JR (20 page)

—Which company? The Governor sought mooring.

—Diamond, a share of Diamond Cable, sir … Davidoff tipped side to side on the blue ripple of carpet as they scudded past. Governor Cates

rocked gently. —Can't go wrong with that can they sir, he looked back for Mrs Joubert, —here, here… ! Governor Cates had begun to gather headway. —This way… Davidoff waved them on in a wide berth, getting the last of them by as the Governor made mid-channel dead in her course.

—Amy … ?

—Good morning, Uncle John.

—Good, come along with me for a minute, Amy.

She took his arm, —oh Mister Davidoff… ? over his shoulder as Davidoff got the last of them through a door ahead and swung back.

—Take your time, we've got a presentation all set up for them.

—And the lunches?

—And the lunches… He listed in a bow and hurried back up the corridor to enter the board room with —Well! You've just had an opportunity not many youngsters experience. When you go home tonight you can tell your families you met one of your country's outstanding Americans.

—You mean you?

—Governor Cates is one of the men who opened the frontiers of America as we know it today, Davidoff leaned knuckled under on the expanse of walnut stretched before him, pad, pencils, ashtray, pad, pencils, ashtray, —he…

—Him? He was this frontiersman?

—Not like Daniel Boone if that's what you're thinking of, no. He opened America's industrial frontiers, her natural resources that make us the wealthiest country in the world. He's a man presidents come to for advice, and you can be proud…

—Is he rich?

—Well after all, a man who has contributed so greatly to his country's wealth and power would deserve…

—What are all these here pads and pencils for?

—This is the board room, where your board of directors meets. They sit right in the very chairs you're sitting in and, oh Carol just bring those in and pass them around. This is your company's Annual Report boys and girls, we put it out because we believe that you, and all the other company owners, have a right to know all about your company and the activities it's engaged in Carol tell him to get that projector going, the many varied ways your company serves our great country with cable of every kind you can imagine from the defense industry to communications of every sort, the…

—Carol… ! Light splashed over the map and drapes behind him. — He's got that on backwards, tell him to …

—He's rewinding it, he …

—Oh and Carol where's Mister Eigen, I said I wanted him in here to handle this presentation find him and send him right in here.

Communications of every sort, from interpersonal messages to the vast

and growing television audience, whether it be the family gathered at home for the finest in entertainment or the student in the remote classroom absorbing the lesson of the master, whose wisdom can be shared with more fertile young minds in a single hour today than Plato, Aristotle, and the renowned teachers of antiquity reached in their entire we about ready in there? Momentarily blinded, he turned to reach behind the tasteful gold-on-blue arrangement of denarii, ducats, shekels, and similar bright testaments to long submerged mercantile struggles that formed the pattern of the drapes.

—Boy hey, look!

—Hey that's real neat. Look hey.

The map rose silently and disappeared, revealing a horizontal bar graph in gay shades of orange labeled Plant Investment and Accumulated Depreciation (in Millions), which followed the map to expose Sources of Capital (in Millions) in vertical yellows, Sales Projections by Continent (in Millions) in assorted aggressive hues, and two, three, four more with the haste of snapping window shades, to lay bare an empty screen.

—Reached, in their entire lives. Lifetimes. Now, in just a moment now, you'll have a close look at the many and varied contributions your company's products are making toward a growing America, and your share in helping our great country to turn the promise of tomorrow into the reality of today, as the tide of human ready in there? He braced back, doubled fists on his hips in a commanding stance of out- of-doors to look up the length of the table's sheen broken by balled sweaters, a candy wrapper, elbows and whole arms and even a head or two, chairs swiveled and legs slung outboard twisting, tapping, —we may have time for a question or two somebody might have about the Annual Report. Your board of directors wants every shareowner to, yes?

—Are you one?

—A shareowner? Of course and I'm proud to …

—No I mean like a director, said the girl wadding her sweater.

—Oh, Davidoff inclined restraining his glasses to contain his wink, — maybe some day, if you'll vote for me. Because, he straightened up — that's what people's capitalism is, isn't it everybody. As one of the company's owners you elect your directors in a democratic vote, and they hire men to run the company for you the best way possible. When you vote next spring…

—With one share we get like one vote?

