Chapter 2: A Tangling of Vines

"Good grief!" Alvin exclaimed, glancing at the breakfast menu. "Did you see the prices? I thought we were eating breakfast, for crissake, not buying a car."

"Another of the joys of New York City," Frank agreed. "I'm having a couple of eggs over easy with the trimmings. I'm hoping it'll last me until dinner. I just had a sandwich and a beer last night from room service and watched the ballgame on TV."

"It's just going to be the fruit plate for me," said Alvin. "I hate flying when I've had too much to eat."

"How did the dinner with the Senator go?"

"He sure knows how to order off the top of the menu when it's on someone else's tab," Alvin said, letting his frustration show. "Otherwise, I felt like I was talking to the wall."

"We'll have to bake those increased Superfund Taxes into our forecast, in that case."

Alvin nodded. "Changing the subject," he continued, "are you still sure about the delay on the stock offering?"

"Absolutely!" Frank replied. "The stock market's just too unreceptive to a new stock offering right now. We'd be selling a big share of the company for too little money. We'll notify the SEC and convert this to a shelf registration."

"We had plans for that cash," Alvin reminded. "There's the R&D facility and the acquisition plan."

"I'm meeting with some bankers to talk about interim lines of credit," Frank informed him. "I'll let you know how it goes."

"The Board will need updating," Alvin said. "You should get to the Finance Committee members real quick, before they hear about it through the rumor mill. They'll be okay with it if we keep them informed. We've got good reasons."

"I'll get my secretary to arrange a conference call for tomorrow," Frank assured him. "Do you want to be part of that?

Alvin shook his head. "There's nothing for me to add that you can't take care of. They've got to start listening to you. You're the CFO now; lay it out for 'em."

"I also need to get the auditors to change the 10-Q, and when you get back from Europe, you'll need some prep for the quarterly phone conference." Alvin rolled his eyes, then nodded that he understood. The quarterly phone conferences weren't his favorite task.

"We should redo the forecast with this change in mind," Frank added. "We've got to stay on forecast. Any slips will have a big negative impact. The market will think we've delayed the offering for internal reasons."

"Get that going right away," Alvin agreed. "Keep it to a need-to-know basis until I have a chance to get this meeting with the takeover candidate in Germany behind me. I'm going to have to buy some time."

"Better move fast. These kinds of secrets don't stay secret for long," Frank said. He took a bite of his whole wheat toast and thought for a second. "This could turn out to be a good thing. We might want to reassess our position on this European deal."

"You're still opposed to it," Alvin replied. "I don't understand..."

"I said that I would support it if it came to pass," Frank countered. "I just think that Europe is a tough market. There are a lot of big, long-established companies there already and the regulation is even worse than in the States. I'm nervous about acquiring the pharmaceutical division of the acquisition target. It's not our traditional business and it will require mountains of capital."

"I agree with you on that," Alvin nodded. "The problem is that if we try to spin off that division the EU will block the merger. They're afraid of concentration in the drug sector."

"Sometimes you've got to be willing to walk away," Frank replied.

"What would you do with the money?" Alvin asked.

"As I said before, I'd fund the R&D facility and buy out some of those old pension liabilities."

"What about buying back those outstanding bonds?" Alvin asked.

Frank shook his head. "I wouldn't endorse raising equity capital to replace debt capital."

"I'll think about what you said on my flight over," Alvin said. "What've you got in store today?"

"A big day!" Frank exclaimed. "I'm meeting with the underwriters and the lawyers to finalize the shelf filing for the SEC this morning. I've got an interview at one o'clock with a candidate to take my place as Controller. Our attorneys promised to lend me one of their spare offices for that. I'm having an early dinner with Paul Riley from Citicorp about the interim credit lines. Then, a quick cab out to JFK to catch the red-eye to Houston."

"Sounds like you're gonna need that big breakfast," Alvin joked.

"Hopefully, I'll have some time to buy Trudy something. I called her this morning. She said it's been hot in Texas and she had to cool off in the pool."

"Hey, speaking of Trudy," Alvin spoke up, "how'd she enjoy your installment dinner last week?"

"Fine, I suppose," Frank answered. "Those big gala things aren't really her cup of tea."

