“I may have threatened them by saying that if they didn’t sell to us, they’d end up as just another Disney channel or CNN,” she says reluctantly.
“And let me guess…”
“Yeah, they called both companies to find out what kind of offer they were going to make.”
That was pretty stupid. Not of KJBP, but of Mrs. Sutton.
Yeah, a lot of smaller stations are scared of getting eaten up by the bigger guys, but every station is looking to turn a profit. If it comes down to a choice between the pride of remaining a small station that can do something relatively close to what they want and the station owner making a shitload of money…you can guess which way they’re going to go.
The one way to get a bigger fish to eat your meal is to let them know, directly or indirectly, that you’re making a move to expand. Aspiring monopolies hate competitors, but they’re usually willing to let a few weaklings like Memento Entertainment exist, so long as we crowd out anyone who might be a serious threat.
By moving to expand in another market and being stupid enough not to keep things properly quiet, we’ve become what they’d consider a serious threat. It really doesn’t take much; those with the most power are often the most insecure.
“Why even bother sending me out there?” I ask. “We don’t have the war chest to win.”
“They like you,” she says. “They want to give you the first crack at it, but you’re going to have to make it one hell of a proposal.”
“What do I have to bargain with?”
“We’re willing to go as high as 10 million,” she says.
Well, they’re not hamstringing me entirely, but in the world of television, 10 million isn’t that much money. Actually, yeah, they’re hamstringing me entirely. KJBP never going to go for 10 million now.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to fly by then,” I tell her, “but let me call my contact. I might be able to get him out here.”
I’ve got an idea that has a slight chance of turning the tide, but it’s still a long shot.
“Do whatever you have to do,” Mrs. Sutton says.
Somehow, I get the feeling that she isn’t going to come clean if KJBP ends up going the other direction. I’m pretty sure she’s telling me that my job is hanging in the balance here.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I tell her. “Just do me a favor and let me deal with this from here. The last thing I need is for someone telling them that CBS is looking for another affiliate.”
“Yeah, about that…” she says, and how this woman got to be on the board of anything, I have no idea.
“I’ll call when I know something,” I tell her, and hang up the phone.
This is some bullshit, but it’s the closest thing to movement I’m likely to see for the rest of my career with M.E. I’d love to say that I’m confident in my ability to snatch this deal out from under the big guys, but all I have to work with is 10 million?
I swear, if this ends up falling through and I end up losing my job, I’m taking Mrs. Sutton down with me, no matter how entrenched she may be with the board.
Now Jace is walking into the room, though, and I’m feeling all of the annoyance, anger, frustration, sickness, and pain I feel physically turning toward him. Like the woman from the board I just finished talking to, he could have made things a lot easier if only he’d kept his fucking mouth shut.
He’s going to let his career burn because the two of us have some kind of relationship, but what he doesn’t seem to get is that it wouldn’t have mattered if I made some improvements on that drug. The reality is that I don’t have a long life ahead of me no matter what happens.
I can’t just sit back while he buries himself, but I don’t think he’s going to make the right choice on his own. He already fired Yuri for doing what she was actually supposed to do. If he’s going to save himself, he and I need to not be together, but the only way I think that’s going to happen is if I go nuclear.
Let’s just say that after that phone call, I’m already getting tired of having to clean up other people’s mistakes.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“I wanted to come and check on you,” he says. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“I’ve been better,” I tell him, “but that couldn’t possibly matter right now.”
“Why not?”
“Why are you here?”