Expecting a fight, she stood her ground staring Henry down. What she didn’t expect was the humor in his eyes.
“Glory be to God! I think my little Georgie’s finally found the one.” Struggling to his feet he offered his hand, “Welcome to the family, baby girl. You are a most welcome thing indeed.”
Bypassing the outstretched hand and relieved beyond measure, Tyler gave him a warm hug. When she began to step away, he took her gently by the shoulders, and implored her earnestly, “Tell me you need her as much as she needs you.”
“I don’t know if she needs me at all, but I want her. I want to be here for her, with her. Is that too much to ask?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Not for a moment. Now do you mind if we sit awhile? These old man legs of mine are only happy on my caboose or in my bed.”
Tyler helped him back onto the couch and made sure he was comfortable before retrieving her teacup and taking a seat herself. “Would you like to talk about some of the things that have been said about Georgie and me?”
“Naw. I might be an old man but I still have a few active brain cells. I know my granddaughter is a horrible gossip. She’s always been a storyteller and happy to twist the truth to suit her means. That child was always a handful. Her mother though, if my son had given her free hand, she could have turned that girl around, but that’s just Lou. Always trying to control things, always trying to be in charge. It wasn’t always like that. I don’t know when that changed. That’s my failure as his father. So now I’m sitting here with you and I need someone to tell me what’s really going on.”
“Henry please,” she insisted, “it’s not my place and it’s unfair of you to ask.”
“Baby girl, life is not fair but here we are.”
The way he said it evoked such sympathy, she couldn’t bring herself to call him on the sexist moniker.
Taking his time to drink the tea she had brought him he set the cup down. “Not ready to lay your cards down? I respect that. So I’ll go first.” Sitting back and turning slightly to talk comfortably, he said, “There are only three voting shares that count. There are several board members but only three stakeholders. I think you know that, and so does my son. Which means to get anything done, you need at least two of us to agree. Frankly, I’ve been lucky with Georgie and Marnie. The truth is since their daddy died those two have done a damn fine job. Before that, it was just Danny, me, and little Georgie. Now since our girl came home, things have been tough, but have been improving in some areas. I know you’ve been around long enough to see the type of work that’s coming out of her head. Problem is, not everybody understands us engineers, my boy among them. When Danny was alive, Lou didn’t worry so much, but since the girls have taken over he’s been obsessed. And I’d say he’s a man with a plan. I swear the only reason I’ve lived so long is so I can keep him from destroying everything we took a lifetime to build. Not saying business is more important than family. I’m just saying family’s no reason to destroy a perfectly good business.”
“What’s his plan?” Tyler asked. “You said it yourself, Georgie and Marnie together control the majority. What’s his hold? He doesn’t even have a vote on the board yet he acts as if he’s in charge. Hell, he’s been running around telling everybody he is!” She held up her hand, wanting to amend that statement. “I’m not saying he couldn’t be, it’s just that—”
“Cut the crap Professor! That boy couldn’t lead his way out of a paper bag! Sweet baby Jesus, where did I go wrong with him?”
“Henry!” she insisted, “If Lou has a fault it’s his need to control things and his desire to impress you.”
“Damned fool!” He shook his head. “It’s the old incorporation papers. After Danny died, Lou started going through everything. Having Georgie the way she is, and Marnie taking over, just pushed him over the edge. I never realized how much of a problem my boy has with women in authority. Here’s the thing,” he said, holding his tea cup in both hands and leaning toward her, “it’s the original corporation papers. I didn’t know, and I’m sure Danny didn’t either.”
“What is it?” she encouraged him.
“Competency requirement in which all board members have an equal vote, not just the big three. That’s how the board used to refer to me, Danny, and little Georgie. The Big Three! Anyway, he’s going to try and make her look incompetent. He can do it,” he warned. “That boy has watched her like a hawk since she came home. He knows how to push her buttons and frankly, when he does, as mad as I am at him, it does make me wonder about our girl.”
“Henry, that’s not fair! She has a disability and frankly I really don’t see what the problem is. I have no problem communicating with her and I think most of her engineers would agree. Besides, we’re only talking about a problem communicating verbally. She is not incompetent in any way!”
She was again getting mad and stood, pacing in front of the couch, arms crossed. “You said it yourself. Georgie’s work has brought in record profits for the company. And you know there’s lots more to come. As a matter of fact, looking through the books, we’ve realized Lou has been trying to squeeze out the most profitable department. Now you tell me he wants her out. That would be like cutting the head off the golden goose! Tell me where that makes sense! And when you’re done telling me that, please explain to me why the man would want to take this company public! What on God’s green earth does he need fifty or sixty million dollars for?”
“Take the company public?” He looked utterly astonished. “Are you sure?”
It was not her place to tell him but she continued heedlessly. “It’s the only thing we could figure out. Georgie went through the financial statements, while Marnie and Lori did the same thing at home last night. He’s had appraisers out and real estate people poking into everything and anything, most of which aren’t even company property!”
“You mean Cattaraugus Creek and the boatyard?”
“Yes!”
