Gap Year - 40. Chapter 40

February 25, 2004

Hotel Bel Air

Los Angeles, CA

 

Will

“I didn’t know you were getting a room here,” I said to Stef, as we walked into a nice suite. It had a large room with a big table that was perfect for meetings, along with a separate bedroom. I’d stayed at this hotel years before, back when I’d left Malibu to avoid Robbie and JJ. The hotel was cool with its pink walls and 1950’s version of Spanish architecture, while the rooms were very sleek and modern. The best part, though, were the grounds, which had lots of trees and plants that made it seem private, along with ponds and pools that added that water dimension.

“It is a secluded place to have meetings,” he said. The privacy made it possible for people to slip in and out without being as obvious as they might be in a normal hotel.

“What kind of meetings?” I joked.

“Yes,” he said, making me laugh.

“How long do you have this room reserved?”

“Just for today,” he said. “I am planning to head home this evening.”

“Maybe I’ll keep it, if they’ll let me,” I mused. This would be convenient, especially for Friday night since it was close to UCLA. It would also be handy if Zach decided to visit me. Of course that brought that whole situation back into my brain and pissed me off, but I managed to shrug it off. While Stef got himself settled in, I went to the front desk to try and score his room for a few extra nights. I was bummed to find out that Stef’s room was booked, but it turned out to be a good thing. Instead, I managed to nab the same suite I’d had before. I grabbed my stuff and put it in my room and felt myself flooded with bittersweet memories of how much fighting there had been back in the day. On the other hand, I’d spent some quality time with my father here, and I’d gotten to play around with Alistair when he came to visit me. I pulled my head back into the present day and got back to Stef’s room to find Evelyn sitting at the big table with him.

She got up and gave me a big hug. “I didn’t think I’d get to see you until March 9^th,” she said. “This is a pleasant surprise.” She was dressed in a suit that was cut in a very conservative way but was a pale shade of yellow, as if to soften the overall formality of it.

“I’m glad you think so,” I teased, smiling at her. “It’s good to see you too.”

“I flew down with Will this morning, and invited him to attend our meeting, provided that is alright with you,” Stef said. Evelyn seemed a bit nervous about that but tried to hide it gamely. I felt bad for her because Stef had put her on the spot. It would be hard for her to exclude me without offending me.

“That will be fine,” she said, pretending like it was no big deal.

“If I make you uncomfortable, I’ll leave,” I said in a nice but serious way, mimicking Stef’s business tone. “But I did take an oath of confidentiality, so you can trust me.”

It was cool to see how that seemed to ease her concerns. “Will, I have never had grounds not to trust you before, and I certainly will trust you now.”

“Thanks,” I said, then took a seat opposite her. Stef sat at the head of the table, as seemed appropriate.

“Evelyn has told me there’s a rumor that the company that bought Anders-Hayes is less than happy with its performance,” Stef said. “They are supposedly looking for a buyer.”

“That’s a surprise,” I said. “They were pretty stoked about it when they bought it.”

“If I recall correctly, the firm that bought us out was Progressive Equities,” Stef observed.

“Your memory is perfect,” Evelyn said, then got frustrated. “They’re idiots.”

“Explain their idiocy,” Stef said, making me and Evelyn chuckle.

“They’ve made two major errors. First of all, they’ve bled money out of Anders-Hayes, which makes funding deals harder.”

“One of the attractions of Anders-Hayes was the size of the funding that could be provided,” Stef said.

“Not anymore,” Evelyn said. “That means we can’t take down big pieces of movies we feel extremely positive about, and we even get muscled out of deals because we’re not a big enough player.”

“Progressive seemed to understand the need for expansive funding during our meetings with them,” Stef said, although he said it less as a statement than a question.

“Progressive has been acquiring companies in a bunch of different industries,” Evelyn said. “They may know what we need, but they have other demands on their funds.”

“That is an unusual way to run a conglomerate,” Stef noted with a chuckle.

“What’s the second error?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, Alex isn’t doing a very good job. Progressive has complete confidence in Alex, so they don’t attribute our poor performance to him. Instead, they just think the entire industry is flawed,” she said. When she made that statement her voice got much quieter, as if she was worried that the room was bugged. When she talked about Alex, she was referring to her boss, Alex Danvers. Alex had first been Robbie’s protégé, then his lover. The last time I’d seen Alex he had gotten pretty fat, putting on an extra 50 pounds or so, which was a side effect of the drugs he was taking for HIV. Gaining that much weight was yet one more scary reason to make sure I was practicing safe sex.

