The Prodigal Daughter (36 page)

“Glad you
accomplished something on your trip to London,” she whispered Richard walked,
dazed, onto the platform. Jake Thomas shook his hand and then took a seat on
the end of the row.

“I have little
to say on this occasion,” began Richard, “other than to assure you that I wish
Lester’s to carry on in the same tradition as it did under my father and that I
will dedicate myself to that end.” Unable to think of anything else to add, he
smiled and said, “I thank you for your attendance today and look forward to
seeing you all at the annual meeting.” There followed another round of applause
and the shareholders began to disperse, chattering.

As soon as they
could escape from those who wished to buttonhole Richard, either to
congratulate him or to tell him how they felt Lester’s should be run,
Florentyna led him away to the chairman’s office. He stood and stared at the
portrait of his father that hung over the fireplace and turned to his wife.

“How did you
manage it, Jessie?”

“Well, I
remembered a piece of advice my governess had taught me when I was younger.
Contingency, Miss Tredgold used to say. Always have a contingency plan ready in
case it rains. When you called from Montreal I was afraid there might be an
outside chance it would pour and you wouldn’t make the meeting. So I called
Thaddeus Cohen and explained what my contingency plan was and he spent the
morning drawing up the necessary documents.”

“What
documents?” said Richard.

“Patience, Mr.
Kane. I do feel after my triumph that I have the right to spin out this tale a
little longer.”

Richard remained
impatiently silent.

“When I had the
vital document in my hand, I phoned Jake Thomas and asked if he could see me
twenty minutes before the stockholders’ meeting was due to start. Had you
arrived in time, I would have canceled the confrontation with Mr. Thomas, but
you didn’t.”

“But your plan-”

“My fattier-no
fool-told me once a skunk, always a skunk, and he turned out to be right. At
the meeting with Thomas, I informed him that we were in possession of fiftyone
percent of Lester’s stock. He was disbelieving until I mentioned the name of
Sir Colin Emson, and then he turned quite pale. I placed the whole bundle of
certificates on the table in front of him and, before he could check them, told
him that if he sold me his two percent before two o’clock I would still pay him
the full fourteen dollars per share. I -added that he must also sign a document
saying he would resign as chairman and make no attempt to interfere in any
future dealings involving Lester’s Bank. For good measure, although it was not
in the contract, he must propose you for chairman,” “My God, Jessie, you have
the nerve of ten men.”

“No.
One woman.”

Richard laughed.
“What was Thomas’s response?”

“Asked
what I would do if he refused.
If you refuse, I told him, we’ll sack
you publicly without compensation for loss of office. Then I pointed out to him
that he would have to sell his stock for the best price he could get on the
open market because as long as we had fifty-one percent of Lester’s he would
play no part in the future of the bank.”

“And then?”

“He signed there
and then without even consulting his fellow directors.”

“Brilliant,
Jessie, both in conception and execution.”

“Thank you, Mr.
Kane. I do hope that now you are chairman of a bank you won’t be running all
over the world getting yourself delayed, missing meetings and having nothing to
show for your troubles other than a model of a red London bus. By the way, did you
remember to bring a present for Annabel?”

The Present:
1968-1982 225

Richard looked
embarrassed. Florentyna bent down and handed him an F. A.

0. Schwarz
shopping bag. He lifted out a package that showed a picture of a toy typewriter
on the outside with “Made in England” printed all along the bottom of the box.

“Just not ~ our
day is it, Mr. Kane? By the way, Neil Armstrong got back quicker than you did.
Perhaps we should invite him to join the board?”

Richard read
Vermont Royster’s article in The Wall Street Journal the next morning:

Richard
Kaneseems to have won a bloodless coup in his bid to become chairman of
Lester’,,.
There was no vote taken by shareholders at the
extraordinary meeting, and his succession to the chair was proposed by the
retifing incumbent, Jake Thomas, and carfied unanimously.

Many
stockholders present at the meeting referred to the traditions and standards
set by the late William Lowell Kane, the present chairman’s father. Lester’s
stock ended the day up two points on the New York Exchange.

“That’s the last
we’ll hear of Jake Thomas,” said Florentyna.

R
ICHARD HAD NEVER
HEARD OF MAJOR ABANJo before that morning. Neither had anyone else in America
other than those who took an overzealous interest in the affairs of Nambawe,
Central Africa’s smallest state. Nevertheless, it was Major Abanjo who caused
Richard to run late for his most important appointment that day, the eleventh
birthday of his only son.

When Richard
arrived back at the apartment on
Sixty-fourth
Street,
Major Abanjo was driven from his mind by Annabel, who had a few minutes earlier
poured a pot of tea over William’s hand because she wasn’t receiving enough
attention. She hadn’t realized that it was boiling hot. It seemed that Carol
had been in the kitchen fussing over the birthday cake at the time. Annabel was
getting even less attention now that William was screaming at the top of his
voice, and ail the other children had to be sent home. A few minutes later
Annabel was also screaming, after Richard had placed her across his knee and
administered six hard whacks with his slipper before both children were put to
bed-William with two aspirins and an ice bag to help him sleep and Annabel as a
further punishment.

Eleven
candies-and one to grow on-had burned themselves down to the icing on the large
cake that remained untouched on the dining room table.

“I’m afraid
William will have a scar on his fight hand for the rest of his life,” said
Florentyna after she had checked to see that her son was at last asleep.

“Still, he took it
like a man.”

