A faint smile crossed Sylvia’s face. “Strawberries? Why are you still standing there?”
Kenny pecked Sylvia on the lips. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Sylvia buried her face in her book. She was never worried about where her husband’s heart was, only that the man she adored and loved with all her heart was in one piece. “Oh, baby,” Sylvia yelled loud enough for Kenny to hear, “Marvin called and said there is an emergency board of directors meeting tomorrow morning at ten.”
Kenny stuck his head out of the bathroom. “Thanks, babe, and think strawberries.”
Dressed in an oversized T-shirt, Peaches brushed her teeth, then placed a silk cap on her head. Exiting the bathroom, she dragged her feet to the closet to prepare for the next day. The large walk-in closet was filled with business suits, pant suits, snazzy dresses, sleazy dresses, you name it. Peaches dragged the hangers to the left as she examined each article of clothing until she stopped at a little tiger-print number—a snazzy Lycra dress that might have been mistaken for a blouse with a V-cut neckline. She pulled it off the rack and examined it, licked her lips, turned it around, held it high while cupping her chin with her other hand, then nodded her head in approval. She held the dress up to her chest, her eyes dazed. “You and me are going to make a fuss tomorrow. We’ll see what Mr. Marvin Thomas has to say when I walk up in that company of his and expose his dirty little secret. Mess with me if he wants to because fifty thousand dollars will become a million dollars.”
Peaches laid the dress across the lone chair that sat in her bedroom. She allowed her mind to wander to the night she’d brought Marvin to her apartment. He was a handsome man, but drunk as a skunk and in no way cognizant of the things Peaches had planned for him—things that would cause him to pay dearly. She sat on the edge of the bed and brought her hands to her face and blew into them. There was a moment of regret—Earl’s admonishments jarring her conscience—but visions of her run-in with Harold and Kenny interrupted the moment.
She got up and opened the drawer of the nightstand that sat next to her bed and pulled out the semi-automatic weapon that lay hidden beneath a mound of papers. Fingering the pistol, she closed her eyes and recalled Harold and Kenny’s threats and how Harold threw her cell phone out of the truck and to the ground. She put the pistol back in the drawer and got into bed. Tomorrow was a new day, and by day’s end, everyone was going to give her the respect that she deserved.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
A wave of anxiety engulfed the board room when Marvin walked in, followed by Yvonne. A hushed silence fell over the thirteen members of the board of directors, including the company’s attorney, Reggie Smith, whom Marvin had kept in the dark; the chief accountant for the firm, Wayne Shields; and his partner, Kenny Richmond. Marvin looked around the room, gauging each member’s mood. He took his place at the head of the conference room table that sat twenty-five comfortably, while Yvonne passed out folders that contained information about the day’s meeting to each member present. Kenny came over and sat next to Marvin.
“Good morning, everyone,” Marvin said. Each member scrambled for his or her seat and waited for roll call. Immediately after roll call, Marvin went into action.
“As you are all aware by now, Thomas and Richmond Tecktronics is in dire financial trouble. A handout is in your packet that details the company’s budget and receipts as of the end of August 2008.” Marvin sighed. “Unbeknownst to you, Regal Resorts, Inc., tried to buy out Thomas and Richmond. Unfortunately, under duress and without consulting with this body, I offered my fifty-two shares of stock for sale to Regal Resorts, a painful mistake that has cost me sleepless nights and as you know, almost my life. Many of you may think that I’m not capable of running the company, and I do understand if you should feel that way. But my brief encounter with death was unfortunately what I needed, although I would not recommend it as a suitable route to reclaiming one’s sanity.”
A faint smile appeared on Marvin’s face at his attempt at humor, however, the stoic looks on the faces of the board members said they weren’t amused. He looked away and continued.
