The King of Shanghai (12 page)

( 14 )

The guard saluted and swung open the gate for the taxi. Amanda was standing in front of the main door, looking worried.

“Where is Chi-Tze?” Ava asked as she got out of the cab and started up the steps.

“In the boardroom. She’s by herself. Clark has left the building and Gillian is in her office with the door closed.”

“Tough morning for you.”

“A surprising one, anyway.”

“Tell me about it in a bit more detail before we go inside.”

Amanda sighed. “I had forgotten how formidable Chi-Tze can be. I know she’s tiny and looks like she’s barely out of her teens, but when it comes to business and business analysis, she can come across like a two-hundred-pound bully. That’s what happened with Gillian. Chi-Tze was super-aggressive with her questions, and I could see that Clark was getting agitated. I should have stepped in. But I didn’t and Chi-Tze kept going at Gillian until Clark exploded and left. Gillian ran after him. When she returned, she told us he isn’t coming back and that they need a decision today.”

“Do you still want to do this deal?” Ava asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Their behaviour didn’t sour you on it?”

“We had some miscommunication we need to fix. I wasn’t clear enough with Chi-Tze about our intentions, and that’s why she went at it the way she did. She treated it like a case study at Brandeis — her objective was simply to find fault. If I had explained better . . .”

“Okay, I understand.”

“I think Gillian wasn’t pleased about her being here in the first place, but as I said, she did bite her tongue and try to co-operate until Clark got involved. She’s terribly protective of him.”

“I noticed that yesterday.”

“So what I’m saying is that I don’t put the blame on Gillian or Clark.”

“Let me ask you again. Do you still want to do this deal?”

“I do.”

“Chi-Tze had time to go over the proposal and the due diligence. What did she think?”

“That’s the crazy thing. She thinks developing the Po brand is a tremendous idea. She says there’s no Chinese designer who’s really made a mark on the world stage, and the timing is perfect to launch someone.”

“She hasn’t seen the clothes.”

“She took my word that we were all impressed with them. What she’s looking at is the soundness of the proposal and how Gillian wants to execute the plan.”

“And you obviously think highly of her judgement.”

“Absolutely. And she’s completely sold on Gillian’s business model.”

“She didn’t tell Gillian how she felt, though.”

“No. As I said, she didn’t have the chance. Things blew up before she could get there.”

“Okay, I understand. Let’s go inside and see what we can salvage.”

Amanda opened the door and they stepped into the small foyer. The offices were quiet, people hunkered down at their desks as if trying to stay out of harm’s way.

“Does Chi-Tze understand why things went sideways?” Ava asked.

“Yes, and she feels awful.”

“Have you mentioned to her that we might want her to be our person inside this business?”

“No.”

“Good. Now you go and talk to her and I’ll speak to Gillian.”

Ava could feel eyes on her as they walked down the corridor. In an office that size there wasn’t much that could be said and kept confidential. At the far end Ava saw Chi-Tze watching her though the glass wall of the boardroom. Ava waved and gave her a little smile. “I’ll come and get you when things are sorted,” she said to Amanda.

She knocked on Gillian’s door. “Just a moment,” she said. Ava heard her end a phone conversation.

The door opened and Gillian stood directly in front of Ava. “I’m sorry we had to drag you all the way here,” she said, her face set firmly.

“I was pleased to come. I just wish it were for a different reason,” Ava said.

“Things got out of hand.”

“So I heard.”

Gillian backed into her office. “Here, take a seat.”

“Is it okay to talk in here?”

“The offices on either side of me are empty.”

Ava nodded and sat down. “Amanda has explained to me what happened and why it happened.”

“I have to say we were disappointed.”

“Surely you didn’t think we wouldn’t have more questions after hearing your proposal.”

“I told you that you aren’t the only people we’ve spoken to about the business,” Gillian said sharply.

“You did.”

