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Texas Gal
Chapter Thirty-Two My Private Dick!
We shared a long communal bath on Saturday. We would have one more opportunity, tomorrow, and then we wouldn't be back here for almost two months. We did miss the communal bath time while in Austin, but things were far less hectic this year since we only came home every six or eight weeks. We had more time, and more opportunity, for shopping now, and we usually spent our Saturday afternoons in the stores.
After breakfast, we went for a long ride. This was the thing that I missed second most when we were away for long periods. With the nice spring weather here, Auntie promised to visit Austin every two weeks in her new plane. Her new Cessna was almost 50 percent faster than the first one, and it carried six, counting the pilot.
We spent part of the afternoon drinking iced tea and rocking on the front porch while we talked, and the other part studying. We had all finished reading our textbooks by now, and we were beginning our review work, even though we still had almost five weeks left in the semester.
Kevin arrived to pick up Mary just before noon on Sunday. We had packed up Mother's car and were about to leave when he showed, so we waited and then followed behind them as far as Waco. As they exited the highway to head for College Station using 77 South, we hung out the windows and waved to them until Mother hollered at us to sit down.
We arrived at the Austin house in the early afternoon and unpacked the car before opening up most of the windows to let the house air out after being closed up for more than a week.
Dex dropped over in time to have dinner with us and then went for a walk with Judy. Susan's friend, Lance, called around seven and she spent about two hours on the phone. I spent my evening studying. The extra two courses that I was taking required me to spend a lot more time with the books than either Judy or Susan.
The final weeks of school passed quickly. One would think that it would drag out as we waited for summer vacation to arrive, but we were too busy preparing for final exams. Judy spent a lot of time at the library studying with Dex, and Susan spent a lot of time on the phone with Lance, but we all spent most of our time studying. Auntie flew down in the plane three times to visit us. Each time, she picked up Judy and then took her back when she left on Sunday.
Auntie had gotten a couple of recommendations for an investigator, and I contacted them by phone. The first one, after hearing the basic facts, but not the particulars, came right out and informed me that he didn't get involved in corporate spying. I suppose he preferred to look through keyholes at cheating spouses. I thanked him for his time and went on to the next name. The second recommendation was a medium sized firm operating out of Boston. I spoke to the firm's president, Morris Wells.
"I'm looking for someone to keep an eye on a competing corporation. My company has had several encounters with them in the past and we want to be prepared for their moves in advance."
"What's the name of the company?"
"South-Core Paper."
"And what kind of moves are we looking for?"
"They like to go into situations where a competitor may be struggling, and pull the rug out from under him. One of their favorite tactics seems to be bribing the sales force to slow down orders and alienate customers. As the situation intensifies at the troubled company, they completely hire away the sales force and anyone else that the company hires to replace them. They tried that with my company, Piermont, a couple of years ago. It's not illegal, and they've been quite successful with it."
"Is that it?"
"Well- I also know that they encourage companies to buy products from them on credit when no one else will sell to them, so that they're the largest creditor when the company fails."
"Anything else?"
"I'm not familiar with all of their tactics. That's why I want someone who can keep an eye on them. I just want to know whom they're training their guns on next. Especially if it's us."
"Okay, Miss Drake, I think that we can take on this investigation. We can either find someone who will provide us with the information, or we may be able to get someone planted on the inside, in a position to overhear things."
"I don't want to be a party to anything illegal such as breaking and entering."
"You won't be. How we do what we do is entirely our burden. We don't do things that jeopardize our license."
"Okay, Mr. Wells. I'll leave it in your hands."
I gave Mr. Wells the particulars for billing and told him to make his reports only to me.
Mother baked a cake for my fifteenth birthday, and Peggy Sue and Shelly joined us for the small party at the Austin house. I know that sixteen is supposed to mark a teen's progression into adulthood, and eighteen is the legal age, but I felt grown up now. I looked a little older than Susan, who was more than a year older, and I had for the past several years. Most people, just meeting us, placed me as the third oldest, causing Susan some consternation at times. I guess that if I had been willing to lie about my age, I would have received greater acceptance from the rest of the student body, but in my position the truth would have gotten out quickly enough anyway.
I opened my presents and then modeled the clothes for everyone. I had received six skirts, four blouses, and two pair of shoes, plus cosmetics and jewelry.
This was the first night in a long time that I didn't spend the evening studying.
