6 - Chapter 5

Tasha awoke in the hotel suite. She and Ingrid had picked up a few things from the flat then come straight to the hotel so they could enjoy the amenities and not rush in the morning.

Tasha decided to use the gym before getting ready for the meetings. It would also be a good way to benchmark how the changes to her stats actually affected her in reality. She needed to be fully acclimated to her body. Once she started to pursue her aggressive agenda, she would become a target.

First thing she noticed was her physique in the full length mirror as she dressed for the gym. She had always been slim and athletic, but now her body was lithe. Her muscles were toned and resembled more an olympic athlete than an amateur enthusiast. These last few years she had not maintained her military physique, but now her figure was even more toned than it had been at the height of her special forces days.

She made her way down to the hotel gym. The gym was not particularly busy, though a few business people were using some of the machines. She was noticed as she entered, but avoided eye contact as she really was not in the mood to be hit on so early in the morning.

She started with a quick jog on the treadmill, but found her usual speed didn't even phase her. She slowly picked up the speed, until the speed was at running speed. After 5 minutes of sprinting, she finally started to feel it in her muscles, but was not out of breath. She wondered how long she could maintain that speed for. As she sprinted, the noise of the machine and the rhythmic sound of her feet garnered attention. She heard a few murmured conversations wondering who she was, and how she could maintain such a speed. After about 15 minutes, she got bored of the treadmill and jumped off. She had not even broken a sweat after running.

She decided to test herself on the weights. This was not a bodybuilder gym, but still had decent equipment. She started with the self use machines. The shoulder press felt so light she didn't even notice the weight. She ended up increasing the weight until it was maxed out and still it didn't challenge her muscles. This repeated on all the machines she tried, even at max she felt no burn in her muscles. By this point the other people in the gym were openly gawking at her. There were no free weights in the gym, so Tasha decided to go for a quick swim then get ready for the day.

She found the swimming pool empty, and lost herself in the laps, while she thought about just how strong she had become. She wondered if it was just strength or if her recovery and stamina were similarly changed. She wouldn't go around injuring herself to find out, but would need to figure it out soon. Lost in her thoughts she didn't even realise how fast she was finishing laps.

Finished with her exercises, she had a shower and got ready for the day. She dressed in simple jeans and a top. If any of the firms were going to judge her on her simple attire then she would drop them and move on. She prepare the NDA for everyone to sign and then knocked on Ingrid’s door.

Ingrid had a lazy morning and just finished dressing when Tasha knocked on the door. Ingrid opened the door and the two friends went down for breakfast.

“So all ready for today?” asked Tasha. “James should be joining us, let's see if he is here already. He always used to be waiting.”

“Yes, I think today will be the easiest day, it will only get busier from here.” answered Ingrid, “After today, I think we should split the work of bringing on business, if all of us are involved then it will just take forever. We can consult before finalising anything.”

As they went past the lobby, Tasha smiled as she noticed James, dressed in a suit, waiting for them.

“Hey James, join us for breakfast,” said Tasha.

James came over and joined them in the restaurant. “I wasn't sure if you would be here yet, so decided to wait,” said James. “So Ingrid, Tasha has roped you in as well I see. I am very curious to know what is going on.”

As they sat down for breakfast Tasha started to explain. “I have been asked to front investments for a VC firm. We have £1Bn to start with, but have the option to invest more.” said Tasha in between bites. “I have asked Ingrid to head up the charitable foundation. I need you to help run my life again James.”

“How…what…when…what is going on?” questioned a flustered James. “Just a few months ago we were closing down. How has everything changed so suddenly?

“I can't tell you everything due to confidentiality reasons, but know this time will be very different. This is not aspirational.” said Tasha as she showed James the bank balance.

“I can start you out on £500,000 a year plus package. Of course for that you will have to take on a lot more responsibility.” said Tasha. “Also consider it an apology for how things ended before. Same for you Ingrid if you are amenable?”

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Both James and Ingrid were left gobsmacked. “Of course, we will ensure proper accommodation and transportation is also available so that we can maximise our time.” smirked Tasha. As much as she wanted to get on with the quest, she had also promised herself to have some fun along the way and support those who had supported her.

“So, I will take it from your silence that you both have no objections to my proposal. The list for today, we need to finalise legal and accounting companies, and potentially bring on advisors onto a quasi board of directors. They won't have veto or voting powers but will only be able to advise. Then we have a long list. Ideally we want to find and buy companies to fulfil the requirements we have. I am not too worried about if the companies have solid financials, more if the people are competent and loyal. My list at the moment is recruitment, real estate, marketing, tech, security and potentially gaming” elucidated Tasha.