“Idon’t
agree
,” said Florentyna. “He neveronce grumbled.”

“
it
probably wouldn’t have happened if I had been on time,”
said Richard, ignoring her comment. “Damn Major Abanjo.”

“Who is Major
Abanjo?” asked Florentyna.

226

The Present: 1968-1982
227

“A
young army officer who was behind the coup in Nambawe today. “

“Why should a
little African state stop you from being on time for William’s birthday party?”

“That little
African state has an outstanding five-year loan agreement of three hundred
million dollars that Lester’s led on in 1966 and the repayment is due in three
months.”

“We are in for
three hundred million dollars?” said Florentyna, flabbergasted.

“No, no,” said
Richard. “We covered the first fifteen percent of the loan, and the remaining
two hundred and fifty million was divided among thirty-seven other financial
institutions.”

“Can we survive
a loss of forty-five million dollars?”

“Yes we can, as
long as the Baron Group remains our friends,” said Richard, smiling at his
wife. “
It’s
three years’ profits down the drain, not
to mention a severe blow to our reputation with the other thirty-seven banks
and the inevitable drop in our stock price tomorrow.”

Lester’s stock
dropped the next day by more than Richard had anticipated, for two reasons. The
newly self-appointed President of Nambawe, Major Abanjo, announced that he had
no intention of honoring previous government commitments made with any “Fascist
regime” including America, Britain, France, Germany and Japan. Richard wondered
how many Russian bankers were boarding planes to Central Africa at that moment.

The second
reason became apparent when a reporter from The Wall Street Journal called
Richard and asked him if he had any statement to make about the coup.

“I really have
nothing to say,” said Richard, trying to sound as if the whole episode were
about as troublesome to him as brushing a fly off his sleeve. “I feel sure the
problem will sort itself out during the next few days. After all, the loan is
only one of many that Lester’s is involved with at the present time.”

“Mr. Jake Thomas
might not agree with that opinion,” said the journalist.

“You have spoken
to Mr. Thomas?” said Richard in disbelief.

“Yes, Mr. Kane,
he called the Journal earlier today and had an off-the-record conversation with
our publisher, leaving us in no doubt that he would be surprised if Lester’s
could survive such a demand on cash flow.”

“No comment,”
said Richard curtly, and put the phone down.

At Richard’s
request, Florentyna called a board meeting of the Baron (3roup to ensure enough
financial backing so that Lester’s could survive a run on its stock. To
Richard’s and Florentyna’s surprise, George was not at all convinced that the
Baron Group should enmesh itself in Lester’s problems. He told them he had never
approved of using the Baron stock as security for the takeover of the bank in
the first place.

“I remained
silent at the time, but I’m not willing to do so on a second occasion,” he
said, his hands resting on the boardroom table. “Abel never liked throwing good
money after bad, whatever his personal involvement.

He used to say
that anyone could talk ~tbout future profits and start spending money they
hadn’t yet earned. Have you considered that we might both end up going under?”

“The sum
involved is not that large to the Baron Group,” said Richard.

“Abel always
considered any loss to be ten times the problem of any profit,” George told
him. “And what outstanding loans do you hax e to other countries around the
world which could be taken over while we are asleep in bed?”

“Only one
outside the EEC, and that’s a loan of two hundred million to the Shah of Iran.
Again we are the lead bank with a commitinent of thirty million, but Iran has
never missed an interest payment by
so
much as an
hour.”

“When is their final
payment due?” asked George.

Richard flicked
through a bulky file that lay on the table in front of him and ran his
forefinger down a column of figures. Although nettled by George’s attitude, he
was pleased to be well prepared for any query that might arise.

“June
ninete--n, 1978.”

“Then I want an
assurance you won’t involve the bank again when the loan comes up for renewal,”
said George firmly.

“What?” said
Richard.
“The Shah is as safe as the Bank of England-”

“
Which hasn’t proved to be so solid lately.
”

Richard was
beginning to look angry and was about to respond when Florentyna interrupted.

“Hold on,
Richard. If Lester’s agrees not to renew its loan with the Shah in 1978, or
involve itself in any further Third World commitments, George, will you in turn
agree to the Baron Group’s underwriting the forty-five million
loss
on the Narnbawe contract?”

“No, I’d still
need some more convincing.”

“Like what?”
Richard demanded.

“Richard, you
don’t have to raise your voice. I am still the president of the Baron Group.
Abel gave thirty years of his life to building the company up to its present
position, and I don’t intend to see that achievement demolished in thirty
minutes.”

“I’m sony,” said
Richard. “I haven’t had much sleep for the last four days.

What would you
like to know, George?”

“Other than the
agreement with the Shah, is Lester’s committed to any other loans over ten
million?”

“No,” said
Richard. “Most major country-to-country loans are serviced by the prime banks
like Chase or Chemical and we end up with only a tiny percentage of the capital
sum. Obviously, Jake Thomas felt that Nambawe, which is rich in copper and
manganite, was as sure a bet as he could hope to find.”

“We already
know, to our cost, that Mr. Thomas is fallible,” said George

“So, what other
loans above five million remain outstanding at the bank?”

“Two,” replied
Richard.
“One with General Electricity in Australia for seven
million, which is secured by the government, and one with ICI in London.
Both are five-year loans with set payment dates and so far repayments have been
met on schedule.”

“So if the Group
wrote off the forty-five million, how long would it take Lester’s to recoup the
loss?”

“That would
depend on the percentage any lender required and over what period of time the
money was loaned.”