Chapter 17

It was Tuesday morning following a very eventful week. Kelly's estimate from a week earlier proved to be correct. First the financial papers, then the business sections of the daily press, and finally the general-interest press including TV and the news weeklies, discovered Murphy Manufacturing Company and the first corner on a securities market since the Hunt brothers tried to corner silver. But unlike the Hunt situation which even experts argued over, Murphy was easy to understand.

As one anchorwoman said, "It's nice of them to have an even one million shares. It makes the percentages so easy to calculate." And it sure did. It now appeared that there were nearly 100,000 shares sold which couldn't be delivered — nearly 10 percent of the company's stock. One thing had not happened: The sellers of the shares had not yet surfaced. Today was the settlement day for Tuesday's trades, so it was only a matter of hours.

As Bill had predicted, they had tried to open the stock the previous Wednesday, but ultimately could not. The specialist on the floor reported to the exchange governors that he had bids in his book as high as sixty, but there were no sellers. He had sold out his own position the previous day. When he was criticized for his failure to make an orderly market in the stock, he pointed out how thin the market for the stock was and how few shares were normally traded. The inventory of shares he had would have lasted two to four weeks at any time over the previous three years. Now they went out in a matter of a couple of hours as he tried to make a market.

The governors asked around but could not find any shares for sale even at a hypothetical $100 a share. They gave up and formally suspended the stock from trading. Now they watched and waited.

So far the company security was holding solidly. Too solidly for a couple of kids who were taking a shortcut through a previously unnoticed hole in a fence, and too solidly for a poor pizza delivery man who sheepishly showed the guards surrounding him a large pepperoni pizza he was delivering.

Sandy was sitting across from Cliff with her coffee, giggling to herself. He looked at her strangely. "What's got into you? I didn't think you were the giggling type."

"I was just thinking about yesterday in the cafeteria. You missed the funniest scene in years. I didn't want to embarrass the other two by telling you yesterday afternoon while they were around, and last night we had other things to do. Anyway, you know how in a crowded place, every once in a while there's a moment of quiet?

"Well just as one occurred, everyone in the place saw Kelly standing against Kevin's chest and heard her screaming up at him, 'I can't marry you! I refuse to be Kelly O'Rourke!' The whole place just broke up. It's been the talk of the plant. They all think it's great. They were wondering who that beautiful dark-haired girl is. Now they know."

She looked up just as Kelly came in. "And speak of the devil! Here she is!"

"Would you two please do something about this ... this Irish wolfhound who keeps following me around!" She came in followed by Kevin, who grinned at the two of them and winked at them over Kelly's head. "Sandy, do something! You own this joint. Can't you get him to do some work or molest a secretary or something?"

"Kelly, you must be thinking of two other people. All I do is get the coffee. No one reports to me. I don't even get to share a secretary. Wait till I address the Midwest Women Financial Executives meeting in Chicago in November! (I didn't tell you, Cliff, but they invited me down as the featured speaker.) Wait until I tell them that I do your correspondence, get your coffee, and perform ... other personal services. Boy, are they going to hear about it!"

"But what about your treasury duties?" Kelly asked. "Who does those?"

"I do those, too. Cliff says that once a good cash management system is up and running, all you have to do is watch the wheels turn."

"So what do you do?" Kelly persisted.

Sandy shrugged. "I watch the wheels turn," she replied with a grin. "You'll have to ask Cliff about Kevin. He's the CEO."

"Okay, Cliff, you do it!" Kelly demanded.

Cliff pretended to look puzzled. "Do what?"

"Damn it! Tell this big lug to get to work and quit bothering me. That's what!"

"Oh, dear!" Cliff said plaintively. "I can't do that. Kelly, I guess you don't know much about systems people, do you?"

"I guess not, Cliff," she replied sarcastically, "but I sure know when I'm being conned! But please continue."

"Kelly, they're very scarce. Good ones are nearly impossible to get, and unfortunately, Kevin's one of the very best. Hell, I can't tell him to do anything. Ask Sandy. She'll tell you that it takes at least an hour of discussion to try to figure out what sort of mood he's in. We have to wait for just the right time, or he'll get mad and sulk ... Or something worse."

He smiled at her. "Actually, Kelly, I want to thank you. His mood has been so much better since you have been around. He hasn't smashed a computer since you have been here and that's almost a full week now!"

By this time everyone in the room including Kelly was laughing. She and Kevin collapsed in the sofa. "Okay then, both of you: Just tell Kevin I can't possibly marry him because the name, Kelly O'Rourke, sounds absolutely ridiculous. It's really a stupid name, isn't it?"

"I don't know. I think it sounds very nice ... a bit ethnic, but nice," Cliff said with a straight face.

"A bit ethnic, my ass! Kevin O'Rourke, if you persist, so help me I'll have the map of Ireland tattooed on my chest, right over my boobs. What do you think about that?"

Kevin looked thoughtful, and then visibly brightened. "I think it's a fine idea. A bit dramatic and not really necessary, but a fine idea. What do you two think?"

By this time, Sandy was laughing too hard to do anything except slowly shake her head. Cliff just held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "You keep us out of this! I have one question, though. Kevin, you're Catholic, aren't you? How about you, Kelly?"

"My father is Presbyterian. Only my mother is Catholic," she said.

"What about you?" Cliff persisted.

"I'm Catholic," she replied reluctantly.

"Great! When is the wedding?"

"I'll think about it," she mumbled.

Then she turned on the sofa, grabbed Kevin, and melted into his arms. Awhile later she came up for air. They heard her whisper, "Of course I'll marry you, you big lug. I feel sorry for you. And I love you so damned much. But Kelly O'Rourke, indeed!" She went back into his arms.

Just then Cliff's phone rang. Again, it was Bill from the Snyder trading room for Kelly. She reluctantly pulled away from Kevin, straightened her clothes ostentatiously, and took the phone.

"What's up, Bill?" She listened for a while, while she was looking at Sandy. "Bill, exactly how many shares do we have now? Okay, but you know the drill: Placed back with the original owners, with the voting rights retained by us until October 15. If they don't like it, tough. It's a condition of the sale."

She hung up the phone and looked at the others. "The pot is starting to boil. Bill says he's never had so much fun — or so many phone calls. Suddenly, Snyder Securities is famous as the only place in the country with a known holding of Murphy Manufacturing shares outside of the family. The phone is ringing off the hook, and we're about to ransom some positions. Sandy, we bought 16,000 shares Monday and Tuesday. So far we've only received 7,000. I propose to do this: We will ransom the 7,000 shares back to known lenders. They must establish prior ownership. You heard me tell Bill we retain voting rights until October 15. The price is $1,000 a share."

Sandy was aghast. "You did say $1,000 dollars ... per share... ! Didn't you?"

Now it was Kelly's turn to tease. Her face fell and she looked as if she was going to cry. "It's not enough? You're convinced I'm leaving money on the table. Well, Sandra Donnell, I have to live with myself. Any more than... $2,000 a share... ? would be cruel! Don't you agree, Cliff? Cliff... ?"