The Movies
"Wha' business proposition do ya have for me?" Scrooge asked the man who had just come through the door. Not a second late for his appointment, he looked confident and sure of success. He was clean shaven and wearing an expensive suit that Scrooge assumed he had rented just for the occasion. Mr. McDuck had seen many a young lad do the same. He knew they thought it made them seem more on his level.
"How about a sure fire money making idea?" The man asked. The only way the idea rolling around in his head would work was if he could get Scrooge to cooperate. He had dealt with men like Scrooge before so he didn't think it would be to difficult. When colleagues had warned him not to be over confident he had scoffed at the idea that he would be turned down.
"Sounds to good ta be true, bu' I'm listenin'." McDuck already had a feeling he knew what the man in front of him wanted and if he was right this wouldn't take long.
"Scrooge, may I call you Scrooge? You own production companies. Have you ever thought about becoming the star of one of the movies that was produced there?" Scrooge had to give him credit. He came across as a promising young man but McDuck still refused to be persuaded.
"No, you may no' call me Scrooge. And yes Ah have though' abou' i' and I've decided no' ta do business wi' people like you. Thank you for comin'. Have a nice day." Here was another producer trying to convince him to be the star of a movie about his life. Scrooge knew too, that if they thought they could get away with it they would get another actor to play himself but, not only would the public not see a movie about him if he wasn't in it, they first had to get his permission before anything could take place. He had no desire to allow either. If the boys wanted to say yes when they took over that was their business but as for him he was determined never to say yes. He felt that, not only was it a colossal waste of time, he had more profitable things to invest in.
He went to push the button to let Ms. Featherby know she needed to see the gentleman out but the man kept talking. He had heard of Scrooge's hesitation to work with people like him before and he came prepared with what he hoped would be a successful deal for both. Though the way things were going he was beginning to lose confidence. He had no doubt that Scrooge could be convinced if only he could find the right reasoning point. "Mr. McDuck, think of any great great grandnephews or nieces. Wouldn't it be nice for them to have something they could watch about you. And actually hear your voice? Or think of the money you could save. You could use one of your production companies and you would be the lead. Right there that could save you millions of dollars. You wouldn't even have to pay yourself."
"First off, Ah always pay meself. It's pure ignorance ta do otherwise. Second off, any other reali'ives tha' may be born will either have ta mee' me or look a' pictures." Scrooge could definitely say he was a persistent young lad but he was beginning to lose his patience with the man. This was it. The producers last chance to convince him.
"What about your enemies. Do you really want Glomgold, Magica, or their descendants to convince any unborn relatives that it would benefit them to give up your number one dime or half your fortune?" This was the last point the man had thought of, thinking that he wouldn't even have to go this far. He was beginning to see what others had tried to warn him of when he set out to do this. You have to be better than Scrooge if you want to come out on top in anything involving him.
"Ah mus' admi' I've never heard tha' one before bu' my answer is s'ill no. Ge' Ou'!" Scrooge impatiently told the man. He left in a hurry but he tried not to make it obvious that he wanted out fast. He knew hat McDuck's temper was rising and you didn't have to know Scrooge to know that, that meant trouble. Still, he had given Scrooge some things to think about. What if Glomgold or Magica tried those things? Scrooge knew that if anything ever happened to him, it could mean ruin for everything he had worked hard to build. That's why he had to make sure the boys were ready for that kind of responsibility before he handed everything over to them. He knew that someday they would be ready for that kind of responsibility and he hoped that it would come soon. As for any unborn relatives what would happen would happen. He recognized that nothing he could do now would change that. No, he didn't want them to think badly of him but there was no use in worrying about that now.
The End
I know that once you read this you might think that I need to be working on Treasure of the Blue Diamond but I needed a break from that. Though I will say this. I'm about half way through the next chapter.