The Story of Charlie Mullins

by Jim Wygand

  Charlie left the office precisely at 5-o-clock and drove directly to Shoreville. He would take a few minutes at his house to collect his thoughts before heading off to the bowling alley. Tonight he would definitely stay for the pizza and beer. He advised Gina that morning that he might stay in Shoreville if he wound up drinking too much beer or if the questions dragged on into the late hours.

  When he got to Shoreville, he went through the regular ritual of checking his timers. He found a bottle of scotch and poured himself a small shot and sat down to think through his encounter with his friends. When he finished his drink he picked up his gear and drove to the bowling alley. No sooner had he entered than Artie Samuels called out, “Hey Charlie, how about that son of a bitch selling us out? What the fuck is going on over there in Wilmington?”

  “Good evening Artie”, Charlie said.

  “Good evening my ass, Charlie. Those rich bastards are gonna sell the company and if we don’t move to China, we’re all fucked.”

  By the time Artie finished his diatribe, the others had gathered around, “Yeah, what’s goin’ on Charlie?” Tony Mazza asked.

  “Did you know about this, Charlie?” Bill Gallagher asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

  “Whoa, guys! Hang on.” Charlie said, “I know what you are going through, this is Charlie, remember? My father went through this same sort of thing when layoffs were planned. I lived through it myself so I know what you are feeling.”

  “Yeah, but when your old man worried about layoffs, they weren’t selling the company!” Artie Samuels chimed in.

  “Look, guys, I’ll tell you what I know. I don’t have access to everything but I hear stuff around the halls. If you saw the news broadcasts, you saw Fred Perkins sitting there so what I have to say comes from someone close to the decision to go public. OK? Now, let’s calm down and talk about it, all right?”

  “OK, Charlie,” Tony Mazza said, “sorry but you know that everybody in Shoreville is shitting their pants. Shaw is the biggest and best employer and nobody wants to leave this town. We’re scared and nobody’s ashamed to admit it.”

  “I know, Tony, and as far as I can tell, nobody is going to have to leave. Let me tell you what I know about Phillip Shaw’s strategy and the acquisitions he made. He’s put the company on a growth track, locked in the acquisitions, and provided the new owners, whoever they might be, with enormous incentives to leave things alone and let the company do its work. Obviously, he can’t guarantee anything but at least he has stopped the loss of market share which would have cost a few jobs eventually. If things had continued as they were going, some of you would have lost jobs.”

  Artie Samuels interrupted him, “Yeah, but did he have to sell the fucking company too?”

  “No, Artie, but you can’t expect that he would be around forever either. The guy did have a heart attack and if he stuck around he might have had a fatal one. You think the family would have held on to the company if the only one qualified to run it had croaked?”

  “Yeah, I know, Charlie but my wife is hysterical. She’s driving me nuts and I ain’t feelin’ too good myself, if you get my drift.”

  “I do, Artie. I really do. Like I said, I’ve been there and all of you know that. We went to school together and all of our families worried at one time or another about layoffs. But I’m confident that when it is all said and done, you will still have your jobs and maybe working a little harder to move the company forward.”

  “Just so long as I’m working Charlie,” Artie said.

  “Look, I’m giving you guys everything I know. More than that is impossible. I’m not going to speculate and I’m not going to ask that you take my word for everything, but you all know I would not bullshit you. The acquisitions have been tightly wound up and it is highly unlikely that layoffs are in the cards.”

  Tony Mazza was the first to speak after a moment or two of silence, “Thanks, Charlie. We all know you have been there yourself. You are one of us and your folks went through a lot. Things are tough everywhere. Auto companies are shutting down. A lot of what you buy at Wal-Mart now has ‘Made in China’ on the label, it’s not easy to stay calm in that kind of environment.”

