The Capitol Game

by Brian Haig

  Perry ate and listened.

  Mat fought an urge to stand up and walk out. He was sorely tempted to say, Do you really think we haven’t already banged on all those doors and begged every one of those companies for business? It’s not that easy Mr. Big Shot Wall Street guy with your soul-sucking job, looking for a new hobby. You’re an overconfident hustler. In fact, I’d love to give you the company for free just to watch you make a big belly flop. You’ll be broke and bankrupt inside a year, and I’ll laugh until my guts ache. He would have, too, at the top of his voice and with a blaring smile, except Perry placed a hand on his arm.

  Jack finished up by saying, “If I might be so bold, I believe you’ve made a cardinal strategic blunder.”

  Mat by now was irritated to the point of distraction. Mr. High and Mighty, who’d never sold a nut or a bolt, was about to explain where they had screwed up so horribly. He so badly wanted to take his fork and drive it into Wiley’s forehead. “And what would that be?” he asked, biting his lip.

  “You’ve stayed independent too long, Mat. You need to partner up with somebody big who can open doors.”

  Mat started to object before Perry said, “Might be you’re right about that, son.”

  “I am, Mr. Arvan. I’ve participated in over a dozen turnarounds, mostly companies like yours, small, independent outfits being strangled by market forces beyond their control. It takes a powerful partner to avoid being pushed around.”

  More looks shot between Mat and Perry. That phrase—“pushed around”—rattled around their brains. Why did he phrase it that way? Was he aware that Globalbang had just pulled the plug? How much did Wiley know? And the big question—where was this Wiley guy getting his information?

  Mat scraped forward in his chair and leaned across the table. “Meaning what?” he asked, nearly a growl.

  “Nothing specific, Mat. Align yourself with a powerful conglomerate and you’re feared. Might makes right in the modern marketplace.”

  “It’s an interesting proposal, but I’m not interested,” Perry said, sounding very conclusive. He took another big bite of his steak. He chewed slowly for a moment, then put down his fork. “This is my company, Mr. Wiley. I built it, grew it, made it what it is today. I have no intention of giving it to some stranger.”

  Jack did not flinch, or indeed show any reaction at all. “Sorry to hear that,” he said very slowly, very quietly. So far he had ignored his meal.

  “Are you?” Mat observed. “Then why do I detect something else in your voice?”

  “I am, Mat. Truly, I am very, very sorry. I was hoping we could do this friendly. Of course, I’m prepared to go the other way.”

  “What other way?” Mat asked.

  “I want your company. I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”

  “Why you dumb son of—”

  “Easy, Mat, settle down,” Perry interrupted. He picked up his fork and resumed eating again. “What does that mean, Mr. Wiley?”

  Jack crossed his arms and leaned backward. “For starters, I’ve contacted some of your largest investors.”

  “Who? Parker? Longly? Malcome?”

  “Them,” Jack replied, nodding, “and others.”

  “Doesn’t worry me in the least. They’ve been with me a long time. They’re my friends. I trust ’em.”

  “Two years ago, your shares were at $2.30. As of yesterday, they’re at sixty-five cents. You’ve lost these boys a lot of cash.”

  “I know the share price, son.”

  “And so do they.”

  “And I’ve made ’em a ton of money in the past.”

  “Ancient history. Parker’s down four million, and he’s the lucky one in the group.”

  “Like I said, they’re my friends, Mr. Wiley. I was you, I wouldn’t count on ’em.”

  Jack twisted the knife deeper. “And the banks?”

  “What about ’em?”

  “They your friends, too? Do you trust them?”

  “I’ve always paid my way.”

  Jack shook his head. “They’re sitting on a big pile of your debt. One hundred and fifty million, last time I checked.”

  “They have nothing to fear,” Mat huffed. From his tone, he and Perry were ready and able to write them a check for 150 million on the spot. No problem: a quick scribble and dash, the whole problem would go away.

  “They are afraid, Mat, very afraid. And they’re not your friends. In fact, they have hearts of ice,” Jack replied, frowning tightly. “The last thing they want is to own a bankrupt chemical company.”

