really don’t have anything to say to each other.“ Kalinda realized vaguely that her only feeling toward David Hutton now was one of impatience. The thirst for revenge that had driven her into the mountains last weekend had been well and truly eradicated. Another reason why it would be difficult to stop thinking about Rand Alastair.
„Business is exactly why I’m calling, darling,“ he murmured, and something in his tone chilled her. „You should have met me at that motel, Kalinda. Things could have been handled a lot more pleasantly if you had.“
„What in the world are you talking about?“
„A merger, Kalinda. You’ve done some astonishing things with Brady Data Processing. Two years ago everyone said it had no choice but to go under. You’ve created a total turnaround situation and your company, my love, has become one very enticing little pigeon. 1 want it“
Kalinda swallowed in shock and outrage. It was several seconds before she could control her anger into an icy refusal. „Out of the question. Brady Data Processing is not interested in merging with anyone, David, and quite definitely not your firm!“
„You aren’t going to have any choice. I’m filing forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.“
„What!“ Kalinda stared at the phone. Filing forms with the SEC? There could be only one reason for that…
„That’s right, love,“ he taunted with pleased satisfaction. „I'm going to force the merger on you since you weren’t willing to discuss it under more amicable conditions.“
„You mean since I wasn’t willing to give you an opportunity of trying to seduce me into surrendering the company without a fight!“
„Precisely,“ he agreed smoothly. „I would have preferred a ‘friendly’ sort of takeover but since you’ve proven obstinate, you may as well know I don’t mind a fight It will cost more this way, of course, because I shall have to offer a premium price for your stock, but it will be worth it in the end.“
„How much of the outstanding stock have you picked up already?“ Kalinda forced herself to ask bravely.
„Just under the five percent limit,“ he acknowledged easily.
She winced. Anyone going after more than five percent of a publicly held stock had to register that intention with the SEC. Hence the papers David claimed to be filing. He could now start hunting down vast quantities of the shares on the open market. All he needed were enough to give him control of the firm. Kalinda felt the panic begin to rise in her. After all her work in getting Brady Data Processing back on its feet! She couldn’t bear the thought of having it forcibly taken from her. What about all the people who worked for her? Company morale would go to hell when word of this leaked out. Nothing sent shivers of fear through a firm faster than rumors of an intended hostile takeover move. And there were so few defenses for a company in Brady’s position.
„Why are you doing this, David?“ she asked coldly, trying desperately to think of defense tactics. She knew so little of this sort of thing. She’d never faced it before.
„The usual reasons,“ he retorted bluntly. „My firm is heavy in cash right now and we need some acquisitions. I’ve seen your balance sheet, darling, and you are ripe.“
„You’re telling me there’s nothing personal in this, right? Just business?“ she scoffed angrily.
„Oh, no, I wouldn’t say that,“ he chuckled arrogantly. „It will give me great personal satisfaction to take Brady Data Processing. It should have been mine two years ago.“
„You didn’t want it two years ago!“ she flung back.
„I’ve changed my mind. Thanks to you, Kalinda. No one thought you could pull it off, you know. Everyone was sure that firm was headed for the bottom. But now that you’ve done all the hard work…“
„You think you can just step in and help yourself? I’ve got news for you, David. We’ll fight“
„They all say that in the beginning. Go ahead, love. It will only make the process that much more interesting. Perhaps somewhere along the tine you’ll even consider that little mountain rendezvous we planned. Now
Kalinda slammed the phone down, his confident, knowing laughter ringing in her ears.
She sat in stunned silence for several minutes, gazing with unseeing eyes at the framed mirror on the opposite wall. It reflected her well-tailored white business suit with its narrow skirt and close-fitting jacket.
Her hair was up, as usual,, and the yellow silk blouse she wore was open at the neck with a rakish air.
My God, she thought dazedly. What did she do now? Handling hostile mergers wasn’t one of those subjects stressed when she had been in business management school. It was something one learned on the streets, a true urban guerrilla warfare. She knew all about building a company up from within, obtaining capital, promoting research, making the firm’s stock appear attractive to the analysts of brokerage houses so that they would, in turn, encourage investors to buy it; she knew about those things. She’d learned some the hard way and some she’d studied in school.
But this was a different kind of game. Unfriendly mergers were something that happened to other companies, not to one’s own! She closed her eyes briefly in self-reprisal. She had made a bad error in not planning ahead for such an eventuality. But she had been so swamped just trying to save the business it had never occurred to her that someone would come along and take the salvage prize right out of her hands.
Not to mention the hands of the loyal management. Breaking the news to them would be the hardest part. It was their jobs, after all, which were most likely to be destroyed by such an action. The rank and file were probably the safest. They would be needed to keep things running. But all those in management positions who had worked their way up during the years would find themselves in real jeopardy. They could be replaced and most likely would be by aggressive young movers from the acquiring firm.
Everything she had worked for during the past two years would be gone. Kalinda, of course, would be the first to go…
But that was negative thinking, she told herself furiously, getting restlessly to her feet and walking back to the window. She was going to fight She had to. She owed it to her company to try to save its independence. Tomorrow morning she would call in the company officers for an emergency strategy meeting. She shook her head sadly. It was going to be a shock for all of them.
But in spite of the crisis and the need for planning, there was nothing she could realistically do that evening. She couldn’t very well call off the party and it wouldn’t do her any good even if she could. Grimly she paced back to her desk.
Several hours later Kalinda paused in her duties as hostess to take stock of the cocktail party’s success. There were several important business associates here this evening, many of them male and that meant she had to be especially nice to their wives. The last thing she wanted was to risk a case of wifely jealousy. She had walked a fine line for two years and thought she’d done a good job of reassuring suspicious wives and still maintaining the solid business contacts she needed.
She glanced around the room, taking in the well-dressed, affluent crowd in their expensive suits and gowns, wondering who among them she might go to for advice and professional consultation. She needed to talk to someone, she thought Someone who knew about the dirty in-fighting that went on in a hostile merger situation. It was a cinch she wouldn’t get much constructive help from her own staff. They’d never encountered such a maneuver.
Before she could decide if there was someone in the crowd who could be potentially helpful, Kalinda was interrupted by the effusive thanks of a charming, older woman who glided up to her in a cloud of perfume and wispy chiffon.
„Kalinda, my dear! Thank you so much for the lovely picture you gave Harold and I! So nice of you to think of us while you were on vacation! But your dear father was like that, too. Always so thoughtful of others.“
„I’m glad you like it,“ Kalinda smiled, thinking of the price she’d paid for the watercolor she’d purchased in Rand’s gallery. A weekend affair…
„It looks perfect in Harold’s den! And you look quite perfect yourself tonight,“ Mrs. Sebastian added with a warm smile, surveying her hostess’s printed beet-red silk jacquard sheath with its touches of peacock blue. A fine gold braid edged the neckline and wrists. It was a sumptuous, almost oriental effect which Kalinda wore well. The buttery material slid fluidly over her small breasts and rounded hips.
„Thank you,“ Kalinda said, hastening to return the compliment She stood talking for several minutes to the wife of one of her top managers and then edged away with the excuse of checking the buffet table.
