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Life's Illusions - Book Five - Chapter 11
In Chicago it was coming towards the anniversary of Bobby's death once again.
Ary and Trevor, as One Missing, to the delight of their fans, had returned to the international stage, publishing new music and touring.
Their upcoming charity concert in Chicago had grown somewhat, it was looking like a four day event.
To gauge the market, two dates had initially been allocated with pre-booking allowed on a deposit only basis, this gave TF Managements Event planning team quite a shock, selling out in a matter of only hours, hence the addition of two extra dates.
Because they relied heavily on other artists, both established and undiscovered to perform unpaid, they decided it would be too difficult to add any further dates.
Carry had sent out a reminder to the wider family, asking that all who were attending give ample advance notice, in order that accommodation and flights could be arranged.
It was no surprise to receive back 'We're coming' replies, from almost everyone.
The family saw it as their chance to come together to remember Bobby, but for some it was harder than others.
For Mel it made her proud that Ary and Trevor did this each year, and yet she knew how much it would hurt her at the same time, reliving publicly the day her first born was taken from her.
For Bobby's younger Thorn siblings, it was a festival of celebration that masked the pain of losing their beloved elder brother.
And despite their onstage professional presence, as many of the artists and back stage crew could attest, Ary and Trevor spent a considerable amount of time in their dressing room in tears.
Ary had been nervous about asking Pil to perform again, he was now touring for most of the year, so was DJ, which presented another problem, could they align their calendars so that either, or both would be available, for any or all of the dates.
He needn't have worried, as soon as their respective managers had received the enquiries, Pil had called Ary personally.
"Pencil us both in for all four dates Cus".
Ary was surprised, it showed in his response.
"Wow, that's fantastic, I was worried you guys wouldn't be able to tie your calendars together".
Pil was laughing as he replied.
"Until a couple of months ago it would have been a problem, then we sat down and made a decision, solo performing was robbing us of too much precious time together, so we've teamed up professionally as well as romantically".
Ary asked how their management and fans had received the change, Pil's answer made them both laugh.
"A couple of my bookings cancelled because they wanted me exclusively, that really messed with DJs head until one of his bookings did the same, that brought him back to solid ground, our management painted the classic picture of gloom and doom, until I told them in no uncertain terms, personally I don't care, I'd rather give it all up than lose an extra minute with him, I don't mind shouting it from the rooftops, I'm madly in love, and that's more important than anything else, so accept it or we're gone, they soon saw sense".
Ary praised him genuinely for making the right decision, saying.
"I can't wait to hear you together, there are currently around fifteen top ranking artists and groups, you decide what you want to do, it'll be an honour to have you both Cus".
Again Pil surprised him.
"We're on a month of downtime now, do you need any help with your workshops for unknown artists?, I actually enjoy doing that as much as performing, somehow it gives me a real buzz to discover new talent".
Ary jumped at the chance to have them on a workshop panel.
"Yes please, they start this coming weekend and run for seven days, do you think you could both make it?".
Pil smiled to himself, his Cousin got it without him having to spell it out, if he was there then so would DJ be.
"I think we have pre tour publicity shots to do on Friday, but assuming DJ is okay with it we should be able to travel late Friday or Saturday, I'll let you know an arrival time later in the week but put us down as Sunday onwards for sure".
Pil could have predicted DJs response when he brought it up at dinner that evening.
"Great, when can we go, I have some serious payback to give, the guys gave me my break, I need to do my bit for someone else".
What surprised Pil was the response from the rest of the family, Baz chipped in that he had unused leave and asked if he could go too, so did Gracie, Jezz and Ferdie.
Pil saw the look his Poppa Milo gave to his Poppa Piers, who said.
"Why not, we deserve a break, it'll be good to have a catch up with Chicago, should we ask Dale and Fleur if they want to tag along?".
Ferdie suddenly looked terrified, Milo noticed and asked what was the matter.
"If you go and I go, that means there's no one to vet the incoming security plans, I'd better stay here".
Milo was puzzled, asking.
"Don't you have access to your company account on your laptop?".