  “I know Tony, I could lose my job too, you know. I just don’t see it in the cards. I watched the whole thing being set up and the acquisitions all came across my desk for analysis as you all know. I ran the numbers and I am confident that Phillip Shaw knew what he was doing. Besides, the guy announced that he is running for the Senate. You think he wants to leave a trail of disaster behind? He wouldn’t get many votes that way! But like I said, we don’t have any guarantees but then, we never did anyway, right?”

  “Yeah, you’re right Charlie,” Bob Simms said. “We are all just uptight. We’ve seen a lot of people lose their jobs over the past few years. It’s hard not to be scared.”

  The group murmured its agreement.

  “Look,” Charlie said, “let’s bowl a few games and forget about things for a little while. We can all calm down and then talk some more. That OK with everybody?”

  “Shit yeah!” said Artie, “Maybe if I knock a few pins around I’ll work off my anger. What the hell, this is a matter for the big shots. Let’s just knock the shit out of those pins!”

  The group walked to the lanes and did just as Artie suggested. By the end of the evening, everyone was more relaxed. They went off for pizza and beer and Charlie joined the group. When they got to the pizzeria and had ordered a few pitchers of beer and a few pizzas, Charlie opened the conversation. “Look, you guys are all my friends. We’ve all known each other since grammar school I’ve never left Shoreville even after getting one of the big shot jobs in the company. I don’t want to see my home town disappear. I know your wives. I knew your parents. I know your kids. I go to the high school football and basketball games. I watch your kids play Babe Ruth baseball. I also know that times are uncertain everywhere, not just in Shoreville. We all thought the Shaw Corporation was like a safe harbor, isolated from all of the storms going on around it. It’s not true. Shaw is a company that had begun to slide. Phillip Shaw recognized it and did something about it. He has decided to run for the Senate to try to make sure that the US continues to be competitive in the world economy. He can’t be in the Senate and own a company at the same time. Personally, I would rather have him in the Senate than getting the shit beat out of him by the Chinese and not be able to do anything about it.”

  Charlie thought to himself, “Shit, Phillip Shaw owes me one! I sure as hell hope I am right about this!”

  Everyone listened in silence to Charlie’s statement. They all knew it to be true. The old days of employer-employee loyalty were gone. Phillip Shaw had done what he could to protect his employees and he would do his best in the Senate to reverse the economic tide against America’s manufacturing companies. He was better than a lot of other CEOs that the group had heard or read about.

  Bill Gallagher was the first to speak, “We know, Charlie and thanks for your comments and information. It’s not Phillip Shaw’s fault. It’s just that we all know that he’ll get a few billion to his credit and we have mortgages. He didn’t bring this down on us, but that’s small comfort when you think you might be out of a job at 40 and not find another one. Sorry if we seemed to be attacking you. We know you are with us and that you are a friend. Because you are a well-informed friend, you wind up bearing the brunt of our anxiety. I just hope you are right.”

  “Me too, Bill, me too.”

  The group was more relaxed when Charlie took his leave. He decided to go back to Philly because he did not want to be alone in his old house. He wanted to be near Gina.

  When he arrived to Gina’s apartment, she was sitting on the sofa with her legs curled under her. She had a glass of wine in her hand and she rose to kiss Charlie. “Well, Mullins, how did it go?”

  “It was tough, Gina. I was raised with those guys. We played football and sandlot baseball together. I went to their weddings. In some cases, I listene
d to their problems as they courted the girlfriends who later became their wives. I know how hard they worked and still work. It’s not just Shaw, it’s the whole damned situation. The same thing they fear is what is happening in Detroit, Sandusky, Akron, Milwaukee, and other industrial cities. I did what I could to calm them down, but it’s a far bigger problem than I can solve. In the end, I think they were all calmer knowing that no one is planning to eliminate their jobs.”

  “You did what you could do, Charlie. Nobody can ask more.”

  “Yeah, I know Gina. It’s just tough when it happens to good people who are your friends. They feel betrayed and they need to strike out at someone or something. They see their way of life and everything they know being taken from them and they are powerless to do anything about it. I was always a kind of security blanket for my friends because of my contacts with the top levels of the company. Now I am the guy who set up the IPO that has them all scared shitless. I feel like a traitor.”

