had dangled a partnership before him, but had not mentioned it since. Neither had Stone, but now was the time.
Dino excused himself to go and get dressed, and Stone picked up his phone and dialed Bill Eggers.
“Good morning, Stone.”
“Good morning, Bill. Have you a few minutes to talk?”
“Of course, Stone, always for you.”
Although they had been friends for more than twenty years, this was a little more cordiality than Stone was accustomed to from Eggers. He seized the moment. “Bill, I’m sure you will recall the generous bonus the firm gave me a few months ago, when I brought Strategic Services into the fold.”
“How could I forget it?” Eggers asked.
“And I’m also sure you’ll recall the encouragement you gave me regarding a partnership at Woodman amp; Weld.”
Eggers took a couple of beats before replying. “I believe I raised that as… a possibility, at some time in the future.”
“I believe that time has come, Bill.”
Eggers emitted a low chuckle. “I divine that the work you’re doing for Arrington Calder has given you new confidence, Stone.”
“Let’s just say that it raises the… possibility of an important new client for Woodman amp; Weld.”
“How important a client?”
“One with a net worth in the range of four billion dollars.” Stone heard a sharp intake of breath.
“Would we be representing her in the Centurion deal?”
“I would be representing her in that and other business. Whether Woodman amp; Weld would be involved is now up to you.”
There was a thoughtful pause. “You understand that I have a board of management that must approve any new partnership.”
“I understand that you run a tight ship, and that the board would certainly respect your wishes.”
“I’ve had the impression that you would not wish the Centurion deal to come to fruition, if you had your way.”
“I would hate to see Centurion Studios gutted for the benefit of a rapacious developer and an investor who doesn’t need the proceeds of such a sale in order to have any little thing her heart desires.”
“The firm would not derive much in the way of revenue from a sale that did not take place,” Eggers pointed out.
“There will be many opportunities in the future for the firm to derive revenue from Arrington as a client, continuing into the next generation.”
The chuckle came again. “You know, Stone, I met your father several times. Do you recall?”
“Of course. You had many dinners at my parents’ home, when we were in law school.”
“I retain a very sharp memory of your father’s appearance,” Eggers said, “and when I met young Peter Calder, I was struck by his resemblance to your father.”
“I have made the same observation,” Stone said.
“May I put a blunt question to you without offense, Stone?”
“On this occasion, you may not,” Stone replied.
Eggers sighed. “All right,” he said.
“All right what?” Stone asked.
“If you bring Arrington into the fold, I will propose to the board of management that you join Woodman amp; Weld as a full partner, with compensation in line with that paid to other partners, which, of course, is based on the revenues they produce for the firm, and I will make the proposal to the board an enthusiastic one.”
“Thank you, Bill, and please be sure that the board understands that the closing of a Centurion deal may very well not be a part of the firm’s representation of Arrington.”
“I understand.”
“Something else,” Stone said.
“Yes?”
“All this will hinge on Arrington’s successful purchase of Champion Farms. Based on your assessment of the value of the company, she will make a one-time offer of thirty-seven million dollars to Rex Champion, and we must insist that he immediately stop selling his blood stock.”
“I will start the process, Stone. When do you want to close? I think an early closing would be an incentive for Rex to accept the offer, given his cash-flow problem.”
“Thirty days, but two weeks, if he insists. If Arrington needs cash to close, I’m sure Chase Private Bank would be happy to advance it, given the size of her portfolio.”
“I know people there.”
“Since you are personally acquainted with Rex Champion, Bill, I think it’s appropriate that you handle this offer and the subsequent transaction.”
“I will do so,” Eggers said. “Do I have authority to proceed?”
“You do,” Stone replied, “but until all our other arrangements are concluded, please withhold knowledge of Arrington’s net worth to your people.” Stone paused for a moment. “One other thing: Arrington’s affairs have heretofore been handled by a Charlottesville attorney named Howard Sharp, and it is essential that Rex Champion understand that word of this deal not reach Sharp until it is concluded. When that is done and the Centurion situation has been resolved, Arrington will fire Mr. Sharp.”
“Of course,” Eggers replied. “Stone, let me say that I am excited by not only the acquisition of Arrington as a client, but with the prospect of your closer ties to Woodman amp; Weld.”
“Thank you, Bill.” They said goodbye, and Stone hung up, breathless with the adrenaline this conversation had fired into his system.
13
Stone called Mike Freeman at Strategic Services. “Good morning, Mike.”
“And to you, Stone.”
“I would like to retain Strategic Services on the account of Woodman amp; Weld.”
“Of course,” Mike said. “How can we help?”
“The firm has a client who is contemplating entering into a large transaction involving the purchase of her shares in a movie studio by a man named Terrence Prince, of Los Angeles, who wants to build a hotel and an office/residential development on the studio’s land.”
“I understand. We used to provide personal security to Mr. Prince, before he got so rich he hired his own people.”
“Good, because I want to know everything about him, where his money comes from and who else’s money he’s playing with.”
“We can investigate and supply that information,” Mike said. “Our file on him is by now out of date, but I can tell you that the origins of his wealth are shady.”
“Is this about the brother who ran the drug ring in the Amazonian jungle?”
“It is. His brother is said to have backed him to the tune of a hundred million dollars, perhaps as much as two hundred million in cash laundered through a dozen banks in the Caribbean and the Far East. When Terry’s brother was killed in the big raid by the Colombian army, the debt evaporated, as did any influence from the brother, so for intents and purposes, he has been clean since that time.”
“How very convenient,” Stone said. “You think Terry ratted out his brother?”
“It’s a possibility; we’ll look into that, too, if you like. What sort of time frame are we talking about?”
“Very short,” Stone said, “no more than a few days. This deal has been brewing for several weeks, but I only recently became involved, after that phone call I took at Elaine’s.”
“We’re on it,” Mike said. “Anything else?”
