Chapter 11

 

Adam ushered Marcia into his office. He made no overt gestures of affection, knowing that she would understand that anything personal between them was not to be reflected in their professional relationship. His wardrobe selection of the day included a Brooks Brothers black wool suit, lavender button down shirt and a Raffaello checkered tie. These were complemented by two-tone Fratelli loafers. He took note of her approval as she scanned him from head to toe. Adam, at thirty three, had retained much of his youthful appearance.

“How are you today?”

“Just fine, Adam. I’m anxious to hear about my new assignment. I could never in my wildest dreams have imagined having the great Kane Masterson reporting to me.”

 Adam looked annoyed at her description of Masterson as great. “He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us do. Anyway, if he was as great as everyone thinks, he wouldn’t be in the fix he’s in, now would he?”

Sensing Adams feelings, Marcia backed off. “I certainly can’t argue with that.” She sat down in a plush side chair next to Adam’s desk. She clicked her pen and flipped open the note pad. “Do you have any special instructions for me regarding Mister Kane Masterson?

“You bet I do. You know how much I hate that man. I’m convinced that he contributed to my father’s collapse. Dad would never have ignored the business if it hadn’t been for his failure to take over Preston. The playboy lifestyle he adopted was only a facade to cover up how much the loss was tearing him apart. None of the other stuff mattered. Eventually it just got to be too much for him. I blame it all on Kane Masterson, the man that kept him from his dream. Since I took over the reins here at Hampton Industries, a day hasn’t gone by that I haven’t taken at least one step toward getting revenge on him. To that end, I have a list of instructions for you.

“The most important thing is that he is not to have an ID badge. I want him to check in at the front desk every day and be escorted by an armed guard to either your office or his cubicle. He is to have no access to the copy room. If he needs any copies he’ll have to get them through you. I’ve arranged for his computer to have limited access to operational data. You will decide what his daily assignments will be. Any visitors he might have must be cleared by you in advance.”

He stopped for a minute as Marcia caught up with her notes. “Elegant Sportswear is the ‘plum’ in this deal. I have to admit that they run circles around Hampton Sportswear, but together, they will be the industry leader. That’s why I want you to work with Masterson to bring it all together. His input is essential.”

“I really appreciate this opportunity. I know how important this is to you. Don’t worry; I’ll make good use of Kane Masterson. It sounds like you expect me to monitor his activities down to and including his potty breaks.”

With a straight face he said, “Speaking of potty breaks, do you think it would be out of order if I hired someone to act as a homosexual and accost him in the men’s room?”

Marcia’s eyes darted from the notebook to Adam.

He looked serious for about ten seconds and then burst into a raucous laugh.

Marcia was relieved that he was only jesting. “You had me going there for a minute, Adam.”

“You must admit that it would be fun to “punk” him, albeit a bit unprofessional. Unless, of course, he’s gay. In that case the joke would be on me. Anyway, what could he do about it. Maybe I’ll save that one for his last day.”

“I think you’d be best to forget about it completely.”

“You’re probably right. The bastard would probably sue me for sexual harassment.”

Marcia went back to her notes. “Well, I think I get the idea. Rest assured Kane Masterson will leave here at the end of every day wishing that he had never volunteered to work for us during the transition. I intend to make every day as tough for him as is humanly possible.”

“That’s the spirit. Remember that even though he is contractually obligated to work for us, it was a voluntary gesture on his part. He feels an obligation to the company’s vendors, customers and employees to look out for their interests. He’ll show them more loyalty than he will to Hampton Industries, so he’ll need constant monitoring.

“That’s to be expected. Don’t worry; I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“One more thing, make sure that I have a minimum of personal contact with the man, even better, none at all, if that’s possible. I despise the sight of him. I’m sure you can find ways to prevent our paths from crossing.”

“That won‘t be any problem. I‘ll keep him away from you.”

“I’m taking off for the rest of the day. If you need me I’ll be at home. I’ve got to see dad and convey the good news to him. The doctors have prescribed a new medicine that’s supposed to increase his clarity. After all he’s been through, I hope that our takeover of Preston won’t be completely lost to him.” As he spoke tears formed in Adam’s eyes. He looked away to hide them from Marcia. When he looked back his eyes had cleared. “I haven’t forgotten that we have a date tonight. I made reservations at Champs Elysees for eight, so I’ll be by to pick you up at seven.”

“I’ll be ready. Say hello to your father for me. I’m glad to hear he’s getting better.”

 

Kane Masterson approached the reception desk as Adam was leaving the building. Their eyes met briefly, but neither man gave any sign of recognition. He gave the receptionist his card and waited as she called someone. A minute later an armed guard appeared to escort him to Marcia Bloom’s office.

Marcia met him at the door. He’s much more handsome in person than on the Web. They shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and moved to a small meeting table.

“Have you been to Old Brooking before, Mister Masterson?” She already knew the answer, but decided to ask anyway, to cover the fact that she had spent two hours on the computer searching into his background.

 “Well actually I was raised here, but I left to go to college and after I graduated I settled in Wooster Square. I come back occasionally to visit with my mother.”

 “Will you be staying with her at her house?”