A week before school ended, I received a copy of The Paper Press with a picture of me once again adorning the cover. The picture was a head and shoulders shot of me on the college campus. The picture couldn't be more than a few weeks old because I was wearing a sweater that I had bought after our return from Spring vacation. I was laughing, so I must have been with one of my sisters, Peggy Sue, or Shelly, although they weren't shown in the picture. The caption read, 'DD, Success after Success'.
I opened the magazine to read the article. It started with a short history of my accomplishments, beginning with my first days at Ameri-Moore, and then continued with, 'Darla Anne Drake, known nationally as 'DD' in the paper and forestry products industries, has carved a reputation for herself that is the envy of every corporate executive who knows her, or of her. Her most recent acquisition was Appalachian Paper and Logging, with plants, sawmills, and timberland in Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. DD bought the company in January, for a reported 40 million dollars. At that time, a usually reliable source at Alliance Paper International told us that DD had dramatically overpaid for a company that had been struggling for the past ten years to remain profitable. Alliance had reportedly offered 28 million for the company not more than a month earlier, but Appalachian executives flatly refused their offer. In just 5 months, DD has restored the plants, now known as the Southeast Region of Piermont Paper, to solid profitability on all fronts. Even our source at Alliance reluctantly had to admit that, based on the miraculous rejuvenation and recent performance, the same package of plants and land would probably fetch in excess of 80 million if they came on the market today.
'Piermont Paper now operates ten paper plants, three cardboard manufacturing plants, three sawmills, and a very large custom forms printing plant. Its operations span 10 states from New Hampshire, to Wisconsin, to Georgia. Through it's brief history, DD has been the driving force behind Piermont Paper, and Piermont is now one of the twenty largest paper producers in the United States, although still a very long way from the number one position occupied by Alliance Paper International.
'Last year, South-Core Paper proudly announced that they had managed to snatch a 'plum' away from DD with their acquisition of South Shore School Supplies. It was announced this week that South-Core Paper is closing down the plant and reporting a loss of almost seven million dollars. Constant equipment problems, and credit problems with their customer base, are reported to be the reasons behind the plant closure. (See story on Page 58). It appears now that the company may not have been such a 'plum', and that DD was aware of that fact all along. Although DD did examine the operation and discuss a possible purchase, we've learned that she was bowing out of the negotiations about the time that South-Core was entering the picture.'
I turned to the article on page 58. One of South-Core's vice-presidents had reportedly resigned as a result of the South Shore School Supplies plant closure. Stockholders were reported to be very unhappy with company management.
I closed the magazine with the intention of reading the rest of the articles when I had more time. Right now I had to study for a final exam.
We closed up the house and left for the ranch as soon as our exams were over. We were glad that another school year was behind us. Mary finished on the same day that we did, but there wasn't room in Mother's car for all of her stuff, so Auntie flew to College Station to get her. Kevin needed his entire car for just his own things since everything had to be removed from the dorm rooms for the summer.
We arrived home around noon, but Mary and Auntie didn't show up until almost five. Rosa made us a big dinner to celebrate the end of the school year. Judy and I would be juniors when school started again in the fall.
We lazed about for several days, resting up from the weeks of intense preparation for final exams. It felt strange not to have my nose buried in a schoolbook every night, so I eased myself back into a more normal existence by reading all the trade magazines that I had accumulated. I learned about new equipment, improved methods of manufacturing, and about the companies that we competed against. There were always announcements about promotions and transfers. I learned that the vice-president who had resigned over the closure of South-Core's South Shore School Supplies plant had landed on his feet and found a job with a large plant up in Canada.
On Sunday I boarded the jet to head for Vermont. We'd be going to the French Riviera for our annual vacation soon, so this trip was just to get back into things.
Earl was waiting when we landed and took me to the hotel after we exchanged greetings.
I arrived at the office at my usual time the following morning. Nancy, who always knew when I was coming because she arranged for Earl to be here, had made a pot of tea for me. I had stopped to talk to her for about ten minutes when I had first arrived.
I took my tea to my desk and relaxed for a few minutes before starting into work. I still had an enormous pile of employment forms on my credenza, and I spent most of the morning going through them. Another small pile had also been left on my desk since my last visit. It was almost noon by the time I finished going through the forms, so I went into my kitchen to see was available. Nancy had brought in some fresh vegetables and fruit, so I made a salad and had an orange for dessert, enjoying the light lunch on my outside deck.
After lunch I turned my attention to my mail. Since it had been screened by Nancy, most of the junk never reached me. Equipment catalogs sent to me were immediately forwarded to Tom Harris in purchasing, and a stack of trade magazines awaited me on my coffee table.
