Gap Year - 70. Chapter 70

March 9, 2004

Palo Alto, CA

 

Will

“Were you planning to ride with us?” Stef asked. They were taking the big Escalade limo up to the City for the Board meeting at the Schluter Foundation.

“I think I’ll drive myself,” I said. “I’ve got some plans afterwards.”

“Plans?” Jake asked playfully.

“Tentative plans,” I corrected. “I’m going to try to catch up with Tony and Mason.”

“Why don’t I ride up with you?” Dad suggested. “I’ll hitch a ride back in the limo.”

“That’s fine,” I said. I looked at the group that was assembled (Grand, Stef, Grandmaman, Jake, and my father). “Where’s Claire?” They all looked nervous about that.

“She opted to meet us up there,” Grand said officiously.

“I’m glad she decided to stay on the Board,” I said. Quite frankly, I had expected her to give Stef her letter of resignation after last night. No one really acknowledged my comment, but it seemed to motivate us to head out to the cars. I went over and grabbed the keys to Stef’s Porsche and handed them to my father. “You drive.”

“Alright,” he said, and gave me a slight smile. He was like Grand in that he hated riding in a car and not driving it. And also like Grand, he could only really tolerate riding and not driving if it was a limo. I laughed to myself, wondering if his need to drive was part of his being a top, then I thought it was even funnier when I had to discount that theory because Grand was mostly a bottom. The weather was nice but it was morning, so a bit chilly, which meant we left the top up. Not as much fun, but better for a conversation. He fired up the Porsche and zipped down the drive.

“We’re going to beat them,” I joked, making him laugh. We were both in good moods.

“Duh,” he said, cracking me up. “You ready for your first board meeting?”

“I guess,” I said. “I’m worried that these people are all going to think I’m just some punk kid put on the Board, and not someone who is supposed to actually contribute.”

“I can see that, but you’re assertive enough to make your points,” he said. “Grand, Stef, and I will be there to make sure no one rakes you over the coals.”

“I can take care of myself,” I snapped, then immediately regretted it. “Sorry.” I’d just exposed, to both him and me, that I was more nervous about this than I thought I was.

He laughed. “It will be okay. You know everyone but two of the independent directors. The first one is Randall Fireside, and you’ll probably think he’s a pain in the ass.”

“What’s his deal?” I asked.

“He’s on the Board of Triton. Stef likes him because he questions everything and makes us think about things before we make a decision,” he said.

“Why is that a problem?” I asked. “Isn’t that the same thing you do when you do that devil’s advocate thing?”

“I’m not as caustic. He’s an old guy, with old-school ideas,” he said. “He thinks Craig is doing a great job.”

“So he’s the dinosaur,” I concluded, making him laugh, and getting a nod.

“The other guy is Gavin Harvey,” Dad said. “He’s part tech wizard, part marketer. Founded a company called Advantac. His big deal is promoting things on the internet. He’s pretty laid back, but he’s also sensitive to the PR aspect of things.”

“He doesn’t sound so bad,” I said.

“He’s not as assertive as Fireside, but he can be stubborn. And you know Evelyn.”

“Kind of sucks for her that she got on this Board right when all this shit is happening,” I said.

“You’re in a similar position,” he said. “Evelyn is more likely to be a facilitator or peacemaker.”

“Makes sense,” I said. He got on I-280 heading north and punched the car, making both of us grin.

“The agenda has changed,” he said a bit nervously.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Craig Arundel withdrew his resignation,” he said.

“Can he do that?” I asked.

“It’s up to the Board to decide whether to keep him or not at this point,” he said. This clearly had him pretty uptight, and I could see why. Dad had all but maneuvered Jake into that job, had their lives all laid out based on that assumption, and the rug was being completely pulled out from under him.

“What do you think the Board will do?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I think the independent directors will vote to keep him. I’m not sure where the family lines up on this.”

“Even Evelyn?” I asked.

“I don’t know what she’ll do,” he said.

