Chapter 18: Big Plans

The meeting with Jim Sweeney made Frank eager for action. His first call was to Al Crossman, but it was the Friday before Labor Day and Al was out of the office for the long weekend. He was able to get through to Agent Henderson, who was in his office at the Federal Building.

Frank: "I think you should take a look at a block of Western shares that traded at ten this morning."

Henderson: "What makes you say that?"

Frank: "Something came up in a meeting yesterday. If it comes true, it'll create a big demand for Western shares. The price is bound to go up from where it is now.

Henderson: "You'll have to tell me more to make me interested.

Frank: "You didn't hear it from me—there is a group who is said to be getting ready to take a position in Western. If they do, they'll have to buy any shares they can get their hands on. Only the people who were at that meeting know about it.

Henderson: "Do you think someone's cashing in?"

Frank: "More than that. The block that traded today would be just the right amount to cover those shorts that set off the trouble in the first place. To me, it looks like a defensive move."

Henderson: "I'm not following you."

Frank: "Whoever sold those short shares has got to cover them. What happened at yesterday's meeting made them make the buy to cover their position.

Henderson: "I see. Who was at this meeting?"

Frank: "Alvin Warner, Al Crossman, Blake Hart and Tyler Smith. You know all of them. There were five directors, too: Jim Sweeney, Detlef Mueller, Simon Lambert, Barrett Dodge and Randall Trainer."

Henderson: "You left yourself out."

Frank: "I wasn't there. I was out of the office. One of the people filled me in."

Henderson: "You're kidding! You're telling me all this and you weren't even there? The credibility of your story just went to zero. And, don't forget, there's the matter of those put options."

Frank: "I knew you'd say that—but look, the facts speak. That was the subject of that meeting yesterday and there's no doubt about the block of shares trading. All I'm saying is to check it out. What've you got to lose?"

Henderson: "My credibility, for one thing."

Frank: "Have you got any better leads on this case?"

Henderson: "Well..."

Frank: "I didn't think so. Why don't you at least check it out? If it turns out to be nothing, so be it. I've got a feeling that it won't."

Henderson: "You've got a feeling ... That's great! Alright, I'll check it, but it's not as easy as you think."

Frank tried to make a few more calls. He wanted to speak to Murray Shoreham. He was gone for the weekend. He also wanted to speak to his contacts for the new R&D financing project. They were out of their offices, too. He switched on the intercom.

"Jeannette, see if Blake Hart has some open time on his calendar."

"Mr. Hart is right here," Jeannette answered. "He wants to see you."

"Send him in before he gets away," Frank yelled into the intercom. "Bring some fresh coffee, too."

Blake Hart wasn't much older than Frank. He was a Chemical Engineer by training and had an MBA, to boot. It had been quite a few years since calculus and thermo-dynamic equations were his stock in trade. He'd done stints in sales and plant management in addition to engineering before being called to work at Headquarters.

"I was just about to go out looking for you," Frank said as they took their seats at the conference table.

"I had a feeling," Blake said.

Frank had known Blake for a dozen years. They'd worked together many times. Every time they did it turned out well. Blake was like Frank in a lot of ways. One was that Blake was a quick study on Frank's point of view, but knew where to draw the line before he began to step on his toes.

"There are some forecast questions we have to straighten out. It goes beyond Aaron crunching numbers."

"Seems like old times," Blake said. "How many forecasts did we do together when you were Controller?"

"One more for old time's sake," Frank replied.

"You ought to hire yourself a new Controller to take your place. This is really his job. I've been watching you. You're gonna to drive yourself nuts before you get a chance to grow old and gray. That's why Tyler and I are taking you out for golf this afternoon."

"Golf sounds good, but I've gotta pass," Frank said, laughing off the thought of stolen leisure time. "I'd like to hire a Controller, but I've got to get this mess with the SEC straightened out first."

"Bad thinking," Blake said as he shook his head. "Get someone in here to straighten it out for you."

Frank sighed; he eased back in his chair and thought about what Blake said. Although it was said half in jest, Frank knew that Blake never gave advice in jest—and deep-down, he knew it was the right way to go. "You know," Frank said, "if I hadn't been Controller before this job, I would have done it already. I think you're right."

