3: 3
.But Hester planted her hands on her hips and walked right up to me.
"Darrell, do you think we're all idiots? A few years back, hardly anyone in the country made this kind of outdoor camping gear. Now it's everywhere, and the prices came down ages ago."
Hester's words gave the whole group their nerve back.
"Right, exactly. Cell phones used to sell for tens of thousands a piece. Now nobody would take one for free."
"Yeah, everything's cheap now. You still charged us over two grand. If that's not gouging, what is it?"
I just pointed up at the security camera in the corner of the room.
"You just told me to refund you a hundred and eighty grand, right? And you blocked the door and said you wouldn't let me leave until I paid up. Isn't that extortion?"
"You—you're talking nonsense. We're only asking for what's ours. That's fair and square."
Jackson was still loud, but his tone had gone a lot softer. He clearly didn't have the backbone to hold it.
"Then you can explain it to the cops in a minute. Five years ago, gear that went for seventy or eighty grand on the market, you bought from me for two thousand. Now that gear isn't worth as much, so you want me to refund you the difference. That's it, right?"
That shut them up. One after another, they dropped their heads.
Hester opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
"Forget it, Jackson, let him go."
Only then did they clear the doorway.
I stepped out of the private room and turned back to look at them.
"Remember what you said today. Don't you dare regret it later."
"Darrell, you cheated us out of our money, and sure, you weaseled out of it. But we're still reporting you to the Explorers' Association."
"That's right. We'll make sure you can't survive in this business, and get your company's products boycotted across the whole industry."
"Darrell, you just wait. This isn't over."
"…"
I gave them a flat look and said coldly, "Fine. I'll be waiting."
Just then a server came wheeling a cart over, the restaurant manager beside her.
"Mr. Dickerson, can we start serving?"
"Send everything I ordered to my company. I'm giving up this room."
When they heard that, Jackson and the others got angry all over again.
"Darrell, you think a little money makes you something special? You think we can't afford a meal without you?"
Then Jackson jabbed a finger at the manager and said coldly, "We got here first. Serve us these dishes. I'll settle the bill later."
The manager turned to me, waiting for my call.
"If they're willing to pay, then it's none of my business."
Only then did the manager have the server keep bringing them their food.
Jackson couldn't wait to raise his glass.
"The greedy capitalist is finally gone. No one's going to bleed us dry anymore. Come on, everyone, drink up."
"Getting cheated for years by certain greedy people. We've got to celebrate properly tonight."
"…"
I paid them no more attention and went straight back to my company.
The first thing I did was call in Jacob James, the workshop supervisor in charge of production.
"Those ten custom outdoor camping and survival kits, don't make them. Cancel the order."
Jacob looked plainly relieved to hear it.
"Mr. Dickerson, you should've done this a long time ago. Those ten of yours always demanded the best materials, all custom-fitted, took forever. Not only did it drag down the company's production, the real thing is you were subsidizing them out of your own pocket."
I couldn't help a bitter smile. Even an outsider like Jacob knew exactly how much I'd given them.