“That is unfortunate,” Stef said sympathetically. I had a harder time expressing that emotion when it came to Alex. His relationship with Robbie had completely fucked my father up. After 9-11, he’d had an intense relationship with Cody, who had then dumped Alex when he got back together with Kevin. Because of that Alex loathed Cody. My father had been adamant that Alex’s relationship with Robbie was not Alex’s fault, but I felt he had at least a little bit to do with it. What really bothered me was how Alex was causing Cody problems. It was like Alex was determined to run Cody out of town because of their breakup.

“You said Alex was not performing well?” I asked.

“The only thing Alex wants to do is hurt Cody,” she said. “It’s become an obsession for him. Even when he’s in the office, he’s not really there, he’s scheming on how to ruin Cody’s life.”

“That’s an issue,” I said. “We almost have to get involved in this, one way or another.”

“Cody has not asked us for help at this point,” Stef noted, and seemed annoyed with me, probably for being so open with Evelyn, but that seemed pretty shitty to me. She was here putting her job and her whole career on the line, and I thought she deserved our candor.

“Cody is part of our extended family, and if Alex is going after him, it is our job to try to protect him,” I said to Stef, probably a little too emphatically. “If that isn’t reason enough, I was the one that all but pushed Kevin and Cody together. It’s partially my responsibility.”

“I do not think you are responsible for their relationship,” he said, although I wasn’t sure which of those relationships he was referring to.

“Stef, I set up that Christmas dinner almost specifically for the purpose of helping them heal the rift between them. I went to Kevin’s office and browbeat him into coming, and you helped me drag Cody there,” I said. “I feel pretty damn responsible.”

He looked at me and grimaced a bit. “We will have to factor that in,” he said, then turned to Evelyn. “I am sorry we sidetracked our meeting over personal issues.”

“Having you both be so open in front of me makes me feel a lot better about this meeting,” she said. I grinned since I’d kind of hoped that would happen. “This is a big risk for me.”

“It may be a risk going forward, but it is not a risk today,” Stef said sagely, reminding her that we promised to reveal nothing about this.

“So does that mean Anders-Hayes is all but dying?” I asked, trying to summarize what she’d been telling us.

Evelyn smiled at me. “That’s a bit overstated, but I guess it could be true. I suspect that the company is still strong enough to endure a slow and painful death.”

“That doesn’t sound very motivating,” I said.

“It isn’t,” she said ruefully. “It’s hard to see this company that I’ve worked so hard to build become a patient on life support.” We nodded sadly, acknowledging how tough this would be on her and how sad it was to see Greg and Robbie’s legacy get run into the ground.

“Now that we have a summary of the issues, tell me of your plans, and what you are proposing,” Stef said, taking us away from that depressing topic and focusing on the future.

She opened her portfolio and pulled out two nicely bound proposals. They were like books, with the covers in leather and the pages printed on top quality paper. It was so classy Stef looked at me and raised an eyebrow. It certainly did make a good impression. She also pulled out a bunch of regular pages that were clipped together. “I didn’t know Will was coming, so this way he can have his own copy, but I have to use my working notes.”

“That is fine,” Stef said with a smile. I was going to offer to just look at his with him, but I said nothing, because I wasn’t sure what the protocol was in a meeting like this. I opened the book and started looking through it, making sure I stayed on the same page Stef was on.

“Progressive bought Anders-Hayes for $225 million,” she said. “Using those same valuation parameters, the company is now worth over $250 million.”

“If Alex is running it into the ground, how is it worth more?” I asked, confused.

“While we’re not as profitable as we were before, the overall ratios in the industry have gone up, driving values higher,” Evelyn noted. I didn’t really understand that, but Stef seemed to get it.

“If it were not for the residuals and royalties on prior deals, Anders-Hayes would be losing money,” Stef said dryly. He sensed my question, so pointed to the figures that showed that.

“And those will get smaller as time goes on,” Evelyn said.

“I thought Progressive’s valuation model was flawed when they bought Anders-Hayes, so I am not convinced by those numbers,” Stef said dismissively. “They overstated the value of the company, and that is one of the primary reasons I was convinced to sell out to them.”

“That’s probably an indicator of how little they know about this industry,” Evelyn commented.

“Do you know how much they want to sell for?” Stef asked.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I did hear a rumor that Miram Barnes is offering them $150 million and Progressive is supposedly interested,” she said.

“Miram Barnes,” Stef mused as he slowly shook his head.

“Ryan’s stepfather,” I said, as if he didn’t know that. Miram Barnes was an asshole, who had been a jerk to both Greg Anders and Robbie. Neither Stef nor my father liked him. That Miram was involved in this was probably reason enough for Stef to be attracted to the deal, I thought with a smirk.