His reply surprised Milo.
"I don't qualify for a laptop until I've been with the Sydney office for six months, I can't work outside of the office".
Milo just shook his head, pulling out his cell phone and pressing a speed dial button, saying as he did.
"Sometimes I actually wonder if people are born stupid or they choose to act like it, that's not aimed at you Ferdie I would add, HR should know you've four years of unbroken service".
His call was obviously answered.
"This is Aus One, good evening, would you connect me to the IT Department".
He held for around five minutes, getting increasingly irritated by the second, before he was finally answered.
"It's eight o'clock in the evening, do you have some urgent problem I haven't heard about? ....... Then explain why I've just waited five minutes to be answered, ....... There are three operatives on duty, ............. are you telling me you all take the same break period ......... So let me ask you something, if a ground crew called in with a serious technical problem whilst you were all on break what are they supposed to do, stay on hold until you return to your post?, okay, I'll be speaking with your department manager tomorrow, I want you to call and appraise her of the situation immediately because I'm not pleased, now I have a request".
He'd gone on to tell the operative he wanted Ferdie granted top level out of office work permissions along with a laptop, he expected that to be ready when Ferdie arrived at the office next morning.
Piers waited for Milo to complete his call before he burst out laughing.
"Milo my love, I never thought I'd say this but you're actually mellowing with age, I remember a time when you would have burst a vein at that happening".
Milo actually laughed along with them.
"Yes well I'm learning, if the manager doesn't bother to actually oversee and know what her staff are doing, then she probably hasn't taken the time to explain correct practice properly in the first place, so why shout at the guys on the ground, I'll wait until tomorrow and straighten out another little kink we didn't know about".
He then turned to Ferdie.
"I apologise, apparently the problem of your clearance being limited is ultimately down to me, I should have informed your department manager that your clearance was increased to level one when you arrived in Sydney, you can choose where you want to work from, your department manager only records things like performance etc, as long as you get through the work coming in it doesn't matter where you are, in theory you could be lounging on a beach somewhere, though I wouldn't recommend it because you know as well as I do, there might just be a specialist problem on which you need to bring up detailed schematics, and you need an office with wall screens for that".
Ferdie still looked confused, saying.
"So what if that happens when we're away?".
It suddenly clicked with Milo.
"Oh sorry, my bad again, you don't know, we'll be staying with family and every main family residence has a sophisticated office which is linked to Guardian's HQ, we can use Jace's office in Chicago".
Ferdie looked relieved, nodding that he understood now.
In Orange, a hundred or so miles from Sydney, Dale received a text from Piers:
'Going to Chicago for a week on Saturday, all the family here is up for it, how are you guys fixed for joining us?, please say yes it's been ages since we had a good old kick back, and we're missing your rug rats'.
Dale giggled as he read the text, so much so that Fleur asked what he was laughing at.
He passed her his cell to read the text, putting a finger to his lips, indicating she shouldn't divulge the content, then he turned to their kids, who were draped around the three sofas watching television.
"Okay I have a serious riddle to ask, whose been naughty, and who's been nice?".
Their oldest Jimmy was the first to answer.
"That's only at Christmas, we have to satisfy Santa that we've been nice, or we don't get presents".
Dale was beaming, they were used to his warped way of presenting puzzles for them to solve.
"So if I'm asking at this time of year, when it's not Christmas, what does that suggest?".
Fleur was giggling, she loved how their children didn't rely heavily on cell phones and tablets, they usually ditched them as soon as family dinner time arrived, hardly ever picking them up again unless a friend actually called to say there was something interesting they ought to see.
Franky now answered logically.
"It suggests there is a possibility of a present, which could be a nice thing, but we can only have it, whatever it is, if we've been nice, I've been nice".
Dale laughed as he answered.
"Full marks, good reasoning, so let's see a show of hands from everyone who's been nice".
Every hand shot up except Rosie's, she just burst into tears.
Jimmy was first to pull her into a hug.
"Wow, what's up Sis, you're as good as gold, get your hand up".
