Chapter 10

From the small lounge at the hangar at Macarthur Airport, I returned Brooke's call.

Brooke came to the phone, then asked, "How are you doing?"

"I was about to ask you the same question. Grandfather tried to prepare me, but I wasn't prepared. It's going to take a while."

Brooke said, "I know."

I waited for Brooke to get to the point of why she wanted me to call.

She asked, "Could just the three of us get together? Will's getting more upset, rather than calming. Would you come here, so we can talk? I'd really appreciate it."

"When did you have in mind?"

"I'd like to do it as soon as we can. Would you come here?"

I responded, "If that's what you'd like, I'll come to Roselawns."

"Can you make it around seven this evening?"

"I'll be there at seven."

I called Thornton. "I'm meeting with Will at seven at Roselawns. Could you get me Will's capital account balances at the firm and the bank? I need to know how much my capital account is at W & R and the comparative worth of Will's and my capital accounts, as well as the comparative value of my stake in W & R against his in the law firm and Jenkins Bank. Can you get that for me?"

Thornton asked, "You want the total positions, not just what passed from your Grandfather?"

"What I would like is a balance sheet as of today of Will's position and mine. I want to know about how much it would take for me to liquidate Will's positions in Jenkins and for Will to liquidate my position in W & R."

Thornton said, "I've done some preliminary work on that already. Let me verify a couple of things, and I'll call you."

I gave Thornton the telephone number and went to my plane. About a half hour later, someone came from the office and told me I had a call.

Thornton said, "Will's capital balances aren't large. He didn't leave much of his earnings in the firm or the bank. All of his capital accounts are worth only a fraction of your capital account at W & R. Your Grandfather made sure his share of Jenkins was under the legal amount that would allow Will to force you to buy his shares in Jenkins. With the insurance your Grandfather left you, you have the cash to buy his balances in Jenkins. While W & R as a firm in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida has a high value, it doesn't have the cash to liquidate your W &R account without going outside for the money and your ownership interest is so substantial he couldn't begin to liquidate it. You really shouldn't meet with him. He can only sell his stake in Jenkins back the bank or the firm. Any redemption is technically controlled by the trustees until you graduate from law school."

"Can you get the numbers together on paper and come to Macarthur? I'd like to go over things before I meet with Will."

Thornton said, "I'll leave right now."

Thornton and Hub came to the airport. We sat in my Aero Commander and went over the account balances. Both advised me to not meet with Will. I thanked them for coming and they went back into the City. I took a taxi to Roselawns.

Brooke met me at the side entrance to Roselawns. "It was nice of you to come."

I asked, "Are you alright?"

She answered, "Just sad and worried."

I gave her a long look. She knew the unasked question was if she had a physical problem with Will or if he had mistreated her.

She said, "Nothing like that. It seems everything is coming apart here."

I had changed in Vietnam, where I had hardened. Taking fire while on patrol and in villages, changed my willingness to strike at a threat. I had learned to react quickly to stay alive and tried to put guilt behind me. Getting wounded and Dallas' death had changed me forever. But my experiences and reactions weren't anything in comparison to most of the men at Summerdale. Most of them were extraordinarily quiet, almost reserved, but they were deadly too. Some needed to be away from any threats. Leon was much more controlled than most, yet, he had no problem taking out the men associated with those who hurt my family. I had worried what I would do to Will, if he had harmed Brooke. I had gotten more like Leon, Ponder, and most of the men at Summerdale; I didn't fear being hurt, or even killed. With the skills I had developed, in combination of lack of fear and no hesitation to strike, I was more deadly than I wanted to think about.

I felt a huge relief. I didn't know if I could have controlled my actions if he had harmed her. Things were bad enough between us. I took a couple of deep breaths and calmed my nerves.

I nodded. Brooke and I walked back to Will's study.

Will said, "I'm glad you're back. We have some things to take care of." He handed me some papers.

I glanced at them and put the papers down. I wasn't about to sign any papers. Thornton and Hub had warned me. They felt I was a lamb about to be slaughtered.

I pulled out a chair for Brooke, and we sat at a table. I said, "I didn't know what Grandfather was going to do. We talked about the direction of the firm and the bank. He said he had become increasingly upset with the direction you wanted to go. We talked about that, not his will or trusts."

