Chapter 81: Relighting An Old Flame

June 2, 1997, Chicago, Illinois

“It still feels wrong to me,” I said to the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ who were gathered in my office on Thursday morning.

“I can still set up a conference call for tomorrow,” Kimmy offered.

“The timing is tricky,” I replied. “We aren’t all at lunch at the same time, and our ‘lone wolves’ are kind of left out.”

“Isn’t this why you said only every five years?” Elyse asked.

“Sure, but I couldn’t let the anniversary go without SOME kind of observation. And catered lunches in the offices are OK, but it feels insufficient. I know this is all part of my issue with how NIKA is changing, but our anniversary is important.”

“There’s simply no way to get everyone together every year,” Elyse replied. “Which is why you said every five years. And, to be blunt, in three years, when we have between 200 and 250 people, it’s simply not going to be financially possible.”

“Which is what is truly bothering him,” Eve said.

I nodded, “You’re right - the thought of what happens at years 15 or 20 is weighing heavily on me. I’ve basically come to terms with not knowing everyone, but the idea that we can’t get together as a company, ever again, just rubs me the wrong way. I understand the finances, and I know it’s not practical, but it still bugs me. I suppose the only reasonable thing to do is leave it up to the directors of each region as to how best to handle both the anniversary and Christmas, excuse me, holiday, celebration.”

“You did NOT appreciate that suggestion from Bob,” Elyse said.

“No, I didn’t, but Sam and I talked about it, and she pointed out that I’ve made a point of wishing her, and others ‘Happy Chanukah’. And we now have our first Muslim employee in Los Angeles, so there’s that issue, too. But their calendar doesn’t line up with anything else, so it’s not easy to wish them anything at the time, though Bob did add the main holidays for Judaism and Islam to the company calendar.”

“And next come Buddhist and Hindu?” Charlie asked. “I have several Indians in my most recent hires.”

“Ask them,” I said. “Or have Bob ask them. NIKA is completely multicultural. Which includes allowing everyone to take their preferred religious holidays off.”

“That started from day one, right?” Deborah asked. “Dave and Julia?”

“Exactly,” I replied. “And we’ve informally allowed it, but as with our other ‘big company’ behavior, we need to formalize it, though with manager discretion for accommodation.”

“Bob is concerned about our contracts with customers which bind the contractors to the other company’s work schedule,” Deborah said.

“That’s standard in our industry,” Charlie said. “We accommodate as best we can, but in the end, the client decides. I discussed it with Bob and there really isn’t any way we can work around that except address things on a case-by-case basis. We simply can’t adopt non-standard contract language in that area and hope to compete.”

“The law only requires reasonable accommodation,” Deborah replied. “For example, you don’t have to adapt an employee’s work week to match what amounts to a Thursday-Friday weekend for Muslim employees if your business doesn’t allow for it. It’s even debatable if you would have to allow an Orthodox Jew to leave work early during the Winter so as to be home by sunset on Friday.”

“Are there any other accommodations we need to worry about?” Kimmy asked.

Deborah shook her head, “Not really. Anything else would have to be on a case-by-case basis, and our policies are already friendly to the most common accommodation - pregnancy and childbirth. This building has an elevator, so there isn’t a problem with wheelchairs or anything like that. The other offices are all either ground floor or have elevator access, and the ground floors of all buildings are ADA compliant.”

“Good,” I replied. “What’s the mood of the troops?”

“Overall, I’d say pretty good,” Elyse said. “We’ve had a few minor issues but nothing earth-shattering.”

“Care to share?”

“Just people getting used to doing things our way, that’s all. Nothing that even warrants a conversation with anyone more than the individual’s direct supervisor. I only know because I specifically asked. And I only did that because I knew you would ask!”

“OK. That’s to be expected, I think. I do want to hear about any major issues so the six of us can discuss them. Eve, how are things going with Mario’s office space?”

“I’m flying out next week to check out the space. I guess you have no interest given the Pens were eliminated and aren’t playing for the Cup.”

“Thank you so much for bringing up such a painful subject! While you’re at it, why don’t you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?“

All five women laughed.