“Well, aside from the fact that most of them wanted Clark to keep designing for their own labels, the chemistry just wasn’t right. All they could see was numbers and all they wanted to talk about was numbers. When I met Amanda and she told me about you and May Ling, I thought there might finally be a fit. I have to tell you, Amanda conducted a very thorough, professional, discreet, and sensitive due diligence on our business.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to know that you think so.”

“And in the talks I had with her, she came across as someone who cares about the soul of the business. I know
soul
might be a funny word to use, but Clark and I see the business as a living, breathing entity, full of people we’ve grown up with and love.”

“Amanda was raised in a family business. She understands that kind of emotional attachment.”

“Exactly — that’s how she came across. So when I realized we might have found the right the fit, I did some due diligence of my own, on your business.”

“Of course.”

“I knew of May Ling by name and reputation — what Chinese woman in business doesn’t? I was really happy when I discovered how respected she is. As for Amanda, well, she has a terrific education and background. You were a bit of an enigma, but I thought that if May Ling Wong wanted you for a business partner, that was recommendation enough. That’s when we decided to make a serious pitch.”

“And that’s how we took it — seriously. But I can’t help saying again that it was naive of you to expect an instant decision.”

Gillian closed her eyes, pressed her lips together, and sighed. “My brother rarely gets involved in business matters.”

“I sensed that.”

“When I said that we’d talked to other companies, what I didn’t mention was that this has been going on ever since the day my uncle sold the firm. We must have talked to ten potential buyers. Clark has been getting impatient. Actually,
impatient
is an understatement,” she said. “He’s bursting with ideas, and not being able to transform them into reality wears on him. He gets emotional, even neurotic, at times. One of my main challenges is to keep him calm and keep him focused on the business at hand.”

“Did he also meet with the other companies?”

“Some of them, but it was always strained. Either they were put off by his personality or he wanted nothing more to do with them. He liked Amanda, of course, which is why yesterday happened.”

“Yesterday was a good thing all around.”

“We thought so too, which is why the insertion of Chi-Tze into the process was a bit of a shock. She was acting exactly like every other bean counter we’ve met. It was as if all the due diligence Amanda did and all our conversations didn’t matter. We felt like we were back at square one.”

“There was some miscommunication within our team. Chi-Tze is not to blame.”

“So you say. Our fear is that she’s the tip of the iceberg.”

Ava shrugged. “Clark is not the only person whose feelings need to be considered.”

“What do you mean?”

“Chi-Tze has gone through hell over the past six months. This assignment — which so far has consisted entirely of her reading Amanda’s briefing notes and flying into Shanghai this morning — is a way for her to put a lot of misery behind her. She wants to impress us. She doesn’t really need to, but in her mind she thinks it’s necessary. So she overdid things. She is very bright, very analytical, and as well trained as Amanda. She has studied how to build a brand, so we thought her input would be useful. We didn’t expect her to go back over old ground. It was our fault that we weren’t more specific.”

“She was very aggressive, to the point of being rude.”

“I apologize for that. That wasn’t our intent.”

“What was your intent?”

“We wanted her to confirm our belief that investing in the PÖ brand isn’t a far-fetched idea.”

“Confirm?”

“We like your plan. So does Chi-Tze.”

“She never even hinted at that. She was all doubt and skepticism.”

“As I said, there was a misunderstanding.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“Where is your brother?”

“Why?”

“I have a proposal for you.”

Gillian pushed her chair back from the desk, as if distancing herself from Ava. “If this is a business discussion, you should be having it with me,” she said.

“What I have to say, I need to say to the two of you.”

“I would like to hear it first.”

“No.”

“You can’t dictate —”

“I’m not,” Ava said, her voice rising. “We have a proposal. I want you and your brother to understand, directly from me, what we are prepared to do, why we are prepared to do it, and what our expectations are.”

“He’s left and he won’t come back.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I’ve been through this before.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“Are you serious about making an offer?”

“Yes,” Ava said.

“Then give it to me in writing. I’ll review it with my brother and our lawyer and I’ll get back to you.”

“How long will that take?”

“That depends on the complexity of the offer.”