But Rosie wasn't having it, saying between sobs.
"I'm not nice, I wet my bed, my teacher said only naughty children wet the bed, so I'm naughty".
This was Franky's turn to jump in, and in truth it would have been no trouble for either boy to find an excuse, they worshipped their little sister.
"She's wrong Sis, wetting the bed is an accident, and accidents aren't naughty, they're just something that happens, we don't have any control over them, so you're officially nice, now wipe your eyes and get that hand up, I smell goodies".
He tickled his sister as he said it for effect.
Dale was watching Fleur's facial expression as Franky calmed his sister, knowing there would be hell to pay for a particular teacher at Rosie's school tomorrow, Fleur was a mild mannered person until you caused pain to her brood, then it was a brave but foolish individual who didn't apologise or seek cover before the explosion.
Not wanting Fleur to start ranting now he quickly moved them forward.
"Okay it's a full house so I guess we can go".
All three kids spun their heads toward him, he'd said they could go, where?, it must be somewhere important, their shout came out as one.
"Where?".
Dale and Fleur were both laughing hysterically as all three kids jumped them, until Dale announced.
"Chicago on Saturday, who wants to go?".
The shouts and laughing went on for nearly half an hour, with both Fleur and Dale tickling madly to fend off attacking kids.
Dale had asked Jimmy and Frankly candidly why they weren't like their friends with internet obsessions, and he'd listened carefully to what they said, taking it in, making a mental note.
Their family time, and most importantly how Fleur and he drove it, was the critical factor in what the kids chose to do, if they were bored, the internet called them, they had to be entertained, kept interested".
Discussing it later with Fleur he'd recounted Jimmy and Franky's explanations.
"They told me their friends didn't have the same connection with their parents that they have with us, if they ask questions they're usually told to shut up, they're friends parents are too busy playing on their own tablets, it's good to know we're doing something right, I want each of them to be capable of holding their own in a tricky situation, for that they need to be able to employ reasoning, tonight proved they can do that, plus I must admit I enjoy debating things with them, for young minds they can come up with some pretty outlandish solutions, there are times when they completely crack me up, it's great fun".
Dale sent a reply to Piers:
'It's a definite yes from us, we'll head to yours as soon as the kids are out of school on Friday, should be with you around seven in the evening, does that fit in with your plans?'.
Piers replied almost immediately:
'Perfectly, we'll bed you all down here for the night and fly Saturday morning'.
Milo's arrival at Guardian's Offices next morning coincided with the arrival of the Head of IT.
In response to her cheerful greeting in the lobby he'd said.
"I appreciate the sentiment, though I doubt very much it's going to be a good day for you, my office at three o'clock this afternoon please".
She'd obviously been appraised of the previous evenings event by the time she arrived in his office that afternoon, though she was visibly surprised to find the Head of HR and Milo's PA also in attendance.
"My apologies for the wait you suffered last evening sir, I'll ensure it never happens again".
He smiled as he answered.
"You will note I have asked that HR sit in on this meeting, I take it you weren't made aware of last nights situation before you arrived this morning?".
Her reply served only to irritate him, though he tried not to let it show.
"No sir I wasn't, I learned of the incident when I arrived this morning".
He waved her, along with the Head of HR, to the seating area across from his desk.
"I'm concerned that I had to wait more than five minutes when there are three operatives on duty, do you allow them to take joint breaks?, or are they flouting the rules?, because I don't ever expect it to happen again, your department guidelines are quite clear, there will be a minimum two operatives available at all times, going forward please ensure the ruling is applied".
She was nodding, thinking he'd finished, but she was wrong.
"There is one other matter to consider, whether you are strong willed enough to actually control the department, I raise the question because I gave a specific instruction to the IT staff member I spoke to last evening, he was instructed to inform you immediately of my displeasure, that instruction was obviously ignored, despite the fact that it came directly from myself, The Regional Head of Australasia, you can understand I hope, why I am concerned, your staff appear to be making up their own rules".
She looked completely crestfallen, realising that Milo had effectively just told her he didn't have faith in her ability to run the department efficiently.
