Life Without You

Chapter 44 - Financial Woes & Trust Issues

Leon was in tatters at his latest financial figures that kept going deeper in the red. It did not help that Jake Miliano's popularity continued to overshadow his. Sheldon Avon was pouring all his attention on the young star than to bother about their veteran's well-being. Desperate to sort out his dire finances, Leon called his brother, Angel.

"You should engage a financial advisor. Why me?" asked Angel.

"You're good with numbers. I can count on you to help me with this," said Leon.

"Alright, if you insist. I'll fly over to you this weekend."

———-

"Ai yai yai yai yai...not good," Angel flipped through his accounting sheets and typed out the figures on the calculator app in his phone. "After deducting taxes, you're left with..." He flashed the figure to him, causing Leon's eyes to pop.

It did not help that abysmal financial performance from his skincare company was exposed in the press. Even scathing reviews by former employees on GlassDoor revealed what a ruthless and diffcult boss he was.

"What do you propose I should do?" Leon rubbed his forehead, stressed and worried.

"Live a simpler life," Angel remarked.

"Is that all? I thought as a corporate lawyer, you can dispense better advice than that!"

"I'm a corporate lawyer, not a financial advisor," Angel corrected him. "Besides, what I say is true. Give up your diva lifestyle if you wanna stay afloat. Me and my wifey don't live extravagantly like you, and we're doing just fine."

"Good for you," Leon rolled his eyes. "Any better solutions?"

Angel looked through the papers again, "Your skincare business ain't going that great - for months now. Consider closing it down."

Leon retaliated, "Not an option for me."

"Selling it away would be harder since your company is in debt."

Angel flashed three fingers before Leon's face and pulled down each one as he continued, "Remember in business these three key tips: cut your losses, cut your losses, cut your losses."

His brother was right. Leon needed to cut his losses. Repaying that hefty $15 million business loan was slower than earning back. That did not include his mortgages on his other properties and daily expenses. Despite pumping in his own money into his own business and trying to sell off his products at a discount, it did not pick up like it used to. His only distributor threatened to cancel the deal earlier than the 6-months fulfillment, as sales were still not improving.

"Also," said Angel, "in order to pay back that loan, you will need to sell off more of your stuff and that includes some of your properties."

Leon cringed. It was hard to part ways with what he worked hard for.

Angel placed his hand on his shoulder, "Don't let stuff own you. Time to cut the strings."

"You're not the only one who told me that," Leon remembered Ron and his happy little life in a tiny house. Even his time at Yellowstone reminded him of the joy of simple living. For too long, he had been using debt to his advantage to earn money, but now debt was outpacing him.

"Guess I gotta do what I gotta do. It'll be nice to be ultimately debt-free."

"Great!" Angel patted his back. "Now, let's list down what you should offload."

——————-

The media went into a frenzy with the news of Leon mass-selling his items on Ebay, Amazon and through auction. They included his entire fleet of cars except his Lamborghini and Aston Martin, his yacht, his private jet, three of his properties, his entire wine collection which his parents secretly stowed away in their house, clothes, books and other personal items that he no longer needed. Vinny worked non-stop taking pictures and uploading each and every item online, while Anna was busy clearing and packing away stuff that he planned to sell off.