  “They won’t,” Mat insisted, straining and failing miserably to mask a growing dismay that Wiley seemed to know so much. Where was he getting all this information?

  “You’re five million in the hole on interest this year,” Jack noted in a tone of absolute conviction.

  Mat’s mouth nearly fell open. “How do you know that?” he finally blurted. More like 5.3 million to be exact, as if anyone cared.

  “Doesn’t matter. Now listen closely, because here’s what does: If you’re overdue or short again, they’re going to foreclose.”

  Perry’s face nearly went white. The fork slipped from his hand, and he slumped deeper into his chair and stared at the tablecloth.

  And Mat was finally speechless. All his bluster and bravado had just had the floor pulled from underneath it. He had spent his entire career at Arvan, twenty-three years in which never once had he been forced to contend with the likes of a Jack Wiley. A medium-size factory in an unglamorous, blue-collar business, located in grungy, depressed Trenton, of all places, was so far off the screen that the buzzards in New York had ignored it. Oh, there’d been a few offers over the years, friendly tenders, all of them. Mostly amiable competitors anxious to grow a little the easy way, usually proposed as a merger in one form or another. A polite but firm “no thank you” and they went away.

  This guy, though, just walked in out of the blue. No warning, no invitation, no sweet talk—just, Hello, I’m Jack, I’m here to rip out your guts and strangle you to death.

  Mat was in the mood to fight, to tell this Wall Street pretty boy where to put his offer, but it was Perry’s company, and out of deference he bit his lip and kept his mouth shut. His boss should have the warm privilege of telling this guy where to shove his offer.

  Perry drew a few deep breaths and tried to recover his composure. “So we’re clear, what are you proposing, Mr. Wiley?”

  “It’s fairly straightforward. My people do a quick audit, assess your value, then we decide on a fair price. I’ll assume your debt, all of it. Paying it off will be my problem.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “It’s even easier than that, and a very good deal for you. You’ll walk away with a mountain of cash. Buy a big boat, sail around the Caribbean for a year or two, and I’ll inherit all your problems.”

  “What about my people?”

  “I’ll keep as many as I can. That’s a promise.”

  “What’s that mean?” demanded Mat, almost snarling.

  “Some may not want to stay. I’ll offer three months’ severance to anybody who wants out.”

  “So just voluntary departures?” Mat asked, spewing distrust all over the tablecloth.

  “There may be a few others. I’ll try to keep as many as possible,” Jack said, and you could cut the vagueness with a knife.

  Perry had returned to his eating. He was working his way through a large baked potato, slathered with butter, cutting and slicing with a vengeance. “And if I still say no?” he asked, concentrating on his potato.

  “Then,” Jack said very solemnly, “you face two possible scenarios.”

  “Please enlighten me,” Perry asked, shoveling a large bite of potato through his lips.

  “One, a miracle happens, an avalanche of sales fall from the sky, you satisfy the banks, and I go away.” Jack conveyed this in the incredulous tone it deserved. Somehow he avoided a wicked smile, but it must’ve been killing him.

 
; “What’s two?”

  “The banks move in. They’ve been preparing this eventuality for weeks, Mr. Arvan. Their lawyers are ready to launch the necessary motions. Within hours, they’ll slap a lien on all your properties. You cosigned some of your corporate loans, so it’s not just your company, also your home and cars.”

  Mat nearly fell out of his chair. Foreclosure! In all his dealings with the banks, they had given him no warning. No hints, no threats, nothing. He grabbed the edge of his seat and growled, “That’s hogwash, Wiley. As you said, they don’t want to own our company. They wouldn’t have a clue how to run it.”

  “Glad you were paying attention, Mat. They don’t.”

  “So what’s different now?”

  “Now they have a buyer with deep pockets in the wings. That would be me, Mat. They’ll unload the company at a fire-sale price, and I’ll assume the debt.” Jack lifted his hands in the air and mentioned, rather casually, “Of course, it’ll take a little longer, I suppose. On the other hand, it’ll probably cost less.”