“So, Boss,” Eve asked with a sly grin, “is there a shortage of perfect breasts here?”

“NO!” I declared firmly, causing the women to laugh again.

“Good answer!” Kimmy replied with a huge smile.

“I think that’s all for today’s meeting,” I said. “I’ll put together a memo about company celebrations, run it by Deborah and Bob, and send it out.”

“Any news on Lisa Glass?” Charlie asked.

“She had her extradition hearing yesterday and the judge ruled there are no grounds to deny Texas’ application. Texas has to send someone up to get her, because the Marshals don’t normally handle transporting state prisoners.”

“No federal charges?” Kimmy asked.

“I don’t think they’ll bother,” I replied. “This is a capital murder case. Texas is unlikely to execute her, so that means life in maximum security. And Texas does not fuck around with stuff like that.”

“Why won’t they execute her?” Eve asked.

“According to Melanie, the last execution of a female in Texas was during the Civil War. And only one woman has been executed nationwide since they brought the death penalty back. There is a woman on Death Row in Texas who has run out of appeals, but nobody knows what will happen. Melanie thinks Governor Bush will sign the execution warrant because he’s going to run for President in three years.”

“And let the anti-Bush family rants begin!” Elyse teased.

“Because an oil man who is the managing partner of the group that owns the Texas Rangers baseball club is a GREAT choice for President, even if he’s NOT a Bush?!”

“So can we make the Vanessa Williams jokes again?” she asked.

I chuckled, “The Democrats will run her because they know she can lick Bush?”

The girls all broke up laughing again.

“Maybe I should run,” Deborah said.

“You’re not thirty-five,” I replied. “Sorry.”

“As if I would want THAT job! No sane person wants that job!”

“Oh, I don’t know, Jesse would probably want it,” Elyse said.

“No,” I replied with a grin. “Jesse would be OK with being an absolute monarch or tsar or dictator for life, but he is NOT interested in being President! And Birgit would be worse! Can you imagine being a ‘boy’ if Birgit were some kind of absolute ruler?”

“You’d be fine!” Elyse replied. “The entire rest of humanity who has Y chromosomes would be in serious trouble!”

“Not if they bow down and kiss her feet!” Charlie laughed. “Even Jesse was doing that for a while.”

“Until he decided it was time to end the repressive Birgit regime!” I grinned.

“Jesse Jackson?” Deborah asked.

“Yes. He said that about Reagan. I respectfully disagree.”

“You would,” she replied flatly.

“Compared to the alternatives? Carter and Mondale?”

“You might have a point,” Deborah said. “But would you have accepted Dukakis to avoid President Bush?”

“A man does have to have SOME standards,” I replied.

“Just to be completely clear, I didn’t vote for Dukakis, despite being a Democrat!” Deborah replied.

“Because you’re an intelligent woman!”

“You only employ intelligent women!” Kimmy declared.

“Very true!” I replied. “And now, I think that’s it.”

The ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ left, and I went back to my desk. A few minutes later, Penny arrived back from a meeting which had allowed me to have my meeting in our shared office.

That evening, we celebrated Matthew’s tenth birthday. I took the time to marvel at how quickly it seemed my kids were growing up. I’d met Elyse when I was sixteen, and had now known her more than half my life, and had lived with her for almost sixteen years. It was going to be very strange when she moved out a couple of years in the future, but that was a result of a series of decisions I’d made over the years, but life had taught me that there were all kinds of negative outcomes, and as my mind went to Stephie, Jorge, and Nick, I knew just how lucky I was.

June 5, 1997, Chicago, Illinois

“They can do that?” I asked Deborah, somewhat taken aback.

“Yes. Because the bankruptcy petition was voluntary, they can move to withdraw it. They were operating under the chapter 11 ‘debtor in possession’ rules.”

“I missed that day in law school,” I replied.

“‘Debtor in possession’ means exactly that - Lone Star kept possession of all corporate assets. It let them pay employees, buy supplies, pay for services, and so on. And they were operating, as you know.”