“Our accounting department has retained an outside firm to complete an in-depth audit and they’ll be prepared to give us a report by the end of next week.” He looked up and stared into the eyes of Reggie Smith. “I have also spoken with an attorney, Cecil Coleman of Lancaster, Bosche, and Coleman, an old friend of mine who has a lot of experience with mergers and buyouts, and who’s agreed to work with me...with us to regain my shares of the company. Although the agreement between myself and Regal Resorts, Inc., was verbal only, Regal Resorts contends that it was an implied contract. I’ve called this meeting today to share this information with you and to seek your approval to proceed with fighting the buyout and adopting the strenuous budget that Wayne, along with Mr. Richmond and myself, has worked out. Any comments? Discussion?”
All thirteen hands flew into the air. Marvin leaned back in his seat and waited for the first question. He knew there would be concerns and questions, but now he was afraid of the questions that were about to be asked.
“Certainly you knew long before your...brush with...you know... that the company was in dire straits,” Gwen Robinson, one of two women on the board, stated. “Why are you just now sharing this with us? We believed in this company, enough to invest our money in it, to not have been made aware of the situation we now find ourselves in. Maybe you aren’t fit to run the company. Please tell us why you’re just now sharing this information with us, Mr. Thomas.”
A smug look was painted on the face of every member of the board. From the nods that went around the table, it was clear Gwen had spoken up and asked the questions they all wanted to ask. Marvin rubbed his hands together and contemplated his answer.
“Miz Robinson, your question deserves the best answer I can give. In an attempt to expand the company’s holdings nationally as well as globally, I took a lot of risks that did not pan out right away. And then there were the sudden failures of Lehman Brothers and J. P. Morgan. This meant that the ability to borrow money had ground to a halt, and I had hoped that the crisis was only a temporary one. I used my own money to subsidize some of the deficits that Wayne alerted me to. But when the crisis ballooned to where I could no longer remedy the problem on my own, I panicked.
“I know that this won’t be any consolation to you, but my family has suffered. I’m behind on my mortgage—received the final overdue payment notice yesterday.”
The group registered surprise and shock on their faces. Even Kenny snapped his neck as he abruptly turned his head to look into the face of his friend who was in greater turmoil than he had imagined. Suddenly, Sylvia’s comments about not getting a big head and her wake-up-and-look-at-the-whole-picture sermon registered in living color.
“I can go on,” Marvin said, “but it’s too heartbreaking for me to say out loud.”
“So why didn’t you tell your partner, Mr. Richmond?” someone else inquired.
“What guarantees do you have that this plan of yours will work?” asked another.
“How much will it cost us to fight the merger that was your doing?” Gwen asked, realizing she had forgotten this very important question.
“And if we agree to support your plan that you contend will work, what guarantees do we, the investors, have that you won’t sell us out again?” asked yet another.
Why, why, why and how, how, how? The questions kept coming, and Marvin felt like an avalanche of hostile fire was falling on top of him. That is, until Kenny spoke up.
“Let’s have some order,” Kenny began, rapping the table with a gavel. “Mr. Thomas has presented us with a feasible budget plan, thanks to Mr. Wayne Shields, who has spent a lot of time working on this plan. Mr. Thomas and I have worked diligently with Mr. Shields, cutting costs where necessary with our employees being our first priority. The budget will be very tight, and we will have to suspend some of our operations for a few months until we can get back on the leader board
. We have imposed tighter controls, and I want to be on record as being the first person to stand behind Mr. Thomas’ plan that I deem to be workable as long as we are diligent and adhere to it.”
“That’s plausible, Mr. Richmond,” Gwen began, grandstanding for the captive audience. “I’m not sure that you realize that you are partly responsible for this as well. I’ve served on many boards of companies, and I have yet to see one where a partner is totally unaware of the economic welfare of its business. You could very well be cited for negligence.”
Steam was forming in Kenny’s nostrils, but he was not going to let this barracuda see him sweat. He had just about enough of Gwen Robinson’s rebukes. Gritting his teeth, Kenny spoke up.