My last task was to look through the proposals. Every time someone wrote an article about me buying a plant, the number of proposals increased tremendously. I guess that the current crop was due to the recent article in The Paper Press.
I separated the proposals into the usual piles of too small, wrong products, wrong continent, and possible interest. I then read through the 'possibles'.
There was another letter from the paper company in Maine that I had so far twice rejected. This time the sender, who identified himself as the owner, said that he was open to all offers. It began to appear that only a trip to look at the two plants would satisfy him.
Other proposals were from small paper producers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and companies that produced gift paper, paper plates and cups, cardboard, and formed paper products.
There wasn't anything that caught my eye, in particular, so I put a note with the last group that said that they were to get a letter thanking the sender, and informing them that we would keep the offer on file.
I took the pile of proposals out to Nancy so that she could prepare the response letters. I decided to take a walk while I was out of the office, so I took the elevator to the basement and used the tunnel. Passing several employees as I walked, I was able to greet them all by name.
I took a slow tour through the plant, beginning with the pulping operation and ending at the warehouse. Everyone seemed so busy and productive that I felt a little guilty for not having something to do. I completed my tour and returned to my office.
When I got back, Nancy told me that Bill was looking for me so I gave him a call and invited him to come over. Since his office was right next to mine, he arrived less than a minute later. I was in the process of fixing myself a cup of tea.
"Hi Bill. Would you like some tea?"
"Hi, DD. No thanks. I just had a cup of coffee."
As I sat at my desk, I said, "How have you been?"
"Just great. I love it here in the spring and early summer."
"Me too." I took a sip from my tea. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to touch base with you to see if there was anything that I could do for you?"
"Thanks, but I don't need anything right now."
"Uh… actually I thought that you might want me to check up on some companies. I know that you usually go through the proposals on your first day back."
"I've already gone through them. I didn't find anything interesting, though."
"Oh… too bad."
I smiled. "You're disappointed?"
"No… well maybe a little."
"Have you started going through the records that we had shipped up from Asheville?"
"Started and finished. Not very much that was interesting in there. No buried treasure. We burned most of it in the pulping furnace after I had been through it. The rest was catalogued and stored in the basement."
"Have you spoken to Ron?"
"Yeah, we talked last week. He's having the time of his life. Bob's almost ready to cut him loose and head back."
"Is he still in the hotel?"
"No, he found a house that he loves. He's invited me to stay with him when I go down instead of staying at the hotel."
"Good. I'm glad that he's settling in." I took another sip of tea. "You know, Bill, now that I think about it, there is something that you can do for me. Back in January I rejected a proposal from a company in Maine. Bob looked into it and said that their asking price was way over the norm. We had Appalachian to look at anyway. Then in April, they sent us another proposal. Again, I declined the offer. Then today I found a third letter in with my mail. Why don't you look into it so I can definitely tell this guy that we don't have any interest at all? Nancy can get you the proposal information that came in before."
"Okay, DD. Is that all?"
"Yes, for now."
"Okay. I'll get started on the Maine company and get back you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Bill."
About an hour later Nancy buzzed me to say that there was a caller named Morris Wells on the phone. I told her to put it through.
"Hello, Mr. Wells."
"Good afternoon, Miss Drake. I have an update on your case. Can you talk freely?"
"Yes. I'm alone. Go ahead. Mr. Wells."
"We've placed an operative in the corporate headquarters of South-Core. Her position with the company gives her access to most areas. It would seem that, in the eyes of South-Core employees, you are public enemy number one. Your picture adorns many of the walls outside of the public areas. Most of the pictures are drawn or written on; mostly childish stuff, like horns and a pitchfork, or, the teeth have been blackened out, and some of the pictures have derogatory remarks written on them."
"I get the picture, Mr. Wells. I know that I'm resented at South-Core. At each of our encounters, they've come off second best. Their resentment is only natural."
"Very well, Miss Drake. I'm only reporting what we've found."
"No information on their targets?"
"Other than their animosity for Piermont, no."
"Have you uncovered any plans to attack Piermont?"
"Nothing yet. My operative will continue to work on it. It takes a while for operatives to work their way into people's confidence."
"I understand. Let me know if you uncover anything."
"Of course, Miss Drake. Good day."
News that my picture was being defiled at South-Core didn't cause me any distress. I wondered how many basement dartboards also held my picture. Certainly the former Piermont sales people had no love for me. Most had moved away long ago. I wondered if any had found their way to South-Core. I knew that none had been working at any of the plants that we had acquired.
