Kristin Grieg

Justified risk

Francisco Eduarde Mendez sat up in bed, his heart pounding, his body wet with sweat. Did he dream about something?

The answer from memory was not long in coming: yes, he dreamed of a woman again, the one with whom he had been close only once. France threw back the blanket and swung his legs off the bed.

Why? Both the woman and the night spent with her have long since turned into a memory, because nine months have already passed. He dreamed that she felt bad... hurt. Something happened to her. And she called him.

However, what does it matter? She is nothing to him. Besides, he doesn't believe in dreams. What matters to a man is what he can see and what he can touch. Dreams are stupidity, they only make you feel bad.

Mendez got up and went to the window. Dawn barely illuminated the edge of the sky, sharply outlining the dark hills on the distant horizon.

It's good that he woke up early. He has to go to Madrid on business, and then he has lunch with Diaz. The driver will have the car ready by eight, so there is still a couple of hours left to work.

By the time France took a shower, shaved and got dressed, the unpleasant, disturbing dream was forgotten. He went downstairs, greeted the housekeeper, drank a cup of sweet black coffee and headed to his office.

Twenty minutes later he turned off the typewriter and stood up from his desk. I couldn't concentrate. The dream did not go away, thoughts returned to that woman again and again. Couldn't he really get her out of his head?

France reached for the phone: perhaps we can leave early. But, having reached the driver, he canceled the trip altogether. Then he called Madrid, left a message on the answering machine and hung up. He did not call Conchita - she always loved to sleep and was unlikely to change her habits in the five years that had passed since their separation.

He behaved in a manner unusual for him and understood it. And it’s not about the postponed date with Conchita. She'll sulk and that's it. But a canceled business date is already a problem. He built his empire by never acting rashly. But what's the point of trying to concentrate on business when your thoughts are not in Spain, but there, in England? But this also makes no sense: even if Laura is in trouble, she will remember him last. France changed into a black T-shirt, faded jeans and old, old, comfortably worn shoes that he wore when he was just starting to build his house. Perhaps a walk will help unwind. Having reached the stable, he led his stallion out of the stall, saddled it himself and rode out of the fence.

France had not thought about that woman for a long time, forcing himself not to remember what had happened. She herself made it clear that the short relationship between them meant nothing. She needed one hour from him, just one hour when he replaced someone else.

However, he did not want anything more from her. And if that time he somehow singled her out, it was only because the rules of politeness required it. On that fateful day, he was a guest at a party, and one of the hostess's daughters, a friend's wife, said that she wanted to introduce him to her sister. There were other hints as well.

There will be a lot at the party beautiful women, - Fred Osgood told him and grinned. - The weekend looks like it will be a success. During the day we will take care of business, look through bank documents, and in the evening we will admire the beauties.

Gloria Osgood took the glass of sherry from her husband's hands and smiled.

You know, Fred is right. I'm sure many will want to meet you.

“Very nice,” France lied politely. And why is it that only women of a certain age view all unmarried men as some kind of challenge? - But I didn’t plan to stay...

Oh please stay! - Patricia Jenkins took his arm. - Really, France, it will be fun. My sister Laura will come from London. I didn't tell you about her?

Attention, France told himself, you have to be careful. He knew that smile and that casual tone well.

No, they didn't tell me.

How's that? Yes, she's coming, and I'm sure you'll get along great.

No doubt.

This was already the second lie. He didn’t pin any hopes on this acquaintance, but he wasn’t new to the game either. Mothers, aunts, wives of acquaintances... Sometimes it seemed to him that every woman on the planet had a daughter, sister or niece, whom, in their opinion, he should definitely like.

France has long been accustomed to treating this philosophically. He's thirty-four, single, has money, property, and, based on what random girlfriends have said, good looks. The only thing he lacks - again according to women - is a wife. But why does he need her?

And yet, France did not want to offend his owner, hostess, friend and his wife. So he stayed for the party and started looking for that same woman. A polite “hello”, an equally polite parting with reference to the need to get up early - this, according to his calculations, will be quite enough.

However, it turned out differently. He came across not a woman, but an angry, hissing wild cat. There were many women in his life. Some might say that it is more than necessary. But like this!..

She threw herself into his arms as if there were no other men on earth. She kissed him with such fury... And how her body rang in his hands! God, she set him on fire! Her orgasm gave him a feeling of omnipotence, and his own, which followed a few seconds later, shook him to the core. But when he tried to draw her to him, she pulled away from his embrace and asked him to leave, making it clear that he had played his part and could go to hell.