—You certainly do, and what's more you're entitled to …

—And like if I owned two hundred ninety-three thousand shares then I'd get like two hundred ninety-three thousand votes?

—That's not fair! Like we get this one lousy vote and he gets like two hun…

—What's so not fair! You buy this here one share so you've got like this lousy twenty-two fifty working for you where I've got like six thou,

wait a second… the pencil stub came up to scratch, —nought times nought is …

—He couldn't could he?

—I could so boy I could even vote two hundred ninety-three thousand times for myself for a director if I wanted to couldn't I?

—I mean like that's democracy? It sounds like a bunch of…

—Slow down now slow down, before a family squabble starts here let's come to this little lady's rescue … she cringed from Davidoff's wink behind, the sweater wad, —every shareowner wants profits whether you've got one share or a million, right? So you'll all want to vote for directors that will hire topflight management like your company here's got to keep those profits rolling in and if they're not, this little lady with her one share has just as much right to question the directors and management as somebody with a million shares because they're working for her too, aren't they. If she thinks they're not running

things for her and all the other owners she can even take them to court and start a lawsuit for damages to make sure they're obeying all the company's rules, that's why we put a copy of the company's bylaws in your little kit there. Those are the company's rules and anybody who breaks one has to answer to this little lady, like a regular club boys and girls and those are the club's rules one for all and all for one, I think that's a pretty good little lesson in democracy that film about ready in there?

—Could I just ask if …

—Looks like we've got another minute … he looked past the arm straining the sweater's dreary pattern in front of him, —look right in the back of your Annual Report there and you'll see the pictures of your directors, that's Governor Cates up in the corner you can say you've actually met him can't you, and the big man right under him you might have heard about in your history books about the war let's speed it up in there we can't take all day, General Box, he was the famous armored division commander who stopped the whole German army in the big winter Ardennes … they startled to a blare of music and he shielded his eyes, —All right boys and girls I think we're ready to see…

—Could I just ask back here where it says eight hundred sixty-seven thousand shares…

—Turn that sound down! What is it Carol…

—These eight hundred sixty-seven thousand shares which it says here they were under option at an aggregate price of…

—Down turn it down! Look, he seized the narrow shoulder where the sweater's seam gaped —it would take a month to explain all that arithmetic it's just what we call the consolidated financial statement, don't worry about it. Now, get those lights somebody… ?

—I'm not worried about it I just wondered who…

—What's this Carol.

—The update on Mister Moncrieff's biography before it's sent out and Mister Eigen wondered if that press release…

—Where is he I said I wanted him up here, that press release can wait I'd better check this bio out with Monty get Eigen right up here to

keep an eye on things, boys and girls? I've got to get on deck for a brush fire, he came on over their heads loosening his tie —oh and Carol make sure the board room's cleaned up in there when they're done … and his lips continued to move silent as his stride up the corridor, round an alcove, touching the doorknob his wince became a grimace associated with tightening his tie passing with a nod toward an unoccupied desk —Boss wants to see me… tapping briskly on the door ahead and opening it, slow, on Mrs Joubert sitting knees clenched reading through tortoise shell glasses, looking up just then elsewhere

to ask —must I read all this now? elsewhere the weather side of Cates hunched, back to the door, reading papers with a look pinched through gold rims that rose abruptly and glanced off hers to cross the desk lusterless with —just the cobalt? where Moncrieff's glance over heavy black half frames and the huddled permanent of a secretary had

already passed them both and returned, to leave Davidoff standing like the cry of fire! in an empty theater.

—The cobalt's what they want. The cobalt's what they're getting. He took off the glasses, folded in their straight black bows and sat back molding the bridge of his nose. —Why drag in anything else.

—Like to see things spelled out Monty, spell them out now you don't end up trying to spell them out for some damn subcommittee.

A light glowed on the desk's button-studded console and a naked arm braceleted with the time came up for the telephone. —Mister Beaton, sir.

