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“That went better than I expected.”
“Don’t stress about Cyrus. His bark is bigger than his bite; trust me.”
“I was thinking that maybe I could get the University of Chicago to run a profile on him in the Chicago Booth Review.”
“That is a genius idea,” Lisa says with excitement.
“One of the editors, Forrest Devry, is actually in my class so I’m going to mention it to him this week. I’ll also reach out to a few of the other organizations that Mr. Gates has had a relationship with over the years and see if there are any press opportunities there.”
“You’re a natural at this, Presley. I see why he recommended you to me. Once you get a few things on the books for him, let’s schedule a press release as well. The main thing you have to know about Cyrus is, he truly doesn’t care what people think about him which can be a good thing and a bad thing.”
“Bad thing?”
“He’ll self-sabotage purely out of spite. It’s his biggest flaw.”
“Can I ask—” I hesitate, not wanting to overstep a boundary but also feeling like I need to have a better understanding of him as my client. “Why is he the way that he is?”
“He’s extremely guarded but it’s not without reason. He’s a good man. I’m not saying he doesn’t have his issues and God knows he’s done some stupid things, but he pretends to be bad more than he is. It’s deflection. His father was fucked over royally—excuse my language, but there really isn’t any other way to put it.”
“Oh, I had no idea. Who’s his father?”
“Archie Gates. He started a grocery store here in Chicago back when Cyrus was just a boy. It was successful, very successful actually, and within a decade he had five stores in Chicagoland and more downstate. He kept expanding and while he was successful—a millionaire—he was nowhere near what Cyrus is today. That being said, he put everything he had into his business and even more when his wife Beth passed away from cancer when Cyrus was only thirteen.”
I gasp. I had no idea he had lost his mother at such a young age. “Is he an only child?”
“Yes. Archie buried himself in his business after that, expanding all up and down the east coast. Business was booming; he couldn’t seem to open stores fast enough, but he also was incurring a lot of debt by expanding at such a rapid pace. He was kind of a hero in Chicago. Everyone admired him. He was a first-generation American who had established himself and built this family-owned empire, but then a bigger chain became interested in buying him out. His father was good at what he did. He knew grocery stores, but he wasn’t too wise on negotiations.”
“Didn’t he have a team of lawyers though?”
She shakes her head. “He had one lawyer, the same lawyer he had used since he opened his first store. Cyrus tried telling him that he should hire a major firm, but his dad was old school and wanted to stick with his attorney. He also naïvely believed that this grocery chain wouldn’t try to screw him over.”
“How old was Mr. Gates at this point?”
“Young, mid-twenties. Anyway, his father started getting a lot of hate and backlash from the community and the employees. They were angry that their local family-owned business was now going to be taken over by this global conglomerate. Cyrus offered to take things over for his father, but he told him that’s not what he wanted. He revealed to his son that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He wanted to be able to sell the business so that his debts would be covered and it would set Cyrus up for success.”
“Oh my God.” I rest my hand against my chest. “I can’t imagine the pain of losing both your parents so young in life.”
“The grocery chain got wind that Archie was wavering and he tried to negotiate with them, to make sure that the employees would be protected, but instead of working with him, they pulled the deal. His dad felt helpless and in the end, he basically went back and groveled to them. They ended up reaching a deal but it was nothing close to the original amount. It barely covered the debts, and after all the medical bills that Archie incurred, he pretty much died penniless. The thing that really hardened Cyrus against people like that is the fact that all those rich people who once loved to rub elbows with his dad, bailed on him in his time of need and not a single one showed up to his father’s funeral. He had to bury him alone.”
I feel tears prick my eyes, and my chest burns, imagining the pain and loss he must have felt.
“That grocery chain threatened him, sued him, literally scared him into practically giving away everything he’d worked and sacrificed so hard to build, and Cyrus had to sit back and watch it happen. He tried to fight for his dad, but it was like throwing pebbles at a giant. He blamed himself for years—still does—but more than anything, it’s made him so jaded and angry which is why he always says it doesn’t matter what people think about him because people turned on his father even though he tried everything to make sure that everyone around him was happy and taken care of. They didn’t want to hear the truth. They wanted to hate him so they did.”
“Wow, how do you know all this?”
“Cyrus and I go way back. I actually met him in college. We’ve worked together over the years and run in a few of the same circles, but as you can imagine, he tends to keep to himself these days. And when he does venture out, he tends to make a mess of things.” She laughs and shakes her head. “But that’s why we’re here.” She pats my shoulder. “To keep him in line since he can’t seem to pull his head out of his own ass most of the time. He wants to project this facade of being a careless asshole because then he feels like people can’t make him out to be worse than he is. It’s convoluted.”
The car stops in front of our office building and we make our way inside. My head is swimming with information, but at the same time, it all makes things a little clearer regarding Cyrus Gates. Now I understand why he made those comments about how he doesn’t pretend to be a good guy like a lot of the companies out there; meanwhile, they’re screwing people over left and right.
I spend the rest of the day brainstorming ideas to get Cyrus out into the community. I send over an email to Forrest Devry, explaining my role at Wade Public Relations and how I think it would be great if the school ran a publication highlighting Mr. Gates’ new adjunct professor position as well as some of his outstanding achievements and ways he gives back to Chicago.
I go through a couple drafts of my speech as well for the upcoming charity gala. I keep it short and sweet, making a few notes along the way. I’m about to finish up my day when I decide to look through the list of organizations that Cyrus is on the board for when I see a nonprofit for animals. I smile at the thought. I hadn’t pictured Cyrus as an animal lover or pet kind of guy, but maybe I’m wrong. I look on their website to see if there’s any upcoming events when I see a race that takes place in early April.
The annual 5k Paw Trot. I find the email for the organizer and send them over a quick note mentioning that Cyrus is interested in running this year. I smile when I think about how he’s going to react when I tell him about this.
“You’re still here?” I glance up to Lisa poking her head in my office.
“Yeah, I wanted to knock some things out. I’m just about to send an email over to Mr. Gates with the rough draft of my speech along with the idea I had for the Chicago Booth Review article. I also found an unconventional opportunity I feel like he will immediately shoot down but it’s worth a shot.” I shrug.