“We’re prepared to give you most of what you want.”

Gillian blinked, and Ava thought she saw her catch her breath. “You used the word
most
,” she said.

“Yes. You may have some questions about the financial controls we need to put in place, but I can assure you they’re not there to impede the running of the business.”

“I want to see the details.”

“Of course.”

“Is that all?”

“No. We want to put someone into the business full-time. That person would represent our interests, and we’d make sure they had skills that would be of benefit.”

“We don’t need anyone. One reason we want to do this is to have control of our own destiny. We’ve had enough of working for other people.”

“I’m suggesting someone you would work with, not for.”

“Amanda?”

“I don’t have a name yet.”

“Whoever it is would have to be compatible with Clark.”

“That’s a given.”

“Would the person be Chinese?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“It’s no secret that my brother is gay. With our European and North American customers it’s completely inconsequential. China is another matter. Even in cities the size of Shanghai there is widespread intolerance. I said earlier that some of our potential buyers were put off by Clark’s personality.
Personality
is a euphemism — all those buyers were Chinese. Some of them even asked if we would hire someone to be the public face of the brand.”

“I understand.”

“It isn’t a small matter.”

“And it won’t be treated as one.”

Gillian looked across the desk at Ava. “So where does this leave us?”

“We’ll prepare an offer and send it to you.”

“Fine.”

“And you’ll explain to your brother about Chi-Tze’s behaviour?”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all we can ask. Now I’d better get Amanda and Chi-Tze.” Ava stood. “We’ll be in touch.”

As she walked along the corridor she could see two faces staring at her from the boardroom. Their expressions couldn’t have been more different. Chi-Tze looked distraught; Amanda’s face was full of questions.

“We should leave. How soon can you get us a taxi?” Ava asked.

“Five minutes,” Amanda said.

“Then do that,” Ava said.

While Amanda called a cab, Chi-Tze pulled her papers together, her eyes cast downwards.

“We’ll talk when we get outside,” Ava said. “The two of you have some work to do.”

“So —” Amanda began.

“Outside,” Ava said.

When they walked out the factory door, the cab was waiting for them. Ava motioned for the two women to get into the back seat. She sat in front. “The Peninsula Hotel,” she said to the driver. As he pulled away, she turned to face Amanda and Chi-Tze. “Gillian and I had a decent talk, so let’s not dwell on what happened earlier.”

“Great,” Amanda said. Chi-Tze bit her lower lip and gave a slight nod.

“What I need to know from the two of you is whether or not you’re absolutely on side with our getting into this business — and by that I mean buying into Clark Po’s dream. So let’s hear it. Can this really work, and are you both prepared to get into it up to your chins?”

“Are you saying you want both of us to be actively involved?” Amanda asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you think Gillian and Clark will be okay with that?” Chi-Tze said.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves trying to anticipate what they’ll like. Let’s concentrate on what we want.”

“I want to do the deal, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure it’s a success,” Amanda said.

“Me too,” Chi-Tze said, just as forcefully.

“Good. When you get back to the hotel, I want you to create an offer sheet. I’d like it done by tonight so we can run it past May Ling and then send it to Gillian and Clark.”

“That’s quick,” Amanda said.

“Is that a problem for either of you?”

“No, we can do it, as long as we have some guidance.”

“Give them the share structure they want, but we have to have right of first refusal if they want to sell even one share,” Ava said. “Detail and insist on the financial protection May Ling thinks we need. Commit us to putting in ten million dollars immediately and whatever else is needed if the business’s performance matches the projections in Gillian’s plans.”

“Ava, if those projections are met, we’ll have to come up with another twenty or thirty million quite quickly. Currently we don’t have that kind of availability,” Amanda said.

“May and I talked about this last night. The money will be there if it’s needed.”

Amanda looked surprised but simply said, “Okay.”

“Now in addition to those points I’m sure there’s a lot of boiler-plating you learned at business school and will want to add. Feel free to do that, but remember the sensitivities you’re dealing with.”