“Yes, though quite a few staff have left. It’s a downward spiral. That’s why I’m surprised they filed the motion. Is that basically automatic or is it up to the court?”

“It’s a regular motion and the court will, «sua sponte», do an analysis as to what’s in the best interest of the creditors.”

“Hang on!” I interrupted. “I don’t recall that Latin phrase from my reading.”

“It means ‘for itself’. Basically, there are areas where the court may take actions on its own accord without motions from any of the parties.”

“Sorry. Go on.”

“Obviously we don’t know the details, but I would say that whatever arrangement they worked out with the IRS and US Attorney didn’t deplete all their capital the way they thought it might. Basically, what the chapter 11 filing gave them was breathing room - they didn’t have to pay creditors and could continue operating. They would have listed the tax debt and fines as liabilities in support of their filing.”

“What about a sale?”

“That’s entirely possible. If they came to terms with the government, and found a buyer, then dismissing the bankruptcy claim would make sense. One thing you might not have known, is that when they file the petition, they have sixty days to file their full disclosure statement listing their liabilities, assets, as well as any other relevant information on company operations. By dismissing, they don’t have to do that. I would also suggest that because the debts they knew they’d owe to the government were unknown, they might have been able to get an extension on that. They were a fully-going concern, right?”

“Absolutely,” I replied. “But they would have to talk to me before they sold, right?”

“I think so. I’m not a bankruptcy expert, and it can be tricky, but I’m reasonably sure a voluntary dismissal puts everything back exactly the way it was before. And wasn’t your deal with Dallas Capital Partners, not Lone Star?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t get served on any bankruptcy petitions, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Then your agreement is still in place. What remedies does the contract specify?”

“Money damages as a percentage of the sales price, with a minimum amount, and an automatic lien on DCPs assets.”

“Do they HAVE any assets?” Deborah asked.

“Lone Star isn’t their only investment. And we haven’t seen what kind of plea agreement Manny, Brad, or the rest of them have made on the criminal charges. And the more I think about this, something just doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lone Star is a sinking ship. The only reasons they’re still in business are the monthly support fees and anyone who renews because they can’t get off the Lone Star system quickly. Cindi has several conversions in the pipeline, but they take time, and there is retraining, even with our customizable UI. But why would someone buy them? That’s what makes no sense. Why not just do what we and our competitors are doing - pick off the lucrative customers and wait for the others to come to us? We’re getting the ones we want, even if it’s not the bulk of their business.”

“Your purchase of BLS was an asset purchase, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, and I suppose that could make some sense, but I doubt it would be either Chickasaw or Hastings Mill. Whoever it is would have to rebrand it and try to keep the customers. That’s a tall order with three big competitors already in the field. Maybe one of the smaller regional or boutique firms buys the assets for a song to gain a larger foothold, but why would DCP sell Lone Star on the cheap? Once again, I’m convinced we’re missing something.”

“Cincinnati?” Deborah asked.

“Braun’s kid? It’s possible, but the issues are still the same.”

“Could someone resurrect it?”

“I suppose, but it would be a bad bet. They could improve the odds slightly if they kept Nathan Edwards and made him the figurehead, but even then, the odds of success are long. Why put that kind of money into it?”

“Are they in a worse situation than the previous time?”

“You mean besides the tax evasion and money laundering? And the six arrests?”

“None of which included Edwards.”

“True. He had to sell all his shares to DCP in order to get the company recapitalized. Depending on what they paid him, they may be able to make the numbers work on a sale, as they had already extracted enough value from Lone Star to cover their initial investment. So someone, Braun’s kid, for example, fronts Edwards enough money to rename and rebrand, with Edwards as the face of the company. Hmm. That might be the same ‘rescue’ story they were telling before. But that failure would hang around their necks.”

“Could they keep a quarter of their clients? You know, a core they could build from, even if it wasn’t immediately profitable?”

“Possibly. But if they bought it out of bankruptcy, couldn’t they invalidate my agreement?”

“Probably. You’d have the right to bid on the assets, including the whole firm, but you couldn’t stop a higher bidder. I’m curious, WOULD you buy them?”

