Message-ID: <14883eli$9809011420@qz.little-neck.ny.us> X-Archived-At: From: "Bill Morgan" Subject: {Morgan} NEW: Six-month Turnaround 13 of 16; M/F Rom lite sex Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d Content-Type: text/plain Path: qz!not-for-mail Organization: The Committee To Thwart Spam Approved: X-Moderator-Contact: Eli the Bearded X-Story-Submission: X-Original-Message-ID: <19980829120124.17615.qmail@hotmail.com> Author's note: If you are looking for wall-to-wall sex, look elsewhere. This book is a romance with a business setting. Beyond that, the sex is comparable to - or less than - what one would find in almost any work of popular fiction. Permission is granted to post on any free site, as long as the copyright statement is included. Please advise the author of any such postings. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Please address me at morg105829@aol.com. I hope you enjoy the book. My plan was to post a chapter each weekday; however, Eli has been having problems, so ASSM has not been posting daily. As a result, I am uploading the remaining chapters now. This is chapter 13 of 16. Six-Month Turnaround Copyright 1992, 1998 by Morgan. All rights reserved. Chapter 13 The next morning Cliff and Sandy were having their usual morning coffee when Kelly arrived. They looked at her carefully. Cliff reached into his wallet and extracted the still- folded ten-dollar bill and gave it to Sandy. "You won it fair and square," he said. Kelly was bleary-eyed, but her eyes glowed. "What is that bill you two keep passing back and forth? You were doing it all last night, too." Cliff looked at her and said, "You obviously need coffee badly. How do you drink it, Kelly?" "Just black this morning, please," she replied. Cliff was already on his feet and headed for the coffee pot, leaving the girls alone. "Kelly Cameron, how does Kevin look this morning? Better than you do, I hope." "He's worse! He couldn't... Sandra Donnell, what are you saying?" "Oh, nothing," she said blithely. "You asked about the ten dollars, though, and I was just answering you. It was a small wager I made with Cliff. I just said you two would spend the night together and obviously you did. That's all." Kelly tried to glare at Sandy, but ended up grinning. "Sandra Donnell, I would like to hate you but it's very hard. Yesterday was absolutely the greatest day of my life! It started off well with you and Cliff and just got better. And the way it ended... Wow! Professionally, financially, and personally! Sandy, Kevin has a real brain! And he's not frightened of me. I have spent my entire social life on the sidelines just watching. I have always been so jealous of the airheads who go gaga over any guy who just opens his mouth. I've even tried it, but can't make it work. Sooner or later I'll say something - or show I know something - that's out of character and I'm dead. But not last night." Sandy got up and shook hands with the other girl. "I know just what you mean. With me it's the same result but a different reason. I was always a tomboy so I ended up every guy's best friend's little sister. It's a great prescription for romance! The guys pat me on the head and ask me if I want to throw a football around." "Oh, I see!" Kelly said brightly. "That's what you and Cliff do all night! Throw a football around? Of course. Sandy, I sent your check down to Chicago, Federal Express, last night. Now I'm going to call the office and put out the word on the broad tape about Murphy getting a trial order from Magna. I hope you don't mind me cluttering up your office, though." "Not in the least! You have done a tremendous amount for the company in the last twenty-four hours. Kelly, I'm not sure either of us said anything but we certainly recognize that the call from Magna came as a direct result of your broad-tape release. Thank you." Cliff returned with the coffee, and the girls took theirs. Kelly got on the phone and called her office. She spoke to several different people, one after the other, and finally hung up. "That was funny. I sent your check to Jack Snyder, and FedEx did its thing. He was still staring at it when I called. His reaction was identical to mine: He's never seen a personal check for two million dollars. I gave them your fax number so they can send us a copy of the broad tape piece on Murphy and Magna when it runs. Then I talked to Bill. Trading has just opened in New York, and it's looking very interesting." She changed the subject. "Sandy, were you at Michigan in the MBA program?" "Yes, why?" "Because I think I remember seeing some reference to you in the alumni bulletin. I guess I must have been ahead of you by a couple of years. This is what I always dreamed of. Securities can be pretty dull sometimes, but now you can feel a real dynamic at work. You can feel the market. And Murphy is small enough, and the stock float is small enough... Wait a minute!" She picked up the phone again and called Bill on the trading desk. "Bill, I forgot something. No one knows this, but watch the Murphy