The Merger Mogul (5 page)

 “Thanks,
Bryan.  Good morning.”

“Morning,
Daniel.  I didn’t see you around much yesterday,” he commented.

“I took most of
the day off to deal with some personal issues.”

“Everything all
right?” asked Bryan concerned, since he had never heard of Daniel taking the
day off for anything.

“Yeah, it’s
nothing that I can’t handle.  But thanks for asking.”

“Are we still
having that planning meeting to discuss the Aspen Bearings merger at 9.30?”
asked Bryan.

“Yes.  I
spent some time looking through the files at home yesterday and I’ve started
listing the legal issues that are going to come up.”

“OK.”

The elevator
stopped at the 29
^th
floor and they got out and headed for the
Tennant offices.

“Morning
Susan,” they both said to the receptionist who was repositioning the sign on
her desk that said ‘Director of First Impressions’.

“Good morning
Daniel, Bryan,” replied Susan, looking up with a smile.

They parted
ways by Margaret’s desk, with Bryan greeting Margaret and then heading down the
corridor to his own office.

“Morning,
Margaret,” said Daniel.

Margaret smiled
up at him. “Oh, my boss is back. Good morning boss.”

He threw her a
half smile and said: “I’d like you to order an expensive bouquet of flowers and
have them sent to Angela’s office with an ‘I’m sorry’ card.  Also send a
smaller bouquet to Pamela Highland with a ‘Thank you’ card.

Margaret looked
curious but only said:”Right away, boss.”

He could see
that she was dying to say something further so he said, “Keep out of my
business, Margaret,” softening his words with a hint of a smile, “and just send
the flowers.”

“I didn’t say a
word,” she protested.

As Daniel was
putting together the files for his meeting with the team his phone rang.

“Daniel,
it’s
George Aspen from Aspen Bearings on Line one,” Margaret
advised him.

What now?
wondered
Daniel picking up the phone.

“Hi George, I
was just about to have a meeting to plan your merger.”

“Well about
that, Daniel, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.  The Board has decided
that this is not a good time to go ahead with the merger.  Things have
really begun to slow down and we’re going to have to let some people go, so
buying that Mexican operation is not an option right now.”

‘What?”
exclaimed
Daniel.
“We’ve already signed a contract to
do this deal.”

“I’m sorry
Daniel, but you know that there is an escape clause in there in case the
situation with either company changed.  Obviously we’ll pay you for the
time you’ve put in to date but we just can’t do the deal right now.”

“I’ll send you
my bill,” said Daniel disgustedly and hung up. He sat for a few minutes as the
news sank in.  If he lost any more mergers they were going to have to look
at some cutbacks themselves.  He pushed back his chair to go and break the
bad news to the team.

A few minutes
later the team sat in stunned silence. This was the second merger that didn’t
fly in about three weeks.  Things were looking bleak.

“OK, now you
realize just how crucial it is that we diversify our practice. The last thing I
want to do is let anyone go, so I expect each of you to get on the phone and
start calling clients to see how we can help them. If things don’t improve
we’re talking pay cuts!”

They continued
to discuss who would tackle which clients and what strategy they would use for
the next hour. After the meeting Daniel returned to his office feeling a little
more optimistic than when he’d left it.  He checked the e-mails that had
come in during his meeting, returned some of the phone calls he had received
the day before and read some M&A articles online.

His intercom
buzzed. “Daniel,
it’s
Scott
Lazerby
on Line two,” said Margaret.

Scott
Lazerby
was his stockbroker. With a bear market being
announced earlier in the year, he didn’t expect Scott to have any good news for
him.  He hadn’t had any good news in the last two weeks!

“Hi Scott,’ he
said. “Am I poor?”

“Not yet,” said
Scott seriously, “but the market hasn’t bottomed out yet. Your financial stocks
are down about 35%. And they’re likely to fall some more.”

“What’s that in
dollars Scott?” interrupted Daniel.

