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IT SEEMED LIKE HOURS passed before Alex returned to my room, and when he did, it was clear by the surprised look on his face that he saw I hadn’t exactly been sitting idle.
“What’s this?” he asked with a smile as he closed the door behind him.
“A bed,” I said, nodding at the bed sitting beside mine. “I wanted you to sleep next to me tonight and not alone in another room, so I asked one of the nurses to bring in a rollaway. I hope that you don’t mind. I’d like you near me tonight.”
“Why would I mind? You know that I want to be with you.” He nudged the bed aside with his hip and bent down to kiss me on the lips. Then he reached for one of the chairs, and moved it so he could sit next to me.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so difficult,” I said.
“How have you been difficult?”
“I think we both know.”
“You’re emotional for good reason. So am I. But we’re also a team. We will get through this, Jennifer.”
“I know we will,” I said. And then I decided it would be best to talk about other things. “Tell me some good news. You’ve been gone for awhile. What have you learned?”
“Lot’s of things.”
“Care to share?”
“How about if I just cover the major items?”
“Sounds fair to me.”
“Let’s start with Wei Jei. Are you ready for this?”
“Oh, God...”
“No, it’s actually good news. While we were on the island, he came through with the memory chips we needed for the SlimPhone.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not. I can’t believe it myself. Before we crashed, he obviously took to heart my threat of involving lawyers, because he made a deal with another company here in Singapore that will supply him with the chips we need until he can get up to speed and meet the supply on his own.”
“Can’t say I saw that one coming,” I said.
“Neither did I, but when I spoke with Ann, that was one of the first business-related items she brought up. I called Wei Jei, he confirmed it, and I thanked him for doing the right thing.”
“So, the SlimPhone didn’t miss a beat when it came to meeting demand?”
“Not for a second.”
“Where is our stock at this point?”
“Up,” he said. “When it was announced that we were alive, it shot up thirty-four points when the market closed. In after-market trading, we were up another sixteen points.”
I closed my eyes at the news. “Finally,” I said. “Something good to hold on to. And the stocks reacted positively because investors heard that you are alive. That you’re coming back to Wenn. You’re Wenn’s DNA, for God’s sake, and they know it. That’s got to send a message to the board.”
“Yeah,” he said. “About the board.”
“What about them?”
“Apparently, Stephen Rowe called an emergency meeting not long after it was discovered that we were alive.”
“I’ll bet he did. Do you happen to know what was said?”
“I made a call to Jonathan Rubinstein. You might remember him—senior member of the board? One of my father’s oldest friends? He’s the one you charmed before you had your memorable dance with Rowe.”
“The owner of Qualcomm Micro? That nice, older gentleman whose company is in the process of developing a memory chip that will best Wei Jei’s?”
“That’s him. You suggested to him that Wenn might think about using the chip for future versions of the SlimPhone. And in the process, you won him over.”
“Money talks,” I said.
“It’s more than that when it comes to you, love.”
“What did he have to say?”
“Two things. First, he told me that Rowe said that, while he was glad that we were alive, that he thought it would be best for Wenn if I no longer had a seat on the board. He said that a ‘strategic, clean break with me and Wenn would send a strong message to shareholders that Wenn is going forward with new ideas that will be easier to accomplish without my presence.’”
“But you have controlling shares. By Wenn’s bylaws alone, that secures you a seat on the board.”
“There’s one exception.”
“What exception? I wasn’t aware that there was an exception. I thought if you had controlling shares, a seat on the board was a done deal.”
“It isn’t. That seat can be taken from me by a unanimous vote, which Rowe went for but didn’t get. In fact, when he put the measure forward, his was the only affirmative vote to shut me out of Wenn. He may be leading Wenn now, but he lost that round. My seat on the board is secure.”
Just the thought of what Rowe had tried to do to Alex made me bristle with anger. “He wanted you off that board because of my threat.”
“And so he could run Wenn without interruption from me, but, yes, I agree—your threat to expose him also played into it. He wants to get as far away from each of us as possible. And who can blame him?”
“Unbelievable. What else did Jonathan have to say?”
“That the board should have given us more time to be found.”
“So why didn’t they?”
“To be fair to them, they had no choice. When the authorities essentially pronounced us dead, Jonathan had to go with the rest of the board and cave in to pressure from investors to elect a new CEO and board chair. Rowe pushed hard for each job. He fought for them. Because he’s young and seen as someone filled with fresh ideas—and because no one else on the board wanted either position—the vote went to him. Jonathan now regrets it. He says they should have stood firm and allowed for more time to pass to see if we were alive. He says they should have waited for proof that we were dead before giving in to investor demand.”
“How many others feel that way?”
“He didn’t say, though he suggested that others do, especially now that they know we’re alive. After Rowe’s impromptu meeting in which he tried to vote me off the board, Jonathan says that some are starting to find Rowe’s leadership style too aggressive for their tastes. Tom Brown is perhaps my second-strongest ally. You met him the same night you met Jonathan.”
“I remember him—another of your father’s old friends.”
“Apparently, when Rowe brought forward the idea of denying me a seat on the board, Tom gave Rowe a piece of his mind about it, just as Jonathan did.”