volume! Because of the family control of the company, they never paid much attention to the stock or the stock price. They never traded it. But Bill, there are only one million shares, and - this is the secret - Sandra Donnell already owns or controls about 75 percent of it. "There are only about 250,000 shares out of the family's hands. What happens if a panicked short sells and *can't* deliver? If there just aren't any shares to be had? Let's face it, you guys don't normally think about the total number of shares outstanding." She listened for a few minutes and grinned. "Thanks, Bill. Keep in touch." She hung up the phone. "Bill thinks it may have started already. He's started pushing, and the stock is at thirty-two. He thinks volume has already been as much as 100,000 shares this morning! He can't be sure, of course because it's hard to get the total shares by issue until the exchange closes. But guys, there were 60,000 shares traded yesterday. And that's the official number. "If Bill is anywhere near right, all but about 90,000 shares of tradable stock have changed hands *in less than twenty-four hours*! He asked me to thank you, too." "What do we do now, Kelly?" Cliff asked. "We wait and keep the pressure on. If I'm right, Murphy Manufacturing will be suspended from trading within a couple of days. There are five days to settlement, the day the seller has to deliver the stock he sold. If he doesn't have it, he has to get it... at any price! Do you follow me?" "I sure do!" Sandy said. "The next few days are absolutely critical. Let's just enjoy the coffee, shall we?" She grinned and took the cups for refills. She came back later and dashed back out again. When she returned the second time she had papers in her hand. "I think this is what we've been waiting for," she said as she gave copies to the other two. She had made copies of the faxed Dow-Jones news wire and they all read the release. A moment later Cliff cheered. "I think this is going to do it! I just wonder... Kelly, do you know George Simpson of Ajax Industries?" he asked. "Sure do," she said, making a face. "Why?" Cliff explained his former relationship with Stephanie and the circumstances surrounding the loss of the Magna business: Ajax breaking its pattern and cutting price to meet Murphy with the private understanding they would meet any Murphy price. "Kelly, let's say you're George Simpson. You see on the broad tape that Magna is receiving test quantities from Murphy. What do you do, if anything?" "I just might go berserk! I just might call Magna and tell them they can't buy from Murphy." Kelly replied looking very thoughtful. "Excuse me again. Do I have to leave quarters with the treasurer for all of these phone calls? I'm really sorry. I should be using my credit card." "You do, and I'll kill you!" Sandy said quickly. "You're making money for us in big bunches." Kelly looked in her notebook and dialed a number in Chicago. The phone was answered moments later. "Hi, Bill. It's Kelly Cameron from Snyder Securities. I just saw a piece on the broad tape that Murphy Manufacturing is shipping test quantities of valves and rings to Magna. I thought you folks at Ajax had all that business, or at least all of yours plus what used to be Murphy's. Do you have a comment?" She listened for a few moments and then spoke again. "Thanks, Bill, but I'm not in my office. I just called in, and they told me. Can I call you back in... say, an hour? Thanks a lot. I'll do that." She hung up the phone. "I think I just waved the red cape in front of the bull. Bill is in financial public relations at Ajax. He can't react to what he doesn't know. He'll know in a matter of minutes. Do you mind if I take a walk so you people can get some work done?" Sandy grinned at her friend and said with a wink, "Kevin's office is down the hall on the right. I hear his couch is very comfortable." "Sandra Donnell, you are terrible!" Kelly said. But she went down the hall looking at offices on the right. Forty minutes later Cliff's phone rang. It was Jack Crowther calling from Magna. "Hi, Jack, how are you? I've got the answers for you, I think. My people tell me if you want normal trial quantities we can ship in five days. Is that good enough?" "That's great, Cliff." He gave Cliff the plant location to which the test quantities were to be shipped. "There's something else, though. I guess I stuck my neck out with my top management a few minutes ago. I'm taking your personal assurance on the Kaga quality thing." "I'm glad you reminded me, Jack. What's your fax number? I received the permission from Japan I expected, and will be happy to fax you a copy of the managing director's letter to me. You can have it in seconds." Cliff jotted down the number, and Sandy went to the fax machine. "It's on its way. Now what's this business about sticking your neck out?" "Cliff, this is all in confidence, okay? I'll tell you what you can use later. Apparently George Simpson at Ajax just went berserk. I gather there was a broad-tape announce ment that you had been asked