Be Careful What You Wish For (The Clifton Chronicles) Read online

  Once the minutes of the last meeting had been read and approved, the chairman said, “Members of the board cannot have failed to notice that there is only one item on the agenda for today’s meeting. As you all know, I feel the time has come to make a decision that will, and I believe I do not exaggerate, decide the future of Barrington’s, and perhaps the future of one or two of us who presently serve the company.”

  It was clear that several directors were taken by surprise by Buchanan’s opening remarks, and they began to whisper among themselves. Ross had tossed a hand grenade into the middle of the boardroom table, with the implicit threat that if he didn’t win the vote, he would resign as chairman.

  Emma’s problem was that she didn’t have a hand grenade to lob back. She couldn’t threaten to resign herself, for several reasons, not least because no other member of the family had any desire to take her place on the board. Sebastian had already advised her that if she didn’t win the vote, she could always step down from the board and she and Giles could sell their shares, which would have the double advantage of making the family a handsome profit, while at the same time out-maneuvering Martinez.

  Emma looked up at the portrait of Sir Walter Barrington. She could hear Gramps saying, “Don’t do anything you’ll live to regret, child.”

  “By all means, let us have a robust and no-holds-barred discussion,” continued Ross Buchanan. “One in which I hope all directors will express their opinions without fear or favor.” He then lobbed his second grenade. “With that in mind, I suggest that Mrs. Clifton should open the debate, not only because she is opposed to my plan of building a new liner at the present time, but we must not forget she represents twenty-two percent of the company’s stock, and it was her illustrious forebear, Sir Joshua Barrington, who founded this company over a hundred years ago.”

  Emma had rather hoped to be among the last to contribute to the discussion, as she was well aware that the chairman would be summing up, and her words might have lost some of their impact by the time he spoke. Nevertheless, she was determined to put her arguments as forcefully as she could.

  “Thank you, Mr. Chairman,” she said, looking down at her notes. “May I begin by saying that whatever the outcome of today’s discussion, I know we all hope that you will continue to lead this company for many years to come.”

  Loud “Hear, hears” followed this statement, and Emma felt she had at least placed the pin back into one of the grenades.

  “As the chairman reminded us, my great-grandfather founded this company more than a hundred years ago. He was a man who had the uncanny knack of spotting an opportunity while at the same time being able to side-step a pothole, both with equal skill. I only wish I had Sir Joshua’s vision, because then I would be able to tell you,” she said, pointing at the architect’s plan, “whether this is an opportunity or a pothole. My serious reservation about this project is the all-your-eggs-in-one-basket issue. To risk such a large percentage of the company’s reserves on a single venture could well turn out to be a decision we will all live to regret. After all, the very future of the luxury liner business appears to be in a state of flux. Two major shipping companies have already declared a loss this year, citing the boom in the passenger aircraft industry as the reason for their difficulties. And it is no coincidence that the drop in the numbers of our own transatlantic passengers correlates almost exactly with the rise in the number of air passengers during the same period. The facts are simple. Businessmen want to get to their meetings as quickly as possible, and then return home just as quickly. That is perfectly understandable. We might not like the public’s change of allegiance, but we would be foolish to ignore its long-term consequences. I believe we should stick to the business which has rightly given Barrington’s a worldwide reputation: the transport of coal, cars, heavy service vehicles, steel, food and other commodities, and leave others to be dependent on passengers. I’m confident that if we continue with our core business of cargo vessels that have cabins for only a dozen or so passengers, the company will survive these troubled times, and go on declaring a handsome profit year on year, giving our shareholders an excellent return on their investment. I don’t want to gamble all the money this company has husbanded so carefully over the years on the whim of a fickle public.”

  Time for my hand grenade, thought Emma as she turned the page.

  “My father, Sir Hugo Barrington—you’ll find no oil painting on the walls of this boardroom to remind us of his stewardship—managed, in the space of a couple of years, to bring this company to its knees, and it has taken all of Ross Buchanan’s considerable skill and ingenuity to restore our fortunes, for which we should all be eternally grateful. However, for me, this latest proposal is a step too far, and therefore I hope the board will reject it, in favor of continuing with our core business, which has served us so well in the past. I therefore invite the board to vote against this resolution.”

  Emma was delighted to see that one or two older members of the board, who had previously been wavering, were now nodding. Buchanan invited the other directors to make their contributions, and an hour later, every one of them had offered an opinion, except for Alex Fisher, who had remained silent.

  “Major, now that you’ve heard the views of your colleagues, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts with the board.”

  “Mr. Chairman,” said Fisher, “during the past month, I’ve studied the detailed minutes of previous board meetings on this particular subject, and I am certain of only one thing: we cannot afford to procrastinate any longer, and must make a decision one way or the other today.”

  Fisher waited for the “Hear, hears” to die down before he continued.

  “I have listened with interest to my fellow directors, particularly Mrs. Clifton, who I felt presented a reasoned and well-argued case with considerable passion, remembering her family’s long association with the company. But before I decide how to cast my vote, I would like to hear why the chairman feels so strongly that we should go ahead with the building of the Buckingham at the present time, as I still need to be convinced that it’s a risk worth taking, and not a step too far, as Mrs. Clifton has suggested.”

  “Wise man,” said the admiral.

  Emma wondered, just for a moment, if she might have misjudged Fisher, and he really did have the best interests of the company at heart. Then she recalled Sebastian’s reminder that leopards don’t change their spots.

  “Thank you, major,” said Buchanan.

  Emma didn’t doubt that despite his well-prepared and well-delivered words, Fisher’s mind had already been made up for him, and he would carry out Martinez’s instructions to the letter. However, she still had no idea what those instructions were.

  “Members of the board are well aware of my strongly held views on this subject,” began the chairman as he glanced down at seven headings on a single sheet of paper. “I believe the decision we will make today is an obvious one. Is this company willing to take a step forward, or should we be satisfied with simply treading water? I don’t have to remind you that Cunard has recently launched two new passenger ships, P&O has the Canberra under construction in Belfast, and Union-Castle is adding the Windsor Castle and the Transvaal Castle to their South African fleet, while we seem content to sit and watch, as our rivals, like marauding pirates, take control of the high seas. There will never be a better time for Barrington’s to enter the passenger business, transatlantic in the summer, cruising in the winter. Mrs. Clifton points out that our passenger numbers are falling, and she is right. But that is only because our fleet is out of date, and we no longer offer a service that our customers cannot find elsewhere at a more competitive price. And if we were to decide today to do nothing, but simply wait for the right moment, as Mrs. Clifton suggests, others will surely take advantage of our absence and leave us standing on the quayside, no more than waving spectators. Yes, of course, as Major Fisher has pointed out, we would be taking a risk, but that’s what great entrepreneurs like Sir Jos