"I will make you a firm promise that the department will receive a sharp wake up lesson sir, you won't have cause to complain ever again".
He'd listened, and he understood she'd got the message.
"It's Geri isn't it, your name?".
She nodded.
"Okay, so, Geri, firstly I'm not sir I'm Milo, I expect the three operatives on duty last evening to be placed into a three month special measures retraining program, any slip, however minor during that period, will result in instant dismissal, HR will arrange for that to happen, you will be placed on probation for the same period, at the end of that period your department will be put to random testing, it's in your interest to ensure you pass that test".
She asked foolishly.
"Can you tell me what form the test will take sir, err Milo?".
He shook his head.
"No Geri I can't, you're the IT department, if you're not capable of dealing with any situation as it arises then sadly, you're not fit for purpose, I'll leave you to think about how that would affect your future with Guardian, now, thank you both for attending this meeting, but I have a call to make".
As they left his PA closed the door behind them.
"Milo are you mellowing?, I know you were fuming when you arrived this morning, but you didn't shout once".
Milo spun around to face her.
"That's freaky, Piers said the same thing last night, keep it to yourself, or my street cred will be wrecked, now pick a day Monday to Friday.".
She looked puzzled but chose Thursday.
He laughed.
"Oh you're cruel, that's a horrible day to pick, it's the one day of the week when upcoming operations choose to test their equipment, and guess what happens when they find it doesn't work properly, but what the heck, it was random, you didn't know why I asked you to pick, but you will now, go three months forward by the day of next Thursday, explain what just happened to Vinny, he must have every detail, I want him to mount a raid on IT that lasts morning, afternoon, through evening and into the night, tell him I want fifteen hours minimum and to pull no punches, and this is top secret".
She noted his instructions, he knew she would carry them out to the letter, then left him alone with a parting reminder which intrigued him.
"Your conference with Jo, Juan, Vinny and Rick is due in three minutes, I've been asked to bring Piers in as well, and I see from the call schedule that Junior is joining from London".
A buzzing sound alerted him to the incoming conference link which he pressed a button to accept, watching as the large screen opposite his desk came to life.
The screen was sectioned to show the various locations feed was coming from, Torremolinas for Josef, Vinny, and Rick, Madrid for Juan, he saw Piers in their Harbourside house there in Sydney, and finally the sight of Junior beaming at him from London.
Jo opened the meeting.
Apologies for calling everyone together at weird times for a rather impromptu board meeting, which this officially is, it's four in the afternoon Sydney time, five in the morning London time, six in the morning Spanish time, my PA is taking minutes, we should all be prepared for a long meeting, you will see two non board members here, their presence will be explained as the meeting progresses, are we all clear and agreeable to continue?".
Everyone was heard to agree.
"Thank you, at the time I planned this meeting it was expected to be only a discussion surrounding the possibility of expanding our base in London by acquiring the business of a rival company however, late yesterday Junior became aware that other parties were interested in the same course of action, and have made definite moves toward that goal, I apologise but as I said, this is going to be a long one, to allow another company to double its size in direct competition in that region would quite possibly mean we take a significant hit on market share, hence why Junior is on call to offer any information we might need, I have asked Piers to attend because I think we are all agreed, if Piers puts a thumb up, or a thumb down, we will follow his directive".
Jo paused to let his words sink in before going on.
"Does anyone want to ask Junior anything about the company in question, or any other relevant facts before I ask him and Piers to drop out and start calculating?".
Juan spoke up.
"Junior, you know how much regard I have for you in business son, but we know nothing about this company, would you give us a general overview, who they are, their market share, why they're selling, you know what I need to know, don't worry about rambling, I think I speak for everyone when I say tell us everything, warts and all".
Junior laid out everything he knew, after an hour almost, he was conscious of rambling.
"There you have it, it's not a company on Guardian's level, but it has the potential to be, only poor control, lack of effective management, and inadequate funding seem to be holding them back, I won't try to sway you either way, other than to say if the figures stack up and you give me this company I will make it work, it would be a monumental task but I give you my word".