‘We’re talking
about two and a half million right now. I suggest that you sell now, if we can
find buyers. The general stocks like P&G and Johnson and Johnson are keepers. 
They’re good solid companies and will weather the storm and they’re good enough
for Warren Buffet.  The biotech stocks have great potential; some of those
were increasing even when the market started going soft, so you should hang on
to those.”

“This is crazy
Scott. I’m losing my shirt here! Let go of everything that even smells like
finance as soon as you can.”

“OK boss, I’ll
be in touch.”

Daniel hung up
and started to drum on his desk with his fingers.  He was getting
concerned about his stocks.  He owned a couple of pieces of real estate in
the city and a condo on the beach in Barbados but his stock portfolio was a
significant part of his wealth.  He was only half joking when he asked
Scott if he was poor because that was something he had vowed he would never be
again. His thoughts drifted back to the times after his father had left and he
began to feel anxious.  The ringing of his Blackberry brought him back to
reality.

It was Angela.
He guessed that the flowers worked.

“Hello,
Angela,” he said.

“I got your
flowers.  They’re beautiful Daniel.”

“Does that mean
I’m forgiven for being such a jerk yesterday? I was dealing with some
unexpected personal issues and I took it out on you. Sorry.” Apologies didn’t
come easily to him, nor did sharing personal information.

“You’re
forgiven, but you have to make it up to me,” she joked.

“Oh, I’ve got
plans to do just that.  How about dinner at my place on Friday
night?  Pack for the weekend and I’ll be your slave for the entire time.”

“Umm, “Angela
purred. “I can hardly wait.”

Daniel finished
the conversation and hung up.  One issue dealt with.  He wished they
were all as easy.

The week
crawled by and while Daniel managed to make a significant dent in the pile of
files on his desk, he was glad it was the weekend. He was really beginning to
get worried about the firm’s finances, not to mention his own, and he’d noticed
that the Receivables were creeping up.  Businesses were beginning to feel
the effects of the recession already and predictions for next year were pretty
dire as well. He hoped he wouldn’t have to sell any of his properties to keep
the business afloat because it sure as hell wasn’t a sellers’ market and he’d
suffer losses. Was there any silver lining to this dark cloud?

His thoughts
went to the weekend ahead and he felt a surge of anticipation at the thought of
Angela coming over. He’d hardly call that a silver lining but at least it would
take his mind off his financial concerns for a while. That reminded him to buzz
Margaret so that she could confirm the time that the caterers were to deliver
the dinner to his apartment.

Daniel’s
doorbell rang promptly at 8 o’clock.  He opened it and found Angela
standing with an overnight bag in her hand which looked quite small for a
weekend visit and wearing a mouthwatering dress in turquoise, which seemed to
be her favorite color.

“Hello Angel,”
Daniel said, missing nothing in his perusal of her.

“I don’t feel
very angelic tonight,” she said.

“Good,” said
Daniel as he took the bag from her and pulled her into the apartment. Closing
the door, he pushed her back against it and began kissing her hungrily.

“I like your
welcome,” murmured Angela breathlessly after a few minutes.

“Then you’ll
love your stay,” replied Daniel kissing her again.

Angela’s stomach
growled loudly and she said with embarrassment, “Sorry but I’m starving. 
I hardly ate at all today. I was so engrossed in a project.”

“OK let’s get
you fed then,” said Daniel starting to lead her to the dining room. “Oh, I
almost forgot, I have something for you first.”

Angela laughed.
“Oh I like the sound of that, what is it?”

Daniel went
back to the hall table and picked up the little box he’d left there earlier.

“Hope you like
them.”

She opened the
box and peered inside to see a stunning pair of turquoise drop earrings in a
platinum setting. “Oh, Daniel, these are beautiful! You didn’t have to… but I’m
glad you did,” she finished with a big smile. She moved closer to the circular
mirror over the table and put them in.  Daniel came up behind her and
trailed his lips from the back of her ear all the way down her neck, taking
small bites as he went.  She broke out in goose bumps and fell back
against him.

“Do you still
want to eat first?” he asked. “Your wish is my command.”