Will said, "It's so unfair. I worked there all through high school and college, while you were with Mother and Grandmother off somewhere. You never did anything at the firm or bank. I grew up there. It should have gone to me. When you came back from Vietnam, Grandfather said that I would run Jenkins. It's why I moved from Philadelphia. You agreed. I should have my chance. I wish I'd stayed in Philadelphia."

"I did tell you I wouldn't be involved, and I wasn't, but that changed when you wouldn't do as Grandfather wished. You knew that. Grandfather never told me what he planned to do, but I knew he had gotten increasingly upset with you."

Will looked at Brooke, "Do you believe he didn't know what Grandfather and Thornton did?"

She looked at me. "Did you know?"

I was angry that he was using Brooke like he was, and I was angry with Brooke for letting herself be used to question me. I looked directly at Brooke and restated, "No, he didn't tell me what he planned to do."

I struggled not to show the way I felt. It was as if I was kicked in the stomach. Brooke saw it in my eyes; it was like a heavy curtain fell; we knew our relationship would never be the same. I saw sadness and acceptance in her eyes.

She looked at Will. "I believe him. I don't believe Rob would lie to me."

Will said, "It's so unfair."

Give me a break! You talking about unfair is beyond ironic. You never cared about fairness when you were on the other end of deals. You have no one to blame but yourself. Your tunnel vision was the main problem, but the rape and your reaction was the last straw for Grandfather. It seemed he held on just long enough to get me in a position so he could give me the law firm and to make sure I understood the direction he wanted for the law firm and bank. He wasn't happy about me wanting to stay in Alabama and the direction things were going. He wanted me to come back to the City and be active in Jenkins. At least, he enjoyed Christmas with Nicole.

I pulled out the valuation figures Thornton had given me. I gave Will a copy of the figures. From the expression on his face, I knew he didn't expect I would have them.

Brooke knew the wheels were off the cart. She also knew I was disappointed in her. She had looked away when I answered her. She knew a bond had been broken.

I felt sick, really sick. Will probably used Brooke to upset me, so I would do something stupid. I need to control myself and get centered.

She asked Will, "Do you mind if I leave?"

Will looked at me and I nodded slightly.

Will said to her, "We'll be alright. Thank you for asking Rob to come. I was against him coming here; but it was a good idea."

Will was way too smooth and practiced at negotiations for me to be able to read him, but I didn't believe or trust him. I decided to move straight ahead.

As soon as Brooke was gone, I said, "I would prefer you stay and run things, but you'd have to work within Grandfather's framework."

"I tried, but it's not my style."

I nodded. He seemed sincere. I offered, "I'll exchange my ownership interest in W & R for title to the Tennessee properties. You can see from the valuation sheet; that's more than a large gain for you in comparative worth. I'm going to need my capital account if I make a run at First National."

He said, "I expected you to come back and sell those Alabama things, and then go to law school here. I've never understood why you wanted to stay down there, and now it really makes no sense."

"I don't know enough to begin to run banks in either place. That's one reason I'm sorry you can't adjust so you could stay. I may have to move back, but I'd rather not. It's certainly not what I had planned to do."

Will said, "I'm thinking about moving to Wallingford. W & R is still doing very well in Philly. My positions in the law firm and at Jenkins are untenable now. You distribute half of the holding here and I'll give you Roselawns and all my assets here."

I said, "Brooke will miss her friends here, but I'm sure she'll be glad to be near her parents and her old friends. I think it's wise for you to return to Philadelphia. My offer for the Tennessee properties is good until I leave here. That's my best offer." I knew he couldn't pay my capital account, distribute the percentage of National Life and WSM properties my ownership interest represented, and pay me for my ownership interest. Grandfather had left enough cash in Jenkins bank and law firm to liquidate his interests.

I think he was surprised that I didn't argue or beg him to stay. Strangely, I wanted them to go. I felt he had betrayed Grandfather, and I felt betrayed too.

Will asked, "Don't you want Roselawns back?"

"I'll have it appraised and give you the appraised value. Title never passed."

Will knew that as well as I did. He was surprised at my offer to pay for Roselawns. He played his last card. "I expect you to pay me for my stake in the firm and bank."

I responded curtly, "I don't have any control of that. That'll be up to the trustees. Why do you want to give them up? They're good investments, and you have almost nothing in your capital accounts."