“Miz Robinson, that is a fair statement.” Kenny looked into the faces of the board members without looking at Gwen. “My area of expertise has been in sales—getting the large and small ticket items into markets tapped and untapped. I’ve relied heavily on the market forecasts of our company analysts and their ability to provide me with the temperature of the buying markets, the cash flow of our customers, and our ability to supply. I’m not in any way minimizing my responsibility in the situation Thomas and Richmond presently finds itself, but I did rely on that information being shared with me, or what you call full disclosure.” Kenny felt Marvin staring at him but went on with his speech. “I’m neglectful because I didn’t get involved enough in that aspect of the business, but Mr. Thomas and I have agreed that we will work in tandem to bring this company back from the brink.”
Marvin spoke up. “In the midst of this gloomy forecast, I do have some good news. I received a letter this morning from a charitable organization acting on behalf of an anonymous investor, who is interested in purchasing five hundred thousand dollars of our educational software for one of their charities if we agree to donate one dollar for each software package that is purchased. This investor read about our charitable efforts toward several schools in the New Orleans area who were still behind in reopening their doors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This is good news.”
Silence, then handclaps filled the room. Marvin looked at Kenny and smiled. “Yvonne, please go to my office and retrieve the letter and make copies for each of our board members.”
“Yes, sir.” Yvonne left the room.
A stocky, middle-aged man with graying temples and hazel eyes that accentuated his medium-brown skin cleared his throat. “I’d like to make a motion that we approve Mr. Thomas’ new budget plan that will be microscope-monitored by the audit team; authorize Mr. Cecil Coleman to move ahead in his attempt to secure and salvage Mr. Thomas’ fifty-two shares of stock that he had verbally promised to Regal Resorts, Inc.; and that we support him and Mr. Richmond in their efforts to get the company back on track. We do not support a buyout.”
“I second the motion,” another member said.
“Let’s take a vote,” the chairman of the board said. “All who are in favor of the budget plan; retaining Attorney Cecil Coleman to secure and salvage Mr. Thomas’ fifty-two shares of stock from Regal Resorts; support Messrs. Thomas and Richmond in their effort to get the company through this crisis; and do not support a buyout of this company; say ‘Aye.’”
“Aye,” said twelve members of the board.
“Against?” the chairman asked.
“Nay,” Gwen Robinson said.
“The ‘Ayes’ have it,” the chairman said. “Mr. Thomas and Mr. Richmond, we will await the report from the auditors and expect to receive detailed updates on Attorney Cecil Coleman’s efforts in gaining control of your company stock and the cost of this effort. Our vote today indicates that we have faith in your abilities to pull this company from the brink. Please don’t disappoint.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your vote of confidence. I, as well as Mr. Richmond, will do everything in our power to preserve the integrity of Thomas and Richmond Tecktronics, Inc.” Marvin breathed a sigh of relief.
CHAPTER FORTY
Yvonne walked briskly back to the office to retrieve the letter her boss wanted her to copy for the board members. It was obvious the board was torn over their support of Marvin, and she was anxious to do whatever she could to make them believe that her boss was on the up and up, even if all she could do was copy a piece of paper and get it back to her boss in record time. She was well aware that this was attached to her livelihood, although Marvin had promised to help her salvage her job should things take a downhill turn. Her step quickened as she neared the door to her office.
Upon opening the door, Yvonne immediately went into Marvin’s office and scoured his desk for the letter. An infectious smile enveloped her face when she located it. In her excitement, she accidently hit the Newton’s Cradle, and the metal balls began to knock into one another. Yvonne viewed it as a good sign. She felt it in her bones; all was going to be well.
Yvonne stepped around Marvin’s desk and headed to the copier with her head lowered as she examined the letter. A loud gasp flew from her mouth as she tried to pass from Marvin’s office into hers. A woman dressed in a tight-fitting leopard dress that plunged at the neckline, definitely inappropriate for the time of day, stood in the doorway with her arms extended along the door frame. Large hoop earrings adorned her ear lobes, and her black pointed-toe stilettos squeezed her feet. She scowled at Yvonne, and Yvonne gave her the once-over.