to submit test quantities of rings and valves." "I hope that wasn't premature?" Cliff asked. "According to our general counsel, you had to make the announcement. Obviously, it doesn't amount to much at our end, but it certainly does at yours. No, he says what you did was not only correct, it was legally required. That's not the problem." Crowther paused for a moment to collect his thoughts and then continued, "Cliff, in some ways we're a strange company. People think we're slow moving, and I guess it's generally a fair comment. However, we don't like to be pushed around. Simpson went right to our Chairman. He told him if we bought ten cents worth of product from Murphy, Ajax would cut us off across the board. It's fair to say our Chairman was not pleased. I gather he told Simpson some unpleasant places he could go and said we buy from the most qualified supplier. Period! "Just a minute, Cliff. I just got the Kaga letter, and I want to read it." There was silence on the phone for a few minutes. Then Cliff heard Jack yell "That's it!" and tell his secretary to make a copy of the fax and hand-carry it to the Chairman immediately. "Thanks, Cliff. My neck's off the block. That letter says exactly what you told me and a lot more. I just asked my secretary to take it to the Chairman personally. Here's the deal. I told him you were now a fully-qualified supplier of top-quality components... based on the letter I hadn't seen until just this minute. He instructed me to set up a phase-in schedule for Murphy parts, scaling up to a volume that would be your old volume plus all of Ajax's. As a purchasing officer, I feel like a fool, but can you do it for approximately your old price? Let's say the old price, plus 5 percent?" "That's a fair price, Jack. Yes, we can handle the work. I'll get you the timing as soon as possible. Obviously, the key consideration is availability of machine tools from Micronics. Now, Jack, what announcement can I make? Your counsel said it: It may not be material to you, but it sure as hell is to us. What you're talking about will triple Murphy's gross sales. Hell, we'll be over a billion in sales! Now what am I authorized to say?" "You can say you have received a letter of intent from Magna Motors to purchase parts at a volume equal to triple your former level. You'll have the letter in less than five minutes on your fax. The order is guaranteed for twenty-four months from the date of achieving full-scale production. In other words, Cliff, the time it takes you to scale up to our production requirements doesn't count against the contract term. Murphy is price- protected with prices scaled to the Department of Commerce Producer Price Index. Is that fair?" "That's more than fair, Jack. It's a deal, and you're going to be amazed at the quality you get. Our people tell me you have never seen product as good as we'll be shipping. Thanks for the confidence. I'll be back to you as soon as we know about the production scaling." He looked up at Sandy. "Did you get the drift of the call? We're back in with Magna at a scale triple our old volume at a five-percent price increase, with price protection, *and* a twenty-four month supply contract! It's absolutely unheard of. It's just never done!" Kelly had returned to the office to call Ajax back. Cliff briefed her on his call from Crowther at Magna. "Do you know what you have done young lady? In less than twenty-four hours - on your initiatives - we've gone from no place to Magna's top supplier. And Kelly, in confidence I'll tell you our costs have come down to such an extent we will absolutely mint money on this contract!" Sandy had left the office. When she returned, she again had papers in her hand. They were copies of the Magna letter that had just been received. Kelly read it and then read it again. "This is unreal! Letters like this are just not sent in the automotive industry. Orders are forward rolling with some leads, but they are almost never long term. Well, it's back to the telephone." Again she called her office in Chicago. While she did, Cliff and Sandy talked. Finally, Sandy grinned and nodded. She tapped Kelly on the shoulder and asked to speak to Jack Snyder before she hung up. Kelly nodded and continued to dictate an announcement of the Magna contract. She asked for Jack Snyder and passed the phone to Sandy. "Jack, this is Sandy Donnell again. Kelly tells me you got my check this morning. Jack, I have a request to make. Kelly doesn't know anything about this. You have two million dollars of my money. I don't know if you're aware of the fact she put in $250,000 of her own. I know a broker is always supposed to execute a client's order ahead of his own. I want to change that: On the Murphy purchases, I'm going fifty-fifty with Kelly until she runs out of money. Of course, anything beyond that is obviously mine. I want that to be effective with the first orders yesterday. If you need something in writing, just fax me up what you want me to say, and I'll sign it. "Jack, I can't tell you how important Kelly has