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We all shook hands.
“Find a seat a make yourselves comfortable.”
We chatted for a few minutes before the next group of men arrived; Xavier and his brothers-in-law; Roman, Ezekiel and Paxton Bluette. I had met the Bluettes through Xavier and formed a quick friendship with each man. I admired the way they’d acquired their wealth through hard work and perseverance. Paxton took over my personal accounting and investing and has made me an abundance of money.
I shook each man’s hand as they found a seat at the table. Roc was the last to arrive.
“What up god,” Roc and I hugged.
“It’s all good Sun,” I replied.
Roc sat next to me.
“I’ve asked Paxton to provide a special lock box for all your electronic devices. What we are about to discuss cannot leave this room until the time is right.”
Everyone placed their cellphones in the lock box. Paxton entered a code and closed it.
We had a breakfast of southern cuisine and chatted until all the plates were clean and the serving staff had removed everything.
“Thank you all for coming. Thank you for adhering to the last-minute notifications. As you all know, I am part owner of the Charlotte Stars Major League Baseball team. I have roughly forty percent of the shares in the club. Most men in my position would be happy with that number, but I am not. When Theodore Wolfe, who is the current majority owner of the team reached out to see if I would be willing to invest, he thought I would come in with a small investment like Orville or Alphonso, the other owners, of five percent. He thought adding some color to the group would make the offer more appealing because then he could say that the team was owned by a minority. He wasn’t prepared for me to buy into the investment at forty percent. My investment pushed some of the one percent and two percent people out of the running. As the years have passed, I have realized I want to own the team. I don’t want to be the token black person in the investment group. I want to create an all-black investment group and take the team from Ted. I’ve asked all of you here today because I want to offer you the opportunity to become a part of my investment group;The Ujamaa Group.”
I opened my notebook and pulled out an artist rendering and passed it around the table. “I’ve purchased some land here in the city where I want to build a brand-new state of the art baseball stadium complete with a retractable ceiling and an attached shopping and entertainment area. This is a drawing of what I am proposing. I want to name the stadium Walker Memorial Stadium in honor of the first black MLB player, Moses Fleetwood Walker.”
“Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play for an MLB team,” Roc corrected.
“I thought the same thing too until I did a little digging and realized Robinson was not the first. He was the first to have a complete career, but not the first to play.”
I waited to receive the drawing back before I continued.
“I believe in family. I believe families should work together to achieve a common goal. I won’t deal with too many people outside of my business family or my natural family. That’s why you all are sitting at this table.
I will offer all the current owners of the team a buyout amount. The men who own the smaller percentages will have no problem taking the money. They are not invested in making the team a success. They only see it as a business deal. I, on the other hand, am very invested in the team as a whole, not just for the financial gain. The majority owner will have a little ego problem and try to hold out. I think with the money we will raise as a group, he will have a hard time turning it down. We will make history by being the first all-black investing group to purchase an MLB team. I will put up sixty-five percent of the capital. We will divide the rest among all of you.”
“Yes, that will leave thirty-five percent left for us to raise. I’ve looked at everyone’s portfolio, and that won’t be a stretch for any of us. I will formally present you with the exact dollar amount once we all sign the contract and agree to this venture,” Paxton said.
“I have already spoken to Wesley Phillips, the current center fielder. He has agreed to come on and work in our front office to fulfill the rest of his contract with the team. As I started to say earlier, the lesser investors will be easy to pick off. The problem is going to be with the majority shareholder. Not because he doesn’t like money, but he’s afraid to see a black man win.”
“He might as well get ready for it then. We are going to win,” Langston said.
“Yes, we are gentlemen. Yes, we are.”
Averie
I requested breakfast after showering and getting dressed. Larry showed me to the office in the suite that was complete with a desk and a comfortable chair. I was looking at my calendar and realized the meeting Caroline scheduled with Trevor Bell was next week. I’m interested in finding out why she took it upon herself to meet with him.
“Hello?” I answered my phone after seeing Mommy’s name on the screen.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Mommy. How are you?”
“I’m okay. I would be better if I’d laid my eyes on you in the past month at least.”
I hadn’t seen my parents since the dinner at their house where she asked me if I was gay in front of the family. I wasn’t avoiding her per se, but I didn’t feel like dealing with the pressure she put me under.
“I’ve been working almost non-stop, Mommy.”
“I know. Your father and I saw you on TV after you won the big case. We are proud of you.”