I read trade magazines for the rest of the day until it was time to leave. Then I called Earl and went downstairs to meet him out front.
Bill came to see me shortly before noon the next day.
"Hi, DD. I dug up what I could on the company in Maine. They have two plants and a bit of land. The company was founded by the current owner in 1919. He did pretty well until the Great Depression in 1929. Fortunately, he had been saving his money during the good years, and used the bad years in the early 1930's to acquire most of the timberland that he owns today. As the economy finally began to rebound, so did his company. He built a second plant in 1953, then tore down the original plant that had been built inside an old sawmill, and erected a new modern plant on its site. That was in 1962.
He apparently decided to sell out a year or two ago and has been trying to sell the plants since then. A far as I can tell, he hasn't had any offers. As Bob reported to you, his asking price was very high, especially when you consider the other properties that we've acquired during the past few years.
The plants appear to be doing okay. Financial information doesn't have to be publicly released since the company is privately held. They aren't delinquent in their payables, and the property is owned free and clear. The owner is 71 and wants to retire."
"It doesn't sound as though he should have any trouble selling the plants if he's willing to price them realistically."
"I agree."
"Then why does he keep chasing after us like an ardent suitor, after we've twice rejected his advances?"
"Don't know. I guess that you'll have to call and ask." Bill smiled.
I smiled and reached for the phone. Nancy called me back when she had managed to get through to Mr. Kurt Hockler.
"Hello, Mr. Hockler. How are you today?"
"Still breathing."
"Ah… yes, I see. I'm calling about the proposal that I received from you."
"What proposal?"
"The latest proposal that you sent offering to sell your company."
"Oh."
"You did send it, didn't you."
"I guess so. I forget. My memory isn't what it was. I'd have to check my files. Why… are you interested?"
"We're always interested in properties that are being offered at the right price, but your asking price has been kind of on the high side."
"Was it?"
"Yes."
"Then make me an offer. That's the way that it usually works."
"We'd… like to see it before we tender an offer."
"A-yup. When?"
"How about tomorrow?"
"A-yup. What time?"
"How about 9 a.m.?"
"A-yup. Anything else?"
"No. We'll be there tomorrow morning at 9."
"A-yup."
The line went dead as Mr. Hockler hung up the phone. He certainly didn't have the silver tongue of a salesman.
"Okay, Bill. Let's meet tomorrow morning at the hotel, at 7:30. I'll notify the pilots to be ready to take-off at 8. That'll give us enough time to get to Norridgewock and make it to the plant before 9. The flight should only take about a half-hour."
"Okay, DD. Should I call John?"
"Thanks, but I'll take care of that. I haven't spoken to him since I got here."
"Okay, DD. I'll be there in the morning."
After Bill left, I called John. We made small talk for a few minutes and then I told him about the trip. He said that he'd be at the hotel at 7:30 a.m.
I didn't have anything more to do so I made the rounds, beginning with Matt. As usual, he was on the phone. I waited until he was finished and then I sat down to visit. We managed 15 minutes before his secretary called to say that there was a very important customer on the phone. I told him to take his call and waved as I left. I stopped in to see Tom Harris, and then Ben Philips in personnel.
Ben said, "The RFP should be ready in a couple of weeks."
"RFP?"
"For the new computer. Our data processing supervisor has been working on it for a few weeks. He's also worked out the plans for the computer center with an architect."
"I saw that we had hired someone when I went through the employment forms. Where did we place him, organization wise?"
"Temporarily, he reports to me. I didn't know where he should fit in since he's the only one in the new department. I didn't think that he should report to Finance or Marketing."
"Okay, keep him under your wing for now. We'll decide later where that department should report. What about the computer center construction?"
"We'll need to revise the electric service, and install an independent air conditioning system for the center, raised flooring, and wall partitioning."
"What's the projected cost?"
"$40,000 for everything except the computer hardware."
"Okay. I'd like to see a copy of the plans before I approve anything."
Ben went over to a table and brought back a roll of blueprints. "Here you go, DD."
"Okay, thanks Ben. I'll get these back to you as soon as I look them over."
I dropped the plans off in my office and went for a walk through the plant, stopping to make small talk with Mike Turbill when I reached the loading dock. Then I returned to my office and made a light lunch.
After reviewing the plans, I wrote a note giving my approval for the work and returned them to Ben. He would wait until Bob returned and then turn the matter over to him.
John and Bill were waiting in the lobby of the Holiday Inn at 7:30 the next morning. Earl had the car out front and we left immediately. The plane was ready when we arrived at the airport and we were rolling down the runway within five minutes of arriving there.