“I’m a no,” I said, to make sure he knew I was on his team, such as it was.

“I appreciate that,” he said.

“Can’t we just fire the Board members who disagree with us?” I joked.

“That’s not a good corporate governance model,” he said with a smile.

“Is that why Jake isn’t there?” I asked him.

He nodded. “The first decision has to be whether to keep Craig. After that, Jake may or may not be involved.”

“Since he did all that research, it makes sense that he’d be there to explain it,” I objected.

“The report will have to stand on its own,” Dad said.

“Can’t the Board ask him to attend?” I asked. He thought about that for a minute, then smiled.

“Give me a second,” he said. He pulled out his phone and asked Jake to meet us in the City for the meeting. “We can do that.” It worried me that he’d missed such an obvious detail. This must really have him freaked out.

“Dad, even if this doesn’t work out for Jake, he’ll still be able to find something else to do,” I said.

“He’s just so excited about this opportunity,” Dad said. “He really wants to see if he can do something good, something to help the world, and I think he’s even more excited to try and turn morale around and make the Foundation a thriving organization.”

“I think it will work out alright,” I said, which was just so much wishful thinking on my part.

“Are you heading to Malibu tomorrow?” he asked.

“I was planning on it,” I said. “Why?”

“Stef has decided that I’m the best candidate to work with Anders-Hayes,” he said. “I need to go down to spend some time with them.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said. “Maybe you can block out some time to surf,” I said.

“That would be nice,” he said, but wasn’t very enthusiastic about it.

“Why does this bother you?” I asked.

He sighed. “I’m not sure I want to dive back into that organization.” I didn’t say anything, I just waited for him to add some meat to that statement. “It was Robbie’s company, and I don’t want to reopen the unpleasantness that it caused us at times.”

“You’ve pretty much put all that behind you, and you have an amazing new husband,” I said.

“I know that,” he snapped, then apologized with a sideways glance. “I’m worried that being involved will stir up memories of all the bullshit, and it will make me mad at Robbie all over again. I’m good with us and how we were. I don’t want to fuck that up.” That made complete sense to me.

“I think you should tell Stef you don’t want to do it,” I said. “Tell him why. He’ll get it.”

“I tried but he didn’t seem to understand,” he said, then sighed again. “I probably didn’t explain myself that well. I should try again. But in the meantime, I need to handle the meetings this week.”

“I’m pretty impressed that you’re thinking this through before you dive in,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “So what’s your plan for the week?”

“I’m going to live a life of leisure,” I joked. “Travis is staying in Malibu, so I figured I’d hang out with him while he’s around, and kick back or surf when he’s not.”

“Been a pretty grueling couple of weeks for you,” he said. “You could probably use some peace and quiet.”

“True that,” I said.

“Frank is pretty upset about Zach’s truck burning up like a pyre,” he said. I so didn’t want to talk about this.

“He’ll get over it,” I said. “If he’s so upset about it, he can pull out his checkbook and solve the problem.”

“He thinks you did it,” he said.

“He can think what he wants,” I said.

“I think if you said you didn’t do it, it would make things easier on him,” he said.

“I didn’t do it,” I said. “I was in New York when the thing burned up.”

“I didn’t mean that,” he said, a little frustrated. “I mean that you had it done.”

“I don’t see why any of these people can accuse me of doing that without any grounds,” I objected.

“Look Will,” he said firmly. “I don’t give a shit if you did it or not. In my opinion, he deserved it. I just don’t want this to boomerang back at you.”

“How would that happen?” I asked.

“What if they catch the people who did it, and they finger you?” he asked.

I nodded. “If you were me, what would you do?”

“I’d make it right,” he said. “Regardless of whether I did it or not, I would jump in and clean up the mess and make sure Zach had something to drive.” This was so typical of him, to throw money at the problem not to solve it, but to hide it and make it go away.

“After what he did to me?” I asked, outraged. “You know, I would have been more than willing to do that if he were even sorry at all. He’s done nothing but threaten me. And I’m still really pissed off at him for the bullshit games he played with Travis to convince him not to go to New York.”