“No. But they have to ask before they go through with the sale, or the penalty clause kicks in.”

“You might have to sue DCP to enforce it.”

“How long will it take for the court to act on the dismissal motion?”

“That’s a good question. Let me see if I can find out.”

“OK. I guess I don’t need to do anything until we find out that Lone Star’s been sold, if that’s what’s happening. Check into the situation with the bankruptcy petition and let me know. There is still time for them to tell me, if that’s the plan.”

“Will do.”

She was back just before the end of the day with an update.

“If there are no objections from anyone, it’ll probably be two weeks for the court to act on the motion and file a dismissal order.”

“OK. Then we wait.”

That evening, Jason called to say that their son, Casey William, had arrived, and that Abbie and the baby were doing well.

June 7, 1997, Chicago, Illinois

“Hello, Stranger!” I said when I walked into the dojo on Saturday morning.

“Hi, Sensei!” Jacquelyn Vickers exclaimed. “Congratulations on your promotion!”

“Thank you. And congratulations on your black belt, though I know you earned it some time ago. And congratulations on landing an associate position at Carr, Nelson, and Scott!”

“Thanks. Monday is my first day. I’ll be assigned a mentor and start preparing for the bar exam, while trying to bill 2000 hours!”

“Are you living at home?”

“Temporarily. I’ll start looking for a place right away, since August 1st is just around the corner. Are those your girls with Kara?”

“Yes. Birgit, Stephie, and Ashley. The boys aren’t into karate.”

“They’re getting so big!”

“I know! Did you know this is Will Webber’s last session before his trip to Japan?”

“Sensei Jim told me about the trip when I talked to him about a month ago. You went a few years ago, right?”

“Yes, but only for five weeks.”

“How is your business?”

“It keeps me busy. Between it, the kids, and karate, I don’t have a lot of extra time. But I am taking a couple of vacations this Summer.”

“Mind if I ask where?”

“Our usual family vacation in Iron Mountain in the UP, and then I’m going with Jesse to Russia for a series of hockey games between his former team and a bunch of Russian youth teams.”

“That sounds cool. Former team?”

“He and the oldest kids moved up a level, but the trip to Russia is a reward for winning a tournament last December.”

“Wow! That’s awesome. I hear you’re doing a self-defense class on Saturday afternoons.”

“Hannah and I are, yes, but we could use a third. Neither she nor I can spar.”

“I know about your concussions; what’s the issue with Hannah? Pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“Starting today?”

“If you would.”

“Sure. I don’t have any plans today.”

“Thanks. It’s at 1:00pm. Now we need to line up.”

When class finished, Kara, the girls, and I hurried home for lunch and at 1:00pm I was back at the dojo for the self-defense class. I introduced Jacquelyn to everyone and we began with stretching and then a review of what we’d taught the previous week. Jacqui provided a good live ‘target’, wearing sparring gear, for the women. When we finished, I thanked Jacqui for her help.

“Do you and your friends still do your guys and girls gatherings?”

“Yes. Just call the house and talk to Kara and she’ll fill you in.”

“Thanks. I need to make some new friends; most of my close friends from High School ended up elsewhere or we mostly lost touch after seven years.”

“You’re more than welcome. If you’re seeing someone, he’s invited, too.”

“I was, but he didn’t want to move to Chicago and I didn’t want to stay on the East Coast.”

“I heard you two were pretty serious.”

“We were, but he’s too much New York and I’m too much Chicago, and we couldn’t really solve that problem. I’m not bummed about it; it just means I’m a free woman. I’ll call Kara in the next couple of days. You and Doctor Jessica should come to dinner. My parents would love to see you.”

“It’ll probably have to be after the Summer,” I replied. “I’m booked up pretty solid.”

“Well, if things open up, let me know. And I wouldn’t mind going on a date.”

“Dojo rules forbid that,” I replied.

“I saw that. What happened?”

“A parent thought her daughter was interested in the same thing you were. She wasn’t, by the way, but it created a situation where we had to put the rules in place to protect the dojo.”