  “Charlie! You can’t say that about yourself. You know as well as I do that Phillip Shaw could have taken that company public, shut it down, or sold it to Romania whenever he damned well felt like! If you did anything, it was to try to make sure the sale kept your friends in their jobs. We both know that Phillip Shaw doesn’t give a shit – excuse my French – about those people. His concern is that he does not put them out on the street because it will fuck up – excuse my French again – his chances to get elected. Go easy on yourself Mullins. You can’t save the world or even your small circle of friends, at least not as an executive of Shaw Corporation. You’re just a cipher, Charlie – an expendable part of Shaw. Kill the illusion, Charlie, kill it or it will kill you!”

  “You’re right, Gina. It’s arrogance on my part. I just have to learn to accept my limitations. I have to move beyond Shoreville and the fact that I placed myself as ‘savior’. I did what was in my power to do.”

  “Right, my dear, and it was a lot more than many others could or would do. No matter what happens, you know you gave it your best shot. That’s all you can do.”

  “I love you, Gina. It’s the one thing I am certain about in this whole situation. We are going to have our life together.”

  “Well said, Mullins. I can deal with that!” Gina kissed him and held him tightly. He relaxed.

  XXXIX

  The IPO was highly successful. It was over-subscribed and the strike price of $16.50 per share was exceeded by just over $7.00 and the deal closed at $23.76 per share – 20% over the strike price. Phillip Shaw and his family came out with a few billion dollars of windfall. The new owners, a consortium of pension funds and insurance companies announced quickly afterward that they would make no changes in the current management of the company. This was a portfolio investment as far as they were concerned and they had no interest in getting involved in day-to-day management unless returns turned south. They were content with the management team Phillip Shaw had put in place and said so publicly and enthusiastically.

  Phillip Shaw and his family were extremely satisfied. They picked up a few billion dollars more than they had expected when the strike price had been exceeded. There was visible relief on the faces of Shaw employees when they heard that the new owners were content to let the current management team continue to run the company.

  Fred Perkins was strutting around the company like he was the new owner. He was no longer wearing his brown suits. He had purchased some grays, blues, pin stripes and muted plaids. He was still his normal unpleasant self and continued to bully everyone beneath him and suck up to everyone above. But he now had a full head of steam. He was a survivor, or so he thought.

  It was in the aftermath of the IPO that Charlie Mullins mysteriously disappeared. He did not show up for work the day after the IPO. Fred Perkins dispatched Laura Metzer to check his office. Laura noticed that all of the desk drawers were empty and none of Charlie’s personal effects were to be seen. Calls to Charlie’s home met only with his answering machine and the calls were not returned. Laura told Fred what she had seen and Fred was perplexed. Was Charlie taking an unauthorized vacation? Fred’s new bosses would not like that. Neither did Fred. Charlie had always checked with him before taking time off. This was highly unusual behavior and Fred was concerned – not for Charlie per se but for what Charlie’s behavior would mean for him. Charlie was a high level subordinate who did not normally behave that way.

  Laura suggested that perhaps it might be a good idea to call the police. She said that perhaps Charlie had had an accident and was in a hospital unable to identify himself. Perkins went ballistic. The last thing he needed was to have to report a missing person. He could see the headlines in the local papers: “Local Shaw Executive Goes Missing”. No, he would not call the police, at least not yet. Before he did anything, he would check with his bosses, the new owners represented by a new Board of Directors.

  Charlie also did not show up in Shoreville for bowling league night or softball practice. His friends were concerned but did not know who to call. Charlie had always been so private that no one in Shoreville knew any of his friends or contacts outside his home town.

  Bill Gallagher commented to Sharon that Charlie had not showed up for either bowling or softball practice and he was worried. Sharon volunteered that he was probably just shacked up with that “hussy” from Philly and that he would soon show up. “C´mon Sharon, I’m really worried. I called his office and they told me he was not in. They wouldn’t say if he had been in during the past few days, but I suspect from the way they talked to me, he has not.”