become to me. She's certainly worth a lot more than the commission she'll get on my trades. Understand? Incidentally, she's handling my entire portfolio which is in process of being transferred to you. Okay? Thanks so much." She hung up and laughed at Kelly whose jaw had dropped. "Sandy, that's too much. I mean... things just don't happen like this. You're in a rough, tough, dirty-fingernails kind of business. You're not supposed to behave this way!" "Kelly," Cliff said. "Let me tell you something about Sandy. The company means everything to her. Money doesn't. I really think she sweats Monopoly money in the board game more than her own. We've been living together for months now. I can tell you she lives on her pay as a secretary, for God's sake. Believe it or not, I never thought of her dividend income until you mentioned it yesterday. I suspect the only time she does, either, is at tax time. Strange, perhaps, but very true. "Of course the real reason she did it is when Murphy stock goes in the tank, you two go together. Sandy's a cautious investor. She likes her broker to be in it with her." He grinned with the last words. Kelly just shook her head and picked up the phone and called Ajax. "Bill, it's Kelly again. Any reaction? By the way, there is something that just came to our office from Murphy. They announced a two-year supply contract from Magna Motors. Apparently it's all of their old volume plus all of yours." She listened for a few moments. "I'm sure it will be on the broad tape." She listened longer and said, "I understand, Bill. Look, I'm not going to use what you just said. Why don't you go back to Simpson... No, wait a minute. I like you, and I don't want you to get fired. Give me your fax number and I'll have the office fax you a copy of the broad-tape announcement when it comes over. I'll call you late this afternoon. Thanks." She leaned back in Cliff's chair, then sat bolt upright. "My God, I'm dumb!" Sandy and Cliff looked at her in bewilderment as she grabbed her attache case and took out her financial calculator along with a pad of paper. She started going over her numbers, checked them again, and picked up the phone. "Kathy, it's Kelly. Get out a flash to all our customers and put it on the broad tape if Dow-Jones will take it. I am predicting earnings for Murphy Manufacturing of at least $30 per share pretax for next year, rising to $100 pretax the year following. The basis is estimated sales well above $1 billion within two years, coupled with substantially improved operating margins. I think 10 percent pretax on sales is possible. And for God's sake, bury anything at all negative on Murphy I ever wrote. I'm a raging bull! Okay? Thanks." She hung up the phone and grinned. "My God, what a jackass! It hadn't even occurred to me, and that's what they pay me for! You people are about to mint money! The present stock price is ridiculously low against your earnings prospects. Sandra Donnell, your damned stock will be trading around five-hundred in a year or so! My God, that's a value to you of over three-hundred million dollars!" Sandy looked very thoughtful. "Cliff, could you loan me twenty dollars? Kelly says I'm rich, so we ought to eat steak tonight." She looked at Kelly quizzically. "How about if we go shopping? I don't think you want to wear those same clothes all week." The girls left and Cliff immediately called a staff meeting. He was chagrined to realize how much had happened this morning, and no one knew it but himself, Sandy, Kelly, and the rest of the financial world via the broad tape, but not his own people. They assembled in the boardroom. Again, he had asked Max to join them. Only this time he had asked him to bring his executive committee or whomever else he might want. With all the people present, the room was crowded. Cliff was amused to see Kevin looking much the worse for wear, but with a very different look in his eyes. He rapidly brought them up to date. When he concluded the update, he grinned at the group. "Guys, I think we're out of the woods, but we've got a lot of work to do. First, Max, how do you want to handle the announcement. It's up to you, but I was thinking about the speech Sandy gave when she said it would be our objective to provide new jobs for all the people who were laid off. I think we may be in a position to do that and maybe go beyond. All I can say is if you and your people hadn't done the job they did, this could not have happened. I want you to know we know it, appreciate it, and want to do something about it. Specifically, we're thinking of a profit-sharing program for the whole company. With the results we're expecting, beginning next year, there should be some real profits to share. At any rate, Sandy made the first speech. Do you think she might be the one to announce the rehiring?" Max looked at his people and saw grins and nodding heads. "Yes, sir, I certainly do. Incidentally, Peter Schmidt has something he'd like to say. Could he?" "Of course, Max. What's on your mind, Peter?" Cliff asked. "Mr. Fitzpatrick, I