"I can make a better return than Jenkins. I need to talk with Brooke before I do anything, but I'd like to liquidate my capital accounts and interests in everything here. Regardless, I accept your offer to exchange your share of W & R for the Tennessee properties."

"I imagine the trustees will only allow a phased redemption of your share of Jenkins. I don't know what minority discount and lack of marketability discount they will apply. The ones on the paper are our best guesses; they're not the trustees' numbers."

Will knew the present value of the amount the trustees would pay was a small fraction of the half he had expected. He said, "I'll force a partition and minority interest sale."

"Grandfather foresaw that and structured things so you wouldn't succeed in an action against the firm or the bank. You can take your capital accounts, but they are not significant amounts. And if you try to partition that closes out your ownership interests, you'll probably get nothing then."

He must have realized he couldn't bluff and win. He looked defeated. After a long pause, he asked, "You think I killed Grandfather, don't you?"

I responded to his emotional statement. "His heart was weak. He lasted longer than he expected. Nicole was a godsend. The truth be known, I was somewhat of a disappointment too."

Will said, "Sometimes I wish I could be more like you. I have to be more on the edge than you do. I really enjoy the game of the deal. I can't leave money on the table like Grandfather did."

I smiled, "You might feel differently if you'd been in Vietnam."

Will nodded, "That's definitely more edge that I wanted. I don't know if I could have done that. You certainly came back a different person."

I said, "That's why I created the haven at Summerdale. Some people have a hard time recovering from being out there and some never make it all the way back. Summerdale's for the people who were really out there on the edge, not like I was; I was just mostly trying to survive. I was luckier than many in my company."

We left the study. Will asked, "Do you want to stay tonight?"

"I need to take the train in tonight. Hub and Thornton can meet with whomever you want to execute the exchange of your Tennessee interests for my share of W & R. I'd do it tomorrow."

I left without seeing Brooke. Erin drove me to the station. On the way, Erin asked, "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, but I think things will improve a little. I think it's resolved."

Sadly she asked, "It's over isn't it?"

I didn't answer, but I knew it was. Will, Brooke and Nicole were as good as gone. Erin really liked Brooke. I had, too. I hurt to my core.

I took the train and then the subway to the apartment. I was accosted on the subway. The look I gave the creep that accosted me, scared him away. I wanted to take out my frustration on the creep; I had hoped he would give me an excuse to hurt him badly. My judgment wasn't the best. I might have killed him. I didn't have the slightest fear of him. He moved away quickly, and I went on my way.

I hurried from the subway station to the apartment. Thornton, Hub, and Lib were waiting for me there. They were anxious to hear what had happened with Will. Lib offered to fix omelets. Thornton, Hub, and Lib sat around the table. Eunice was with Carolyn.

I went to the bathroom, threw up and tried to gather my thoughts. I took a quick shower and changed clothes. When I came out Lib cooked my omelet, and I joined them around the table.

"It went as well as I could have expected. He accepted my offer to exchange my interest in W & R for his Tennessee investments. I think he realized it was the best deal he would get. I expect the R will be dropped from W & R soon. He's thinking about moving back to Philadelphia and says he's going to talk with Brooke; but we all know she'll go wherever he wants to go. If they go, I'll have George at the firm appraise Roselawns, and I'll pay them the appraised value. George's as good as an appraiser as there is in the City."

Thornton said, "You still hold title to it. You don't have to pay him for it. You were more than generous trading your share of W & R for the Tennessee properties."

"I gave Roselawns to them as an engagement/wedding present. I'll pay regardless of the legalities. That's not up for discussion."

Thornton nodded.

I said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to be short. It's been a trying time. Will, Brooke and Nicole won't be a part of my life from now on."

They understood. I received a really sad look from Lib.

I looked at Thornton and said a little more forcefully than I meant to sound, "What I want you to do, is to take care of this and find a way to get to over the fifty percent level of First National stock. Do it quickly; I don't know how much longer I'll be an Alabama resident."

Lib asked, "You're thinking about moving back here?"

"If Will moves to Philadelphia, I'll need to be here. I think I will have to; Jenkins will require someone to push her or she won't perform well. Thornton and Dorothy can look after my Alabama interests. Dorothy can handle the real estate activities around Tuscaloosa and guide Ania in handling my Fairhope interests; they're really small potatoes. I don't know what I'm going to do with St. Joe, but I'm not going to sell her. She's important to me to maintain that link to mother's side of the family. I don't want her to ever be like she was with Ball running her."