Henry was silent for a long time, drumming his fingers on the arm of the sofa. “In the kitchen, in the center cabinet, you should find the instant coffee. It’s not great but it’s not bad and Georgie girl doesn’t mind.” Looking at his watch, he added, “Why don’t we have a cup while she takes her shower and gets herself buttoned up?”
They heard the door, and seconds later Maggie trotted in heading straight for Henry. Once her ears were suitably scratched, she gave Tyler a doggie brush-by hug before trotting to her bed and checking to ensure her squeaky toy was safe. Georgie, in her heavy winter running gear, caked with snow from head to toe, waved a greeting then stopped to say, “Hi Uncle Henry. Everything…okay?”
“Don’t you worry little Georgie. Sweet baby girl here’s been taking good care of me. You go hit the defroster.”
She nodded and stepped over to Tyler offering her hand.
She accepted it, unsure of her intentions.
“Henry,” Georgie said, then closed her eyes. “I wish to formally announce that Tyler and I have entered into…” She opened her eyes and grinning, announced, “A thing! Okay?”
He just nodded with a big grin, ordering, “Now go get spic-and-span. I think we better head out to the boatyard. Understood missy?”
Georgie just nodded. She gave Tyler’s hand a squeeze before making haste for a hot shower.
Tyler asked Henry, “How much time do we have? I mean how much time do I have to get her ready?”
“Not long,” he admitted. “I can put him off for a few days but that’s it. Expect him to pull out all the stops. He’ll have everyone there. All the senior staff, corporate lawyers and the family attorneys.”
“How much does he know about Georgina’s estate—Georgina Senior I mean?”
He raised an eyebrow then smiled, impressed. “If he knows anything, it would be what the family lawyers were obliged to share with him. Unless…”
“Unless he’s managed to get his hands on those documents too. Is there any way he can hurt her with that information?”
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He shook his head. “Only if he’s trying to create animosity. I don’t really know what the girls have been told but it’s not like any of them to get mean about money.”
“Well he can’t shock them—they all know about it.”
“Good for her,” he said sincerely. “Now more importantly, what about that coffee? I’m an old man, baby girl. I can’t wait forever!”
Grabbing their empty teacups, she headed for the kitchen. “I can see where Lori gets her charm!”
“Oh baby girl.” He chuckled. “Lori was our first. That one came out screaming at the top of her lungs! I remember like it was yesterday. I’ve never seen a baby so long and stretched out like a little sausage! And oh that girl was as purple as eggplant. She had this baby fuzz head but her baby hair was as orange as a little old tangerine! And if that wasn’t enough to scare you, that girl had the lungs to make a drill sergeant proud! Still, I was the proudest daddy, still am. God I miss her mama. You would’ve loved Gloria…”
She made them coffee, listening while he reminisced. It was nice to have an older person around. Someone with long memories and opinions crafted from true first hand experience. She had to admit it was one of the traits she found so attractive in Georgie. Considering most of the people she had worked with in her academic career, she found it ironic that the very people who presented themselves as worldly and knowledgeable were rarely either.
* * *
Driving home in the truck, Georgie was more than aware of just how tired she was. She marveled at Tyler whose energy seemed boundless. After the impromptu afternoon meeting at the boatyard, they had spent most of the evening crafting Georgie’s response to the situation in which Lou had placed the company. They had several responses. Each was designed like building blocks which could be used individually or chunked into powerful segments. She intended to control the room but she wanted the flexibility to follow the mood and tailor her language to her audience. Since her father’s passing, Henry and Marnie had jointly held the title of acting CEO. She hadn’t intended to push her agenda forward and wasn’t completely satisfied she was ready but that didn’t matter now. Lou may have called the meeting but she intended to govern it. No, govern wasn’t the right word. To get them through this and stay on the right course, she would need to reign and reign supreme.
Sunday and all day Monday had been devoted to their final preparations and Georgie’s long hours of organizing her plan and memorizing the key components of her speech. By Monday night they knew Lou had scheduled the board meeting for Tuesday morning and, he had warned, they would proceed with or without Henry, who had been stalling for time by citing a holiday hangover. He daren’t say he was too sick. There was every chance Lou would try to pull the same competency trick on him.
On Monday night, Tyler and her family hosted Georgie, Marnie, and Lori for supper. Afterward, while Carl, Megan, and Maggie fussed around in the kitchen, the women once again settled into the family room for their last-minute prep and review. They were ready. Georgie and Tyler had worked out an amazing system. Not only had they written out the speech, questions and possible responses she would need to address and deliver, Tyler cut everything into manageable and sortable talking points. Tomorrow when Georgie stood to address the board of directors, she would take the podium with tablet in hand. Tyler had cataloged each point and could call them up at random and they had worked out a series of hand signals so Georgie could change tack at any moment. Tyler had created a series of PowerPoint slides and ordered them into sets that would match Georgie’s talking points. She would have everything, word for word in front of her, for the entire time she needed to address the board and the influencers who would be invited to attend.
Fussing in her seat, Georgie managed to turn herself sideways. The Land Rover was an extremely comfortable truck, but the forward seats were designed to sit facing forward. Still, even within the confines of her seat belt, she managed to get herself turned so she could watch Tyler as they drove. “You are…so beautiful.”