“May I help you?” Yvonne asked, looking over the top of her glasses, trying not to judge.
“It depends. Is Mr. Marvin Thomas in? I need to see him right away.”
“Your name, please?”
“It’s not important who I am. What’s important is that I speak to him right away. And it’s in his best interest that it be right away.”
Yvonne assessed the woman standing before her. She looked like a common street tramp, and there was no way Yvonne was going to interrupt her boss for that kind of person no matter how urgent the demand. “Mr. Thomas is in a meeting right now and can’t be disturbed.”
“Well, you need to disturb him if you don’t want me to cause a ruckus.”
“I can’t disturb him if I don’t know who you are and why you need to see him so urgently.”
Disgust was written on the woman’s face. She turned up her lips and sucked her teeth. “Tell Mr. Thomas that Peaches needs to speak to him right away. Hurry up; I don’t have all day.”
Peaches! So this was the woman who had been calling her boss demanding to speak to him. Whatever business this Peaches had with Marvin must be serious, Yvonne determined. “You’ll have to wait a minute. I have to make copies of this document and get it to some important people.”
“Well, hurry up. This best not be a stalling tactic.”
Yvonne kept her eye on Peaches as she quickly made twenty copies of the letter. Finished, she called Terri, the main receptionist, and asked her to come to her office. When Terri arrived she looked from Yvonne to Peaches, rolling her eyes over Peaches and wrinkling her nose.
With her hands on her hips, Peaches’ eyes bored through Terri’s. “You got a problem?”
Ignoring Peaches, Terri turned toward Yvonne. “What do you need, Yvonne?”
“I need you to stay with Miz...Peaches until I return from the conference room. I need to get these papers down there now.”
“Hold up,” Peaches shouted. “I don’t know what you two non-professional, so-called secretaries are trying to pull. I don’t need a babysitter; I need to speak to Marvin Thomas, now. I’ve tried to be patient, but my patience has about run its course. Yvonne, or whatever your name is, I’ve already warned you about what I’d do if you failed to do as I ask.”
“Let me tell you one thing, Peaches, or whatever your name is,” Yvonne retorted. “You don’t scare me.”
Shock draped Terri’s face. “You alright, Yvonne? I’ve never seen you upset before.”
“Just watch Miz Peaches until I come back,” Yvonne said.
“I’m going with you,” Peaches said, and headed out of the doo
r right behind Yvonne.
Yvonne stopped in her tracks and faced Peaches. “No, you aren’t. You will go back inside my office and wait with Terri until I return.”
“Yvonne, what’s taking you—” Marvin began, but stopped when Peaches stepped in front of Yvonne.
“I need to speak to you now,” Peaches demanded of Marvin.
“I can’t talk to you right now. I’m in a very important meeting. Thanks, Yvonne.” Marvin took the copies of the letters and left Yvonne and Peaches with puzzled looks on their faces.
Peaches shrugged her shoulders and followed Marvin down the hall. “You best stop and listen to what I have to say,” she said to Marvin, her voice carrying down the hall. Marvin stopped, turned around abruptly, and glared at Peaches.
“Bitch, you better get out of my face and off these premises before I have you put off,” Marvin hissed.
“Let me share something with you, Marvin. The next time you send your goons to do your dirty work, let them know I have something for them. I don’t scare easy, and I don’t plan to go away. I want my fifty thousand dollars or there will be hell to pay.”
“Your threats don’t mean anything to me, Peaches. And after talking with my partner, I’ve decided that I will not give in to your extortion attempt.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You will pay the money you owe me. Don’t get it twisted, remember I have incriminating evidence on your ass.”
“I don’t owe you a damn thing, Peaches. Now get the hell out of here.”
“Marvin, what’s taking you so long?” Kenny asked, walking toward Marvin. “The board is getting restless.” He stopped in his tracks when he saw Peaches. “What is she doing here, Marvin?”
“She’s on her way out,” Marvin said. He turned and walked away.
“Do I need to remind you of our conversation last night?” Kenny hissed at Peaches.
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