And she went to the bathroom. He heard the lock click, and for a moment he was overcome with a mad desire to tear down the door, grab her, throw her on the bed and show that he could not take advantage of a man and throw him away like garbage.

The boy he once was would have done just that. The man he became did no such thing. He dressed in the dark and returned to his room in the silent, sleeping house.

The horse snorted and danced under him. France slapped his palm across the satiny skin. Laura Cranston was not just a memory, but an unpleasant memory. So why can't he get her out of his head?

He remembered that evening again. I remembered how he asked where to find Laura, and how someone laughed and pointed at a woman who was demanding a drink from the bartender. France watched her for a while, deciding what to do, intervene, like a gentleman, or stay on the sidelines and watch the scene to the end.

Crap! He was no gentleman. And they never will be. But Fred Osgood was the man of the house, Chris Jenkins was his friend and partner, and the woman performing the comedy outside the bar was Patricia Jenkins' sister and stepdaughter of Fred.

To some extent, every entrepreneur risks their business. Starting your own business requires courage and confidence. But a lot depends on personal qualities and business opportunities, reports inc.com.

Some entrepreneurs risk everything and still win. Most calculate the level of risk and analyze the market or situation.

Depending on what's at stake and how likely it is that things will go exactly as planned, a risky decision can easily turn into a reckless one. In addition to evaluating their decisions, entrepreneurs should reflect on themselves and their overall comfort with uncertainty.

Consider these five areas:

Finance

Ted Bilich, Founder and CEO Risk Alternatives says that an entrepreneur's risk appetite is not just a series of decisions or a personality trait. You must consider your financial performance and the safety net you have if something goes wrong.

In his opinion, entrepreneurs must consider who will be primarily affected by their decision. Are you willing to take risks that will negatively impact your career or the income of your family, subordinates, and stakeholders?

Amount of risk

The first step in managing risks is taking a risk inventory to know where you currently face uncertainty and what dangers future decisions may bring. An audit can reveal which pattern you are following. For example, you may notice that you often hesitate to do something unexpected or, on the contrary, put everything at risk for the sake of one project.

“If you don't know what your current risks are, you won't be able to determine whether you're willing to take on new ones,” Bilikh says.

Bilikh notes that entrepreneurs need honest people around. If you are supported by friends and family, it will be easier to take risks, since you will be confident that the “support group” will always give honest review about the work done.

Bias

Some people tend to be pessimistic about their predictions, while others are overly confident. Bilikh says you have to define how you view a situation to understand how you make decisions.

For example, if you tend to be too optimistic about your capabilities, then realizing this, you will begin to look for someone who will express an objective opinion. Conversely, a pessimistic point of view can cause you to perceive any action as riskier, and you will miss good opportunities.

"Night" factor

Alexander Lowry, director of Gordon College's master's program, calls this the "nighttime sleep factor."

“If what you are considering will disturb your sleep, then it is not the best choice", he warns. Think more carefully.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What's the worst case scenario?
• What is the growth potential?
• What happens if I don't take this chance?
• What will I gain from this experience?

If, when assessing the five areas above, you determine that now is not a good time, you may want to rethink your decision-making process.

This doesn't mean you can't now take risks and make mistakes. Just make sure you evaluate each decision correctly. By examining your comfort level with risk, you'll be better prepared to avoid decisions that will negatively impact your business, your employees and loved ones, or your health.

1. In criminal law, the problem of risk arises only if the risky action is associated with a danger to law enforcement interests or with causing harm to them. A circumstance that excludes in this case criminal liability for the harm caused is a justified risk.

According to Art. 42 of the Criminal Code, justified risk as a circumstance that excludes the criminality of an action is the commission of an action (action or inaction) associated with causing harm to the law enforcement interests of a person, society or state in order to achieve a significant socially useful goal, if this goal in a given situation could not be achieved non-risky action (inactivity) and the preventive measures taken by the person gave sufficient grounds to expect that harm to law enforcement interests would be avoided.

Performing an action associated with risk (risky action) is a subsidiary (additional) right. The subject can use it only in a situation in which achieving a significant socially useful goal without risky action is impossible.

2. Justified risk has its grounds and signs. These grounds are: 1) the presence of an objective situation that indicates the need to achieve a significant socially useful goal; 2) the impossibility of achieving this goal through a non-risky action; 3) the person takes preventive measures to prevent harm to law enforcement interests. Only in their unity do they justify a person’s performance of an action associated with risk.