“I’ve worked with the Vice President of Finance, Allison Keyes, and the Vice President of Marketing, Jamal Smothers, to put together this proposal to turn Anders-Hayes around,” Evelyn said. “It’s going to take an additional $100 million in funding beyond the purchase price. We’d need that much capital in today’s environment.” She then gave us an excellent overview of their plans, which were pretty exciting. I paid close attention to the numbers, trying to learn as I went, but Stef didn’t seem as interested in them as I was. I found that pretty surprising, but didn’t say anything.

“Your plan is for me to offer Progressive $150 million with no due diligence or discovery,” Stef noted.

“What’s that mean?” I asked.

He gave me his gentle smile. “When one company acquires another, there is usually an agreement that pledges the acquiring company to confidentiality and the target company must then provide detailed information and answer questions about themselves. That process, of asking for and getting information, is the due diligence phase.”

“Why would you waive that?” I asked.

“Because it takes a lot of time and can be costly,” Stef said. “In this case, we would be relying on the bonafides of key managers to identify any issues.”

“Is that enough? I mean, what if there are other things they don’t know about?” I asked. I noticed that Evelyn looked slightly annoyed by that, so I hastily backtracked. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“Will has a tendency to turn these types of discussions into a learning experience,” Stef said by way of explanation, and looked at me fondly.

Evelyn smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I think that’s a really good question.”

Ironically, Stef answered it. “That adds to the risk, but it also adds an opportunity. Presumably other buyers like Miram are not so well-informed, and that means he would have to require the due diligence process. For us, it can be an option.”

“I have contacts at Progressive, and they’re saying the company is gearing up to acquire a financial firm,” Evelyn said. “They’re going to need capital, and they’re going to need it soon. That’s why acting fast makes this a good opportunity for us to outmaneuver the other potential buyers.”

“And that is why the three of you expect to end up with 10% of the stock if this deal goes through,” Stef said.

“We felt that was fair compensation for putting this together and enabling a lower bidding price,” Evelyn countered.

“I would be more inclined to start with 5% and work up to 10% over five years based on performance and retention,” Stef said.

“Retention?” I asked.

“Such a provision is designed to ensure that the Vice President of Finance, for example, doesn’t leave as soon as this deal is done,” Stef said.

“I can talk to them about that,” Evelyn said.

“I am wondering who will run this new company?” Stef asked. “I have seen no organizational chart identifying the CEO.”

“Look at the chart on page 27,” Evelyn said. “We plan to operate as a team.”

“Then you are managing by committee?” Stef asked. He seemed a bit uncomfortable with no one person wielding total power, which almost made me roll my eyes. Did everyone in our family have control issues?

“Each of us has distinct strengths and weaknesses. If you put us together, the strengths cancel out any deficiencies, and that gives us a good decision-making frame,” she said.

“That seems pretty logical to me,” I said, then looked to Stef.

“An approach like this only works if there is complete unity between the three of you,” he said.

“There is,” Evelyn asserted.

“What if it doesn’t work?” I asked, wondering what the downside was.

“Then the Board would have to fix it,” Evelyn said. “And with the way this is structured, you would control the majority of the Board.”

“So it would be up to Stef to fix it,” I concluded.

“More or less,” Stef said. “How much time do I have to ponder this?”

“We think that to make this work, you’d need to approach Progressive by Monday,” Evelyn said.

“That is quite fast,” Stef said. She looked disappointed but Stef calmed her down. “We are used to moving fast, so we can give you an answer by then.”

“Thanks Stef,” she said, beaming at him.

“I understand your approach to waiving due diligence, but there are a few things we must be sure of,” Stef said.

“What?” I asked.

“We must know about any existing agreements Anders-Hayes has made that we would be responsible for,” Stef said.

“I think we know about all of those,” Evelyn said. “I can have Allison forward those to you.”

“Ah, but you most likely would not know about any arrangements that they have made with Alex,” Stef said.

“I can see that,” Evelyn said, getting his point.

“So we will include that in an offer, and that way we can be sure,” Stef concluded. “That should not be a burden to them.”

“It shouldn’t,” Evelyn agreed.

“Excellent,” Stef said, then stood up to end the meeting. “I am looking forward to seeing you on March 9^th. Will is working diligently to make sure it is a very exciting meeting.”

“I am,” I said to her with a smile. “If you want, I can update you on that.”

“I would appreciate that,” she said with a smile, probably remembering what a pain in the ass I’d been when I’d been younger. I got her email address and then ushered her out of the room.