"Besides, if the new guy is any good, you can take credit for whatever he does, and if he screws up you can fire him," Blake said as he laughed.

"Now, that's a real MBA talking," Frank laughed back.

They finished their coffees and set the cups down at the same time.

"Aaron told you about my plan for the Bayonne and Texas City Plants?" Blake asked.

"That's good as far as it goes," Frank answered. "I think this downturn might have longer legs than that. We need a plan that stretches out farther."

"How is the forecast shaping up? I know that all the units aren't down."

"It looks better than you might think," Frank said. "Sure, we'll be down, but I think we'll ride it out better than the industry average. We have some bright spots. In some ways, it's a balancing act."

"What're you trying to balance, Frank?"

"We're going to be generating positive cashflow because of inventory drawdown and our stock price is depressed. That's a combination I don't think we want to live with. It makes us a takeover target. Someone could leverage the buyout and then pay off the debt with our own cash."

"So you're looking for ways to spend some money? What about Jason's R&D?"

"He'll get some of it, but his needs go way beyond that. At the same time, we don't want to build up a lot of excess inventory.""

"I'd like to make a complete conversion of Texas City and Bayonne," Blake said. "Right now, they're carbon copies of one another. I want to specialize the plants and narrow their products; make them state of the art equipment-wise. We'd get a big cost advantage on our closest competition. It would take some money—and time."

"That's perfect," Frank said. "We can capitalize the whole thing. We just have to get the tax abatement agreement in Texas City renegotiated. I can talk to Tyler about getting that started."

"Of course, we'd have to sell Alvin on the idea," Blake reminded him. "That won't be easy. You know how he likes the eggs in different baskets—not relying on one plant for producing everything."

"We'll have to show him some numbers that will convince him," Frank said. "You get your people working on it and I'll loan Aaron to you to help with the financials after he's done with the forecast."

"Okay," Blake said. "Let's hope it's not another thing that Alvin almost likes."

Frank began to answer Blake's remark, but thought better of it. He knew Alvin was cautious—too cautious sometimes. Frank always kept his gripes to himself. Besides, he had other important things on his mind.

"By the way, I want to discuss something on another subject," Frank said.

"On the golf course," Blake insisted.

"Really, Blake, I can't..."

"See? It's going to be business, so you don't have to feel guilty. Tyler and I have something to discuss with you, as well."

Frank opened his mouth to speak, a protest ready.

"No 'buts'," Blake said. "We'll grab a quick lunch upstairs and then head out to the course. There's nothing going on around here, anyway."

Brenda was freshening her drink. Gloria was looking over some papers before calling the meeting of the Foundation Directors to order. Darlene was searching the far-off rose garden for an answer to something.

"Do you think we'll have any more pool days before summer's over?" Ashley asked the group.

"We could go in today if we wanted to," Gloria said without looking up from her sheaf of notes.

"It's just barely warm enough. We'd just be going through the motions."

"Besides," Brenda added as she returned to the table with a freshened iced tea and vodka, :there are no garden boys to look us over."

"That's right," Gloria said. "José doesn't need them until spring. Whatever there is to be done, he can handle. No more peones until March."

"The pool season went by so quickly," Ashley lamented. She turned to Darlene. "You never got your chance with the garden boys, did you?"

"Never mind about that," Brenda stepped in before Darlene could answer. "Darlene earned her stripes in other ways."

"Oh, yes," Ashley teased. "We all know about that, don't we?"

Darlene cast her eyes down at the table, but it was too late to prevent the other women from seeing the tears forming in her eyes.

"Darlene, what's the matter?" Brenda asked. "You don't regret..."

"No, no," Darlene blurted out. "It's not that at all."

"Well, what, then?" Brenda demanded.

"Ah don't know if Ah can tell you," Darlene sobbed.

"You have to," Ashley reminded her. "It's the rule. We don't tolerate secrets—especially about this sort of thing."

"Maybe we can help you," Brenda said. "I'll get you another drink."

Darlene looked up and wiped her eyes. "Ah s'pose it would good therapy to get it off my chest," she said.

"Definitely!" Ashley proclaimed as she leaned forward. "Now, c'mon. Out with it!"