3. An objective situation that causes the need to achieve a significant socially useful goal, in some cases may consist in the presence of danger (for example, a threat to the life of a patient with a medical risk; the danger of the territory being captured by the enemy with a military risk, etc.), and in others - in the need to obtain new knowledge (in case of research risk) or in preventing large surpluses or obtaining significant benefits (in case of economic risk), etc.

4. For risk, it is necessary to establish the impossibility for a given person, in the current situation, to achieve the goal by a non-risky action. If, for example, the situation requires saving the life of a sick person, preventing economic breakdowns, obtaining property benefits, etc., then turning to a risky action is possible only in the absence of other, non-risky means of achieving these goals. If it is established that the person who committed this action had a real opportunity (and she was aware of this) to achieve her goal through non-risky actions, but she did not take advantage of this opportunity and caused harm to law enforcement interests, she is subject to liability for this harm on a general basis.

5. Carrying out a risky action requires a person to take the necessary preventive measures that give her sufficient grounds to expect that harm will not be caused to law enforcement interests. Such measures depend on the nature of the risky action (inactivity), the scope of its distribution, real possibilities subject, etc. (for example, training and instructing service personnel in case of research risks, manufacturing or installing the necessary equipment, organizing security, etc.). These measures must be sufficient (from the subject’s point of view) to prevent harm to law enforcement interests.

In the end, the preventive measures taken should allow the person to reasonably, and not frivolously (self-confidently) count on avoiding harm. This means that only those risky actions that do not inevitably cause harm can be recognized as justified. The peculiarity of risk lies in the fact that its commission always contains the possibility of causing harm to law enforcement interests, however, the degree of such possibility, given a justified risk, in any case should not reach the inevitability of causing harm. If it is obvious to a person that, despite the preventive measures taken, risky actions will inevitably lead to harm, the justification of the risk is excluded.

6. The following are recognized as signs of an action associated with risk: 1) its purpose; 2) the object of harm; 3) the nature of the action; 4) its timeliness and 5) the limits of harm.

7. Purpose. Part 1 art. 42 of the Criminal Code stipulates that a risky action must be committed to achieve a significant socially useful goal. Such a goal could be, for example, preventing a man-made accident, obtaining new knowledge, saving a patient, etc. If a person, causing harm to law enforcement interests, strives to achieve narrowly selfish, careerist or other similar goals that are devoid of a socially useful nature, such a risk is justified doesn't count. If the risk is justified, then the socially useful goal must be significant. The concept of the significance of such a goal is evaluative. Nevertheless, in any case, it must be so highly significant as to be comparable with the harm that is caused to the object of criminal legal protection. Risky actions to achieve an insignificant, even socially useful goal are not legal. In the end, the lawful nature of such an action is provided by the very presence of the specified goal, regardless of whether the person managed to achieve this goal.

8. The object of causing harm with justified risk is the legal interests of a person (for example, her life, health or property), public interests (for example, public safety, public order, traffic safety) or the interests of the state (for example, the inviolability of state borders, preservation of state secrets, authority of power, order of management).

9. Nature of action. Justified risk from the outside coincides with the actual signs of some crime provided for by the Criminal Code (for example, murder, causing bodily harm, leaving in danger, destruction or damage to property, revealing state secrets, violation of fire safety rules, etc.). According to Part 1 of Art. 42 risky action can be expressed in both active (action) and passive (inactivity) behavior. Such an action must ultimately harm law enforcement interests. This pity can be of two types: 1) placing the object of criminal legal protection in danger of causing harm or 2) actually causing harm to him.

10. The timeliness of a risky action lies in the fact that it must be performed only during the existence of its basis (conditions for a justified risk). If this basis has not yet arisen or, on the contrary, is already past, then the commission of a risky action that caused harm to law enforcement interests may attract liability on a general basis.

11. The limits of causing harm in Art. 42 of the Criminal Code are not directly defined. At the same time, a conclusion about such boundaries can be made on the basis of Part 3 of Art. 42, which states that a risk is not considered justified if it knowingly created a threat to the lives of other people or the threat of an environmental disaster or other emergency events. It follows from this that putting other valuables in danger or actually causing harm to them should be recognized as lawful if such a pity met the requirements enshrined in Part 1 of Art. 42 (for example, causing harm to the health of several people during research risk in order to obtain a highly effective medicine for the treatment of a dangerous disease or causing significant material damage to the shareholders of an enterprise in conditions of justified economic risk in order to obtain large profits, etc.).

