she pressed the on button.
“Adam, how did it go?”
“Better than I expected. Most of the division executives are on board. I think this is going be the smoothest takeover yet.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. Are you back in town?”
“Yes I just got home.”
“Will you be coming over for a victory celebration?”
“I don’t think I can make it tonight, as much as I really would like to. I’m going to have to go to the office to review some documents with Legal. We’ll be working all night. I’ll take a rain check, though. How about dinner tomorrow at Champs Elysees?”
“That sounds great. After dinner we can come back here,” she said in a tone that held great promise.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about, right now. I’ve decided to disconnect myself from further personal contact with Kane Masterson. I’ve asked each of our companies do deal directly with the respective Preston division heads to integrate their operations according to the organization charts I gave them. Since Preston doesn’t have a trading company, per se, I want you to handle the consolidation of Elegant Sportswear into Hampton Sportswear. Kane Masterson will report to you for the next six months. He will be solely in an advisory capacity. I took away his office at Preston and stripped him of any authority over their operations. I’m only tolerating him at all to assure a smooth transition and maybe to rub a little dirt in his face.”
Marcia thought for a minute,
She asked, “How did he take it?”
“He wasn’t too pleased. Apparently he had some preconceived idea of what his role would be, but he realizes that he doesn’t have any choice. He’s bound to us contractually for the next six months, I don’t know how he’ll react to taking orders from a woman, but we’ll soon find out. I’m sure it will be a first for him. I told him to report to you at your office at 10 tomorrow morning. See if you can set him up in a small cubicle somewhere, one suitable to his current status. If I had my druthers I’d dump his sorry ass right now, but I can’t risk anything falling through the cracks. I’ve waited too long for this to happen to let anything go wrong now. There will be too many eyes watching, especially our major stockholders.”
“Don‘t sweat it. I have the perfect four by four cubicle for him right next to the elevators. It’s so noisy no one ever wants to use it. That should be perfect for our Kane Masterson. Does that sound good to you?”
“That’s the spirit. Stop by my office on your way in tomorrow. I’ll fill you in on the specifics. I think you will enjoy this assignment. It will look good on your performance record, if you know what I mean.”
“I understand, perfectly. Are you sure you don’t want to come over tonight?”
“I would love to, but I have to go to the office. I’ll make up for it tomorrow night. Good night, Marcia.”
“Good night, Adam.
Marcia was disappointed that Adam wasn’t coming over to her apartment, but the disappointment was soon replaced by the excitement of her new assignment. For the next six months, she was going to control one of the industry’s top leaders, the winner of countless awards and a host of achievements.
Kane Dwight Masterson was born on October 6, 1974. His mother is the socialite Evelyn Littleton, his father Peter Masterson, of whom little is known. Kane B.S.’d in International Finance at Northwestern and Mastered in Business Development at the Wharton School of Business. He was recruited by Preston Industries as a Senior Financial Manager and had a rapid ascent to CEO of the company. He managed Preston’s successful defense against a hostile takeover attempt by Hampton Industries.
Marcia was determined, however, not to be swayed by his super-clean image. Her job was to make the next six months hell-on-earth for Kane Masterson and that is just what she planned to do. It was not in her nature to be mean or vindictive, but she could be an ill-tempered shrew if the situation called for it and this one definitely did. She smiled as she thought,
Chapter 10
Daniel McKnight owned several semi-pro sports franchises, one each in football, baseball and hockey. The Old Brooking Wildcats, Old Brooking Indians and Old Brooking Blizzards, respectively. The Wildcats and Blizzards were consistently large revenue producers, but the Indians lost money for the past three seasons finishing in last place for two of them. He harbored thoughts of selling the team, but never acted on them.
Daniel, was powerfully built at five foot six, but his persona dwarfs even the biggest of his players. He played all three sports at Old Brooking High, excelling in each, but not enough to interest college or professional scouts. Daniel’s father died when he was thirteen, leaving four children. He was the only boy and the oldest child which placed the responsibility for supporting the family squarely on his shoulders. During his four years in high school he worked several jobs, balancing work with sports. When Daniel graduated he took a job as a coach at the high school and played semi-pro football on weekends each fall. Although he had several offers to coach for larger school systems in nearby towns, he was content working for the local high school. He filled several positions in the Old Brooking High, Physical Education Department over the next twenty years and only left his job when an uncle died suddenly leaving Daniel his entire two million dollar estate. Unexpectedly, he was set for life. His dreams were finally coming true.
Demonstrating a high degree of maturity and business acumen, Daniel waited until he could acquire the three sport franchises at distressed prices. This happened eight years ago. His penchant for the bottom line keeps him from meddling with the day-to-day field operations of his teams. Considered ruggedly handsome by most women’s standards and a “man’s man” by most men, Daniel was popular wherever he went.
Adam Hampton III enjoyed watching sports. He never played any, but he loved being a spectator. For over six years, he was an enthusiastic supporter of Daniel’s teams. Daniel met Adam at one of the Saturday night football games. While he had seventeen years on Adam, they hit it off right away; the heir apparent to the Hampton fortune becoming a regular in the owner’s box. It was there that Daniel first met Lauren Pendleton who would later succumb to Adam’s whirlwind courtship and marry him. Daniel took an instant dislike to Lauren, who he viewed as interfering with the good times he was having with Adam. Their attendance at the games lessened as Lauren introduced Adam to the “finer” things in life, such as symphony orchestras, museums and the theater. Not being invited to their wedding was the final straw especially when he found out that his three team managers were invited to Adam’s bachelor party, wedding and reception. It was Old Brookings’s biggest social event of the year and he was not invited. Daniel blamed Lauren for the snub until he ran into Adam two weeks later and saw culpability in the man’s eyes. From that moment on he no longer pursued the friendship. Personal contact was reduced to occasional social events in town. Lauren, on the other hand, brazenly acted as if nothing had happened and she did this so openly that Daniel, on one occasion, gave serious thought to violating the rule about a man never hitting a woman.
The strained relationship continued for over a year, until Lauren had an accident in a “jumping” exhibition at the Club’s annual riding show. Against Adam’s advice, she entered the “triple combination” jump. Her horse balked after the first obstacle, throwing Lauren into a hedge at the right side of the fence. The hedge absorbed most of the impact, and although she wasn’t physically hurt the fall resulted in the miscarriage of her four month old fetus. Adam was unforgiving about the loss of his unborn son. Daniel, moved by Lauren’s misfortune, sent flowers and a comforting letter to her. When she did not respond, he chalked it up to her lack of social grace. Still, it seemed to