“I can pick up recruitment. I have been speaking to several firms as I have looked for work and a few smaller firms worked well. I have also seen some recent layoffs of entire teams from a major games developer. Perhaps instead of buying a company, we can pick up the team, or buy a smaller independent developer and bolster their team?” Said James thinking through what he wanted to do.

“I can pick up real estate and marketing. Are we going to pick up a builder or just an estate agent?” asked Ingrid

“Lets get both and I will pick up security. In fact I have an idea, I can call Jessie. She was running that security outfit with ex Hunter Troop. If she is interested, then we can always bolster with external ex military hires. I think we also need cyber security, though that will be a tough one.” mused Tasha.

“Well, if we are going for ex-military hires, what about building our own cyber operations by taking on ex-intelligence assets. I am sure that we can poach to build out a proper team.” replied James.

“I think we have the basis for the start of a plan,” said Tasha. She handed over the NDAs to James. “Let's find the room and get it setup. I am going to think through if we have missed anything. The firms should be arriving. Let's get them all signed up and then we can proceed.”

They split up as Indrid and James went off to start meeting the firms that had arrived. As Tasha mused, she received a phone call.

“Hello, is that Ms Andersen of TA Consulting?” asked an oily voice. “ This is Kevin from the wealth team. I am calling from the bank, as requested by the branch manager. I would love to meet and see how we can be of service”

Tasha didn't like the sound of Kevin at all. He set off her intuition in the worst way possible. “Hello Kevin, thanks for calling. I was thinking as I don't really know you, I would prefer if my point of contact remained Anita. We have a good working relationship.” said Tasha.

“Well..She is not senior enough to deal with an account of your size.” replied a very flustered Kevin. “I am sure I would be of a lot more help to your plans.

“No Kevin, I am quite insistent on this point. If you don't want my business I am sure I could move to another bank and take Anita with me. I am sure they would be more than willing to be accommodating. Why don't you go and speak to your management team and give in an answer asap. I will look at other options whilst you check in.” responded Tasha. She was no longer willing to compromise on what she wanted.

“I..I will come back to you shortly Ms Andersen.” replied a much quieter Kevin.

Well that was quite fun, thought Tasha as she made her way to the conference room. As she entered the room, she saw around two dozen people chatting away with teas and coffees in hand. The group was made up mostly of men, but a few women were also present. Most seemed to be lookin to James as he was the most dressed up. A few looked at her as she entered the room, then ignored her not thinking she was very important. Tasha smirked to herself as she noticed the instant dismissal.

When she made her way to the front and James handed her the completed NDAs, more people took notice, but still didn't give her much importance.

Tasha turned to the room at large and said “please be seated, so that we can get started.” She gave everyone a few minutes to settle down. Most people still looked at James, thinking Tasha was just an assistant. A few were paying her more attention now.

“My name is Tasha Andersen, I am the owner and director of TA Consulting.” said Tasha, she noticed the look of shock on many faces. “Thank you all for attending on such short notice. Yes I can confirm that if you are not instructed you may bill for your time today.”

“Thank you all for signing the NDAs today. Please be aware that we take it very seriously and so should you. One of the tasks any legal team would have to pick up is to investigate and prosecute any breaches to the maximum extent possible. I hope I can count on your professional ethics and discretion.” continued Tasha. “To get to the crux of the matter. We are here representing a very serious VC fund. We have sole discretion on what to fund and to set the criteria for funding. We have decided that the best way to move forward is to not only instruct legal and accounting teams, but we would like to buy into the firms as well. That way all the teams would effectively be in house. This won't stop you from working for external clients, but it would mean we would expect priority service. The first tranche of funding we intend to invest is in the region of £10bn.”

Most of the attendees were in shock. They had attended thinking it would be a one time project. What was on offer was much more, and would require a lot more thought.

“Just so we are clear, we are on a strict time table, if you or your firm are not interested in us buying into the firm, then I thank you for your time. However, if you are interested we have a lot of work ahead of us. Just to give you a sample, as quickly as possible, we intend to acquire a design, tech, cyber security, recruitment, security and real estate businesses. We want vertical integration in most things. So this list will expand rapidly. There is a lot of work we need done and done well. Any questions” finished Tasha.

A few people thanked the team and left as they weren't interested in the deal. James took note of the companies that left. The rest mulled over the details provided. Who would be willing to take the risk.