Nancy had arranged for a limo to meet us at the airport in Norridgewock and we arrived at the plant 10 minutes early. A receptionist showed us the way to Mr. Hockler's office. A tall, skinny man with a craggy, weathered face met us at the door.
"Mr. Hockler?"
"A-yup."
"I'm Darla Anne Drake. This is Bill Marshall, my Vice-President of Finance, and John Fahey, my Chief Engineer."
"A-yup."
"May we come in?"
"A-yup," he said, standing aside so that we could enter.
We walked in and took seats in front of the desk. Mr. Hockler went around and took his seat. "So you're interested in buying my company?"
"Perhaps. We'd like to look at your plant here, and the other one, before making an offer. We'll also have to look at your timberland."
"You're not very old. You really know anything about paper plants and timberland?"
"Enough."
"Okay... I'll take you through the plant."
"I'd like to leave Mr. Marshall here to go over the books."
He didn't say anything to us, just reached over and picked up the phone.
"Gladys, would you come in here?" When a middle-aged woman entered the office
he said, "Gladys, take this fellah to the accounting department and let him
look at anything he wants to see."
Bill got up and followed Gladys out. Mr. Hockler stood up and said, "Follow me."
John and I rose and followed along behind. Mr. Hockler took us to the pulping operation first. John immediately started examining the equipment. I stood alongside Mr. Hockler until he said, "How long's this gonna take."
"John usually needs about two to three hours to examine a plant."
"I have work to do. Let me know when you're through."
"A-yup."
Mr. Hockler turned and walked away without acknowledging my use of his seemingly favorite expression. John did his usual thorough job and it was just after 11:30 when he finished. I had spent my time watching the performance of the employees and the production of the paper. We returned to Mr. Hockler's office. The receptionist buzzed him and waved us in.
Mr. Hockler stood up. "Done?"
"We're all done here. We'd like to go to your other plant now. And can you give us a map showing the locations of the timberlands?"
"A-yup." He opened a file cabinet and took out a large file of folded papers. "These are topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Service. My timberlands are all outlined in red ink."
"Very good. We'll be leaving you to travel to the other plant. I'd appreciate it if you could inform your people that we're coming for a look."
"A-yup."
"And could you arrange for someone to meet us at the airport and take us to the plant?"
"A-yup."
"Thank you. We'll be back late this afternoon."
"A-yup."
John and I left the building and got into the limo. The driver, who had been reading the newspaper, put it down on the seat and started the car. I told him to take us to the airport. When we arrived I told the driver that we wouldn't be back for several hours so he was free to leave, but to please be back here by 3 o'clock.
The flight to Millinocket took all of 20 minutes once we lifted off the ground. When we arrived, there wasn't anyone there to pick us up. I waited for ten minutes and then walked into an office attached to a hanger and asked if I could use their phone. They also provided me with a phone book. I called the plant and told them that we were supposed to have been met by a driver. The woman who answered apologized and said that someone would leave right away.
I thanked the woman who had let me use the phone, and as I was preparing to leave, I spotted a sign offering plane rides.
"Excuse me. I see that you offer rides. Do you have someone available to take me up for an hour or two?"
"Not right now, but one of our instructors will be back in about thirty minutes. He's free for the rest of the afternoon."
"Wonderful. I'd like to charter the plane." I removed the maps from my briefcase and showed them to her. "Here's what I want to look at. All the areas outlined in red. I have to go over to the paper plant right now, but I'll be back in 30 to 45 minutes."
"Yes, ma'am."
I left the office and walked towards the plane. A car came hurtling onto the airport grounds and headed for the plane. We got there about the same time.
The driver got out and introduced himself as being from the plant. We got into the car and he turned it back towards the airport entrance.
"I'm very sorry that I wasn't here to meet you. They told me that you were flying up, but I didn't expect you for another 10 or 20 minutes. They never said that you were in a jet. We don't see very many up here."
"I guess that it's my fault. I should have said something to Mr. Hockler."
The manager at the plant was the complete opposite of Mr. Hockler. He was friendly and outgoing, and gave us a warm reception. Since time was critical, we went straight to the plant rather than stopping for a talk before starting. I told John that I was going to look at the timberland while he looked at the equipment, and that I would meet him back at the plane. I did a quick walk through with the manager, and then asked him for a ride to the airport. I think he was disappointed that I wasn't going to stay and talk for a while. I explained that I had a plane waiting to take me on a fly-over of the timberlands.
