“No.”
“He’s a punk-rock superstar?”
Jordanna managed to chuckle. “No.”
“Then what? What could be so awful about a man you’d meet?”
“His name is Patrick Clayes.”
“Nice name. Good strong sound.”
Slowly Jordanna turned. “Doesn’t it ring a bell?”
Sally frowned. “No. Should it?”
Slumping down onto the broad windowsill, Jordanna propped herself on a hand by either hip. “It would if you were into sports.”
“I’m not. You know that.”
“Norman would know the name.”
“You bet Norman would know the name. He’s a lost cause. Every weekend now it’s football. Collegiate games on Saturdays, pro games on – uh-oh. Tell me, Jordanna. Who is Patrick Clayes?”
Jordanna took a deep breath, then let it out with a huff. “Patrick Clayes is – was the quarterback who rivaled Peter for years.”
“Ahh. Patrick Clayes.”
“You have heard of him?”
“No. But I’ll take your word that he is who he is. And I take it that bothers you.”
“Yes. No. God, I don’t know!”
Slipping from the desk, Sally joined Jordanna on the sill. She spoke very softly. “I’ve never seen you like this, love. Even when things are at their worst here, you’re cool. You’ve always got an opinion, not that I’ve always agreed with you.” When Jordanna sent her a scowl, she got back on the track. “This Patrick Clayes got to you, did he?”
“Yes.”
Sally sat back. “There. Now we’re getting somewhere. Want to tell me about it?”
“Not really.”
“But you will.”
“I guess I have to. I don’t know what to do about it myself. And you’re right. It’s affecting my work.”
Sally patted her hand. “Okay. Start at the beginning. I take it he was a member of the expedition.”
In as few words as possible, Jordanna told her story. By the time she’d finished, Sally had much to consider. “You parted… just like that?”
“Just like that. It was the only way. He was right. We were living in a dreamworld.”
“But I don’t understand why it can’t be a real world as well.”
“Sally, the man is a football player.”
“Was a football player.”
“Same difference. Do you have any idea what I feel in my gut every time I remember what it was like being married to Peter?”
“Patrick’s not Peter. You said it yourself. You kept expecting him to be that way, but he wasn’t. He was kind and good and giving.” She hesitated. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Does he love you?”
“He didn’t say that. All he said was that we’d have to try to cope with our relationship in the context of the real world.” She looked at her friend beseechingly. “Don’t you see, Sal? He fought being second banana to Peter all those years. How could he possibly become involved with me? I was Peter’s wife.”
“Sounds like he’s already involved with you.”
Jordanna quickly waved the argument aside. “That was there. We were in isolated circumstances. In a kind of limbo. It was like an island fling or… or a shipboard romance.”
“But you love him.”
“Yes!”
“And you want him to call.”
Defeated, Jordanna lowered her head. “One part of me says no. That part of me wishes I’d never met him. I was happy with my life. It was uncomplicated.” When Sally snorted, she specified. “In the personal sense, I mean. But… .”
“The other part… .”
“The other part of me feels empty. It wants to see him. Yes, damn it, it wants him to call.”
“Why don’t you call him?”
“I can’t. I… I need time.”
“The hell you do. Nothing is accomplished with you sitting here in this office and him–” she swung her hand “–out there somewhere.”
“Park Avenue,” Jordanna murmured. “His office is on Park Avenue.”
“Then that’s half the battle. You know where he is. So call him.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not? Hell, you’re aggressive enough around here. You wouldn’t blink an eyelash at the thought of picking up that phone and getting the president of Neiman-Marcus on the line.”
“That’s different.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
“It does. The president of Neiman-Marcus hasn’t been batted around for years by Willow Enterprises.”
“You didn’t bat Patrick around. Peter did it.”
“But I was married to Peter! And the world knows that.”
Sally surged to her feet. “Screw the world, Jordanna Kirkland. You’ve never been one to make decisions based on what the world thought. You’ve made decisions based on what you thought was right. Call him. Pick up the phone and call him.”
“No! I want him to call me!”
“Ahh. The ultimate fantasy.” Sally’s voice was gentle, as were the hands she placed on her friend’s shoulders. “You, Jordanna Kirkland, are an old-fashioned girl at heart. I should have seen it sooner – the way you cry at weddings, the way you insist I take the day off when one of the kids has a birthday, the way you send champagne on anniversaries. You’re a romantic. Even your marriage to Peter was that way at the start, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“But you’ve grown cynical.”
“Cautious.”
“Whatever. And because the present fairy tale has a little glitch in it, you’re willing to throw it away?”
“I never said that. All I said was that there were problems that I didn’t know how to solve.”
Sally shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “I wish I had the solutions, love, but I don’t. You and Patrick are the only ones who can find them, but you’ve got to get together.”
“I know,” Jordanna whispered.
“He’ll call.”
“How can you be so sure? Maybe he’s decided that fighting one Kirkland was enough.”
“He’s not going to fight you. He’s going to fight for you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know you, Jordanna. I’ve seen the spell you cast over people. If Patrick Clayes spent that delicious weekend with you, he’s hooked. And besides, I’m a romantic at heart myself. It’ll work out. You’ll see.”