“Good for them, though I’m not surprised. Those two men are an extension of your family.” I studied Alex for a moment. “I need to ask you a question.”
“Ask me anything.”
“How important is it for you to be chairman of the board?”
“If it comes down to it, someone other than Rowe can have that job. That one isn’t the prize. But CEO is.”
“All right. So answer me this—do you want to be CEO?”
He looked surprised by that. “Of course I do.”
“I only ask because earlier you said that Wenn was your father’s child and that you just inherited it. You called it a thing, as if it meant nothing to you.”
“Earlier, neither of us was thinking clearly. I was concerned about you—not Wenn. You’re my priority. You’ll always be my priority. But now, it’s different. Now that I know that you’re going to be OK, I can turn at least part of my focus to Wenn.”
“And as a bonus, you know exactly who Stephen Rowe is.”
“That I do. Look, despite how I inherited Wenn—my father killing my mother before shooting himself—over the years I’ve put a hell of a lot of work into running it. When I was a kid, it’s true—I didn’t want it. But now I can’t imagine being without it. It’s become dear to me.”
“We can get it back. All we need to do is prove that Rowe has had a two-year affair with Janice Jones, and threaten him with a scandal. He’ll back down.”
“And how do we get that proof?”
I told him about the conversation I had with Tank and Blackwell earlier, and what I expected from Tank going forward. “Tank, Blackwell, and I agree that Rowe’s already jettisoned Janice from his life. Maybe sent her packing with a sweet check, a peck on the cheek, and a promise that there’s more to come if she remains silent. But before we even go there, let me ask you this: If we take Janice Jones out of the equation, what can be done to get you back as CEO?”
“Not much. The vote has been made, and that vote put Rowe into his current position. At this point, he’d have to be voted out of that seat, and that’s where Jonathan said the board is divided as to what to do. If there was a revote now, he’s not certain that I’d win it.”
“Why?”
“Public perception. Right now, more than ever, Wenn needs to be viewed as a solid, healthy company that’s not in flux. The fact that I’m remaining on the board might be enough to appease investors that I still have a voice in leading Wenn—which I would, to a point. But the truth we can’t ignore is that on paper, Rowe doesn’t stink. It’s his personal life that reeks, but nobody knows about that. Otherwise, investors might actually see the benefit of having a new CEO and board chair, particularly after all of the backlash that came in the wake of the cost of the SlimPhone. As successful as our phone has been since its launch, investors won’t fully embrace it until we have hard data to prove that the R&D was worth it, and that the phone is turning a significant profit.”
“Which it will.”
“I agree, but I’m still vulnerable in the short term. Right now, even if I made a personal appeal to investors to reclaim my position as CEO, Jonathan believes that the fight Stephen Rowe would publicly put up would only harm Wenn’s stock, which has been battered enough. And that’s something we can’t let happen. We can’t do anything that might cripple Wenn.”
“But we can cripple Rowe.”
“If you, Tank, and Blackwell are correct in thinking that Rowe has cast aside Janice Jones—which I’m fairly certain he has in an effort to cover his ass—how are we to find her?”
“That’s what Tank is for. He has connections all over New York—and the world. He also possesses skills that neither you nor I have when it comes to handling these sorts of issues. Tank has rooted out his fair share of enemies on the battlefield, Alex. This is nothing new for him. Besides, when has that man ever let us down? My suggestion is that we go after Jones. Assuming she was paid to go away, my bet is that regardless of how much Rowe gave her, she’s still angry about it. And that anger can be tapped for our benefit. We need to find her. We need to reason with her. And we need to see if she’s willing to cough up any personal information shared between her and Rowe. Photos. Emails. Let’s pray for a few love letters. Because what I do know is this—whatever Rowe paid her or has promised to pay her going forward is nothing compared to what we can pay her to supply us with the sort of information we need to oust him from Wenn. Rowe doesn’t have your kind of money, and that woman is used to hustling for the biggest tip. I’m willing to bet that she’d do so again.”
“Why don’t I talk with Tank?” Alex said. “See what he thinks. Or what he’s learned so far.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
“Before I go, I do have some news for you.”
“Why did your eyes just twinkle when you said that?”
“Because they have a reason to.”
“What does that mean?”
“I understand that you spoke with Blackwell about getting out of here early.” Before I could react, he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. “Guess you got your wish,” he said. “Ann has already made the arrangements. Wenn is sending a plane to pick us up. Cutter’s family will be on board that flight, and they’ll stay here with him until he’s fit to come home. Given the time difference and the travel involved, the plane will arrive tomorrow evening. A doctor and a nurse will be on board, and as you suggested, a portion of the cabin will act as something of a hospital room. That’s the deal we struck with the doctor in order to release you early. So, it looks as if we’ll be back in New York in two days,” he said. “How does that make you feel, Mrs. Wenn?”
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “It feels as if we’ve been away from home for months, not a little more than two weeks. Thank you for doing this. And thank you for putting up with me.”
Before he could speak, I wrapped my one good arm around my husband’s neck, pulled him close to me, told him how much I loved him, and then gave him a kiss that would leave no doubt in his mind that that was the case. We were going home.
And more importantly—we were going to find Janice Jones.