The pilot was back, and waiting for me, when I got to the airport. I took a minute to go to the jet and explain to Captain O'Toole where I was going. Then I climbed into the Cessna 150 and we left.
The Cessna was perfect for what we had to do because it has high wings, thereby giving an almost unobstructed downward view except for the wheel and strut, and it could fly very slowly. When we reached the first timberland area, the pilot dropped to tree-top level and pointed out the landmark boundaries. We circled the section several times as I looked and took notes, then we proceeded onto the next section.
It took almost three hours to locate and view all the sections. I wished that I could have done it from the ground so that I could better determine the health of the trees and the soil conditions but there just wasn't time.
John was already back at the jet when we returned to the airport. I signed the invoice in the airport office and went to the jet. The pilots had begun their preflight when we radioed in on our approach and they were ready to go as soon as the copilot pulled the door closed.
"How did you do, John?"
"Fine. The equipment is all in top shape. They have a good maintenance program and the people know what they're doing."
"And the first plant?"
"Same thing. Top shape. As good as Brandon or Greenfield."
"Look at these maps. How much land would you say is represented?"
John looked at the outlined areas. "Roughly, it looks like 75,000 to 100,000 acres."
"Look at the printed proposal that I received back in January."
"What am I looking for?"
"The amount of timberland included with the company."
"It says… approximately 10000 acres."
"That's what I was expecting; 10,000 acres of timberland. That error may be why no one has made an offer. They all see an asking price of 18 million for 2 plants and 10,000 acres. 2 plants and 100,000 acres is a different matter entirely."
"So, what do you do?"
"We'll make an offer and see what Mr. Hockler says."
The ride back was so quick that we barely got to a decent altitude before it was time to start descending. The limo was waiting for us and we headed back to the plant.
When we entered the office, the receptionist moved to buzz Mr. Hockler but I stopped her. "I'd like to speak with my Finance V.P. before you bother Mr. Hockler."
"Very well, Miss Drake."
"Can you point the way to the accounting department?"
She pointed down the hallway and said, "Second door on the left."
"Thank you," I said, and John and I went in search of Bill. We found him seated at a vacant desk looking through file folders. "How's it going, Bill?"
"All done, basically. I was just looking through some old correspondence while I was waiting for you to come back."
"What have you found?"
"Aside from the fact that they haven't embraced much automation in this department, the accounting effort is fine. They're running about an average receivable delinquency amount for an operation this size, and they're current on their accounts payable. No red flags at all."
"Okay, thanks. Want to join us in Mr. Hockler's office?"
"Sure, DD. Let me just put these files back." Bill carried the folders over to a file cabinet and put them into one of the drawers. Then he went to Gladys desk and thanked her for her help. When he rejoined us we went out to the receptionist's desk.
"We're ready to see Mr. Hockler now."
The receptionist buzzed Mr. Hockler, told him that we were here, and then waved us back toward his office. Mr. Hockler stood as we entered. We took our seats and then he did.
"Have yah seen everythin that yah wanted tah see?"
"As much as we could in just one day."
"And?"
"And I'm prepared to make you an offer for the two plants and the land that's marked on these maps. How many acres is it that the company owns?"
"Roughly 100,000 more or less. It could be as many as a 1,000 either side."
"I see. Okay, I'm prepared to offer you 10 million dollars for the land and the plants."
Mr. Hockler just looked at me for a minute. "That's a long way from the 18 million that I was looking for."
"The initial asking price was the reason that I didn't even come to look at the plants. Last summer I bought Owosso Paper with three paper plants, a sawmill, and 244,000 acres for 19 million."
Mr. Hockler spread his hands on the desk surface in front of him and stared down at them. "I'm 71 years old. My wife is gone and we never had no children. I find myself becoming more and more forgetful lately so I don't know how much longer I can continue here. I guess that 10 million would be enough to keep me quite comfortable for the rest of my days, and still leave way too much for the relatives to fight over after I'm gone. You have a deal, Miss Drake."
"Okay, Mr. Hockler. I'll fill out the paperwork."
I opened my briefcase and took out two copies of the letter of intent. I filled in the numbers, and the descriptions of the plants and timberlands. I attached the maps to my copy and asked Mr. Hockler to initial them. I included a guarantee by Mr. Hockler that there were no outstanding liens or obligations other than the standard account payables.
After we had both signed, and Bill notarized them, I shook hands with Mr. Hockler. I told him that people would arrive Monday to begin the transition effort while the attorneys prepared the formal transfer papers. He said that he would stay until Monday, and then be available until the formal transfer was complete if we needed him.
