Chapter 167 I Have a Wife
It was August, with blazing sunshine. The hot wind wrapped around bodies with a baking sensation, causing pedestrians on the street to quicken their pace, hurrying from one shaded area to another.
At a shady spot by the street, there was a small stall selling ice-cold Coke, which Maddox loved. Leopold parked the car by the roadside and went to buy a cup.
When they arrived at Maddox's company, he was sprawled casually on the sofa near the entrance, playing games on his phone. After hearing the "failure" sound, he immediately said to Leopold, "A bunch of idiots. The base was stolen, and they didn't even know how to defend. Unbelievable."
Leopold handed him the ice-cold Coke. Maddox sighed in relief, "Thank goodness for the cold Coke, otherwise I'd have to drink the fire extinguisher from the corner."
"Look at how poorly you handle losing," Leopold pulled up a chair and sat beside him, crossing his long legs. "I've come from so far away. What are you treating me to for lunch?"
Maddox took a sip of the Coke with ice chips, "Whatever you want, take your pick from anywhere on this street."
He looked so smug, as if he owned the entire street.
"I don't come here often, so I don't know which places are good. You decide."
Maddox asked him, "What do you feel like eating? Barbecue, Mexican food, or pizza?"
With all the recent troubles, Leopold didn't have much appetite and wanted something refreshing.
"Where is the salad delicious?"
"You want salad?" Maddox said, "There's a restaurant nearby with good salads, and their pickled dishes are also nice."
Leopold put his car keys in his pocket. "Let's go."
Maddox walked out holding his ice-cold Coke, turning back to instruct the company's new employee, "Uma, please receive a package for me later."
"I understand."
Once outside, Leopold asked, "Newly hired employee?"
Maddox gave a sound of affirmation, focusing on drinking his Coke.
Leopold noticed that three previously occupied desks were now empty. Maddox's company didn't have many employees to begin with, and now there were even fewer.
"Where are the previous employees?"
Maddox tilted his head to finish the remaining Coke and threw the empty container in the trash.
"They left."
Leopold asked further, "How many left?"
Maddox lazily climbed the steps and pushed open the door, "Four, including the cleaner."
Leopold paused slightly. For a company with only a handful of people, losing four was significant. He almost felt bad about letting Maddox treat him.
The server brought the menu, and Leopold said, "Two plates of barbecue, one plate of cucumber salad, one meat and one vegetable pickled dish, and a bowl of salad."
He asked Maddox, "Red wine or beer?"
"Are you drinking?"
"I drove here."
"If you're not drinking, it's no fun for me to drink alone." Maddox was about to order when Leopold stopped him, "Let's have beer. You've made me thirsty too."
Maddox asked, "Didn't you drive here?"
Leopold said, "I have a wife, you know."
He implied that even if he drank too much, his wife could come pick him up.
Maddox nodded, "You're impressive." He handed the menu to the server, "A stack of beer first."
After the server left, Leopold asked, "Why did those people leave?"
Maddox didn't hide anything, "Low pay. If they earned more, they wouldn't have left."
"That can't be right. Didn't things go well when you first opened the company?"
Leopold remembered that Maddox had been quite proud at that time, pointing to his own face and saying his face was his brand, and he'd never starve wherever he went.
Maddox said, "It was good at the beginning, but later things went downhill. You know, I mainly make money from large projects from Seaside City developers, but someone's been interfering. They probably have connections with the developers, and all the work has been given to that company."
As they were talking, the server brought two plates of pickled dishes, interrupting their conversation.
After the server left, Leopold asked, "Do you know which company it is?"
"This company has quite a background." Maddox opened a beer and poured it for Leopold first. "Zenith Enterprises Group, with over thirty architectural design branches nationwide, is an industry leader. Apart from state-owned design institutes, Zenith Enterprises Group is the most powerful."
To become an industry leader, setting aside capabilities, the company's background must be formidable.