—Just tell him… staring beyond them, Moncrieff"s finger coursed the ridge of his nose as though the face where his eyes were fixed, dropped back to profile and none of its aloofness lost, even lowered, prompted comparison. —Here … he took the telephone, —bring in everything on this smaltite contract, and Beaton? My daughter's here waiting to sign those powers of attorney. What's holding things up. He handed back the telephone still looking beyond where her profile broke again, turning to him, slipping off the tortoise shells, dangling them.

—Must I read all this now? The children…

—Just sit still for a minute, Amy. What is it Dave.

Davidoff came forward as though he had just entered. —Your youngsters arc fine, he skirted the thrust of her ankle as she crossed her knees —in there watching the presentation we put together for the spring stockholders' meeting getting a real kick out of it, he came rounding the corner of the desk in a generous turn that included them all in his audience, lowering his tone on arrival for the confidence —

We'd better watch our step Boss, they're a pretty shrewd bunch… A light glowed. Up came the phone, and a murmur —the press

calling for the statement…

—He's got it right here, just read it off to them here Dave.

From the tangle of arms naked, silk-and-mohair, the acrylic sheen of Davidoff's rose with the telephone. —Hello? You'll have the statement first thing tomorrow, he said, and handed the phone back.

—What's this, then. Where's the statement.

—Being typed up sir, said Davidoff, briskly tossing the paper clip from his papers into the empty wastebasket. —This is your biography, I wanted to check it out before we release it …

—I want this press statement out today.

—Yes sir and on this bio, I thought we might want…

—Let me see that… Cates straightened up from the wastebasket to drop the paper clip into a vest pocket.

—Yes sir. Oh and Miss Bulcke, she can run off a draft right now Boss save us time, just take this … he nodded to her blank pad. —The long overdue technical readjustments taking place in our present dynamic market situation offer…

—Who the devil cares whether you played football against Brown, Monty.

—We felt sir, in creating Mister Moncrieff s image as an aggressive competitive team player…

—Image! Cates' laugh cleared his throat, —they ought to see you running around with that damn butterfly net Monty.

—Will you read back, Miss…

—market situation offer…

—offer no convincing evidence of the kind that has characterized long-term deter … A light glowed. The pencil stopped.

—Ever see your father with that butterfly net, Amy?

—Senator Broos returning your call, sir.

—long-term deterioration…

—Broos? Hold on a minute. Come in Beaton. Amy? Just sit still for a minute. Broos… ?

—deterioration. In the past…

—Finish that up outside Dave. Broos? Beaton's right here yes, what's the story down there…

Davidoff avoided Beaton's approach with a badly choreographed sidestep, recovered his balance as Beaton drew a chair to the desk and his evenly dulled black shoes neatly together without a glance up from the papers he opened before him.

—Hold on. What time is my plane?

—What airport, said Cates behind her.

—I don't know sir.

—Well you'd better know, damn cab fare to Kennedy's twice the fare to LaGuardia.

—Yes sir.

—They want to know if there's any way we can put off signing this contract till next week, Moncrieff said away from the phone. Beaton leaned close and spoke in a low tone. —Hello? No it's impossible, my resignation here's effective at the close of today's business, hold on … a light glowed and he handed over the phone.

—It's General Blaufinger sir.

—Tell him to hold on.

—He's a damned old woman, Cates muttered making figures on the back of an envelope.

—He's calling from Bonn sir.

—Let him hold on … he recovered the phone, —Broos? Where's the problem… Have you got a copy of it in front of you? All right first, in clause four. For the purposes of cobalt stockpiling, national security and so forth and so forth, that during the life of this contract as stated in clause one supra the government hereby agrees to purchase from Ty- phon International five point two thousand tons of contained cobalt annually, at the guaranteed price of four dollars sixty seven cents per pound, now. Down in seven. In order to expedite this and so forth and so forth the government agrees to advance to Typhon International the sum of thirty-nine point seven million dollars to construct a smaltite processing plant for the extraction of contained cobalt and then down in eleven, the government agrees to sell, at cost, to the processing