12. Exceeding the limits of causing harm (excess of a risky action) is possible only if there are grounds for committing a risky action, i.e. in conditions (in a state of) justified risk. The excess of a risky action is the infliction of harm to law enforcement interests that is clearly inconsistent with the significance of the socially useful goal that the person who took the risk sought to achieve. In any case, such an excess is recognized as the known creation of a threat to the lives of other people or the threat of an environmental disaster or other emergency events (Part 3 of Article 42 of the Criminal Code). Thus, the law allows situations where a person, through his actions, can clearly create a threat to his own life, but does not allow such a threat to be created for the lives of other people. At the same time, both the life and health of other persons can be the object of risky actions only with the consent of these persons. This follows from Part 3 of Art. 28 of the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which no person can be subjected to medical, scientific or other experiments without her free consent. The threat of environmental disaster is recognized as the threat of persistent and irreversible negative changes in environment, which can lead to the impossibility of living of the population and maintaining economic activity in a certain area. The threat of an emergency event is the threat of an accident, catastrophe, the spread of an epidemic, epizootic, epiphytotic, large fire, means of destruction, etc., which can lead to human or material losses.

The excess of a risky action is subject to qualification under the articles of the Criminal Code, which provide for liability for umisna or careless causing of harm to various objects of criminal legal protection.

Business, as we know, is based on risk, because entrepreneurship already involves the actions of subjects economic activity at their own risk. However, justified risk differs from rash (reckless) steps.

The first represents the actions of entrepreneurs, businessmen, and company executives mediated by certain conditions in an uncertain, non-standard environment. But the second option is a risk that is not supported by the arguments of logic and rationalism.

A businessman can take risks only when success is predicted and the positive is of a natural nature.

The most common causes of risk are randomness, uncertainty and opposition.

Uncertainty is the result of lack of knowledge, i.e. insufficiency, incompleteness of knowledge, awareness of the mechanisms of activity of the business sphere. This does not allow for effective business activities.

Randomness is the impossibility of foreseeing how a phenomenon will occur in specific or developing conditions.

Opposition is a manifestation of uncertainty in providing the company or entrepreneur with the necessary resources, violation of contractual obligations by counterparties, and negative aspects in government regulation.

The most clear distinction is made between justified and unjustified risks. When assessing a business, you must first determine whether there is any real risk at all. And then find out whether it is justified or unjustified.

According to subjective characteristics, business risks are classified into:

inherent in the state as a whole;

related to the privatization of property, corporatization; arising from the ineffectiveness of internal control and accounting;

investment;

financial;

depending on internal corporate settlements, the degree of solvency of debtors;

technological;

environmental.

There is a special procedure to identify and assess the degree of risk: . It combines various methodological procedures used to study risk.

This procedure helps to promptly select the optimal solution in any business area. Today it is becoming the most effective tool for predicting the development of economic events and microeconomic objects that serve as the basis of market relations.

In most cases, tactics and the choice of specific business moves directly depend on the personality of the entrepreneur himself, the leader. It is he who decides whether it is worth taking risks in a given situation and which particular path to choose from the available ones (calm or risky).

But there are so-called forced risks, the occurrence of which for business processes is completely independent of the will of the entrepreneur. For example, the risks inherent in states in general represent external objective factors that significantly influence business activities.

If you really want to, they can, of course, be predicted to one degree or another, but it is very difficult to predict them with high accuracy.

It turns out that the risks are different. And a justified risk is possible only when a participant in a business process purposefully takes it of his own free will.

At the same time, such a risk should be accompanied by the success of the activities carried out and positive results.

How could she, Stefanie Brand, a seasoned executive at a prestigious firm working with talented kids in the entertainment industry, lose herself like a teenager? Stephie didn't know anyone named Ward until an angry stranger in a worn denim suit and work boots... staged a dirty showdown in one of the best restaurants in Nashville, loudly accusing her of molesting minors. For Quentin Ward, the concept of show business is associated only with scandals, drugs and drunken orgies. He will not allow his son to repeat his mistake...

It didn't take long before she found herself in Quentin's passionate embrace. And then she agreed with the plan developed by her concerned father. But this cunning charade soon drove her into a real dead end, as soon as she realized how painful it was to be torn between father and boy, wanting to keep each: one as an adopted son, the other as a skilled lover and devoted friend...

1

Are you Stefania Brand?

Taking her eyes off the magazine, she saw a yellow hat on the tablecloth.

So are you Stefania Brand?

Blinking in surprise, she raised her head and met the eyes of the one who had spoken her name with such a threat.

I demand that you stop seducing my son. Leave him alone, don't you dare give him gifts. Stop all this, otherwise I will accuse you of immoral behavior. - The stranger’s face was pale, but he spoke loudly and expressively in order to attract the attention of other visitors to La Chalet. Pulling herself together, Stephy began to get up and said in a quiet, angry voice:

Who the hell are you and what are you talking about?

