Over the next few hours Benjamin one by one invited those who had some say in the company. After a short conversation they all left, convinced of Benjamin's ideas. A surge of emotions hit Benjamin as he admired the inconspicuous brown liquid in his cup. Such power! He needed more of it. If he could get an unlimited supply, who could block his path in the future?
Well, the red beans were not completely invincible. For example, Miss Fenrich couldn't be convinced no matter how much Benjamin tried. Fortunately, this was unimportant. With enough support on his side one or two stragglers didn't matter.
The result could be seen during the meeting the next day. An overwhelming majority agreed with Benjamin. Project charity would officially be buried.
Miss Fenrich looked at all the raised hands and a chill ran down her spine. This scene was too eerie. Yesterday, she also tried to convince people and while she originally had some success, almost everyone changed their opinions after coming out of Benjamin's office. How did he do it? Bribery? Blackmail? But why dind't he try anything with her? Somehow Miss Fenrich felt as if a terrifying shadow was consuming the company. Should she inform William? She wanted to, but contrary to what Benjamin assumed her and William were not that close.
With his victory secured Benjmain didn't care about Miss Fenrich's thoughts. His mind was elsewhere. He didn't feel entirely relieved yet as the hardest part was still coming, unavoidable. He had to inform Mister Grey of the company's decision.
Back in his office Benjamin sat behind his desk, taking a deep breath, putting on a stern face.
"Aqua, call Mister Grey."
"Yes, Sir."
A moment later the indifferent face of Mister Grey appeared on the screen. Benjamin suddenly felt an invisible pressure. But he knew he there was no way around it. He had to have this conversation.
"Mister Grey."
"Bender."
Benjamin could feel that the other man was displeased with him. It was not surprising. Over the last few weeks, the two butted heads multiple times and their relationship surely didn't improve from that. Looking at it from this perspective Benjamin was quite glad that their cooperation was about to end. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Mister Grey before finally coming to the point:
"Mister Grey, the company has come to a decision. We have decided to stop project charity. We thank you for the cooperation so far, but our ideas diverge too much. I am sorry to have wasted your time and effort."
Benjamin stared at the screen in front of him. Those indifferent eyes brought him great pressure. But the decision had already been made. He knew he might draw Mister Grey's ire, but he still went through with it. With the coffee in hand, he didn't need others. He, Benjamin Bender, would lead Aquoria to success!
With those thoughts in mind, Benjmain reaffirmed his will. Suddenly it became much easier to endure Mister Grey's stare. Actually, Benjamin felt that he had been too careful previously. What was Mister Grey or even Marlene Garner worth in front of the Café of Dreams? Presidential candidate? So what? With the red beans he might even become president himself!
On the other side Mister Grey watched the increasingly confident expression on Benjamin's face. He couldn't help but look down on this small, greedy man. He had an amazing chance right in front of him but failed to grab it due to his small-mindedness. Whatever. It was not Grey's problem. He would move on and let this company sink into obscurity as a small fish among many.
Afterwards the two men didn't talk much longer. When the screen went black Benjamin stretched his body and shouted with a grin on his face:
"Haha! I never felt this good!"
Luckily no one was there to see it. Soon, Benjamin went back to work with new elan. He immediately made preparations for a trip to Mecutis. He had to make appointments with the managers of various supermarkets. It was time to convince them to take Aquoria back into their assortment. Of course, he wouldn't forget to take his coffee with him. Although it was awkward he was sure that if he insisted, he could get others to drink his coffee instead of their own.
Hopeful for the future Benjamin made calls all day, drawing on all the connections the company had in the Mecutis market. To his shock though he received quite a few rejections. It took him a while to figure out why. Apparently, those rejecting him were in one way or another connected to Marlene Garner or her party, ESPPF.
"Spreading the news so quickly? You're a petty man, Mister Grey…"
Benjamin couldn't help but snort. For people who didn't want to meet with him he naturally couldn't use the power of the red beans. With such a simple move he was blocked out of more than half of the relevant Mecutis stores.
