by Joe Corso
CHAPTER 12
The reception area was jammed with applicants for the advertised CEO’s job. Red interviewed and screened each applicant himself. While most of the applicants had qualifying backgrounds, he placed the applicants he wanted for a second interview in one tray and the rejected applicants in the other. The second interview was scheduled for the same time the following morning. At the end of the day when all of the interviews had been completed, three applicants qualified for the position. One was the Assistant CEO for Paramount Pictures who felt he was in a dead end position and was looking to advance himself in a company where he could apply his special talents and experience to help the company to grow. The second was the CEO of a little known but successful production company specializing in making “B” pictures, or what are commonly known as “low budget movies.” He was looking for a new company to work for because of the restrictions placed on him by the new CEO of the company. The third applicant was a young man who recently graduated college at the top of his class at Harvard University and had a PhD in film and media production.
Red’s secretary Marsha escorted each applicant into Red’s office based upon the time of his arrival; the first one to sign in was the first one he interviewed. Red spent a lot of time during the interviews getting inside their heads. But it was the eyes that told the story. Red had taken a class in Chinese Face Reading from the pre-eminent expert in the field, Dr. Timothy Mar. He was interested in any advantage he could gain in obtaining insight into a person’s mind. Physiognomy was a perfect method because as Mar once told him, the soul puts a map on each person’s face so that someone who knew how to read the signs could tell his future. Dr. Douglas Dean was once asked to put together an entertaining little demonstration for the top CEO’s of Fortune Five Hundred companies during a lunch break. When he finished his little demonstration, he could predict the companies that would be successful and those that would fail. His test took in areas that dealt with the paranormal. Most CEOs of successful companies had to make decisions based on intangibles. For example, if a CEO had to make a decision on which of three companies to buy, which one of the three should he choose? Dr. Dean’s test showed that a successful CEO would intuitively buy the company with the most success potential and showed which CEOs were psychically adept at choosing the right company. The CEOs that failed Dean’s test were destined to fail corporately, and inevitably, they did fail as predicted by Dean.
Red heard about Dr. Dean and his test and, as fate would have it, he was in California on business at the exact time and day Dr. Mar and Dr. Douglas Dean were giving their seminars. Red took care of his business as quickly as possible to make time in order for him to attend their seminars. With time still to make the seminars, he had Piss Clam drive him to Rancho Cucamonga, CA, where the psychic seminar was being held. He took Dean’s class first, which included the test. When the test ended, Dean asked everyone to raise their hands as he queried his audience. “How many had all thirty questions right? No one? Twenty-nine right? Twenty-eight right? A rabbi steeped in the Kabala and Jewish mysticism raised his hand. Dean continued down the line and when he got to the 14 to 16 range, the majority of the class raised their hands. Dean continued down the line until he asked how many got 4 answers right. Red was embarrassed to raise his hand, but he did. Dean noted the name on the tag he was wearing and wrote it on his pad. Then he announced that the two most psychic persons in the room were Rabbi Sokollov and Red Fortunato. Red raised his hand and asked how he could possibly be considered psychic when he got the most answers wrong in the class. Dean smiled patiently at him and turned to his audience. “The least psychic people in this room are the persons who got the average 14 to 16 answers right. Rabbi Sokollov got the most answers right and Red Fortunato got the most wrong, but in order to get them wrong, he had to see the answers.” Red never got a chance to ask him to explain his reasoning because Dr. Mar’s class was about to start and he wanted to attend his face reading class.
Red was so impressed with Dr. Mar’s talk that he signed up for a personal class with him in his Manhattan apartment. Red made many decisions concerning life and death, profit and loss and in most cases, he seemed to make the right decision. Red didn’t believe in this hocus pocus stuff, but he had to admit that Dr. Dean made sense in his logical approach to psychic abilities in corporate success and, who could argue with a system of face reading that had been taught in China for three thousand years?
Red interviewed, in a manner of speaking, over a thousand men when they joined his crime family. He was a good judge of people, but he never attributed it to his being psychic. What the class did for him was to make him aware of the small, almost imperceptible, facial movements or tics that were the telltale signs of someone lying or hiding something. He began to study body language and facial traits. He figured a guy in his type of business could use all the help he could get.
He was looking forward to this second round of interviews with the three applicants. He didn’t rush this second interview. He wanted to explore their qualifications. He questioned them on how they would run the company. He asked questions such as, “What would you do to keep the company profitable?” Or. “How would you run the day-to-day operations? What ideas do you have to make the company grow?” He dismissed the Harvard Graduate because of his lack of experience and concentrated on the other two applicants. He had them give detailed in-depth answers to his questions. When the interviews were over, he found both men were equally qualified. He would have liked to hire both applicants, but there was only one position to be filled. He decided to hire the assistant CEO of Paramount to run the day-to-day operations of Starlight Productions. But he asked the CEO of the low-budget film company, Harvey Bancroft, to remain in the waiting area while he concluded the last interview. When the man from Paramount left the building, he invited the CEO of the low-budget film company into his office.