We said our good-byes to Mr. Hockler and left the headquarters' offices. The limo took us back to the airport, where I thanked the driver and gave him a nice tip. The pilots started preparing the plane for take-off as soon as we had boarded, and it would only take about a half-hour to get back to Vermont.
We talked about the acquisition on the flight back. We would have to get a transition team together to travel to Maine on Monday. John told Bill about the mistake on the printed proposal.
"It seems incredible that no one would spot that error," John said.
"Not so incredible," I said. "Most of the people getting the proposal probably didn't know very much about the company; as we didn't. We knew the plants were there, but we didn't have the particulars about their timberlands. The way that the number was printed, without a comma to separate the whole numbers into groups of three digits, makes it difficult to quickly spot such mistakes. The people at the company knew how many acres they had, but the eyes and mind sometimes let you see what you expect to see, rather than what's really printed. That's why authors need proofreaders."
"It almost seems unethical not telling Hockler about the error," John said.
I shrugged. "We didn't create the printing error, or do anything to prevent others from spotting it, and the offer was proportionate to the amount that we paid for Owosso. Mr. Hockler seemed satisfied with the amount, and I don't feel any guilt over paying him ten million dollars. I was very surprised that he took the first offer though. I was prepared to go higher."
The captain announced that we were descending to land in Rutland, so we buckled up our seat belts.
We had worked though lunch, so I invited Bill and John to dine with me at the hotel. Both said that they didn't have any plans and we enjoyed an excellent meal in the hotel's dining room.
Bob called me the next morning. He had spoken to Bill earlier and learned of the new purchase. We talked about it for a half-hour. Before he hung up, he said that he was ready to turn over the region to Ron and that he'd be flying back tonight. I smiled as I wondered if the latest purchase caused him to move up his return date.
I spent my day working on the business plan that I had begun in January. Things kept changing so quickly that I had to modify the plan even before the draft was complete. I had planned to include a future goal of producing newsprint, but with the addition of the Maine plants, we now had two plants manufacturing it.
Friday was our regular meeting day. Gerard had flown in from Michigan for his monthly attendance, and Ron had come up for the day. This would be the best attended meeting since January.
"Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming today. I want to welcome the two newest members of this group, Gerard and Ron. Things have been moving fast and furiously over the past year. As you undoubtedly know, we acquired another company yesterday. We have added 2 paper plants and 100,000 acres of timberland, but before we get into that, let's get the status reports out of the way. Bob?"
"One of the many things that I like about this company is that the job is never boring. It's not the same company that it was just two days ago. Last night I turned over control of the Southeast Region to Ron Collins. We've all worked hard to merge the former Appalachian Paper & Logging Company into Piermont, and we've succeeded. The plants in the Southeast Region are healthier than they have been at any time during the past three decades. Most of the old management is gone, and a new crop of managers has been installed. All but one of our temporarily reassigned people have returned to their former jobs in the Northeast or Midwest Regions. Our last temporarily reassigned manager should be returning to his former position in about a month. It'll be Ron's job to continue what we started and make the region continue to prosper.
The Northeast Region has been doing very well. Sales continue to rise, and productivity is at new highs. I think that the temporary replacement managers wanted to make their marks while they had the chance. They've had to return to their former positions, but we know who we can depend on when we need a new managers."
"Thank you, Bob. Gerard?"
"The Midwest Region is doing well. I'm happy to have my best people back, but it was good to let the assistant managers get a taste of sitting in their boss's chairs. It always gives a new perspective to experience a job with more responsibility. The competition between the three regional sales forces has raised sales to new highs. Bob, Ron, and I have worked out a 'territory' for each region so that we can avoid stepping on each other's toes. Each region will continue to service the accounts that it has established, but any new leads coming in, that are in another region, are to be passed on to the teams in those regions."
"Thank you, Gerard. That sounds like a better system. Ron?"
"I can't add very much to what Bob and Gerry have already said. I'm still getting my feet wet. I'll make sure that the progress that Bob made will continue in the Southeast Region."
"Thank you, Ron."
We continued around the table until everyone had given an update. Then I opened the conversation about the new plants.
"Both plants have complete chipping and pulping operations, and each plant already has a manager. Mr. Hockler functioned only as the corporate president. The equipment is in excellent shape, and the company comes with its own customer base. It's almost a turnkey operation, but we'll still have to train them to use our reporting systems. We'll merge most of the accounting functions into our department here in Brandon, right away. The corporate offices will be closed, as we have done with the other plants in the region, and we'll try to find replacement jobs for as many of the displaced people as possible. The corporate staff is very small. Bob, this should be an easy one, like Danbury."