"Well, she sure looked nice," Alvin said. "She was nice," he corrected himself. "She should spend some time with Gloria and the other wives more. They get together around our pool quite a lot. Gloria can get Trudy involved in her charity projects."

"I don't know, Alvin," Frank protested. "Trudy doesn't..."

"It'll be just the thing. She'll have a great time, and it's good for our corporate image," Alvin insisted.

"I'll mention it to her. It would be fine with me, but it's really up to her," Frank answered.

A waiter approached their table carrying a cordless phone. "Mr. Alvin Warner?" the waiter asked. "Call for you, sir." He handed Alvin the phone.

"That was the front desk letting me know my airport car's ready. Mind picking up the tab for me, Frank? I need to get moving to the airport."

Gloria arrived with the company car to pick Brenda up at her residence. The car was more than a sedan, but not quite a limo and came complete with driver. Normally, it was assigned to Alvin when he was in town. Since he was in New York, and then off to Europe, it was at Gloria's disposal.

Brenda noticed that Gloria had a faraway look on her face as she approached the waiting car. She decided not to mention it; Gloria's moods were quite ephemeral and opening a can of worms didn't seem like a very good idea. She quietly slipped into the back seat with her as the driver held the door open. They drove for a mile or more. Brenda said 'hello', but Gloria didn't answer. She decided to be patient and let her hostess come around.

"I hope you didn't get too dressed up for the dedication," Gloria said, right on cue. "It puts the children off if you're dressed up too much."

"I don't know, what do you think?" Brenda asked. "I thought with the press taking pictures, it would be better..."

"They won't be interested in you," Gloria snapped, "just in me; I'm in charge of this. Of course they'll really be most interested in the teachers—and, of course, the children."

"Sorry," Brenda mumbled.

"Oh, Brenda," Gloria pleaded, "please forgive me. Alvin has me in a bad mood again. I tried to tell him all about the dedication this morning when I called him in New York, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept on and on about business, business, business. He doesn't know how much this means to me."

"It's okay, Gloria. I..."

"I shouldn't take it out on you," Gloria conceded, covering Brenda's hand with her own. "I'll make it up to you with lunch afterward at the Continental Room. Maybe we'll have a swim at my house after that." She paused and gave Brenda that peculiar look. "Anyway, you look just fine."

"You've worked hard on this project, Gloria."

"It was a real labor of love, I must admit. I suppose I should be thanking Alvin for it. He's the one who arranged the funding from the Company. He had the Western Chemical lawyers set up the Foundation and made me the Executive Director. Look, here's my card."

She handed a business card to Brenda. It read: Western Chemical Community Foundation, with Gloria's name and title. "Of course, it's great PR for the Company. I don't care—I love the children and this preschool-daycare facility will be great for them."

"Gloria, I'm impressed," Brenda gushed as she fingered the card. "How's the pay?"

"I only take a salary of one dollar a year. I'm not in it for the money; I've got plenty, already."

"For the prestige, then?" Brenda asked.

"Believe it or not, it's because I know that I'm doing some good for those poor children. The families can't pay for it on their own. This will give the children a good start for school. Wait 'til you see them—they're so adorable. Then, you'll understand."

"You're surprising me, Gloria," Brenda replied. "I've never known this part of you."

"At first, it was just something to do to stay busy," Gloria said. "Then the children got to me. Once I had some contact with them, I couldn't stop myself."

"I think it's sweet," Brenda said.

Brenda noticed that Gloria shot back a questioning look, which made Brenda realize that the tone of her voice lacked sincerity. She'd have to work on that.

"When Alvin was married to his first wife he got himself vasectomized after they had their two kids," Gloria confided. "This is a special chance for me."

"You knew that there would be no children when you..." Brenda started to say.

"Yes—yes," Gloria answered without waiting for the question, "it was an easy decision back then. Having a family seemed to get in the way of what I wanted. I've only started wondering about it recently. Someday, you'll find out."

Brenda thought it might be a good opportunity to ask Gloria exactly how old she was. She started to utter the question, but pulled back the words just in time. She knew from experience that Gloria's confidences had limits. She might openly discuss her private feelings, but never a private number. Brenda had learned long ago that Gloria dealt severely with attempts to pry. Besides, Gloria's age didn't matter. Alvin's did, because that defined Gloria's longevity in her position—and everyone knew that Alvin was sixty-two.