“I wish I could be as confident as you are.” She pouted. “I’m not even sure that I want it to work out.”
“You do. I can see it in your eyes. Don’t forget, I’ve known you for nearly ten years now. I was with you in the aftermath of your divorce. I’ve been with you through years of occasional dates. And I’ve never seen you this way before. You do love him. And love is a stronger force than some stupid rivalry between little boys.”
Jordanna laughed. Though Sally’s conviction was subjective at best, she did feel better for the sharing of her woes. “Little boys. Stubborn little boys.”
“Jealous little boys.” Sally’s eyes suddenly widened. “Hey, Craig doesn’t know any of this, does he?”
“Lord, no! And I don’t want him to know. Any of it. Got that, Sally?”
Sally turned an imaginary key at her lips. “Got it.” Her eye skipped back to the ad mock-up on Jordanna’s desk. “Now, about this campaign… .”
THE AD CAMPAIGN was the last thing on Jordanna’s mind when, two weeks later, she received a call from Alexander Shane. Drawn from her reverie concerning another call, one she had not received, she was slightly off balance.
“Alexander Shane?” she echoed when her secretary buzzed her to announce the call. “Of the Widener Corporation?”
“That’s what he said.”
Jordanna had heard of Alexander Shane and his Widener Corporation. In the past three years, the corporation had made headlines any number of times. She cringed at the reason.
&
nbsp; “Put him on,” she instructed, then straightened in her chair. A gravelly voice came on the line.
“Mrs. Kirkland?”
“Yes.”
“This is Alexander Shane.”
“Yes, Mr. Shane. How are you?” It was a formality. Her mind was already jumping ahead.
“Fine, thank you. I want to congratulate you. Willow Enterprises is doing quite well.”
“Thank you. We believe it is.”
“The Widener Corporation knows it is. Which is why I’m calling. We’d like to make you an offer.”
Jordanna’s heart began to thud. “An offer?”
“Yes. A merger. Willow Enterprises and the Widener Corporation.”
Stunned, Jordanna cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shane, but we’re not looking to merge with anyone, particularly a corporation that deals almost exclusively in electronics and defense gadgetry.”
“Actually,” came the other voice, undaunted, “we’ve expanded in recent months. You’re aware of our takeover of Grossner Foods?”
Takeover. The word sent a frisson of fear through Jordanna. She gripped the phone more tightly. “Yes. I read about that. But what possible interest could you have in Willow Enterprises? We’re still very young–”
“You’ve got six plants spread across the country. Your profit margin has steadily increased. And, as the deal with Grossner Foods shows, we’ve begun to diversify.”
More like trying to soften the image, Jordanna mused angrily. “I’m sorry, Mr. Shane. We’re simply not interested.”
“Is that a definite no?”
“Very much so,” she said. Her pulse raced. Her eyes were glued to her desk. She waited.
Then it came. “In that case, I’d like to inform you that tomorrow morning we’ll be filing a statement of intent with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ads will be run in the major papers. A direct-mail offer will be made to your stockholders.”
Shocked, Jordanna couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She looked frantically around her office as though somewhere the proper words to quash this demon lay hidden.
“Well?” Alexander Shane prodded. “No response, Mrs. Kirkland?”
His smugness was enough to snap her from verbal paralysis. “My response, Mr. Shane, remains the same.” She swallowed hard. “Willow Enterprises will not become a subsidiary of your organization.”
“You may not have much choice. We’ve already bought up a substantial amount of your stock, and our tender offer will be for forty-eight dollars a share. As you know, that’s ten above the market–”
“I know what the market price is,” Jordanna cut in, blood boiling, “and I believe we have little left to say to each other. If you wish a friendly takeover, I’m afraid you’ll have to go elsewhere. I’ll fight, Mr. Shane. I haven’t spent the past ten years of my life working to build a business, only to have it taken over by a warmongering conglomerate!”
Her caller only laughed. “It’s that very spirit of yours that has made Willow Enterprises so successful, Mrs. Kirkland. We’re fighters. All of us. We’ll look forward to a successful union.”
Over my dead body, Jordanna fumed, hanging up the phone and gripping the edges of her desk for dear life. “This is incredible. Absolutely incredible.” Her eyes were wide, panic filled. “They can’t do this!” she wailed to no one at all. “They can’t just call up and steal my baby from under my nose! It’s not fair! It’s not fair!”
Bolting from her chair, she began to pace the room, only to return to her desk with a rush and lift the phone. “Leila, get Tom Cherwin on the line.” Tom was vice-chairman of her board of directors and a practicing lawyer.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t much help. “It’s perfectly legal, Jordanna. You know that as well as I do. Widener has every right to attempt a takeover. At least we know they haven’t got too much stock; we would have to have been notified otherwise. All we can do is work fast.”
“A board meeting tomorrow?”
“If possible. I do know that Margery Dodd is out of town. Henry Walker may be too. If we have to let it go another day, we can. Try to reach everyone else.”
Jordanna’s mind was reeling. She was amazed she could sit still. But then there was this god-awful quaking of her knees.
