Part 30 (1/2)
”I'm not being funny; I'm being dead serious. What you have to understand, Ben, is that there are always always problems at every portfolio company. You just have to learn how to deal with them. And the keys to doing that are figuring out how quickly can you get your hands around the problem, what can you do about it, and, most important, not letting it get to you. Ever. That's mostly what being chairman of a company is all about. Staying calm no matter what.” problems at every portfolio company. You just have to learn how to deal with them. And the keys to doing that are figuring out how quickly can you get your hands around the problem, what can you do about it, and, most important, not letting it get to you. Ever. That's mostly what being chairman of a company is all about. Staying calm no matter what.”
”What else is out there?” Cohen repeated tersely, uninterested in the lesson.
Gillette stared at Cohen for a moment. This was so risky. ”We've got an issue at the records management company in California. One of our employees sold personal information to a direct marketing company.”
”You got to be s.h.i.+tting me.”
”Nope.”
”What kind of information?”
”Drivers licenses, credit card numbers, home addresses.”
Cohen's eyes widened. ”My G.o.d. What steps have we taken?”
”The employee who sold the information was fired, and we're trying to a.s.sess what liability the company has. We've also alerted senior executives at the company that bought the information about what happened, that one of their midlevel managers was buying the information. They are cooperating with us fully. They fired their guy as well.”
”Have you notified the individuals whose information was sold without their permission?”
”No.”
”Why not?” Cohen demanded.
”It involved over twenty thousand people.”
”So?”
”I can't have the California consumer advocacy people in there at this point. They're worse than the Gestapo. I haven't told you this, Ben, but we're no more than six months away from taking this company public, too. At the price the I-bankers are talking, it would be a ten times return for us. It would be one of the best investments we've ever made. If this thing leaks, the IPO could be delayed indefinitely.”
”But these individuals have had their private information sold. Who knows what the people at the direct marketing company have done with the stuff.”
”We're trying to figure that out. Trying to contain the spill. Just like at the landfill. So far there's no indication anything bad has happened. No indication that there have been illegal charges made on credit cards or anything like that. We think the guy bought the stuff just so he could target a set of consumers for a new product introduction.”
Cohen looked out the window at something in the distance.
Gillette raised one eyebrow. ”So, you still want to be chairman of one of our companies, Ben?”
”My G.o.d, it can't be like that at all of them.”
”It isn't,” Gillette agreed. ”And the company I give you might be clean when you take over. The thing is, two weeks after you become chairman, you might get hit between the eyes with something out of left field.” He hesitated, thinking through a scenario. ”Let's say I make you chairman of our grocery store chain. At first, everything's great. Then one of our tractor trailers plows into a father and his three kids at an intersection. The father and two of the kids are killed instantly. The third one lives, but he's paralyzed for life. The cops find out that the truck driver was blind drunk and had cocaine in his system, too. They dig further and find out we aren't administering the required drug tests to our drivers. The mother of the three kids files a $500 million lawsuit, and the insurance company tells you they won't cover it because a clause in the policy says they aren't responsible for claims if we aren't administering drug tests. A $500 million settlement will bankrupt the company. You think the amount is absurd, but your lawyer isn't so sure. All the jury would hear about at the trial is that Everest Capital manages $20 billion. The woman might actually have a chance of getting her $500 million.” Gillette crossed his arms over his chest. ”What do you do, Mr. Chairman?”
Cohen hesitated, struggling for an answer. ”I . . . I don't know.”
” 'I don't know' doesn't cut it, Ben.”
”Well, I-”
”Let me throw you another curve. The state's attorney general's office decides the company has been negligent in the whole thing. They decide to press criminal charges against the senior executives. Which, by the way, is very possible. Guess what? You're the most senior executive of all. They show up at Everest and take you away. The news cameras are set up and rolling when you come out of the building and your girls see you in shackles, trying to hide your face.”
Cohen shook his head. ”All right, what would you do in that situation?”
Gillette smoothed his tie. ”You wouldn't want to know, Ben,” he finally answered, his tone guarded.
Cohen glanced at Gillette uncertainly, wanting to press but afraid, too. ”How would Stockman be able to find out about these problems?” he asked.
”Simple. Troy Mason.”
”Oh, s.h.i.+t. That's right.”
”Troy knows all the stuff I just told you about,” Gillette continued. ”See, there was this other weekly meeting you didn't know about, Ben. An off-site meeting, usually at a condo Bill rented on the Upper East Side. Bill, Troy, and I discussed all the major problems at all the portfolio companies at it so Troy was in on everything. He could give Strazzi a lot of information. Strazzi would then pa.s.s it on to Stockman. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Troy made copies of a few files in the days after Donovan died as an insurance policy. So he'd be sure to remember it all and be able to back up what he was saying with proof. In case he didn't get the nod to be chairman of Everest.”
”Strazzi would have the money to buy the widow's stake in Everest,” Cohen pointed out.
”One of the few people who would,” Gillette agreed. ”And, knowing Strazzi, he'd probably get it at a discounted value.”
”We could make her an offer, too,” Cohen suggested.
Gillette shook his head. ”Nah. The only way we'd be able to come up with that kind of cash would be to use her stake as collateral. Bankers wouldn't lend us any money against it if they thought there were problems with our portfolio. And, believe me, Strazzi would make certain every banker in New York thought there was.”
Cohen's face went pale. ”You know what this means? It means Strazzi's the one trying to kill you.”
Gillette stared at Cohen for a few moments. ”I thought of that, too, but it doesn't make much sense. I can see why Strazzi would want Donovan gone, but not me.”
”Why not?”
”He'd need Donovan dead so he could put the blame for Dominion on him. But he can get me out of the way by getting the widow's stake. Why risk being linked to another murder if there's another, less risky way to get what you want? Strazzi's ruthless but not stupid.”
”I don't know,” Cohen said, pulling a piece of paper from his pad and placing it on Gillette's desk. ”If he's willing to commit one murder, why not another? I think we should go to the cops.”
”With what?”
”With what we just talked about.”
”We've got no proof.”
Cohen bit down on his lower lip. ”We should at least give the cops a heads-up.”
”What's this?” Gillette asked, glancing at the paper Cohen had put down on his desk.
”Your consent to my becoming Everest's chief operating officer. You need to sign it.”
Gillette leaned back. ”This seems kind of formal.”
Cohen shrugged but said nothing.
”Is it really necessary?”