Chapter 6: Best Enemy

Aunt Tilda, Mathilda Villier Darlington, received them in her grand dining room. Tilda had married Brent Darlington III, the heir to the Darlington empire of paper mills. She herself was the younger sister of Emmet Villier Junior, and she held fourteen percent of the Villier stock. Her son, the late Brent Darlington IV, had owned another eight percent which she controlled for her granddaughter Margaret Darlington, or Maggie. Those twenty-two percent combined with what other Villier family members held amounted to fifty-two percent of the shares, a block that could out-vote Iris’s forty-eight percent.

Maggie was also there. As far as Tom knew, she was old Tilda’s favourite relative. She had been adopted by Brent Darlington IV, Tilda’s son, as an infant, and it was clear that part of her ancestry hailed from China. She was pretty, and she was bright. At twenty-eight, she held an MBA from Cornell and had three years experience in a Philadelphia consulting firm. Still, she would never enjoy the voting rights of her inherited shares. The bylaws of Villier Pharmaceuticals Inc. stipulated that only bloodline descendants of Emmet Villier Senior had voting rights in the shareholder meetings. The company was wholly family owned and controlled.

Tom disliked Tilda heartily, and he knew that she reciprocated his sentiment. Her greeting for him was scathing.

“Hello, Thomas. You should really put more effort in your work. Hiram complains about you all the time.”

“Hello, Tilly. Nice to see you too,” Tom answered recklessly, knowing full well that she hated it when he addressed her as ‘Tilly’. “That’s Hiram for you, always running his mouth about others.”

“You really should be more respectful to your superiors.”

“But I am, Tilly. Only, Hiram may be my boss, but he’s certainly not my superior.”

“Aunt Mathilda, you asked us to visit,” Iris cut in.

“No, I asked you to visit,” Tilda replied acidly.

Tom could sense Iris’s insecurity but she stood her ground. “Aunt Mathilda, Tom and I have been married for almost nine years. It’s time you accepted that. Now, are we welcome or should we leave?”

“Humph! If he wants to stay he better show some manners!”

“You know, Tilly, I’m only answering in kind,” Tom shot back. “Besides, I don’t want to stay. I’m doing this as a favor for my wife.”

Poor Maggie’s eyes ping-ponged between Tom and Tilda. Obviously, she had never heard anybody contradict her grandmother. Tom gave the young woman a smile.

“Hi, Maggie. Nice to see you again. Don’t worry. Tilly and I are old enemies, ever since I called her brother ‘Old Bluenose’. He didn’t like me either.”

“Hey, Tom. Hey, Iris. Grandmother, why don’t we sit?”

“Very well. Ponderey, bring in the wine cart. And perhaps some beer for Mr. Verkade?”

“Just water, Mr. Ponderey,” Tom interjected. “I’m driving. Besides, whatever beer you have is probably just domestic crap.”

And so the verbal sparring continued. They sat at the dinner table and worked their way through hors d’oeuvres, a Lady Curzon soup, a marinated roast beef, and then a heavy cheese cake. Tom ate lightly, only just sampling, and not feeling much appetite. Once coffee was served, Tilda finally spilled her guts.

“I wanted to speak to you, Iris. You know that I’m not getting younger. Ever since Brent died, Maggie has been my sole heir and companion. To make it short, I would like to leave my shares to her when I’ll pass on. You know the rules, too. The bylaws say she cannot execute her ownership rights.”

Iris nodded. “You want a change in the bylaws, I take it?”

Tilda showed her surprise at Iris’s perceptiveness. “Yes. Yes, indeed. I propose to extend ownership rights to legally adopted children of bloodline descendants. Mind you, this is not about opening the door to just anybody, but Margaret grew up as a Villier.”

Iris was tilting her head and Tom could see that she was mulling this for a few moments.

“Let us say that I’m not averse to your proposal. Still, what’s in it for me? I am the largest shareholder, yet I have virtually no control over the company. The senior VPs can make all the really important decisions. This reduces me almost to a ceremonial position. I want oversight. I want the last word.”

“My dear Iris, of course you want that. But think about it! Can you really expect experienced men like Hiram or even the brilliant young Mr. Moran to do your bidding? Besides, you would probably give your husband some important position, and we cannot afford that.”

“Don’t worry about that, Tilly. I’m leaving Villier by the end of the month.”

“Really? How come I don’t know about that? Hiram certainly never told me.”

“That’s because I haven’t told him yet,” Tom grinned. “I tendered my resignation to the President and she accepted. Hiram has to wait his turn to learn of it.”

Maggie cut in at that point. “What are your plans if I may ask?”

“I have a very attractive job offer outside Villier,” Tom replied guardedly. “Recent structural changes left me without prospects in the company, and the offer was just too good to pass.”

“I must say that I am astounded. Who would hire you?” Tilda sneered.

“A local consortium,” Tom answered. “You don’t know them. They are new to the business, but they have deep pockets.”

“Back to my demands,” Iris cut in.

“Oh yes. With Tom leaving, things may look different. I’ll talk to the others about it.”

“You do that, Aunt Mathilda. Another thing: shouldn’t Maggie become part of Villier if she is a shareholder and with her background?”

“I have thought about that of course. Do you think she might fit in?”

“Why not? She has all the right qualifications.”

“Do you have anything in mind for me?” Maggie asked with barely concealed eagerness.

Iris smiled. “I need better support. Somebody I can trust. How about a new position as personal assistant of the president? Once I get full oversight, my PA would be the Nº2 at Villier.”

Tom suppressed a grin. That had been well done by Iris. The position offered to Maggie was only worth taking if Iris indeed gained control over Villier. In turn, if Tilda wanted her granddaughter in a prominent position she had to support Iris’s bid for power. As if echoing Tom’s thoughts the old woman answered grudgingly.

“That’s an interesting idea and something to ponder. Let us meet again in a few days. I have your word that your husband leaves the company?”

“Tilly, you have my word on that. Production division sucks, and I can’t wait to leave,” Tom answered in Iris’s stead.

“The end of the month you say? Let us meet after that. Pardon me for saying this, but I don’t trust your husband fully.”

Iris gave him a worried look, but Tom was impervious to the old woman’s baiting. He just grinned at her.

“I understand. You’ve been cheated on too much to trust men,” he said lightly. Brent Darlington had been a notorious womanizer with a half dozen illegitimate children. As expected, Tilda blanched with anger at the taunt, also because three illegitimate children had cut into her own inheritance.

“Things are bound to improve once you leave Villier,” she grated back.

“Now that was pleasant,” Tom quipped once they sat in his Saab again. “Poor Maggie was embarrassed the whole time.”

“I’m sorry, Tom. I had no idea she would be so nasty.”

“Don’t sweat it. It’s a mutual dislike. You know, get some outside counsel when you negotiate with her. She owns Trevor Charles.”

Charles was chief counsel and had been that for over twenty-five years.

“Yeah, you’re right. I may get Maggie in the boat though. She’s bright, and with her background she should hold her own.”

Tom looked at his watch. “By now, Hiram should know that I’m leaving.”

“Well, he should be relieved seeing how he always complained about you.”

“This is an unprecedented intrusion into the running of my division!”