Chapter 5

The flight attendant greeted Bassem with a big smile on her face as he walked onto his private jet. He greeted her and then headed over to the seating area. He sat down in the beige leather seat. He buckled his seat belt and waited for takeoff. He was flying out to Mexico for a few days. He was meeting with a client to finalize a deal.

They took off moments later. Bassem started thinking about his meeting with Blake. He was pleasantly surprised at the design that she had showed him. She had designed a pretty decent house. He was impressed that she was able to design such a nice house within three days. He wondered why Michaela had not put Blake on the project in the first place.

Bassem’s jet landed in Mexico about two and a half hours later. They landed at a private airstrip. There was a car already waiting for Bassem. The driver took him straight to his meeting. He was meeting with a Mexican mogul, Mathew Rodriguez. He was a very rich man that owned a lot of gas stations in Mexico.

When Bassem arrived at Mr. Rodriguez’s company, the receptionist escorted him to the conference room. Bassem’s business lawyers had already arrived. They had flown in from Austin a little bit earlier than Bassem. They greeted the sheikh with bows when he walked into the room.

Moments later, Mr. Rodriguez and his lawyers walked into the conference room. Mr. Rodriguez shook Bassem’s hand. “It is good to see you again, sheikh,” he said to him.

“I trust that you have been well since we last met,” Bassem said.

“I have.” Mr. Rodriguez smiled.

They all sat down at the conference table. Bassem and Mr. Rodriguez had been communicating for months about doing business together. They were finally going to sign the contracts and make it official. Bassem’s company was to supply Mr. Rodriguez’s company with fuel to sell at their gas stations. Bassem was to get a large percentage of the profits made from the sales. Mr. Rodriguez was to also receive a percentage.

Bassem had wanted to extend his business beyond the United States. So when he heard about Mr. Rodriguez looking for a new oil supplier, he took the chance. His father had sent him to improve business in Austin and that was exactly what he was going to do.

“We will start with a three-year contract. The three years will be a trial for us both. If after three years we are not on the same business terms, then we part ways. If we are happy, then we sign a contract for a longer term,” said Bassem.

“I completely agree,” said Mr. Rodriguez.

“Excellent.” Bassem nodded.

“We are requesting 30% of your profits.”

Bassem barely reacted. “We are offering 20%,” he said. Mr. Rodriguez raised his eyebrows.

“20% is a bit low.”

“We sell high-quality oil. It has been quite popular in the United States. I am sure that we will have high profits here too. 20% will be a lot of money.”

Bassem’s secretary gave Mr. Rodriguez a report on their profits. Mr. Rodriguez looked surprised as he studied the document.

“We expect to see an increase in our profits,” said Bassem.

“Okay. How about 25%?” said Mr. Rodriguez.

“20%.”

“24%?”

“21%.”

Mr. Rodriguez laughed. “Okay, I will agree to 21%,” he said. “You are a tough negotiator,” he added. Bassem smiled.

“I am glad we can agree on a percentage,” he said. The two men laughed.

“I was warned that you are stricter than your father.”

“By whom?”

“My father,” said Mr. Rodriguez. Bassem crossed his eyebrows. “My father once had business with your father.”

“I did not know that,” Bassem replied.

“Nothing was ever signed. They had a short-term business agreement many years ago.”

“I see.”

“When I spoke to my father about going into business with you, he advised that it was a good idea. He also told me that he had heard about you being very strict in business,” said Mr. Rodriguez.

“Is that the reputation I have acquired?” Bassem laughed. Mr. Rodriguez laughed and nodded. Now that they had agreed on their business arrangement, Bassem and Mr. Rodriguez agreed to have contracts finalized and then sign them the next day.