Mitch looked around and waited Tim on the street corner, a block away from the restaurant Fred Garland had told them to meet him this late afternoon. Tim knew to meet Mitch there, before the actual meeting, but he was still not here, and they would soon run late.
Usually five minutes would be nothing, but not only did Tim Fleming pride himself by saying he was always "five minutes early, because otherwise he would be ten minutes late", but they also had business to talk before they would even step in front of Garland as the last two standing Heartland Beef partners, and Mitch wasn't sure if all that could be handled in less than five minutes.
It really depended what mood Tim was in.
Mitch didn't want to keep Garland waiting - Fred was a busy guy after all - and he also didn't want to give him any more reasons to be disappointed in them. Not only had they had to turn down the offer about doubling the meat order as per Jack's request earlier, but then they had forgotten to mention to him that they were unintentionally downsizing in "staff count", and the news of that had made Garland sound restless. He was probably thinking he was about to lose them.
If they wanted to have a future in this industry, they needed to be on his good books. This was a connection they couldn't afford to lose.
After a while, Tim walked from behind a corner, and Mitch perked up, keeping his eyes on him.
"Parking in this city is a nightmare", Tim said as a greeting, and Mitch could already feel this was not off to a good start. He needed Tim to be less grumpy in front of Garland, no matter how he truly felt. "I had to park miles away just to get here."
"Tell me about it. But - you made it", Mitch was trying to make Tim see the positive side of it. "So... you got the papers?"
"I got the papers", Tim said, waving a file on his hand.
"Can I see?" Mitch asked.
"What? You don't trust me?" Tim replied with a snarky tone. After getting a look from Mitch, he smacked his lips. "Okay, maybe I wouldn't trust me either after everything. - Here. It's all in there."
He handed the papers to Mitch and as he skimmed them over, Tim took a look at the guy in front of him, almost as if it was just now suddenly sinking in what was about to happen.
"So... I guess it's gonna be just you and me from now on. After you've signed them, that is. But I assume you will, because this is such a good deal for you."
Mitch glared at him. There was that tone again. "What's that supposed to mean...?"
"Coming in as a rookie, suddenly having half a share... I'd say your fast-tracking is pretty impressive", Tim expressed his point of view. "Maybe that was your plan all along."
"Right... Because I'm the one who caused Jack's heart attack and made him want to retire..." Mitch scoffed. Tim's annoyance was slowly attaching itself to him too, and Mitch didn't like it. "For what it's worth, I really liked Jack as a partner, I really like him as a person, too. I didn't want to see him go, just like you didn't, but we gotta respect his decision. If we would have found a third partner, I would have been open to it, but - so far - we haven't. And this business, yes, it's important to me and I will devote my time and money to it, but I also know that if I really wanted, I could walk away from it. I have an education in another field, a field I could still work at, and I have been able to make a living doing ranch work as well, so this..." He gestured toward the papers. "It's not my only option. But it's the one I've decided to go for because it interests me. So... here we are. 50/50."
"Here we are indeed", Tim said, looking around and then taking a pen out of his jacket's pocket. Mitch looked at it as Tim handed it over, and they shared a quick moment of something resembling a respect - or that's how Mitch read it, anyway. "Well...? You going to sign them or not?"
And so, the moment had passed.
Mitch took the pen and signed the papers Tim and Jack had already signed and then handed them back to Tim, as he probably wanted to be in charge of them.
"Now that that's settled... Time to go in", Tim said, accepting the papers.
When Mitch forked a piece of Heartland beef inside his mouth, sitting with Tim and Fred, the man who had called them here felt like he wanted to explain why he had chosen this place in particular.
"I know we could have just met over coffee", Garland explained, "but I felt like I really wanted you to come here, in this restaurant, to see and taste this... experience you make possible for so many."
"We have barbecues all the time; I know how our beef tastes like", Tim commented, not seeing the point. He knew Gartland to be a bit "out there", but this was strange, even for him. "It's good, that's why people buy it in the first place. But I was thinking since we're in the city and in a restaurant like this, we'd actually order something else to eat. Just to change it up a bit, you know."
"I get that, but I also want you to see your beef is capable being more than just something you have at family barbecues. That's important, yes, and stats show your meat is often enjoyed during those barbecues, but we also want to reach a more... elevated customer", Garland described.
While Mitch nodded along, Tim narrowed his eyes.
"So, you're saying family barbecues are trashy...?" Tim tried to interpret what Garland was trying to get across.
"What...?" Garland shook his head. "No, no. Not at all. That's what we still want to focus on, but I just think it would be a shame if we'd isolate so many people by selling your beef as only meant for barbecues. Because it has potential to be more than just that. It's the best kind of beef there is as it's very versatile."