just wanted to say publicly that you and Max were right, and I was wrong. I was one of the guys who said we should go out on strike. Max said it would bury the company. There is no question Miss Donnell's talk turned things around. We were going out until she spoke, and I still voted to walk. That was probably the dumbest thing I ever did in my life. You know something? You and Miss Donnell had more con fidence in us and our ability to produce than we did ourselves. Thank you, and thank you for giving us the tools to work with. I agree completely with Max. She should talk to the workers." The discussion moved on to scheduling and new equipment. Cliff was amazed at the scale-up speed Bill and his people had in mind. He looked at Steve Muller who had been shaking his head, and said, "Cliff, I have been wondering what I'm doing for a living. I feel like the guy sitting on top of Old Faithful, just getting shot up in the air. I feel like I'm just along for the ride!" "Don't worry about it, Steve. That's the way I feel all the time. There's just one more thing, guys," Cliff said. He then briefed them very quickly on the possible corner in the market for Murphy stock. "We believe there are people who have sold shares who will not be able to get the shares to deliver against their sales. Don't ever forget the rat! It's most dangerous when it's in a corner with no place to run. I think our rats are in a corner, and like the four-footed ones, are very dangerous. I'm very serious. People will do desperate things if they're facing financial ruin... and I think some people are." Cliff's talk sobered up the people in the room who had been euphoric at the company's prospects. "Guys, let's make damned sure the prospects become reality. Okay?" When the two girls returned in time for lunch, Kelly was wearing a new dress. She had obviously come back by way of her hotel to clean up. He briefed Sandy while Kelly went off to lunch with Kevin. * * * When they all returned to his office after lunch, Cliff's private line was ringing. It was Kelly's trader, Bill, for her. She listened on the phone for a few minutes, then said, "Are you absolutely sure? You are? My God! We did it! Thanks Bill, that's great news. Keep buying if there's anyone selling, okay? Great!" She hung up the phone. "Obviously, that was Bill. He's confident that trading over the last two days has hit 300,000 shares - the price just hit forty! There aren't 300,000 shares to trade! It's a damned corner, and I think we're the only ones who know it!" Sandy was thoughtful for a moment and then spoke to her friend. "I just want to be sure I understand something: There have now been more shares sold than there are to be sold. It's possible someone sold today what he bought yesterday - some canceling trades - but let's say there are just a few. What exactly happens?" Cliff quietly left the office before Kelly replied. The broker said, "In the vernacular, the shit hits the fan. Remember the doggerel! Within a matter of hours, the sellers are going to find there are no shares to deliver. It's not a matter of price, either. The shares simply do not exist! God! I almost feel like flying to New York just to see what happens on the floor. I would, too, except this is so arcane, no one would know what he was seeing! Sandy, do you and Cliff mind if I stay around for another day or so? Needless to say - although maybe I should have said it - Jack Snyder wants me to do anything - everything! - to keep you happy. In case you didn't know it, you are our firm's largest account by far. Incidentally, we've received your securities portfolio. Again, thank you for your business." "Kelly, would you like an office? An apartment? I have already provided a lover, so that's taken care of. By the way, that glow in your face doesn't look like the gleam of avarice. It predates the invention of money by quite a few millennia! That wouldn't be in your thinking about staying over, would it?" "Would it matter?" Kelly asked in a small voice. "Of course not! I think you're going to find out something, if you haven't already. When you're loved - and I mean really loved - it's so damned great, you want everyone to know it and feel it themselves. And I'm so desperately in love with Cliff I can't stand it sometimes. I just want to hold him and be held. Do you understand?" "I don't think I would have twenty-four hours ago, but I certainly do now! Sandy, is it always this good? I mean... Kevin and I... It was *all night*, for God's sake. I didn't think it was physically possible for a man..." She had reddened, but still grinned. Sandy grinned back. "I guess sometimes it is. Of course, with Cliff and me, since we've been together so long... I mean we don't do an all-nighter more than three or four nights a week anymore. