaned in. “Let Last Chance finance Sidewinder through the end of the year before you back out.”

She tapped the papers in front of her again. “But if we buy Sidewinder, it will give you a lot of money to save Last Chance if you lose the bet.”

“It’sbusiness.You shouldn’t take our position into account.”

“But you told Morrissey Sand that you were ruined if you lost the bet.”

Kingston barreled ahead. “Here’s your plan: if I lose the bet, or if all of us Last Chance guys lose, you should all quit. Walk out on this turkey. Let Sidewinder burn. The banks will repossess everything.”

“But everyone would lose their jobs.”

He kept talking. “In a month, offer the banks to buy Sidewinder’s lab equipment, inventory, and product lines for ten percent of what Flanagan owed on them.Ten percent.The banks will do it. They’ve already taken the loss in the repossession.”

She frowned. “That doesn’t sound legal.”

“It’s legal. Corporations do it all the time. The bank has insurance for failed loans, and those insurers have re-insurance. And if the re-insurers fail, the government bails them out. Your tax dollars at work.”

Her frown turned into a scowl. “That’s a racket.”

Now,she was understanding. “Negotiate with the building’s owner to take over the lease fromthatpoint forward, which will be a good deal on their end rather than trying to find a new tenant, costing them time and money. You’ll start youremployee-owned business in a much better financial position. You could immediately rehire Caitlin Moffett, Rainbow-Supreme, and all the others.”

Nicole looked up at him, her dark eyes wide. “You didn’t have to tell us this. You could have taken our money and walked away.”

Kingston didn’t let his gaze waver, just looked into her eyes as if he were giving her his soul. “You didn’t have to devise a fix for the Excalibur. You could have let Sidewinder fail and offered a union buyout when it was in ashes.”

“Yeah, I know, but I didn’t want to watch it burn.”

“So we won’t let it burn, my little engineer. Let’s fix the Excalibur, win the bet, and rule the world together.”

Her slow smile was more gratifying than he’d had any right to expect. “Yeah.”

Kingston accepted the union’s offer, and they shook on it. Nicole’s small hand was cool in his, and their eyes met across the table.

Gail Stein said thatshe’dwrite up the contract for them to sign, the insinuation being no more sneaky clauses from Morrissey Sand.

The lawyer, the accountant, and the woman recording on her phone filed out first, grinning like their mouths were tied to their ears. The crowd of employees lurking in the corridor started cheering even before any details were divulged.

Nicole caught the door and closed it behind them, leaving just the two of them in the conference room.