  “Oh, Bill, quit being so damned dramatic. People like Charlie don’t just disappear. Maybe he is just chilling out but I am willing to bet it’s that woman. He’ll show up once he’s screwed his brains out. He was acting kind of strange in recent months anyway. Maybe he wants to get fired.”

  Fred Perkins decided to call Bill Cummins at Wexler & Santori to see if he had talked to Charlie recently. “Bill? Fred Perkins here. I’ve got a bit of a problem here. It seems that Charlie Mullins has not been into the office since the IPO. Have you talked to him recently?”

  “No, Fred, the last time I talked to Charlie was just before the IPO. He called to congratulate me on the work we did and said that you were the point of contact in the new company. I thought that was strange since you had said nothing to me and Charlie had always been our contact at Shaw. But I figured the new management team might have made some changes and we would hear about them soon enough.”

  In spite of his concern, Perkins could not avoid puffing up. “Well, Charlie was right that I am the new point of contact, but I’m calling because I can’t seem to find him anywhere. He’s not at home and he hasn’t been to the office. Do you think he might have snapped or something? I mean he had been under a lot of pressure.”

  “No, Fred, Charlie is not the ‘snapping’ kind. There must be some explanation. If I learn anything I’ll get back to you.”

  “Good, Bill.” Perkins rang off. He was not the type to say “thank you”.

  Bill Cummins put the phone in the cradle and sat for a few minutes trying to figure what might have happened to Charlie. He was a private person for sure, but he was never irresponsible. There must be a reason for his disappearance. He picked up the phone and dialed Warren Carpenter. “Warren? This is Bill, I’m fine and you? Listen, I just got a strange call from Fred Perkins over at Shaw. He asked me if I had seen Charlie since the IPO. It seems the guy has not showed up for work for several days now. I’ve known Charlie for years and this is completely out of character for him. Did he say anything to you after the IPO?”

  “No, Bill, on the contrary. He called me on the day of the IPO and congratulated me on the sale. He sounded perfectly normal. We talked about the overprice and I told him that Phillip was highly satisfied and would certainly speak to the new Board of Directors about him. He thanked me for that and said goodbye. I haven’t heard from him since.”

  “OK, Warren, thanks. If you do hear from him, wi
ll you give me a call? I tried his house but I only got the answering machine.”

  Warren Carpenter was sly. He had to be to have been the Shaw family’s personal attorney for so many years. He decided that Charlie’s disappearance might be significant and that he would take it upon himself to hire some private investigators to try to determine Charlie’s whereabouts. He suspected that Charlie’s disappearance would have to be related to the IPO. There was no other explanation other than the fact that Charlie had snapped from the pressure and he did not believe that for a minute. Charlie was not the type to snap easily. There was something else behind his disappearance and Warren Carpenter did not feel comfortable about it. He instructed the investigators to interview all of the companies that had been acquired There might be some leads from the months leading up to the IPO that might prove worth following.

  He called back Bill Cummins. “Bill? Warren. I tried calling Charlie’s house and only got the answering machine. I called the accommodation number he got in Philly and it has been disconnected. Do you remember the name of that friend of Charlie’s at the bank? You know the one who was coordinating the search for the companies to acquire?”

  “Sure, Warren, his name was Joey Esposito. Nice kid! Why?”

  “Nothing right now, but I’d appreciate it if you would go back over the records of the companies we bought. Check out the shareholders again. I’ll get back to you.”

  “You think Charlie’s done something crazy, Warren? I never figured him for the type, but I’ll check anyway.”

  “Thanks, Bill. Keep your eyes peeled for anything unusual about the companies. Something we might have missed when going over the numbers.”

  The next day Warren called Joey Esposito at his bank. “Mr. Esposito, my name is Warren Carpenter. I am the family attorney for the Shaw family. Can you talk for a few minutes?”