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, though. We try, but just collapse. By the way, you're invited for dinner with Kevin if you would like to come and if he's available. Would you care to?" Kelly accepted and went off to ask Kevin. Just then Cliff returned with a tall young man Sandy didn't recall ever seeing before. "Sandy, this is Sam Johnson. Sam, I would like to introduce you to Sandra Donnell who owns the company. Sandy, Sam is the director in charge of the Pinkerton detail, and I wanted to be sure he and his people are fully briefed. Where's Kelly?" Just then Kelly returned, beaming. She was introduced to Johnson. Cliff asked her to brief him about the market. "Sam, have you ever heard of a corner in the stock market?" "Vaguely," he replied. "I thought it was something involving the robber barons that went out at the turn of the century or something." Kelly grinned and said, "It sort of did. The only way it can happen is the way it's happening now. Not many shares of stock, and the bulk of it in a single pair of hands. But it needs something else: There must be short sellers. There can't be a corner if people are buying and selling what they own. If they do, and there are a lot more people who want to buy than want to sell, the price just goes up fast. "This appears to be a classic corner. As of two days ago, there was a very large short interest. These were people who had sold short, borrowed stock to deliver, and are waiting for the price to drop to cover their positions. Within the last twenty-four hours, though, there have been more shares sold than there are shares. Now, there can always be some day trading: someone buys at ten o'clock, say, and sells at two. There can be some of that contained in the numbers. Nevertheless, there's a devastating pattern for someone. First, it appears shares have been sold that cannot be delivered. Second, there are the shorts from two days ago and earlier who delivered borrowed stock they will have to replace. There just aren't enough shares in existence. Do you see the problem?" Johnson had been listening intently. "I sure do! Am I correct in assuming these people benefit if something bad happens to Murphy Manufacturing? Something that would cause a lot of shareholders to want to sell?" "Absolutely right!" Kelly replied. "And conversely, anything good that's announced just pulls the noose tighter around their necks, right?" he continued. She nodded. "Then am I correct in assuming the time of peak danger to the company is the next seven days? After that it's probably too late to help the shorts." "You're there, Sam," Cliff said. "That's why we're meeting right now. I wanted to be sure you fully understand the problem. The other thing is we want to do everything possible to protect ourselves. Bill Stevens made the arrangements with your people. He couldn't have explained this to them because we didn't know it ourselves until a few minutes ago. Now, do you have all the manpower and equipment you can use, and, if not, what more do you need and how fast can you get it?" "May I use your phone, please, sir? I want to talk to my regional director." "Of course!" Cliff replied. Johnson picked up the phone and dialed a number. He asked for a name Cliff didn't pick up and then started speaking. "Boss, it's Sam. I'm at Murphy Manufacturing, and they have a very dangerous situation over here." He quickly explained the reasons for the danger. Then he listened intently and started taking notes. Finally he said, "Thanks, Boss. That sounds like it ought to do it." and hung up. Turning back to Cliff he said, "I don't want to pat myself on the back, sir, but I think it's lucky you called us. We're big, and have a lot of resources we can deploy on short notice. I should warn you, though, this isn't going to be cheap. "What we're proposing is this: First, we would like to put an armed guard in every truck leaving Murphy and have it trailed to its destination with an unmarked car to cover against hijacking. Next, we're going to get some teams here and put them on the roof tonight. We have special infrared equipment that can light up the surrounding area so it's like daylight if you have the right glasses. Finally, we propose to double the plain- clothes detail in the plant during working hours, and put attack dogs in the plant at night." He grinned, and continued, "All I can say is I wouldn't care *ever* to meet one of those damned dogs in a dark plant. Only you don't meet just one. They run in packs. I went in one night after the dogs trapped an intruder. They're trained to hold a person who's still. They don't attack, then, they just hold. This poor clown was scared stiff. Even with the dogs gone, he literally could not move. He was taken to jail on a stretcher. Anyway, how does the program sound? We'll plan on seven days and see what happens." Sandy nodded, and Cliff said, "It's fine. When do you start?" Johnson smiled again. "Before I hung up the phone. By now, your place is going to be crawling with our people. I better dash and get them all deployed. It's been delightful meeting you all. Let's keep our fingers crossed!" He shook hands all around and left. It was time for Sandy to give her speech so they went down to the plant floor. Cliff was very pleased to see faces he didn't