“That was interesting,” I said to Stef.

“Indeed,” Stef said. I said nothing, I just waited for his thoughts, but that’s not how he operated. "What do you think?”

“If you think it’s a reasonably good business deal, I think we should do it,” I said.

“I was not inclined to re-immerse myself in Anders-Hayes, but I am willing to consider it after hearing all the issues.”

“You mean because of Miram and Cody?” I asked.

“Those would be the issues,” he said.

“If we do this deal, will that remove Alex as a threat to Cody?” I asked, wondering if he’d just carry his grudge someplace else.

“If his performance is widely known to have been substandard, it will significantly reduce both his influence and his ability to do harm,” Stef said. “I was planning to have lunch with Cody, so I will get his input.”

“I can leave if you want me to,” I said. “I scored a room here, the same one I had when I fled from Malibu to avoid Robbie and JJ.”

He laughed at that. “I would like you to be here.”

“I was thinking that we could have dinner with Darius before you fly back,” I said.

He pulled out his calendar. “That will work.” I left him alone to make his calls while I confirmed our plans with Darius and had Tom make reservations at Spago.

I went back to Stef’s room and found the table set for lunch. No sooner did I get there than Cody arrived. “Hey there!” I said enthusiastically and gave him a huge hug. I held the hug longer, just to flirt with him.

“Hey,” he said, ended our hug, and gave me a kiss that was almost too sexy. He was tall, blond, and fit, but probably more important, he was one of those guys who just got hotter as he got older. His youthful good looks had given way to the more solid beauty of a real man, while his sexual charisma and boyish charm drew people into his orbit as if it was a gravitational force. “Heard you were in Boston.”

“I was,” I said, then told him all about my visit, and how awesome Maddy was. Maddy was his daughter and my half-sister.

“Well hello,” Stef said, coming into the room. He looked a little flushed, which made Cody and I smirk at each other. While Cody was hugging Stef, I saw Tom shut the bedroom door. That was too funny. We sat down at the table and that prompted a handsome waiter to get us drinks and start serving us what turned out to be an excellent lunch.

“It’s really good to see you,” I said to Cody.

“I didn’t know you were coming down here, so that’s an awesome surprise,” he said.

“I have parties to go to,” I said.

“There’s one tonight, if you’re interested,” Cody said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m having dinner with Darius,” I told him. “But I’m in after that. Can I bring him?”

“Sure,” he said. “It’s close.” He gave me the address and details, then Stef rejoined our conversation.

“And how is Kevin?” Stef asked.

“He actually seems to be doing better,” Cody said. “I mean, he’s still pretty weak, but it’s not depressing to be around him.” He freaked out about his comment. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Do not feel bad,” Stef insisted. “It is not easy to see the man you love waste away.” Then Stef felt bad about his own reference to Kevin being on his deathbed.

“Is he going to the party tonight?” I asked.

“He’s not quite ready for that,” Cody said.

“I’ll try to spend some time with him in Malibu,” I said.

“I understand there have been some issues with Alex Danvers,” Stef said.

“Not really,” Cody said, trying to blow the whole thing off.

“Dude, do not even lie to me,” I said. “I heard he had made it his whole mission to run you out of town.” Stef gave me a mildly patronizing look but zeroed in on Cody.

“He hasn’t made it easy,” Cody grumbled. “Jackie is hella pissed at me.”

“That is nothing new,” Stef observed.

“No, but it’s gotten worse. She hates Kevin so that just makes it tougher. She’s suggested that I take a leave of absence to take care of him,” Cody said.

“Is that something you want to do, or that you can do?” Stef asked.

“I’ve focused on just working with the clients I have, while not taking on new business,” Cody said. “That’s freed up enough time to be with Kevin, but it keeps me involved so when he gets better, I can dive back into the business.”

“But Jackie doesn’t like that?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “Alex is putting a lot of pressure on her, and while she hates him almost as much as she hates Kevin, she’s all about the business.”

“I am surprised by that,” Stef said.

“By what?” I asked.

“In the past, if Greg or Robbie had put pressure on her, she would have given in without question. It seems that Alex doesn’t wield as much power in the industry,” he explained.

“He doesn’t,” Cody confirmed. “He’s so busy trying to fuck my life up that he’s not focused on Anders-Hayes. If he would have done that, he’d be so powerful I’d have to find something else to do.”

“Perhaps,” Stef said thoughtfully, making me and probably Cody wonder what scheme was working through his brain. “How would you like your career to evolve?”