"Absolutely", Mitch agreed, glancing at Tim. "That makes sense. Right?"
Tim nodded after a while. "Right. Of course. But what does this have to do with us? We sell you the beef, we get money, you do with the meat whatever you want, people eat, everyone's happy... What am I missing?"
"Well, I'm talking about your brand. It leaned so heavily on Jack. Not only behind the scenes but as an image we tried to get across to people. He was like the face of the industry here in Alberta. The local, rugged rancher", Garland explained. "I guess what I'm trying to ask is... what's the plan now that it's just you two. Are you going to stay as Heartland Beef or change the name? You've mostly been using Jack's land, haven't you?"
"It wasn't just all his land", Tim wanted to stress. Jack had not been the only one who had invested in this, and Tim wanted to make sure he would get some credit too. "But yes... mostly Heartland's land."
"We are renting Jack's land for now, but... we might have other plans in the future. It's still... open", Mitch explained. He needed to see the direction of their business now that it was just the two of us. He didn't know what it was going to be, but he knew it would be different because Jack wasn't here. "We'll see how the situation developes."
"Well, that's kind of the point", Garland almost felt like his own idea had fell onto his lap from the other men on this table. "You might need to change the name. Rebrand."
"I figured that much", Mitch admitted.
"We still want to give out that family appeal, of course, but... Well, it's like I said, Jack was the face of Heartland. We cannot use him anymore - or Heartland, for that matter. You have the land, but for how long? But don't worry, we'll figure something out. As for your new look, I will assign my marketing team on this; they will come up with few suggestions, name, logo, the whole thing", Garland explained.
Mitch nodded. "Sounds good."
Mitch listened as Garland went on, explaining his ideas for their image, but kept an eye on Tim. It seemed like he wasn't really paying attention anymore and had become quiet.
Maybe this wasn't his field of expertise, and he didn't want to make it known. Sometimes to appear more knowledgeable, it was almost better to stay silent. The thing was, though, that was hardly ever the case with Tim Fleming.
Something was up.
When they walked back to their trucks, and Tim was still somewhat quiet, Mitch felt like he had to ask. "What's going on with you?"
Tim stopped at his tracks, almost startled. "What do you mean?"
"You came here, all guns blazing, and you were almost provocated by what Garland was saying, but then... nothing. You were just there and you didn't say a word before it was time to thank for the dinner. Very unlike you", Mitch pointed out.
"It's nothing", Tim tried to brush it off.
"Look, the meeting went well", Mitch said. It had almost been better that Tim had been quiet than if he had been trying to spar with Garland, but this was not about that. If there was some kind of bomb coming with Tim, Mitch wanted to be aware of that before it would go off. "But if you're bothered by the rebranding idea, I'd like to know that now, before-"
"You were pretty quick to brush Jack away", Tim finally said.
Mitch looked at Tim, taken aback a bit.
"Not because I would have wanted that", Mitch frowned. "You heard what Garland said; we can't use Jack anymore. He's retired. He is not part of Heartland Beef anymore. In fact, there's not Heartland Beef anymore - at least not for long."
Tim scoffed. They walked few steps in silence, and Mitch felt like Tim was still judging him, so he had to say something.
"This is nothing personal. It's just business, remember?"
"It's not just about Jack", Tim finally admitted grumpily. "I just noticed..." He hummed. "I've become like Jack; I don't like change."
"It can be hard", Mitch said, understanding that well. "And I don't think any of us like change when it comes to letting people go and do their own thing. But we have to adapt. If we don't... There's no future. Not the kind where we feel at least a little bit in charge, that is."
Tim nodded.
"I know... But it's not just... about him or me", he circled back. "Whether I like to admit it or not, Jack's been like a father to me. At least a father figure, if for nothing else. We've had our ups and downs, but... I still always respected him, even when he didn't respect me. - He reminds me of my dad, when he was still around."
"I'm sorry", Mitch said, feeling like maybe this was some kind of déjà-vu for Tim.
Tim didn't feel the need to correct Mitch about whatever assumptions he had, because he was not on that level of trust with Mitch and didn't want to share his life story with him, especially now that it was all so raw again.
"Yeah... So am I. - Anyway..." Tim said, fishing his keys from his pockets. "This is me."
They had arrived to his truck. Mitch looked around.
"Your truck was closer than mine and you complained about parking...? This is - what - three blocks way?"
"Hey, I'm old", Tim joked, turning his angst on its head. "I'm not used to walking longer distances anymore. - I'll call you tomorrow, I have a bingo to go to", he said before he got into his truck and started the engine.
Mitch hummed. Well, at least Tim had found a little bit of humor in this.