Josef now took charge again.
"There are certain unusual facts about this company that our competition does now know, this needs to be considered in setting the level of offer, having said which, it should be remembered we have not yet agreed to go forward or reject the acquisition, Piers and Junior are now going to drop out and set up their own link, we, the board, will debate exactly as they will be doing, later this afternoon we will compare our findings before deciding on our next move, because of the speed needed I believe this to be the safest method of coming to a sound decision".
Piers and Junior dropped out, but were soon talking again to one another, with Piers leading.
"Junior what did Jo mean about facts now known to the opposition?".
Junior explained what he'd found out about the company's non security related property holdings.
Piers admitted it was a big factor in calculating a possible offer price, they went back and forth for around three hours, with Piers firing constant questions at Junior as he worked his way through the financials Junior had faxed to him.
Finally Piers had what he wanted, the facts as he saw them, his opinion, and a recommendation.
The same exercise had been carried out by Jo, Juan, Rick and Vinny.
Poor Junior had been on a conference link to Piers, and holding an open cell phone line to Josef, answering a barrage of questions from both parties.
When Piers announced.
"Junior, tell Jo I'm ready to reconnect".
Within moments Jo had dialled Piers and Junior back into their conference link and set the ball rolling.
"Piers, before you tell us your findings, I want you to hear ours, does that sit okay with you?".
Piers agreed and Jo started to explain what the board believed was a strategy if they then agreed to make an offer.
"We have considered the current nett worth along with the unusual assets, we consider the company to be worth around eighty million UK Pounds, allowing for the usual debts associated with ongoing contracts and unpaid billings, that comes down to seventy four million UK Pounds, which would be our top offer, how does that compare with your findings?".
Piers didn't try to sweeten what he had to say.
"I make no apologies for what I'm about to say, your figures are way off, you're far too high, I think I know why, they've been running a smoke screen to blur a lot of the figures, your PA should be distributing a pack of breakdown documents to you momentarily, I'll talk you through what I've found in several areas as soon as you have that".
Josef's PA accepted a stack of documents from her assistant who'd knocked and entered, she distributed a three page document to each of them.
"Ok Piers we have it, we're ready".
Piers could be heard taking a breath.
"I'm assuming you have yours as well Junior, okay, on the face of it, what you said Jo, would be correct, if the unusual assets were actually worth what they're being marketed for, but they're not, they're all properties that have been valued in their assets at between fifty and seventy percent above their real market value, I did some digging around similar property values and I'm confident on that point".
He paused to allow them time to study the comparison table and examples he'd provided.
"Next their annual turnover, it's over a year out of date, they're trying to muddy the waters by providing out of date actual data, they haven't yet lodged the last financial year, I'd have to assume they are deliberately late submitting because it's bad news, we know they're suffering so my guess would be those figures will be significantly lower, I've worked in a fifteen percent drop to account for that possibility".
Once again he allowed them to take in what he'd said.
"Next we have something I certainly wasn't expecting, I stumbled on it by chance, I wasn't looking for it, I noticed their expenditure dipped massively four months before year end on the accounts available, they paid out almost nothing for three consecutive months, which just isn't possible, then it returned, but at well below the expected level one month before year end, that tells me three things, they had a serious cash flow problem and couldn't pay their bills, they negotiated a new three month line of credit at four months before that year end, then finally, the dip in spending on the final month suggests there is a marked drop in workload, they've lost a serious amount of business and subsequent income".
Milo jumped in.
"Piers are you saying they could actually be hiding three months of unpaid invoices at any one time?".
Piers new Milo would understand.
"I am, and that's difficult to calculate, so I've taken an average of Guardian's monthly outstanding debt for that region, reduced it by fifteen percent, which Junior believes is close enough to their running level, then tripled it to reflect their possible quarterly outstanding debt, you'll see my figures on the last page".
Again he paused for their benefit.