When they were seated, Red asked him who the owner of the company he worked for was. Bancroft hesitated before answering for a split second, then he replied that it was a small public company, but the majority of the stock was owned by him and another individual. Red sensed something from his initial hesitation. A small facial reaction to his question. A little bitterness perhaps? Or possibly a conflict with a partner? Something. So, he decided to ask him. “Are you having problems with a stockholder or a partner? If you are, I’d like to hear about it. I may be able to help you.”
Bancroft nodded and took a deep breath. “Before I answer, tell me. Did you fill the position you advertised for?”
“Yes, and that’s what I wanted to talk to you about, but first I would appreciate your answering my question, then I’ll explain why I asked you to remain behind.”
“Let me be honest with you,” Bancroft said. “I have a good position and I love my work, but I’m being crowded and my work is being questioned.”
“And why is that?” Red asked.
Bancroft took a deep breath and continued. “One of the stockholders sold his stock to my counterpart, which made him the majority owner of the company. He sees me as a threat and he’s been doing everything in his power to drive me out of the company. When I read your ad, I decided to apply for this job and if I was fortunate enough to get it, I’d leave the company I’m with and apply all of my efforts into making this company successful.”
“Good.” Red said. Bancroft’s response was short and to the point and very succinct in its clarity. “Now, let me tell you why I asked you in here. The last two persons I interviewed, one of which of course was you, were equally qualified. I would have liked to hire both of you, but there could only be one person that could fill the one particular position. I hired the other applicant because I felt he was better suited for that position. But after interviewing you, I decided that I want you in my company too, so I decided to create a special position for you. If you agree to my terms, I’ll hire you to run a specific part of the company and you would have an equal position to the CEO that I just hired
. But first, I have a few more questions about the company you’re working for. You say it’s a public company, am I correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Was that company profitable?”
“Yes, we make pictures with budgets ranging from a half a million dollars to one and a half million dollars. We have an efficient distribution network and we’re profitable because besides distribution in the United States, we get a million dollars a picture when we sell to our international outlets, and then we get another million selling the movie rights to the television companies. We’re profitable because we’re very well organized.”
“I see. Who organized and set up the distribution networks?”
“I did. When I first came aboard, we were just about breaking even. We were staying afloat and we were making money in spite of ourselves. I figured out what we were doing wrong and corrected it. From that point on, we began to make a fair profit on each film we released. I have a number of ideas that will take us to the next level, but I’m being hampered and held back by our new president.”
“What percentage of the company do you own?”
“I own twenty-five percent and the president owns thirty-five.”
“I see. So if I bought, say, fifteen or twenty percent of the stock, then between us we’d own the majority of the shares in your company. Am I correct in this assumption?”
“Yes. You would be correct.”
“Look, I’m going to hire you and put you in charge of production and I’ll start you at ten percent above what you’re being paid now. Furthermore, after speaking with you, I believe that your company would be a good fit with mine. So I’m going to buy your company.” Red looked for his résumé but realized his secretary had filed it away. He didn’t want to waste time by searching for it so he asked, “What’s the name of your production company? I know it’s on your résumé, but I don’t have it in front of me.”
“The company is Dark Storm Productions.”
Red pressed a button and a pert young secretary entered the room. “Elaine, please get my stockbroker on the phone. His number should be in the Rolodex on your desk.” Five minutes later, Red was on the phone with John McIntire of McIntire and Finch Stock Brokers. “John, I want you to buy a production company for me called Dark Storm Productions.” He listened to his broker for a minute before interrupting him. “Look John. I don’t want it next week. I want it tomorrow. What? No God Damn - tomorrow. They’re listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Handle the details for me but buy me the company tomorrow. And as soon as we hang up I want you to buy me fifteen percent of the shares in the company. That’ll give me control of it, and then buy me the company. I’ll leave the details to you on how you set it up.”
Later in the morning, Red received a phone call advising him of his acquisition of fifteen percent of Dark Storm Productions. The next day, Red’s lawyers made good on a bid to buy the company. Red didn’t understand how Wall Street brokers worked. All he knew was his wealth now made him the owner of Dark Storm Productions. All it took was money, which he had in abundance.
Red called a meeting of Starlight Production’s executives. The new CEO’s name was Frank Pettigrew and the new chief in charge of production was Harvey Bancroft. “Harvey, I’m making this all-inclusive. I’m putting you in charge of Dark Storm’s film production and you will continue to do the job that you have been doing when you worked there. In addition, you will use your judgment and choose the best scripts for both companies. Swifty Card will make our next picture. You need to find him a script that fits his personality and his strong points. I want you to put together a package telling me what the production costs on all future films will be, as well as the shooting schedules for these films. I hired a lot of talent. So, Frank, I want you to check their qualifications for the positions they were hired for. Up until now this company, meaning me, has been hemorrhaging money. I want that to stop. That’s why I bought your old company, Harvey. So we can start making money right away. Speaking of your old company, since you are now in charge of the company, I would advise you to get rid of any dead wood you feel shouldn’t be working there. And remember, you’re the boss so don’t take any shit from anyone.”