"Well, it's this," Darlene started. "Ah haven't been—you know—with Jason since our blow-up over the university thing. He won't promise me that he won't take that job in New York State."

"That's not too difficult," Ashley said. "Just take matters in your own hands."

"You mean do myself?" Darlene asked. "Ah have been, but it's definitely not the same."

"No," Ashley replied. "I meant take a certain part of Jason in your hands. It won't take long before..."

"I can't do that!" Darlene exclaimed. "It would like sayin' 'Ah give up; go ahead, Jason. Take that job'."

"I see your point," Ashley mumbled.

"Darlene's right," Brenda said as she polished off her recently freshened drink. "What you have to do is..."

"And to make matters worse," Darlene blurted again. "Jim won't take my calls."

Gloria dropped the stack of papers she'd been studying. She had been only half-interested in the conversation, but Darlene's last comment changed that. "You called Jim Sweeney? Are you crazy?" she demanded.

"I just thought..."

"You weren't thinking at all," Gloria shouted. "You were just in the sack with him. Now you're chasing him around. You have to wait for him to call you."

"Then you can ask him for more favors," Brenda added. She set Darlene's new drink in front of her.

"All I wanted was to get away to a hotel downtown for an afternoon of fun with him while Jason comes to his senses," Darlene explained. "A woman has her needs."

"Someone is in l-o-v-e," Ashley giggled from the bar across the veranda, where she'd gone to freshen her drink.

"I don't believe it," Brenda huffed. "You mean a hotel, right here in your own hometown—where anyone you know might see you?"

"Ah didn't think o' that," Darlene protested. She took a big gulp of the drink that Brenda brought for her. "Y'all said that sex was fun. You said that Jim Sweeney is fun—and he is."

"Fun and free are not the same words," Gloria scolded. "You've got to be smart about this. You can't run around like a bitch in heat. You'll ruin it for us all."

"Ah suppose so," Darlene murmured and lowered her eyes. "Ah nevah realized how much Ah'd miss getting' it—an' how Ah loved the feel of a man's eyes on mah body."

"It was fun with Jim, though, wasn't it?" Gloria said in a lightened voice.

"Why, it sure was," Darlene answered and covered her mouth as she giggled.

"Don't worry; Jim will call you when the time is right," Gloria assured her.

"So be ready," Brenda added. "Have something in mind that you want him to do for you."

"It's that what it's all about?" Darlene asked. "Sex for favors? Ah thought it was supposed to more dignified than that. You know what it makes us into, don't you?"

"Don't say it," Ashley warned.

"You have to force yourself not think of it like that, Darlene," Brenda answered. "Think of like ... like ... killing two birds with one stone."

"Right!" Ashley chimed in.

"In the meantime, you've got to get control of Jason," Gloria said.

"That's the hard part," Darlene admitted. She took a swallow of her vodka and iced tea.

"He's not getting anything on the side, is he?" Brenda asked.

"No," Darlene said, shaking her head. "He'd probably like to, but he's too shy for that. Jason's always been shy—at least with women."

"You'd better be careful," Gloria replied. "All men are shy deep-down. Not getting sex often enough gives them courage. He might find himself with some cute little thing in a lab coat who's not shy."

"Well, what can Ah do?" Darlene pleaded.

"You have to seduce him," Gloria told her. "You have to do it in a way that he thinks it's all his idea."

"Then, when he's about to slide into home plate, you make him promise to give up the university job," Brenda said. "Don't worry—he will. When men get anywhere near home plate they only have that on their minds. They'd trample over the flowers on their mothers' graves if they were in the way."

"You've got that right," Ashley said.

"So, you know what you have to do?" Gloria asked. Darlene nodded. "You'll get the hang of it," she assured her. "Just remember that nature is your side and you have plenty of tools to work with."

"So, can we get the meeting started?" Brenda asked.

"We're missing a person," Gloria said. "Trudy's not here."

"She's not coming," Brenda informed her.

"Not coming? You called her, didn't you?"

"She refused," Brenda said. "She said that after what happened at the pool party she didn't feel right about things and that she quit."

"You should have promised her another visit to Morningside School."

"I did. It was a mistake," Brenda reported. "She said that we're pimping the children to get her do what we wanted. She said that I should tell everyone that she didn't like it."