"It's my opinion the company, including it's unusual assets, is worth at best forty million UK Pounds, its outstanding debts could be as high as twenty million UK Pounds, I would value the company's true worth as no more than twenty million UK Pounds, further, I do not believe it is a viable purchase, blurring and fudging figures in this manner suggests there will be other unseen pitfalls, I would recommend walking away, implement a concerted campaign to trawl the business they are obviously loosing, but don't touch that company with a barge pole".
From Juan could be heard.
"Bloody hell, everything Piers says leads me to agree, but I'd like to hear Juniors opinion, is there anything you disagree with son?".
Junior took a moment before.
"I have to agree with Piers, I feel awful about bringing this to you, I've wasted a great deal of your time, apologies guys".
Josef immediately jumped in.
"Stop right there Junior, we are committed to moving forward, and this is exactly what we need to be aware of, and give our time to investigating, it could have been a goldmine, you did exactly what we expect from everyone so no apologies, are you understanding me?".
Junior could be heard to sigh.
"Yes uncle Jo".
Jo continued.
"Good, now, first Piers, thank you for throwing yourself into this at a moments notice, and by the sound of it performing a first class service, unless anyone wants to object I'm asking that the minutes show we were agreed the matter is not worth pursuing, Junior, mounting a campaign designed to pick up business is all within your remit so we don't need to discuss that, Milo, get yourself home and pour Piers a large drink, thanks for the input everyone, I'm calling this meeting closed".
What no one except Rick and Vinny heard or saw after the connection was severed, was Josef stabbing angrily at his intercom and saying.
"I want the Head of Finance in my office now".
Rick and Vinny looked surprised, Josef shook his head before explaining.
"I tasked Finance with investigating exactly what we did today, they agreed with us, but I had a niggling doubt, that's why I brought Piers in, a department of thirty three trained accountants would have led us into a mine field, one individual steered us out of it, and he's not even associated with Finance, I won't lie, I'm quietly bloody seething, would you guys leave before he gets here, it's not going to be pretty".
An hour or so later Josef called Milo and Piers at home in Sydney.
"Apologies for disturbing you guys on your own time, I wanted to thank you again Piers, that was a remarkable thing you did today, I didn't tell you before but, I'd had our Finance and Accounts Office carry out the same exercise, they agreed with our findings, they would have been happy to rubber stamp a purchase, now I'm concerned about their judgment, could I ask for your general opinion on something else they're pushing for?".
Milo smiled proudly as Piers replied.
"Jo, it's all in a days work, I have as much to gain as everyone else if Guardian is successful, I might not be a shareholder, but Milo is, and I have a responsibility to our employees to keep the company profitable, now what's this other thing they're pushing for?".
Jo explained, since hearing that the company they'd been looking at had negotiated a three month deferred credit arrangement with their creditors, the Head of Finance wanted to go down the same path, he believed they would recover substantial interest on the payments they'd be holding back, Jo finished his explanation with a question.
"Off the top of your head Piers, what would be your thoughts on that?".
Josef heard Piers chuckling before he answered.
"I'm thinking Jo that it's time you got rid of the bloody idiot, think of your creditors as you would your bank, if you're not paying them, then you're in debt to them, if you were in debt to your bank what would they want as well as the original debt?".
Jo answered immediately.
"Increased interest".
Piers chuckled.
"Exactly, a creditor will give you an extended line of credit, but you'll pay for it, one way or another, you and I both know, there's no such thing as a free meal, he's approaching it from the wrong direction, it's better to offer help to your creditors, agree to pay them early, help their cash flow situation, they'll love you".
Jo didn't understand and said as much.
"Why would we do that?".
Milo jumped in now.
"Because they'll happily give you a discount for guaranteed on time early payments, Piers does it all the time, I must admit Jo, at first I didn't understand why we kept getting an extra couple of percent knocked off our invoices until he explained it to me".
Jo was silent for a moment then he said.
"Are you guys going to be in Chicago for Bobby's Charity event?".
They told him yes they would be.
Jo's reply intrigued them.
"Good, I need some time with you Piers, I'll jot a few things down I'd like to ask your opinion on, sorry to have broken into your evening, I'll go now, speak soon guys".
TBC Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.