“Jeff Grimes is living with us in Malibu,” Cody said, something we both knew. I felt bad that I hadn’t called him and told him I’d be in town. “I’ve spent some time with him, and he asked me if he could work with me.”

“Dude, that is way too much hotness in one company,” I joked.

“Indeed,” Stef agreed. “Does that mean you would break away from Jackie and start your own business?”

“I owe Jackie my loyalty,” Cody said. “Before Alex lost his shit and came after me, she’d been talking about taking a lesser role, and maybe having me buy her out over time.”

“I think that would be frustrating,” Stef said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because she would be theoretically turning her business over to Cody, but she would not really do it,” he said. “I think she will be involved in this industry until she is dead.”

“That’s spot-on, Stef,” Cody said. “And the last thing I want to do is spend money to buy a business she’s running.”

“I understand what you are saying, but if you want to consider alternatives, I do not think that makes you disloyal. You are not an indentured servant,” Stef said.

“You don’t think that would be a dick move?” he asked.

“She brought you into the business and trained you,” Stef noted. “If you had left a few years ago, I think that maybe she would have reason to be annoyed. It has been long enough that she has received a significant return on her investment in you.”

“How long have you worked for her?” I asked.

“Since 1995,” Cody said. Seven years seemed like a long time, certainly long enough to repay the debt he owed her. He turned his attention back to Stef. “What do you think I should do?”

“I think that you should tell her that you are planning to take a leave of absence and only work with your existing clients,” Stef said. “That way she can avoid Alex’s scorn, and you can prepare your way to leave her firm.”

“Then what would I do?” Cody asked.

“Do you know Cameron Squires?” Stef asked. Cody blinked at first, since that had nothing to do with his original question.

“Who doesn’t know Cam Squires,” Cody said. I was trying to decide if he liked Cam or not.

“Who’s he?” I asked.

“You’d appreciate him,” Cody said, smirking at me. “He’s pretty hot, and supposed to be the best top in town.”

“Except for you,” I said, winking at him, but he hadn’t answered my question.

“Except for me,” Cody said, then leered at me to send my libido into overdrive.

“He runs a talent agency that focuses on recording artists,” Stef said.

“So he’s like Jackie but for music?” I asked.

“That’s probably a good way to put it,” Cody said, then focused on Stef. “What about Cam?”

“I am not sure if you’ve heard that John and Ryan Grafton are part of a new band?” Stef asked.

“I’d heard they were talking about it, but that Claire about had kittens when she found out,” Cody said. I laughed my ass off at that.

“That is very true, but she has since come around and given her blessing,” Stef said, then turned to me. “I do not think I have told you how impressed I was at how you helped convince her.”

“That’s mostly John,” I said, giving him credit for being brave and standing up to his parents.

“It mostly was not,” Stef said, then resumed his conversation before I could argue. “Cam is behind the launch of this band, and that has brought us into closer contact with him.”

“If he’s backing the band, it will be successful,” Cody said, stating it as a fact. That was about as good of an endorsement of his skill as Cody could give him. “So how does this apply to me?”

“Cam has a vision. He wants to develop a super-agency to rival some of the bigger players. He is hoping to put together divisions that handle screen and television actors, as well as sports personalities,” Stef said. “He will add onto that accounting and financial services, along with publicists, to in essence make it possible to provide a comprehensive approach to the needs of a celebrity.”

“That’s an amazing idea,” Cody said. “I’ve actually thought about doing that, but I didn’t have all the pieces to put together or the money to make it happen.”

“Cam has the pieces, and he has money, but not enough,” Stef said. “That is why we are talking.”

“Who’s going to handle the movie angle?” Cody asked.

“Cam asked me to see if you’d be interested in doing that,” Stef said.

“He wants me to work for him?” Cody asked, surprised.

“I think he envisions you working with him,” Stef said. “He is seeing this as a confederation and not so much as a stratified entity. As he has relayed his vision, he thinks that each group will require a certain level of independence.” I thought it was interesting that Stef seemed fine with that arrangement for this new agency but didn’t like it when it was applied to Anders-Hayes.

“I’m just surprised that he wants me to work with him,” Cody said.

“Why?” I asked.

“In the past, we’ve competed to fuck the same dudes,” Cody said.

“Another wolf,” I said, getting a chuckle from Stef.

“Indeed,” Stef agreed. “Cam sees in you talents similar to his own, and like most people in this town, he is convinced of his own greatness.” That made us all laugh because it was so true.

Cody paused to think about that. It seemed like an hour, but was probably only a couple of minutes, before he answered. “I should talk to Cam, but if you see him first, tell him I’m in.”

“I will do that,” Stef said.