However, Benjamin wouldn't be intimidated this easily. As long as he could convince the rest it was still a step forward for Aquoria. Drafting various plans and ordering the employees to prepare for distribution to Mecutis, Benjamin spent the rest of the day in his office. After a dreamless night Benjamin woke up early and drove to the airport. Although flying cards were convenient, for long journeys planes were still the better choice.
Benjamin entered his plane, lying down in a comfortable seat surrounded by various forms of entertainment. On this floor of the plane there were 63 others, all people of similar standing. It was easy to get into a conversation and form connections. Just as Benjamin was talking to the businessman besides him, he spotted something through the window behind the man. It was a sleek silver jet which rolled through the airport, having priority over all the other planes.
A look of envy flashed through Benjamin's eyes. With the environment of the world becoming worse over time private jets had turned into something only the most distinguished people could use. Although they had long since replaced fossil fuels with hydrogen, the improved fuel still demanded a lot of energy in its production. And energy was precious!
Benjamin sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed something at the back of the private jet. A greenish shadow seemed to cling to the vehicle. A shiver ran down Benjamin's spine. He closed his eyes and opened them again and the shadow had disappeared.
"Mister Bender?"
The voice of his conversation partner drew Benjamin's attention.
"My apologies. I… didn't sleep well."
"Hah, I can see you are hard-working. Admirable."
As the shallow conversation continued, the plane soon took flight. Two hours passed and Baiforst, the capital city of the Mecutis province, appeared on the horizon. Benjamin observed from the window and couldn't help but admit that Baiforst was indeed more scenic than his home city of Umbran. The two cities were similar in size and architecture, but Baiforst was located next to a sprawling forest of towering trees, which were known for their white blossoms every spring. There was even a river going through the city. It was strictly regulated and the properties along the river were worth a fortune. There was relatively low pollution in the river as the big polluters were situated down the river some distance from the city.
"It's indeed a good place to live…"
Benjamin murmured softly as the plane landed. He got off and gathered with his two bodyguards who travelled in the lower class. One of the two grabbed all the luggage and took a taxi to the hotel while the other followed Benjamin towards the first appointment. After a short taxi drive they arrived in front of one of the tallest office buildings in the city, housing the offices of multiple companies. As soon as Benjamin stepped into the lobby he was greeted by a mechanical voice.
"Welcome, guest, to Inora Tower. How can I help you today?"
Benjamin looked towards the reception. There were two white robots with humanoid figures standing behind the reception. Benjamin raised his brow slightly. This was quite the extravagant display. Honestly, such robots were only able to complete the simplest tasks. In fact, they basically only served as a face for the AI controlling them. And yet they were incredibly pricey, costing at least three million dollars.
After getting a good look Benjamin quickly lost interest as he stated his reason for coming.
"Understood. I will inform Mister Brenn."
It didn't take long for an answer to come back. A door opened, revealing an elevator which automatically brought Benjamin to the correct floor. Once there, he was enthusiastically welcomed by a man of around his age with a slight belly but healthy skin and hair. This was Mister Brenn, a high-level manager of the Mecutis branch of Stork, a huge chain of supermarkets.
Actually, Benjamin was quite surprised by the kind welcome. Previously Stork had sold Aquoria's products but had returned them after citing pure sells. But now everything went surprisingly smooth. The two men negotiated a new contract, and Benjamin didn't even have to use his secret weapon. When he left the office, the deal was almost finalized, only needing the negotiation of some details, which would be done by their respective subordinates.
Benjamin was baffled since he didn't know that Stork had ties to political opponents of ESPPF. After the fallout of Benjamin and the other party, Stork made use of the opportunity to deliver a jab at their opponents. People like Mister Brenn didn't think much about it. For them there was not much cost involved. They would have never guessed what consequences their actions would have in the future…