Pulling his
head down, she whispered her wish in his ear. Leaning back against him she
could feel the immediate response of his body to her words and felt a thrill of
power at the effect she had on him.

“Let’s go to
your room,” she suggested.

“Too far,” he
murmured, “the couch…” his voice trailed off as he led her to the couch and
they fell onto it in a tangle of limbs.

Daniel
disentangled himself from Angela and dragged himself from the couch. 
“I’ll go find us something to slip on,” he said. His words came out a bit
slurred and he wondered at the dizziness he felt.  Probably the blood
hadn’t returned to his head yet.  Heading to the bedroom he stumbled a
little, shook his head as if to clear it and headed over to the walk-in closet
where he found some clothes for him and a robe for Angela. 

He pulled on a
pair of black track pants and took one of his silk robes for Angela. He turned
around and began heading down the hall but a wave of dizziness hit him again
followed by a shocking pain on the right side of his face.  Then his face
felt numb.  What the hell…? 

He stumbled
into the living room and said “Angela, I feel kind of weird, as if I’m having a
stroke or something. Call 911,” and dropped to the couch holding his head.

Angela jumped
up and put her hand on his forehead.  “Daniel, you’re burning up!”

She looked
around in a panic for a telephone and spotted his Blackberry on the coffee
table.  She grabbed it and punched in the numbers with trembling fingers.

“This is 911,
how can I help you?

“Pl
..please
send an ambulance to Penthouse Apartment 2 at East
River Apartments on 59
^th
Street.  My friend might be having a
stroke.  Hurry!  Please Hurry!”

The paramedics
rushed through the doors of the ER which were being held open by two orderlies
and ran to the approaching ER team, pushing the trolley with Daniel on it.

“What’ve we
got?” asked a doctor.

“His name is
Daniel Tennant; 35 years old. He’s complaining of numbness on the right side of
his face and has been dizzy.  His temperature is 103
^o
. Pulse is 78 and BP is 120 over 70.

“Mr. Tennant,
I’m Dr.
Halloway
.  How are you feeling now?”

“The right side
of my face is still numb and I feel as if I’m drooling.  Did I have a
stroke?” Daniel mumbled.

“We have to run
some tests and do some blood work before we’ll know anything definite.  We
may have to take you to radiology for an MRI.  Thanks guys,” he said to
the paramedics, “We’ll take it from here,” and started to push Daniel down the
hall to an examination room.

Angela trailed
behind, unsure of what to do.  A nurse approached her and said, “Did you
come in with that patient?” At her nod she added, “You’ll need to go to that
lady over there and complete some paper work.” She pointed to the
Administration booth.

“I don’t know
him that well,” Angela said realizing that she really didn’t know very much
about Daniel.  She didn’t know if he had any family, who to contact or
anything. What sort of relationship was that?  She’d been out with him
once, slept with him and still knew almost nothing about him.  Daniel
wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information about himself. It was all so empty.
Dragging her thoughts back to the present situation, she wondered who she could
contact.  Margaret would know. Thankfully she had picked up Daniel’s
Blackberry.  Margaret’s number would be in there.  What was her
surname again? On no, she couldn’t remember.  She began scrolling through
the received calls, seeing her own name a few times and was relieved to see a
call from Margaret Bryce.  Yes, that was it!  Checking through the
contacts she found a home number and called it.

The phone rang
three times. She hoped Margaret was not in bed already.

“Hello?” It was
Margaret’s voice.

“Hello,
Margaret.  It’s Angela Pierce.  I’m sorry to call you so late but I’m
at New York Memorial on 61
^st
Street.  It’s Daniel.  He
felt ill when I was at his apartment and asked me to call 911 and the ambulance
brought us here.”

“What
happened?” Margaret asked anxiously.

“Well he went
into his room and then he came back and said that he felt weird, that his face
felt numb and he was burning up with fever.  It was all so sudden!”

“Where did you
say you were?  I’m coming down right away.”

“We’re at New
York Memorial on 61
^st
Street. I’m supposed to complete some forms
but I don’t even know who his next of kin is or anything.”