Chapter 51

“How did it go?” asked Johnny as Robert and I entered the common room. Robert had been moping about in the entrance hall, so I’d brought him along.

“It went well. I feel better and able to focus, which was the point. I had words with Bruni, of course, and I brought you your beast. I think he was looking for you.”

“I figured as much on both counts.” Johnny petted Robert, who forgave his master’s neglect only after Johnny finally grabbed his head and kissed the top of it. Mollified, he plopped himself in his basket.

“She couldn’t comment on the B & H thing since she was their attorney, but I figured she didn’t know who we were at the time and was simply carrying out the plans of those higher up. I’m over the initial shock. That we were deliberately sideswiped is obvious in hindsight, and I suppose not seeing it shows a defect in my character, but what else is new? I’m moving on.”

“I quite agree, although it would be nice to know who pulled the trigger.”

“I suspect it was the baron. He and I are going to have to have a serious talk about a number of things. I’ve added that to the top of the list.”

“Well, good for you. That takes care of one of the items I’ve written here. I’ve not been idle while you were absent, and by the way, there is a perfectly good slug of single malt in front of you, should you want some fortification. While you drink it, I have worked up a little action plan you can present to Maw, which I would like to run by you.”

“By all means.” I picked up the glass of whiskey that was on the table and sat down on the couch. “You did wash the glass?”

“As best I could, given our limited facilities.”

“You simply rinsed it out with some running water.”

“That’s what I mean by limited facilities.”

“I suppose it won’t kill me.”

“It better not. There’s lots to be done here, and don’t wrinkle your nose at it. That’s a mighty fine drop, compliments of Stanley’s personal stash.”

“In that case, bottoms up.” It was wonderfully satisfying. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Regarding the sinking of our partnership, we need more information. You already talked to Bruni, and you have a mind to speak with the baron. Excellent. That’s as far as we can go for now, but at least it shows that you are not letting it rest.

“About the blackmail. Two can play at that game. Maw can tell Bonnie to do her worst, and for every board seat lost, the entire block of stock of that company will be transferred to John Senior. Maw can always say she has too many board seats anyway. Even if Maw is in some way culpable, Bonnie will have to think twice about carrying on, given she will lose far more than Maw will.

“Bonnie calling in the Dodge Capital debt: again, go ahead. There’s nothing to prevent Maw, if she so wishes, from refinancing the Dodge loan on a personal basis.

“The ownership transition. I think the Dunn analysis is correct. Bonnie would need to make herself qualified. This is not impossible by any means. One way is to start her working at each of the companies and get herself familiar with them from the ground up. It would be good for her, and if she shows promise, so much the better. The problem with putting my father in charge means a contested transition. A possible solution is to divide the estate in two, with the other getting to choose which portion, and in the event of any contesting or disagreement, the foundation becomes an option for Maw, and neither party gets a thing.

“As to why she dropped this in our laps in the first place, I still think she wanted to let us know what happened more than anything else, but she can at the same time see if we are possible candidates by whether or not we use the knowledge in some way. Does she want to see us exact revenge? It’s a possibility, but with little hard evidence to hand as to who exactly was behind it, acting on the data would be premature and reckless — not something you would want in a manager. Anyway, that’s where it’s at so far.”

“Good suggestions, but it’s all very neat.”

“You think it’s too neat?”

“Yes, I do. It solves all the problems, and that’s its defect. Maw is Maw. She’s lived this long without our help. I’m sure she can continue just fine. Remember that sweet old lady who always wore black and was referred to us by one of our competitors?”

“Who could forget her? She had a ton of cash sitting in the bank and had us working on proposal after proposal for weeks. It was a monstrous waste of time.”

“Exactly. She loved the attention and ‘what do I do with all this money’ problem far more than any solution. It’s probably what kept her alive. I think it’s the same here. Maw’s just stirring the pot. If we go anywhere near this thing, we’ll be in the same situation. It will amuse her to no end, but for my part, I’d rather pass.”

“So, what will you say to her?”

“What I think. I’ll thank her for the information and the opportunity, of course, but this is definitely hers to solve.”

“Really!” said Johnny. He paused to consider this approach. “You know, I like it. Good for you. It’s quite bold. Nonetheless, Maw may not react very well. That other lady was not pleased with us when I told her not to come calling anymore.”

“That’s an understatement. She stormed out and tried to slam the sliding door to the conference room — twice, in fact — and all it did was make a feeble click, which really set her off. She even wanted to lodge a regulatory complaint. I think that was the only botched sale that we ever celebrated.”

“It was, and well worth it. We sidestepped a major headache. By the way, I stopped by to talk to Stanley, but he was up to his ears in preparations for lunch and tonight’s anniversary celebration. He told us to pop round at the end of the evening.”

“Fair enough. Now, it’s time I have that chat with Maw.” I gathered up the folders and notes.

“Good luck,” said Johnny. Robert raised his head for a moment, saw Johnny was still there, and flopped back to sleep.

“Thanks. I’ll need it. See you in a bit.”

I doubted Maw would be pleased, but I was done with being led around by the nose. No more — not for love or money.