Kane and Abel/Sons of Fortune Read online

  “No, I don’t think that would be advisable given the circumstances. In fact, I feel it would be wiser for you to stay out of their way until the Monday board meeting is over. They won’t want to seem any less independent than necessary and they may already feel like glorified rubber stamps. Take my advice, Bill—you go back to Boston. I’ll call you with the good news before noon on Monday.”

  William reluctantly agreed to Peter Parfitt’s suggestion and went on to spend a pleasant evening discussing with both Parfitts where he and Kate might stay in New York while they were looking for a permanent home. William was somewhat surprised to find that Peter Parfitt seemed to have no desire to discuss his own views on banking, but he assumed the reason was because of Diana Parfitt’s presence. An excellent evening ended with a little too much brandy and William did not arrive back at the Harvard Club until after one o’clock.

  Once William had returned to Boston he made an immediate report to Tony Simmons of what had transpired in New York; he did not want him to hear about the appointment from anyone else. Tony turned out to be surprisingly sanguine about the news.

  “I’m sorry to learn that you’ll be leaving us, William. Lester’s may well be two or three times the size of Kane and Cabot, but I’ll be unable to replace you and I hope you’ll consider very carefully before accepting the appointment.”

  William was surprised and couldn’t help showing it. “Frankly, Tony, I would have thought you’d have been only too glad to see the last of met.”

  “William, when will you ever believe that my first interest has always been the bank, and there has never been any doubt in my mind that you are one of the shrewdest investment advisors in America today? If you leave Kane and Cabot now, many of the bank’s most important clients will naturally want to follow you.”

  “I would never transfer my own trust funds to Lester’s,” said William, “any more than I would expect any of the bank’s clients to move with me.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t solicit them to join you, William, but some of them will want you to continue managing their portfolios. Like your father and Charles Lester, they believe quite rightly that banking is about people and reputations.”

  William and Kate spent a tense weekend waiting for Monday and the result of the board meeting in New York. William sat nervously in his office the whole of Monday morning, answering every telephone call personally, but he heard nothing as the morning dragged into the afternoon. He didn’t even leave the office for lunch. Peter Parfitt finally called a little after five.

  “I’m afraid there’s been some unexpected trouble, Bill” were his opening words.

  William’s heart sank.

  “Nothing for you to worry about since I still feel I have the situation well under control, but the board wants the right to oppose your nomination with their own candidate. Some of them have produced legal opinions that go as far as saying the relevant clause of the will has no real validity. I’ve been given the unpleasant task of asking if you would be willing to fight an election against the board’s candidate.”

  “Who would be the board’s candidate?” asked William.

  “No names have been mentioned by anyone yet, but I imagine their choice will be Ted Leach. No one else has shown the slightest interest in running against you.”

  “I’d like a little time to think about it,” William replied. “When will the next board meeting be?”

  “A week from today,” said Parfitt. “But don’t you go and get yourself all worked up about Ted Leach; I’m still confident you’ll win easily and I’ll keep you informed of any further developments as the week goes by.”

  “Do you want me to come down to New York, Peter?”

  “No, not for the moment. I don’t think that would help matters.”

  William thanked him and put the phone down. He packed his old leather briefcase and left the office, feeling more than a little depressed. Tony Simmons, carrying a suitcase, caught up with him in the private parking lot.

  “I didn’t know you were going out of town, Tony.”

  “It’s only the monthly bankers’ dinner in New York. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon. I think I can safely leave Kane and Cabot for twenty-four hours in the capable hands of the next chairman of Lester’s.”

  William laughed. “I may already be the ex-chairman,” he said, and explained the latest development. Once again William was surprised by Tony Simmons’s reaction.

  “It’s true that Ted Leach has always expected to be the next chairman of Lester’s,” he said. “That’s common knowledge in financial circles. But he’s a loyal servant of the bank and I can’t believe he would oppose Charles Lester’s express wishes.”

  “I didn’t realize you even knew him,” said William.

  “I don’t know him all that well,” said Tony. “He was a class ahead of me at Yale, and now I see him from time to time at these damned bankers’ dinners, which you’ll have to attend when you’re a chairman. He’s bound to be there tonight. I’ll have a word with him if you like.”

  “Yes, please do, but be very careful, won’t you?” said William.

  “My dear William, you’ve spent ten years of your life telling me I’m far too careful.”

  “I’m sorry, Tony. Funny how one’s judgment is impaired when one is worrying about personal problems, however sound the same judgment might be considered when dealing with other people’s. I’ll put myself in your hands and do whatever you advise.”

  “Good, then. You leave it to me. I’ll see what Leach has to say for himself and call you first thing in the morning.”

  Tony called from New York a few minutes after midnight and woke William from a deep sleep.

  “Have I awoken you, William?”

  “Yes. Who is it?”

  “Tony Simmons.”

  William switched on the light by his side of the bed and looked at his alarm clock. “Well, you did say you would call first thing in the morning.”

  Tony laughed. “I’m afraid what I have to tell you won’t seem quite so funny. The man opposing you for chairman of Lester’s is Peter Parfitt.”

  “What?” said William, suddenly awake.

  “He’s been trying to push the board into supporting him behind your back. Ted Leach, as I expected, is in favor of your appointment as chairman, but the board is now split down the middle.”

  “Hell. First, thank you, Tony, and second, what do I do now?”

  “If you want to be the next chairman of Lester’s, you’d better get down here fast before the members of the board wonder why you’re hiding away in Boston.”

  “Hiding away?”

  “That’s what Parfitt has been telling the directors for the past few days.”

  “The bastard!”

  “Now that you mention the subject, I am unable to vouch for his parentage,” said Tony.

  William laughed.

  “Come and stay at the Yale Club. Then we can talk the whole thing out first thing in the morning.”

  “I’ll be there as quickly as I can,” said William.

  “I may be asleep when you arrive. It’ll be your turn to wake me.”

  William put the phone down and looked over at Kate, blissfully oblivious to his new problems. She had slept right through the entire conversation. How he wished he could manage that. A curtain had only to flutter in the breeze and he was awake. She would probably sleep right through the Second Coming. He scribbled a few lines of explanation to her and put the note on her bedside table; then he dressed, packed—this time including a dinner jacket—and set off for New York.

  The roads were clear and the run in the Daimler seemed the quickest he had ever made. He drove into New York with cleaners, mailmen, newsboys and the morning sun and checked in at the Yale Club as the hall clock chimed once. It was six-fifteen. He unpacked and decided to rest for an hour before waking Tony. The next thing he heard was an insistent tapping on his door. Sleepily, he got up to open it, only to find Tony Simmons standing ou