"It sounds like it, DD. I'll take a team up on Monday to get started."
"Okay. I've only seen the timberland from the air. It looked fine but we should have someone get a first hand look. Check out their cutting practices, replanting efforts, and erosion prevention techniques."
"I'll see to it. Will we be keeping the timberland?"
"That'll be up to Mrs. Moore. We'll be keeping it for the short term at the very least." I looked over at Matt. "Matt, you'll make the decision on how long to keep the sales department on. You'll have to learn about the products that they offer."
"Right, DD. Is it okay if I go up to there on Monday?"
"Fine with me, but Bob is the group leader."
"Fine with me also, Matt," Bob said.
We talked about the new plants for the rest of the morning, through lunch, and beyond. At two o'clock we were about talked out so I stood up.
"I guess that we've talked enough for today. I'd like to make an announcement. Effective immediately, Ben Philips is our new Vice-President of Personnel and Employee Relations. Congratulations, Ben." I started the applause and then sat down.
Ben stood up and made a short impromptu speech, and then everyone crowded around to shake his hand and congratulate him. Everyone filed out afterwards.
My last official act for the day was to sign the loan papers for the ten-million-dollar loan. Bob would probably complete the transfer before I returned.
I called the pilots and told them that I was leaving the plant in a few minutes and then called Earl. I said goodbye to Nancy, and several other people that I passed on the way out. Earl was waiting in front when I emerged from the building.
A half-hour later we were lifting off the runway and headed home to Texas. I had only been away a week, but it seemed like a month.
I faced the usual questioning from Susan after I arrived home and sat down to eat dinner. I confessed that I had bought two more plants, but I joked that I was owed one because I hadn't bought any during Easter break.
"I thought that you had too much extra capacity already?"
"This is different. The new plants make newsprint. We didn't have that capability before. The deal brings with it a whole bunch of new customers. And maybe we'll pick up their business for our other products."
"This is getting ridiculous. Every time you go to Vermont, you buy paper plants. It must be some kind of a record. What do you have now, a dozen?"
"Yes, 12 paper plants, plus assorted cardboard plants, sawmills, the printing plant, and about 350,000 acres of timberland."
"And how much money do you owe?"
"About 67 million."
"67 million. 67 million DOLLARS. 67 MILLION dollars. Do you realize how much that is?"
"Completely. It's the amount of money that I owe on a company that has a value of roughly 250 million dollars. That means that we're 183 million dollars ahead of where we'd be if I hadn't borrowed any money."
Susan just stared at me, trying to come up with a good argument. Suddenly, her face lit up. "I just got it."
"Did you? What did you get?"
"It's like Monopoly to you. You're playing a game."
"What?"
"Monopoly. You're playing Monopoly. But with real money."
"Make sense."
"Monopoly was always your favorite game when we were growing up. And you always played the same way. You bought everything that you landed on. When you ran out of money, you mortgaged your properties to get more money to buy more property. You would always do anything to get MORE property. And now you're playing the game for real."
Now it was my turn to be silent while I thought. We must have played Monopoly a thousand times while we were growing up. Susan was correct that it was my favorite game throughout my childhood, and it was a game of Monopoly that directly led to my becoming Darla Anne more than four years ago. My game philosophy had always been as Susan said; I bought everything that I landed on until I was out of money, and then I mortgaged the properties to continue buying. "This isn't Monopoly, but why should you be surprised that my basic philosophy is the same? I won games more often that anyone else. In real life, your property isn't rendered useless when it's mortgaged, and you are also not handicapped by a limited number of available properties. There can also be many winners, with varying degrees of success, rather than just one. And we're not playing with play money; it's very real. But yes… I'm following a similar philosophy in life, just as it can be said that I follow a similar philosophy to the way that I play chess. Plan your moves and consider all the possible moves that your opponent might make."
"But how much is enough?"
"I don't know if I can quantify it. I don't think anyone can. Some people say that a company either grows or it dies. If that's true, then there is no 'enough'. It seems to me that most companies both grow and shrink, in cycles. Market forces seem to control the cycles, but there are other factors at work as well. If there is an 'enough', I'll recognize it only when I reach it."
(continued in part 33)
Author's note : I want to express my grateful appreciation to Teddie Sue for her proofreading help and story suggestions on this series.
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