Harvey’s face lit up. “I’ll get right on it, Red.”
“One more thing; I want you to bring me a script for a top female star. Make it a romantic comedy because I’m going to try to convince Marilyn Monroe to star in it.” Everyone’s mouth dropped when he mentioned Marilyn’s name. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll be gone for a while. Frank Pettigrew is the man to go to if you have any questions or problems. He will be me for the time being. He’ll do the hiring and firing in the executive areas. Harvey Bancroft will be handling production and he will do the hiring and firing in those areas. The next time we meet, I want to hear the cash register making a lot of noise. In other words, I want to see profits. Swifty Card is the hottest star in Hollywood at the moment, so let’s use him wisely. I also have two new prospects that I want groomed for starring roles in pictures. They’re Henri Valesquez, the Welterweight Champion of the World, and my future heavyweight champ, Gonzo Davidson. But he’ll be billed simply as ‘Gonzo.’ I want you to start looking for suitable scripts for them right away. Make this a priority. Assign someone qualified to oversee this and give me a report as soon as you have something to show me. Any questions?” A man in the back of the room raised his hand. “Yes. What’s your question?”
“When did we take possession of Dark Storm?”
“It happened yesterday. I don’t even think they know that they’ve been bought out yet, that’s how fast the buyout happened. Harvey will handle that little show. And Harvey?”
“Yes, Red?”
“Those ideas you told me about. I was impressed with them. I want you to implement them right away. And don’t worry about money. I want you to continue making ‘B’ pictures and if the picture runs a few dollars over budget, don’t sweat it. I don’t mind spending money so long as it is profitable. And if you find good scripts, don’t be afraid to make more than one picture at a time. Remember this, though. I want the two production companies to be developed for two different purposes. Dark Storm will keep making ‘B’ pictures and Starlight Productions will make the big budget ‘A’ pictures. Let’s keep it that way. Harvey, I want a monthly progress report on the two companies, okay?”
“Any other questions?” No one raised their hand. “Okay, people, unless someone has something else to add, this meeting is closed.”
As Red walked out of the conference room, he stopped at his secretary’s desk. “Give Mr. Jenkins a call and tell him I’d like to see him tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.”
CHAPTER 13
The evening of the first day’s interviews, Trenchie, Marilyn, and Big Red enjoyed dinner in a small family-run Italian restaurant. After dinner, Red and Trenchie ordered espresso coffee with anisette. Marilyn was struck by the incongruity of these big men holding little cups of Italian coffee daintily by two fingers in their large hands.
“So?” Trenchie asked. “Did you accomplish what you wanted today?”
“Pretty much. I narrowed it down to three candidates. I let one go and hired the other two.” Trenchie smiled, knowing how Red’s mind worked.
“What are you smiling about, Trench?”
“It’s just that I know you so well. You liked both guys. Both of them were probably equally qualified for the job and your usually trigger-fast mind couldn’t decide on which one to hire, so if my guess is right, you hired both of them.”
Now it was Red’s turn to laugh. “You see, Marilyn, I can’t put anything over on my friend here. He knows me like a book. You’re right. I wanted both of these men to work in this company, so I created another position, which allowed me to hire the second applicant. In fact, I instructed my secretary to set up another interview tomorrow morning for the third applicant, the one I sent home.”
“Are you talking about the Harvard graduate?”
&nb
sp; “Yep--the very same. I liked the kid. It’s just that with his lack of experience, I couldn’t trust him to run a company like ours on a day-to-day basis. On the other hand, the kid is very bright and he’s personable. I’d like to have him work for the company in a secondary position, like Assistant Production Manager or maybe second to my new CEO. I want him to be in a position where he can learn the business. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out . . . I’ll fit him in somewhere. It won’t be just about money with him. It’ll also be about what kind of future he’ll have with this company. He’s very young, so I’d say if he decides to come aboard, he’ll have a great future ahead of him.”
Marilyn was enjoying the interaction between the two men. She could tell they were close … like brothers, she thought. She was also enjoying the chess-like moves Red was making. She wished she could do something to show her appreciation. She was being protected by businessmen . . . businessmen who coincidentally were in the same business as she was. Yes, they’re businessmen all right, but could they be something else? she mused. These men seemed perfectly at ease with danger. They were no strangers to using guns. The shootout at her lawyer’s office proved that. They weren’t the least bit frightened by the federal agents who threatened them at their club. So who exactly were these men, and were they more than they appeared to be? She sighed. Whatever they were, it didn’t matter because she was enjoying herself for the first time in so long she couldn’t remember. She had no responsibilities at the moment. She was experiencing a different sort of life style because she never met men like these before. The big man sitting opposite her was frightening to her when she first met him. But, she discovered, at times he could be gentle too. He talked a lot about his wife, Mary. She seemed like the kind of woman with whom she could be a friend. Marilyn thought she would hate to have this big man mad at her, though. As tough and as mean as he looked, she was glad he was on her side, protecting her. She felt safe just knowing he was there.