Kane and Abel/Sons of Fortune Read online

  “‘Parfitt. Parfitt.’”

  The company secretary took a long time opening a voting slip which someone had folded and refolded several times.

  “‘Kane.’” Eight votes to seven in William’s favor.

  The last piece of paper was now being opened. William watched Alfred Rodgers’s lips. The company secretary looked up; for that one moment he was the most important man in the room.

  “‘Kane.’” Parfitt’s head sank into his hands.

  “Gentlemen, the tally is nine votes for Mr. William Kane, seven votes for Mr. Peter Parfitt. I therefore declare Mr. William Kane to be the duly elected chairman of Lester’s bank.”

  A respectful silence fell over the room as every head except Peter Parfitt’s turned toward William and waited for the new chairman’s first move.

  William exhaled a great rush of air and stood once again, this time to face his board.

  “Thank you, gentlemen, for the confidence you have placed in me. It was Charles Lester’s wish that I be your next chairman and I am delighted you have confirmed that wish with your vote. I now intend to serve this bank to the best of my ability, which I shall be unable to do without the wholehearted support of the board. If Mr. Parfitt would be kind enough …”

  Peter Parfitt looked up hopefully.

  “ … to join me in the chairman’s office in a few minutes’ time, I would be much obliged. After I have seen Mr. Parfitt, I would like to see Mr. Leach. I hope, gentlemen, that tomorrow I shall have the opportunity of meeting all of you individually. The next board meeting will be the monthly one. This meeting is now adjourned.”

  The directors began to rise and talk among themselves. William walked quickly into the corridor, avoiding Peter Parfitt’s stare. Ted Leach caught up with him and directed him to the chairman’s office.

  “That was a great risk you took,” said Ted Leach, “and you only just pulled it off. What would you have done if you’d lost the vote?”

  “Gone back to Boston,” said William, sounding unperturbed.

  Ted Leach opened the door to the chairman’s office for William. The room was almost exactly as he remembered it; perhaps it had seemed a little larger when, as a prep school boy, he had told Charles Lester that he would one day run the bank. He stared at the portrait of the great man behind his desk and winked at the late Chairman. Then he sat down in the big red leather chair and put his elbows on the mahogany desk. As he took a small leather-bound book out of his jacket pocket and placed it on the desk in front of him, there was a knock on the door. An old man entered, leaning heavily on a black stick with a silver handle. Ted Leach left them alone.

  “My name is Rupert Cork-Smith,” he said, with a hint of an English accent.

  William rose to greet him. He was the oldest member of the board. His gray hair, long sideburns and heavy gold watch all came from a past era, but his reputation for probity was legendary in banking circles. No man needed to sign a contract with Rupert Cork-Smith: his word had always been his bond. He looked William firmly in the eye.

  “I voted against you, sir, and naturally you can expect my resignation to be on your desk within the hour.”

  “Will you have a seat, sir?” William said gently.

  “Thank you, sir,” he replied.

  “I think you knew my father and grandfather.”

  “I had the privilege. Your grandfather and I were at Harvard together and I still remember with regret your father’s tragic death.”

  “And Charles Lester?” said William.

  “Was my closest friend. The provisions in his will have preyed upon my conscience. It was no secret that my choice would not have been Peter Parfitt. I would have had Ted Leach for chairman, but as I have never abstained from anything in my life, I felt I had to support the candidate who stood against you, as I found myself unable to vote for a man I had never even met.”

  “I admire your honesty, Mr. Cork-Smith, but now I have a bank to run. I need you at this moment far more than you need me, so I, as a younger man, beg you not to resign.”

  The old man raised his head and stared into William’s eyes. “I’m not sure it would work, young man. I can’t change my attitudes overnight,” said Cork-Smith, both hands resting on his stick.

  “Give me six months, sir, and if you still feel the same way, I won’t put up a fight.”

  They both sat in silence before Cork-Smith spoke again: “Charles Lester was right: you are the son of Richard Kane.”

  “Will you continue to serve this bank, sir?”

  “I will, young man. There’s no fool like an old fool, don’t you know.”

  Rupert Cork-Smith rose slowly with the aid of his stick. William moved to help him but was waved away.

  “Good luck, my boy. You can rely on my total support.”

  “Thank you, sir,” said William.

  When he opened the door, William saw Peter Parfitt waiting in the corridor. As Rupert Cork-Smith left, the two men did not speak.

  Peter Parfitt blustered in. “Well, I tried and I lost. A man can’t do more,” he said, laughing. “No hard feelings, Bill?” He extended his hand.

  “There are no hard feelings, Mr. Parfitt. As you so rightly say, you tried and you lost, and now you will resign from your post at this bank.”

  “I’ll do what?” said Parfitt.

  “Resign,” said William.

  “That’s a bit rough, isn’t it, Bill? My action wasn’t at all personal. I simply felt”

  “I don’t want you in my bank, Mr. Parfitt. You’ll leave by tonight and never return.”

  “And if I say I won’t go? I own a good many shares in the bank and I still have a lot of support on the board. What’s more, I could take you to court.”

  “Then I would recommend that you read the bank’s bylaws, Mr. Parfitt, which I spent some considerable time studying only this morning.”

  William picked up the small leather-bound book that was still lying on the desk in front of him and turned a few pages over. Having found a paragraph he had marked that morning, he read aloud. “‘The chairman has the right to remove any office holder in whom he has lost confidence.’” He looked up. “I have lost confidence in you, Mr. Parfitt, and you will therefore resign, receiving two years’ pay. If, on the other hand, you force me to remove you, I shall see that you leave the bank with nothing other than your stock. The choice is yours.”

  “Won’t you give me a chance?”

  “I gave you a chance last week at dinner and you lied and cheated. Not traits I am looking for in my next vice chairman. Will it be resignation or do I throw you out, Mr. Parfitt?”

  “Damn you, Kane, I’ll resign.”

  “Good. Sit down and write the letter now.”

  “No, I’ll let you have it in the morning in my own good time.” He started walking toward the door.

  “Now—or I fire you,” said William.

  Peter Parfitt hesitated and then came back and sank heavily into a chair by the side of William’s desk. William handed him a piece of the bank’s stationery and proffered him a pen. Parfitt took out his own pen and started writing. When he had finished, William picked up the letter and read it through carefully.

  “Good day, Mr. Parfitt.”

  Peter Parfitt left without speaking. Ted Leach came in a few moments later.

  “You wanted to see me, Mr. Chairman?”

  “Yes,” said William. “I want to appoint you as the bank’s overall vice chairman. Mr. Parfitt felt he had to resign.”

  “Oh, I’m surprised to hear that, I would have thought …”

  William passed him the letter. Ted Leach read it and then looked at William.

  “I shall be delighted to be overall vice chairman. Thank you for your confidence in me.”

  “Good. I’ll be obliged if you will arrange for me to meet every director during the next two days. I’ll start work at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes, Mr. Kane.”

  “Perhaps you will also be kind