“I will. Tom, what are our chances?”
“Of emerging with things exactly as they’ve been for the past few years? Next to nil.” He paused, then spoke very quietly. “Damn it, I never dreamed this would happen. Fortunately, we have a clause in our corporate contract to the effect that any change in the status of the company has to be approved at a meeting of the stockholders. Arranging such a meeting will take time. If Widener has borrowed money to finance the acquisition, time for them may be at a premium.”
“Their ads will be in the papers tomorrow. What if they manage to buy up enough of our stock to swing the vote?”
“We’ve got to prevent that. Get on the phone, Jordanna. You, personally. Call the largest of the block stockholders and explain what’s happened.”
“Damn it, Tom. Widener’s offering forty-eight. It’s an attractive deal. We can’t match that.”
“We’ll have to. Somehow. I’d suggest a leveraged buy-out, borrowing money ourselves to buy back the stock and go private, but that’d put us on shaky ground financially.” He paused. “There’s always the chance of finding a friendly buyer.”
“But I don’t want to sell! Willow Enterprises is my life!”
“Which is why a friendly merger may be the only answer. If Widener takes us over, you and I and the board as we know it are bound to go, not to mention the greater part of your executive force. I don’t care what Shane says on the phone about working together, I’ve seen how the man operates. He’ll use us for his own ends. Don’t tell me he’s really interested in the welfare of the sportswoman. Hell, his fancy heat-seeking missiles could blow her away in a minute.”
“You’re supposed to be making me feel better, Tom,” Jordanna scolded. “Let’s not worry about heat-seeking missiles for the time being. Let’s concentrate on keeping the guy’s finger off our button, okay?”
“Sorry, Jordanna. Damn. We should have clauses to protect management.”
“Why don’t we?”
“Because we never thought in terms of being taken over before.”
They were wasting valuable time. “Well, we are now. Listen, I’m going to start making some of those calls. I want to reach as many of the major stockholders as possible before Widener’s ad hits the papers. What do I tell them?”
“Tell them to hold off while we look into counter-offers.”
“Right.” She was furiously scribbling notes. “And the board of directors – I’ll call Marge and Henry first. If they can’t make it until Thursday morning, we’ll meet then.”
“Fine. In the meantime, let me get an analyst on it. If we’re going to need a white knight, we’d better get on the stick.”
White knight. Jordanna pondered the term, a common one in takeover jargon. In her mind’s eye she pictured Patrick, and a pang of need joined those ones of desperation that filled her. More than ever she wanted to talk with him. He’d understand, give her encouragement and strength. But he hadn’t called… and there were others she had to talk with now.
As she’d done so often in the past four weeks, as she’d done so often in the past ten years, she put her personal needs on hold.
JORDANNA SPENT THE ENTIRE DAY and much of the evening on the phone. She contacted each of the members of the board and set up a meeting for early Thursday morning. She called each of the major stockholders and made her plea for restraint. It was hard; without a concrete counteroffer, she was appealing to them on grounds of sheer loyalty. Fortunately, though money was the name of the game, those she spoke with appeared to be the loyal type.
She called each of the six plants across the country, explaining to her managers what had happened and enlisting their aid in convincing those of their employees who held stock not to sell.
This task was somewhat easier. The employees of Willow Enterprises were treated well; a threat to the organization was a direct threat to their own well-being.
Between calls she met with her executive staff, all of whom were stockholders as well. It was from this group that she found the greatest support. Their fury at the takeover threat and determination that it wouldn’t succeed was a source of encouragement.
Nonetheless, by the time she’d returned home and made calls to several stockholders she hadn’t been able to reach earlier, she was totally drained. It was all she could do to stumble into bed, and then she tossed and turned fitfully until dawn, when she dressed and returned to the office to renew the campaign for survival.
By ten in the morning, she was exhausted and discouraged. When her secretary knocked on her door bearing a fresh cup of coffee, Jordanna slumped in her chair and gave a wan smile. “Thanks, Leila. I need this.”
“How’s it going?”
“Oh, who knows? You make the calls and put forth your case and then hope for the best.” Setting the coffee to the side, she opened the Wall Street Journal. “Have you seen it?”
“Yes,” Leila answered. “It’s pretty awful, don’t you think?”
“God,” she said in a defeated tone, “I’ve seen so many ads like this, never imagining that one day Willow Enterprises would be the target. It seems so unreal.” She slapped the page. “But there it is. In black and white. A tender offer that may be too sweet for some of our stockholders to resist. They’ve probably all seen it by now. I can imagine what other papers it’s in.”
“They’ll stick by you, Jordanna. I know they will. You’ve been good to them. They can’t ignore that fact.”
“I’m hoping that’s so. They’ve got to know that if Widener takes us over things will change. And I doubt for the better–”
The ring of the phone from beyond the door broke into her words. With a quiet, “Excuse me,” Leila ran back to her desk to answer it.
“Take a message!” Jordanna called after her. “Have them call back in ten minutes! I need a break!” She watched Leila slip into her chair and lift the receiver, then turned off thought of who it might be. Coffee cup in hand, she walked to the window.
Forever Instinct, The Page 14