Tyler gave her a quick appreciative glance before turning her attention back to the road. “What, nothing about my brain, or how smart I am, or what a great job I did tonight?”
Georgie just chuckled, and gave her arm a warm squeeze. Tyler was all those things and more. They had worked nonstop prepping for tomorrow’s scheduled confrontation. Henry had been right, Lou was like a runaway tanker rushing into port on a full head of steam. He was a shipwreck waiting to happen. The more they had dug into his actions and everything he had planned, it became more and more clear Lou Phipps intended to succeed or go down with the ship. It was too bad his plan would take all of them with him.
Chapter Fifteen
Georgie had been pacing back and forth in the machine shop. Determined to make an entrance and avoid small talk, she’d been hiding out waiting for Tyler’s signal that the meeting was about to begin. When the notification sounded on her tablet, she pinned the device under her arm, and smoothed out her suit jacket. Prepared, and with a deep breath as fuel, she marched upstairs, ready for battle.
Inside the long spacious first-floor boardroom, all the key players had gathered and while many milled around with cups in hand speculating on the agenda, most had been quietly shuffled into their seats by Marnie or Lori. No one was surprised when they arrived to find the meeting would take place in the boardroom. The large coffee urn, though, was definitely something new. Those who paid attention to such things assumed it meant Georgie would not be in attendance. When she strolled in, and immediately took her place at the podium, more than a few heads turned.
As Lou had called the meeting and imagined himself in charge, he began protesting as he rushed forward from where he’d been chewing the fat with his account manager and one of the family lawyers. Before he was halfway across the room, Lori intercepted him, grabbing his arm in her powerful grip and hissing under her breath, “Sit down and shut up or I will flay the living daylights out of you right here and for everyone to see!” Smiling widely, and with everyone’s eyes on them, she gave him a half hug. “I missed you too, buddy.” With that she pulled out a chair and waited for him to sit. Taking the seat beside him, she was ready to further invade his personal space, hoping to intimidate him long enough for Georgie to make her case.
“Thank you everyone for coming out on this blustery Tuesday morning. I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and enjoyed your New Year celebration.” Georgie said this last part with an ironic grin, as everyone in the room had been there for the New Year’s Eve party. A few stragglers had yet to take their seats, and noticing, she offered kindly, “Once everyone has their coffee or tea, please take a seat. Before we get started, I would like to acknowledge that it was Lou who called us together this morning. So, the first thing I will do is apologize for hijacking his meeting.
“My first order of business is to thank him and all of you for your indulgence these last five years. The road to recovery has been long and to be honest I have dawdled much of the way. While I’ve been doing my own thing, our company has grown and changed but one constant has remained: We are family!” Looking carefully around the room she was more than aware not everyone was enamored of her presence or the fact that she had commandeered the show. Zoe, along with the accountants were still standing when she waved and invited them to take a seat.
In protest, Zoe argued loudly, “Georgie, really! You’re not—”
Georgie growled, “Sit. Down!” It was an order no one would mistake for a suggestion, and with that revelation, the temperature in the room began to plummet.
“Recently, I was challenged to consider the future of our company and my responsibility to our family.” The photograph appearing now on the screen was the well-known picture that had been used in the family book. “This is our grandfather, our grandfather who chose this family. These three people pictured with him were his chosen children. As you may know, in Italian families it is considered good luck for the firstborn child to be female.
Supposedly it foretells of a large family to come. Even when the babies didn’t arrive by the truckload, our grandfather remained hopeful. When my father returned on leave from his advanced flight training, he brought along his best friend in the world. When they met, our grandfather did not see a man of color, he saw a patriot in uniform, he saw a brother in arms to his only son, and a man with a brilliant mind and impeccable upbringing, and he told my father he was proud, proud of him, reminding him that a man is only as good as the company he keeps. Before that first visit was done our grandfather felt truly honored to have Major Henry Phipps consider himself a son. When Henry and Danny retired from the air force and returned home, our grandfather not only opened the doors to both men but offered them the same opportunities. When our grandfather died, he acknowledged and I quote, “My Three Children, Two by Birth, One by Choice, And ALL BY THE GRACE OF GOD!” The volume of her voice, along with her pacing, had built to this powerful point. She stood carefully gauging the room. Discreetly signaling, it took only seconds for Tyler to push the next segment of her speech to her tablet, and the matching slide to the screen.
“Today we stand at a crossroads. Our family has grown and changed as all families do. Yet throughout all of that change, we have continued under the DiNamico banner. Before our grandfather’s untimely death, he envisioned a company built on the trinity of his three children. Today is the day that I will ask you to honor our grandfather’s wishes.” She waved her hand toward the screen where the DME logo was replaced with three distinct company word marks. “Ladies and gentlemen of the board of Dynamic Marine Engineering, allow me to introduce to you our future and the DME trinity of companies: DynaCraft Yacht Builders, BioDynamic Engineering; and last but most importantly our new investment company, DiNamico, Phipps, Pulaski, or better DPP Holdings. It is my intention to divide DME into three distinct companies, so that they, like our family, will continue to grow in all the varied facets that have made us unique.
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