Shut up! “With a firm hand, the stranger took her by the shoulder so that she felt strong fingers pressing into her fragile body, and sat her down. “Rob is only seventeen,” he growled, “and you’re probably... thirty-two?” Or thirty-four? It's time for you to switch to adult men!

Stephy had a hard time containing her anger. She had never been a loud, hysterical person, but no one had ever spoken to her in such a tone before. Feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder, she tried to free herself. And suppressing her irritation, she said in a calm voice:

Wait a minute, wait a minute, I don't...

Shut up, lady! - He didn’t give her the opportunity to get up. - All I hear is: Stefania, Stefania and Stefania! When Rob first started talking about you, I thought you were his school tutor,” he said, breathing heavily. “It only dawned on me later,” brown eyes looked at her, and contempt was evident in her gaze. - Are these your quirks? Do you enjoy seducing boys?

She caught her breath:

“I talked to the lawyer,” he waved his finger in front of her nose, “and I can arrange for you to be arrested for immoral behavior, corruption of minors, and use of official position for personal gain.” - The dark-haired stranger reached into the breast pocket of his denim jacket, took out a piece of paper and threw it on the table: - Don’t think that I’m a simpleton and will pay for this!

Stefania, as if hypnotized, watched his actions. The green leaf made an arc in front of her eyes before covering the plate. Pieces of eggs, spinach and seasoning flew in different directions and stained the tablecloth.

Finally, to her relief, the stranger took the hat and turned sharply towards the exit.

With a nervous movement she straightened the collar of her knitted blouse. Restaurant patrons cast suspicious glances at her and whispered to each other. And the seemingly hackneyed phrase: “fall through the ground” came in very handy.

The head waiter was approaching her.

Mademoiselle Brand, I offer my deepest apologies. This... man said that he had urgent business with you, otherwise I would never have let him in.

Bernardo waved his hands desperately.

No suit, no tie. Without pre-booking a table!.. - And then he was dumbfounded. - What is this?

With carefully manicured fingers, he reached into the plate and pulled out a piece of paper.

Horrible!

Realizing that Bernardo's exclamation would draw attention to her again, Stephie frowned.

The salad was wonderful, as always,” she said soothingly. Then she took the piece of paper from his hands, wiped it with a napkin and hid it in her pocket.

Write everything down to my account,” standing up, she shook off the crumbs. - Bernardo, would you be so kind as to drive my car right to the entrance? - Stefania smiled, watching him mutter something as he walked, mixing French and English words, and gesticulates energetically in the Italian manner.

Having gathered her courage, she walked through the hall with a calm expression and even exchanged phrases with some acquaintances. But on the street, she again felt how she was overcome by anger, which never found a way out.

By the time the silver Mercedes pulled up to her office, she had said her mantra several times to calm herself down. After parking the car with the sign “Reserved,” she grabbed her handbag and leather briefcase and angrily slammed the door.

Having filled her lungs with fresh January air, she resumed her usual businesslike appearance.

No need to twitch. “She patted the car door with an apologetic gesture.

You had lunch quickly. - Gloria Lansing raised her eyes over her bifocals and looked at her boss. - I haven’t had time to finish these contracts yet and...

Seeing Stephie waving her hand to shut up, Gloria heard her excited voice.

Do I know anyone named Ward? Name - Rob or Rod? - And, looking at the score, she made an expressive grimace. - Or Quentin Ward? Does he live at Franklin Road, Cedar Hill Villa?

Looking up from the typewriter, Gloria peered at Stephie in amazement. In her two years as an assistant at the firm, she had never seen Stefania Brand in such an excited state. Stephanie was the president of one of Nashville's most prestigious and prosperous music business firms, and her name was synonymous with personal discipline and self-control.

Gloria quickly looked through the massive folder containing information about everyone with whom the company had to deal.

Here are Harleton Ward from Los Angeles, Harry Ward from the group “Queen”, Cale Ward - drummer from the ensemble “Persio of Happiness”, - thoughtfully rubbing her temples, she said: “There is no Rod, no Rob, and no Quentin Ward either.” .

Stephy's brown eyes narrowed.

Find out who they are. - She put the bill from the flower shop on the table. - Pay this bill and cancel all orders on it. It turns out that the magnificent roses that appeared on my table every time had nothing to do with the Pete Stops group. I thought that I received them in gratitude for my help in organizing the recording. And they were sent by some crazy seventeen-year-old youth, whose dad had just accused me of wanting to seduce him! - She waved her hands contemptuously.