recognize spotted around the plant pushing brooms, and apparently handling boxes, but in all cases being very alert. A broom-pusher stopped near by and spoke to Cliff without looking at him. It was Sam. "I just heard about the speech to the workers. Obviously, my people are on the alert, because this would be the perfect time for someone to move. All the workers are in one place with the machine tools uncovered." Sandy was introduced and started speaking: "Ladies and gentlemen, we may be out of the woods. This morning we received an order from Magna Motors. It is for three times the volume we used to have! As soon as equipment can be installed, we'll be expand ing production and rehiring. A few months ago I stood here and said I recognized an obligation to the people we were forced to lay off. We have the obligation, and we have not forgotten: With luck, they will all be back at work within ninety days. I want you to know it was *your work* that created these jobs. The quality of product we're shipping now is the best it has ever been in the company's history. We're rebuilding this company on quality: the quality you're producing. I can only say, please don't stop. Personally, I don't think you will. I learned something from Cliff Fitzpatrick. He said workers want to do a good job. I hoped he was right, but I wasn't sure. Now I *am* sure! You're doing it. Thank you for your support." The workers cheered. She waved, and they cheered louder. Then she brought Max and Cliff to the podium, and they cheered even louder. Finally, Max waved for quiet. "Thanks, Sandy! Brothers and Sisters, that is all I can say or need to say. Management - ownership - kept it's word. Sandy said if we did the job, we would have the jobs back. She was dead right. I'm proud as hell, and I know you are, too. "There's just one more thing: I can't go into the details, but you must be on your guard for the next seven days. You know the Pinkertons are here. There are people who we are almost certain will try to sabotage our operations here within the next five days. If you see anyone - and I mean *anyone* - you don't recognize, notify a Pinkerton immediately. They know their jobs, but they don't know our people. You do. You point them to the stranger, and they'll do the rest. The owner took care of us as she promised she would. I promised her we would take care of her plant. That's *my* promise and the union's promise to her. Make damn sure we deliver on that promise! Now let's all get back to work!" They went back to Cliff's office and Sandy took off her white coat that she wore for the speech. Kelly said, "I wish I could have heard your previous speech to the workers, Sandy. My God! I have never seen anything like it. You could have heard a pin drop while you were speaking. They believe in you! They really do, and it's so great to see." There was a message waiting for her to call her trader which she did immediately. "Bill, it's Kelly. What's up?" she said. She listened and quickly made a thumbs-up sign for the others to see. "My God! you're kidding! It's at forty!" She continued to listen, and then thanked him and hung up. "Murphy closed at forty. Bill's certain there's a corner. It jumped beginning thirty minutes before the close. He doesn't think they'll be able to open trading in the morning." Then she dialed another number. It was the financial public relations man at Ajax. "Hi, Bill. It's Kelly again. Do you have any word for me?" She listened intently, and finally said, "Thanks, Bill. I know it's not for publication, but let me know as soon as you have anything official. You know how to reach me." She hung up and leaned back in the chair. "Folks, the champagne is on me tonight. Where can I get some Dom Perignon? Sandy, based on your instructions, Bill got us another $300,000 in Murphy averaging about thirty-five. I guess our shares have an average cost of about thirty over the two days, so that's a total of 1,600 or 1,700 shares. I'm out of money, but the damn stock is now at forty! I have made eight thousand dollars in one day!" They went back to the apartment, and Cliff helped Sandy with preparations for the dinner. He continued to be impressed at how organized she was. At seven-thirty, the doorbell rang. It was Kevin and Kelly with two bottles of champagne. He had a wine cooler to put one in and put the other in the refrigerator. Then Kevin started opening a bottle which was already chilled. Sandy came in with hors d'oeuvres as Kevin poured the champagne. Cliff looked at his glass and then looked at Kelly. "I don't know which is bubbling more, Kelly, you or the champagne. I think you are." The dinner was a smashing success with Sandy serving a roast sirloin of beef. After coffee and cognac, Kevin and Kelly excused themselves, mumbling something about it being a very long day. Sandy didn't even kid them about the longer night to follow. -- +----------------' Story submission `-+-' Moderator contact `--------------+ | | | | Archive site +----------------------+--------------------+ Newsgroup FAQ | ----