Maddox raised his glass to him, and Leopold also picked his up, taking a sip before saying, "Not easy to deal with."
"Of course not." Maddox drained his glass in one go and poured another while saying, "The land that Horizon Estates acquired a few days ago, they directly hired their company to do the design."
Leopold wasn't familiar with Seaside City developers, but perhaps competitive mechanisms weren't prioritized in this industry, with some operations based on personal connections.
"Don't they have a bidding process for design companies?"
"Isn't that easy to manipulate?" Maddox laughed indifferently. "To be honest, if they approached me, I could arrange it too. I'd get two companies to help me put on a show, and the bid would still end up in my hands."
Leopold asked, "Can the company's operating funds keep up?"
At this topic, Maddox frowned, "Without their interference, the company could support eight more idle people."
The implication was that currently, funds weren't very abundant.
Leopold said, "Think of a solution. If necessary, change your direction. Don't just focus on projects in Seaside City; see if there's a market in neighboring cities."
"I'm already looking into it, contacted several companies," Maddox grimaced and shook his head, "No news yet. Every day I open my eyes, it's just cash flow, money everywhere. If this continues, I might have to fire them before they resign."
Leopold asked, "What are the monthly expenses?"
Maddox held his glass and looked to the left, recalling, "Currently, the company has three architectural designers, one engineering consultant, one engineering cost estimator, two supervisors, an accountant, and a general helper. Including me, there are ten people in total. Just for salaries and taxes, it's about $150,000 a month. This doesn't include my own salary, utilities, internet fees, property management fees, daily travel, gas reimbursements, etc., which is another $20,000 a month. So, about $200,000."
Leopold nodded and raised his glass to clink with Maddox's for another round.
The lunch lasted until past three in the afternoon, and they had consumed three cases of beer.
Leopold went to the front desk to pay the bill, then came back to pull Maddox up, "Let's go."
Maddox's face was flushed red. He exhaled heavily, "I said I'd pay, but you insisted."
"This time it's my treat, next time it's on you."
The two walked out of the restaurant, and the breeze carried the strong essence of alcohol.
Leopold checked his watch, "My wife won't be off work for another two hours. I'll go to your place for tea and wait for her."
"Perfect. Erica just gave me some tea leaves yesterday." Maddox entered the office and took the package Uma handed to him.
He walked inside, tearing open the easy-tear strip of the envelope. Inside was a receipt contract.
He placed it on the table, and Leopold saw it was a building design contract for a bathhouse.
In the past, Maddox would never have taken such a small job.
They drank tea to sober up. Leopold went out briefly, saying he needed to buy cigarettes. When he returned, he had an additional paper bag, which he placed on Maddox's desk.
"I happen to have $100,000 in cash in the car, and I've also transferred $100,000 to your bank account. Use it for now, and let me know if you need more."
Maddox checked his phone and saw two transfers of $50,000 each in his account.
Maddox, now almost completely sober, looked at Leopold. He patted his chest, speechless for a long time, with reddened eyes.
Leopold smiled, curling his lips, and sat on the sofa, "What's wrong? Don't cry now."
Maddox was genuinely moved to tears at this moment.
"I must kowtow to you."
Leopold said, "Stop joking. Everyone has difficult times."
"No, you've touched me deeply." Maddox walked around the desk, also affected by the alcohol, and grasped Leopold's hand, "In critical moments, it's always you. I really want to kowtow to you, or maybe I should marry you."
"Get lost," Leopold laughed, "You might as well kowtow to me."
Maddox hugged Leopold, "If I kowtow, do I still have to repay the money?"
"Stay away from me." Leopold pushed him away in disgust, "If you kowtow, you don't have to repay. So go ahead and kowtow."
"No way." Maddox stopped fooling around, straightened up, and looked at Leopold with sincere eyes, expressing his gratitude, "Leopold, I'll remember this favor for a lifetime."