  Perry put down his fork, his plate empty but for a few fatty scraps from the steak. “You think you got it all figured out, don’t you, boy?”

  “I definitely do,” Jack said, pushing his plate away. His face suddenly turned cold, his tone almost scornful. “Now you figure it out, Mr. Arvan. I’m offering you the chance to make some money, a little nest egg you can pass on to your children. Or you can have your life’s work pulled out from beneath your feet and leave without a penny.”

  “You’re a ruthless son of a bitch,” Mat spat.

  Jack coolly withdrew two business cards from his pocket and flipped them on the table. He stood and, ignoring Mat Belton, looked Perry squarely in the eye. “Call me before the banks call you,” he said ominously.

  Without another word, Jack walked out. He hadn’t touched his meal.

  Perry pulled over his plate and dug in.

  10

  The three men inched forward in their chairs, straining to catch every word. Walters and Bellweather, as well as Samuel Parner, the cutthroat head of CG’s LBO section, were crowded in the small room in the basement to hear Jack’s pitch.

  The moment they heard the door close, they relaxed and exchanged smiles. As Jack had entered the Princeton Inn, one of the TFAC boys, dressed in loud orange slacks and a black turtleneck sweater, had bumped against him and pinned a state-of-the-art miniature listening device to the back of his suit coat.

  The conversation in the private dining room was easily picked up by a van parked in a nearby lot, then relayed in real time to the security room in CG’s basement.

  Not that they had trust issues with Jack.

  No issues at all. They didn’t trust him, not one bit.

  “Well?” Bellweather turned and asked Parner.

  “He’s great. Every bit as good as you claimed.” Parner could barely keep the broad grin off his face. He’d heard stories about how this guy had creamed two of his best boys but never actually witnessed him in action.

  “Yes, brutal, wasn’t he?” Bellweather asked, proud of their new catch.

  “It was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” Walters grinned like a proud Little League dad who had just seen his son belt one over the bleachers. “I particularly liked the nice-guy act before the wolf came out.”

  “Wouldn’t you have loved to see their faces?” Bellweather observed, pushing back from the console. “Stupid yokels, never knew what hit them.”

  “Did he actually contact their banks?” Parner asked. “Or was that a bluff?”

  “If he says so, probably yeah. He knew all the numbers. He’s thought through every detail. Our boy is full of surprises.”

  “I’ve never thought of doing that,” Parner admitted, shaking his head; the envy was loud and clear.

  “But they didn’t say yes,” Bellweather noted.

  “Just a matter of time,” Walters opined. “It’s a squeeze play, a perfect one. Take our money or watch the banks take it all away, and you’ll walk away with nothing. Really, it’s not a choice.” He turned and faced Parner. “How long do you guess?”

  “Let’s see.” He paused and did the math. Unfriendly takeovers were his specialty, and, all humility aside, he considered himself among the best at gauging the pressure points. He could smell corporate collapses from a mile away. “We’re three days from the end of the month. Arvan’s got payroll and a bank payment due. Probably owes some money to his suppliers, too. Plus he’s got electricity, water, the usual overhead.”

  “Then maybe tomorrow?”

  Parner nodded and grinned, the doctor about to give his verdict. “Tomorrow’s a good guess. Two, maybe three days after, at the latest.”

  Bellweather thought about it a moment. “Should we let Wiley finish it?” he asked.

  “Sure, why not?” Parner suggested, actually quite pleased at that prospect. If the deal somehow went south, it was Wiley’s fault, and by extension, Bellweather and Walters would be blamed for relying on him to handle the heavy lifting. If it worked, he would stoke rumors about how he taught Wiley the art of the deal. He couldn’t lose, really.

  Walters toyed with his glasses. “He’s done a fine job so far. I’ll tell TFAC to keep a close eye on him.”