Hub said, "If I could run both, I'd merge Lauderdale Forestry into St. Joe, for a minority interest in St. Joe."

I asked, "Lib?"

"He'd love it. I don't want it to be a one man operation. I don't want him to work himself to death."

Hub smiled. "We need to find a good valuation man. I expect Lauderdale will be between five and ten percent of St. Joe's value; probably closer to five."

I responded, "Ten percent of St. Joe stock for Lauderdale Forestry and you run it; and it's a deal; but only with the understanding that you'll accept market compensation for running things. If you won't take fair compensation, I don't want to do it."

Hub said, "I'll call Beau to make sure it's okay with him."

I knew Beau wouldn't be an obstacle for Hub doing this. Everyone knew that Lauderdale Plantation and Lauderdale Forestry were what Hub enjoyed.

I asked, "Thornton, can you handle that? If you feel uncomfortable, tell someone in Jenkins what I want done."

Thornton said, "Merge Lauderdale Forestry into St. Joe for a ten percent share of St. Joe. Any special distributions?"

I looked at Hub, "I don't need any. Do you want it structured as a limited partnership or a corporation?"

Hub said, "I'm not anticipating any losses. You being offshore is a little tricky. I may need some help from Jenkins on that."

I looked at Thornton, who nodded.

I said, "We need to find someone to run National Life and Accident, the Grand Ole Opry and a country music network. Maybe we could merge National Life and Meridian Insurance, too.re

Hub said, "National Life is a bigger operation than I could handle. Merging Meridian Insurance into National Life is not a bad idea. I'll ask Beau what he thinks. It would maximize the effect of the radio advertising. Too bad you sold off Jefferson Life. You should pick up an Alabama insurance company."

I said, "Thornton, check on Alabama Farm Bureau Insurance. It'd be good cover while you're looking for those First National shares we need. Any insurance acquisition has to be a stock acquisition. I'm going to need all the cash I have to acquire First National."

I asked Hub, "Have you dealt with them?"

"Some; I could work with some Jenkins Bank people to get it done, if your Jenkins people finds it's feasible. I know the people, nice people. It's a lot like Meridian."

Finishing my omelet, I pushed the plate to the side, smiled and said, "I forgot how well Lib cooks. I think Lib should open a restaurant."

Hub said, "No deal. I have an exclusive with this chef."

Lib's smile was the best thing I had seen in a while. Her smile broke the tension.

Thornton carped, "I'm never going to get time for pilot lessons."

Hub said, "I'll loan you one on my pilots. Most are instructor qualified."

Lib said, "No, you won't. Thornton needs to be able to concentrate when he learns to fly."

Hub said, "Lib's right. I have an idea you'll have plenty of chances to fly after you get your license. You'll be running around all over Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi."

Lib said, "I'm going to call Brooke to see how she's doing. Maybe I can get her take on Will's reaction. I have an idea she's upset."

I went to Carolyn's. We listened to smooth jazz on Carolyn's new sound system. I stayed with her all night. We talked. She knew me too well for me to be able to hide my hurt. By the morning she had decided we had to back off and that it had been our last time together. It was another loss. Carolyn didn't want me putting too much dependence on our relationship. It was a bittersweet morning. We made love a last time before Carolyn went up to breakfast with me at Grandfather's apartment.

Carolyn fit right in with everyone. I helped Lib with the breakfast. The housekeeper set the table and poured everyone coffee.

Lib said, "I talked with Brooke this morning. She said Will was better. But I'm afraid you're right; it's not if, but when they leave. Speaking of leaving; Hub and I need to get back. We're planning on taking Thornton and Eunice back with us, when we go."

I said, "Carolyn and I are back to friends only. She's afraid I will become too dependent and she thinks I have to move on."

Lib said, "I understand her reasoning."

We finished cooking and joined the others at the table.

I asked, "When are you going?"

Hub said, "I'd like to know more about WSM and The National Life & Accident Insurance Company. I talked to Beau last night. He liked the idea of combining the forestry companies and thinks we should also consider merging the insurance companies. We wouldn't do it with anyone else, but we don't feel threatened being a minority with you. We can't merge the banks. Maybe Will pulling out will work out for the best. As soon as you finalize taking over Will's Tennessee properties, I want to go and stop by Nashville on the way back."