“No! Your personnel people set me up at the Belmonte. I’ll be staying there. By the way, please call me Kane.”

“You’ll find that it’s still a very charming town, Mister Masterson. I hope your stay will be pleasant.” She spoke with a smile on her face, but the “Mister Masterson” told him that his dealings with Marcia Bloom would be on her terms and strictly business.

“I certainly hope so.”

“Now let’s get down to business. We’ve got a lot to cover. Have you had a chance to review the organization charts Mister Hampton gave you?”

“Of course, I have them right here.” He opened his leather attaché case and removed a folder. “Which of the two do you want to cover first?”

“We’ll start with our flagship company, Hampton Sportswear. The plan is to fully assimilate Preston’s Elegant Sportswear brand, which means that Preston’s plants, marketing, finance and design departments must be examined to determine which sections can be cut and which will be transferred to Hampton. I understand that Elegant’s vice-president has decided not to make the move to Hampton and has already left the company. That will make our staffing decisions a lot easier. Are you with me so far?”

“Absolutely! I would recommend that we start with plant and equipment. Elegant has been modernizing their equipment and processes for the past three years. Their research and development budget has produced some solid results. They have the fastest most productive machines in the industry. They are also testing some revolutionary concepts that will turn garment making on its ear. I checked and the rights to this technology are fully transferable to Hampton.”

Hampton Sportswear and Elegant Sportswear were listed under the Industrial Classification, Textiles. They, however, supplied entirely different markets.

Elegant Sportswear manufactured garments for the high end of the market. They produced all of their clothing at a plant complex in New Haven, Connecticut. They exported forty percent of their goods to European and Asian Markets.

Hampton Sportswear catered to the broad consumer market, distributing mostly through discount stores. They imported sixty percent of their clothes from Asian countries and exported goods mainly to Mexico, Canada and South America.

Preston Industries had been founded in 1892 by Jonathon Preston. His initial venture into the textile industry began with the testing of revolutionary looms invented by friend. He rented an abandoned pottery factory in New Haven, installing two of the vertical reciprocating looms. For the first two years he only manufactured and sold cloth by the bolt. He experimented with new patterns and variations of designs that were the rage in Europe. His designs gained popularity with garment manufacturers, especially producers of sports clothes. Not being one to let an opportunity slip by, Jonathon expanded his operation and soon Preston Industries became a major player in the garment making business. Jonathon incorporated the business in 1917 under the Preston Industries banner. The name Elegant Sportswear was born three years later, out of necessity, when a small toiletry company and a leather goods manufacturer were added to the mix and the three companies became operating divisions. 

As a corporation Preston Industries survived several wars and the great depression. Shareholders that rode the tumultuous years and cycles of taste and style were richly rewarded. Since its inception, Preston had only seven unprofitable years. Dividends, which were first paid in1925, have been paid every year since then, although during the seven unprofitable years they were significantly reduced. The company‘s stock suffered when conglomerates went out of favor and it lost its ranking as a growth stock just prior to the millennium, but it immediately took over first place on most analyst’s list of conservative dividend payers with its unmatched record of continuous payment for over eighty three years.

Marcia replied, “I think we should schedule trips to New Haven to visit both the companies. We need to review the production figures, age, capacity and utilization for each piece of equipment at both. I’ll need the maintenance and repair records for the machinery at Elegant. It looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us for the next several months. Let’s visit the Elegant plant first thing tomorrow and Hampton the next day. I’ll make the arrangements. Let’s plan on meeting at 8 o’clock at the Communications Center.

“You may want to schedule two or three days for the Elegant visit. That plant has eight facilities, all told, each dedicated to the main lines they produce. The original pottery factory has expanded into surrounding shipbuilding, electronics and furniture plants. It will take one day alone just to do a walk through.”

“I’ll make that decision after I see the place,” she said, curtly.”

Kane just shrugged and made a note in his appointment book. They worked for the next two hours reviewing Elegant‘s production data, finally breaking for lunch, which consisted of roast beef sandwiches and soft drinks brought in from a nearby deli and eaten they while they continued work. As the day went on, Kane thought that Marcia was softening a bit. Hopefully she’s getting more comfortable with me. It looks like this is going to be a little easier than I thought.

She corrected that mis-conception when, at 4:55, she closed up her notebook and abruptly announced, that their time was up. She was back to her rigid demeanor. “That’s it for today, but before we go I need to review the protocols for the next six months.” Marcia explained the rules that Adam had set up for Kane whenever he was in the building. He agreed to each as she went down the list.

Kane was not surprised by the rigid rules. He had to do the same himself on several occasions. He could handle it.  After all, he still held the trump card. The best was yet to come. He pretended to be upset with the leash that they put him on. “Is it alright if I ride down with you? It’ll save security a trip to escort me,” he said, sarcastically.

“Sure, come along,” she answered, ignoring his tone. They rode the elevator to the lobby in silence and separated at the front door.

“I’ll see you at nine tomorrow,” he said.

She did not respond.

After they left the building, Marcia returned to the Security desk to remind them about the special instructions regarding Kane. “There are to be no exceptions.”