  At seven o’clock, Eva Green arrived at Jack’s door, wearing tight, faded jeans and a baggy white sweater that bunched and hung gloriously in all the right places and all the right ways. She arrived unannounced in a late-model red Toyota Camry with a bright smile and a lame excuse. “Hi, I’m on my way for a weekend in New York,” she said, pumping a few megawatts into the smile. “I hope it’s not inconvenient, but I decided to break up the trip.”

  They looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. Rumson was a forty-minute diversion off 95. As excuses go, it was so flimsy that she made little effort to sound convincing.

  “Have you had dinner?” Jack eventually asked.

  “No, and I’m famished. Let me take you out.”

  “You like Italian?”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m in the middle of making spaghetti and I’d hate to waste it. Would you care to join me?”

  “I’m impressed. A man who can cook.”

  “Don’t be hasty.” Jack smiled, taking her elbow and escorting her inside.

  Her hair was up in a ponytail, which bounced cutely when she walked. No makeup, and she really didn’t need any. She looked somehow, remarkably, even more alluring in bulky fall clothes than done up for the White House gala. She would be stunning in rags.

  “Care for a drink?” Jack asked as they entered the kitchen.

  “About a hundred miles ago. White wine if you have it.”

  Jack retrieved a bottle and a glass, and while he pried off the cork and poured her a drink, Eva leaned against the counter and eyed the kitchen. It was large, spacious, and amazingly well-equipped for a bachelor, or for that matter, even a master chef, with all the latest gadgetry and culinary accoutrements. “I’ve been in kitchen display stores that have less hardware.”

  “If you see anything I’m missing, let me know.”

  “You like to cook?”

  “No, I like to eat.”

  Eva allowed a moment to pass, then said in a very forthright way, “I had a wonderful time with you at the White House.”

  “I had a great time, too.”

  “Did you? Why didn’t you call me?”

  “Maybe I meant to.”

  “But maybe you’ve been too busy?” she suggested, smiling coyly.

  “Maybe I’ve been trying to work up the nerve.”

  “Come on, Jack. Shyness doesn’t seem to be one of your attributes.”

  He smiled and handed her the wine with one hand and with the other stirred the spaghetti noodles. “What are your plans in New York?”

  “Just a weekend fling. I have tickets to a Broadway play.”

  “More than one?”

  “Yes, a girlfriend from college who lives in Manhattan is joining me. Last week, she was
dumped by her fiancé. A month before the wedding, the cad found someone else. I’m consoling her.”

  “That’s nice of you. And the play?”

  “A musical, actually. Grey Gardens.”

  Jack shrugged. “Is it new?”

  “It is, only the first week. Two old maids live in a decrepit old mansion amid tons of garbage and a hundred cats, looking back and singing about the crumbled relationships that ruined their lives.”

  Jack laughed.

  “I know.” She shook her head. “What was I thinking.”

  Jack pulled a clump of soggy spaghetti out of the pot and pushed the noodles in her direction. “I need a judgment.”

  Eva carefully tugged a strand off the spoon, pursed her lips, studied it briefly, then flung it against the wall: it stuck. “Perfect.” She crossed her long legs, sipped her wine, and watched him pour the noodles into a strainer.

  “Tell me about yourself,” Jack said.

  “You first.”

  “You already know everything worth knowing about me.”

  “Do I?”

  “CG’s snoops have been digging through my background with a huge shovel. I’ve gotten calls from a dozen friends about some outfit claiming to be the FBI doing a background check. Don’t tell me you didn’t read a thick file on me before we went to the White House.”

  She looked ready to deny it but quickly decided otherwise and instead laughed.

  Jack said, grinning, “You’ve seen mine, now show me yours.”

  “All right, you win. Not much to tell. Twenty-eight, single, no entanglements, no prospects.”

  “That’s enough, you’re boring me.”

  “Two brothers, me in the middle, lots of moving, plenty of sports, good grades, scholarship to Harvard. One of my brothers plays pro football. Maybe you’ve heard of him.”

  “Mike Green?”

  “Yep.”

  “Left defensive tackle? The Jets, right?”

  A quick nod.