Page 5 of Arrivals & Assets

“We fully understand things take time,” Brendan added. “It took longer than planned to get this building up. We’re not going to hold renovation or permit delays against you, as long as you submit timely progress reports.”

“Make sure the appropriate people have singed feet. Got it.”

Brendan laughed. “I don’t even think a bonfire is big enough for the number of people’s feet you’d have to hold to it. But do what you can.”

“So livable in six weeks or less. Does that mean that’s when we want interns landing, or mentors and senior staff?”

“If we could get senior staff settling in a month, that would be great,” Linden replied. “That way, they can be ready before the interns start arriving.”

“Noted.”

Brendan leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Now I’m not ruling out you finding a unicorn, and if you do, jump on it. But this will give us an idea of how you prioritize needs when many of them are equal. Do you pick the building with an existing fiber line, or one where it’ll be easier to set up a climate-controlled room for servers and testing? Do your plans change when you look at how long it would take for work to be done?”

“Are we going to start consulting on tech-ready business spaces, too?” I teased.

Linden smirked. “We might if you’re good at it.”

“I’d rather not,” I replied with a nervous chuckle.

The four of them burst into laughter while Micah snickered from his seat.

“It is something we’re considering,” Linden admitted. “Not you specifically, you’re going to be far busier than you think. But we’ve had multiple clients move sites in the past few years, only to find themselves bogged down by infrastructure and bureaucracy. We haven’t lost any major contracts… yet… but it’s only a matter of time. Eventually, we’ll have a client who won’t understand that we can’t magically make fiber or better power lines appear, or that some equipment can’t wait six months for a climate-controlled room to be finished.”

“In other words,” Brendan cut in, “take notes. When Linden says we might offer this service, that means one of your employees will be there looking to see how viable it is. Your team will be working with startups, that are often at the stage where they’re looking for real estate. If we can help them navigate it when their budgets are practically nonexistent, then it’s probably something we can scale.”

“Understood,” I stated.

“Now,” Linden said, “we gave you the option of whether or not you wanted to take Adam and Taal, because we didn’t want to put you in an awkward spot. But the rest of your initial team has been determined. This is so that you’re not figuring out staffing while dealing with everything else required to open the branch. Appropriate licenses and tax documentation have been assembled behind the scenes and are just pending a final address.”

I nodded.

“Also, once you get going, you’ll take over as the primary point of contact with the incubator, so you’ll be meeting with Alan Beischel next week.”

I blinked. “Beischel… why does that name sound familiar?”

“There was a scandal several years back,” Brendan stated. “He and his brother had made their billions rehabbing struggling businesses. His brother was killed in a traffic accident, and his nephew took over the company. Alan was pushed out and a lot of problems pinned on him, until somebody leaked internal documents that proved he’d been framed. His former company imploded under the nephew’s leadership, while he opened the incubator, which is now thriving.”

“Also,” Alonzo added with a chuckle, “you probably heard many times during the interviews that we’re partnering with the Beischel Business Incubator.”

I laughed. “That’s probably it. I don’t read the business headlines often.”

The rest of the team laughed, then Linden spoke again. “I’ve taken a look at the projects you’re currently overseeing and have some recommendations about who to transfer them to. I’ll email it as soon as we’re done. Have a look and see if you agree. Don’t be afraid to suggest somebody else if you think there’s somebody better equipped to take something on.”

“I’ll look for it.”

“Good. We want to get those transferred starting tomorrow so that you can meet your team before heading out next week.”

“Understood.”

“Do you have any questions for us?” Brendan asked.

I glanced at the thick binder in front of me, then turned back to him. “Not right now. I’ll let you know once I dig in.”

“Good plan.”

The team stood, and I mirrored them. Then they all took turns shaking my hand and congratulating me.

“Don’t forget to send Adam and Taal up,” Linden said as he walked me to the conference room door.