“Travis made it anyway,” Dad said philosophically.

“Do you know how bad that hurt me?” I demanded in what was close to a shout. “That was a 24-hour living hell. So fuck Zach. He’s lucky I don’t hire people to blow out his kneecaps and ruin his fucking football career.”

“I didn’t know it was that bad,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Darius saved me. He pulled me out of my tailspin. Ask him,” I said. I was now in a totally shitty mood, and I didn’t want to be like this going into the Board meeting. “Zach hasn’t done anything to show me he’s sorry at all, and while that’s fine, he’s also trying to fuck with my life. And there’s no way I’m putting up with that.”

“I don’t think you should,” he said, in full retreat mode.

“The smart thing for him to do was to basically surrender,” I said. “But no, he had to keep poking me, and he showed me that he was a threat. So you can tell Frank, Gathan, and everyone else that Zach should watch out, because I’m not done with him.”

“Will…,” he began.

“He picked a battle with me, and now that’s what he’s got,” I said.

“So the truck wasn’t enough?” he challenged. That infuriated me because he was trying to trick me into admitting that I’d done it.

“If he keeps fucking around with me and Travis, he should expect a whole lot worse than that,” I said with venom. “And before you go and try to make me feel like I have no grounds to do that, why don’t you go search your memory.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded, not a little pissed.

“What happened to Carson when he fucked around with your man?” I demanded.

“That was different,” he said. I just laughed at him. Our conversation was truncated by our arrival at the Foundation.

“Did you ever find out why we have offices in this fucking Taj Mahal?” I asked rudely.

“We own the building and had some extra space,” he said.

“And are you charging the Foundation normal rates or are you giving them a discount?” I demanded.

“I don’t know,” he said, but he was clearly lying. He parked the car and I got out.

“I’ll be back,” I said.

“Where are you going?” he demanded. I ignored him and walked off. I took about ten minutes to stroll around this little courtyard that was out front, forcing myself to calm down, then I went inside and went up to the offices of the Foundation.

I got off the elevator and the first people I saw were Claire and Craig Arundel. “Good morning,” Craig said formally, and shook my hand.

“Good morning,” I responded in the same way, then gave my aunt a much warmer greeting.

“We may have to delay your departure to Hawaii on Friday,” Claire said to me.

“Why?” I asked.

“I managed to free up some time in my schedule to do dinner with John, Marie, and this lovely lady on Friday evening,” Craig said, acting like that was some big effort on his part.

I shook my head at them. “They will lose their minds,” I told Claire.

“They were the ones who were so upset because I hadn’t introduced them to Craig,” she objected. “Why would they be mad because I’m doing what they asked?”

“You didn’t tell them you were with him for however long you two have been together, and then you decide that they should totally delay their Spring Break plans to accommodate you,” I said to her.

“I don’t see why a little flexibility is unwarranted,” Craig said. “We have busy schedules.”

“You don’t get it,” I said to both of them. “You have totally turned their world upside down. This is your fault, not theirs. Instead of seeing that, you’re going to demand that they make all the effort, and that they make the big sacrifice.”

“They are not making all the effort,” Craig objected.

“I do not think they will be as unreasonable as you are,” Claire said to me in her icy, precise voice, which was a big clue that I’d totally pissed her off.

“I guess we’ll see,” I said. “I’m going to bet that if you try to do this to them, you will drive Marie away completely.”

“Over a delayed departure?” Craig asked incredulously.

“It’s about the context and the symbolism,” I snapped, then turned to Claire. “I’m going to reserve the right to say ‘I told you so’ on this one.”

“You do that,” she said. I had never seen her quite that pissed off, not even at Marie. I just nodded and moved past them to go find Stef and Grand.

I found Grand by himself just outside the boardroom and went up and gave him a big hug. “Are you alright?”

“I started the drive here in a good mood, and ended up completely pissed off,” I said.

“Walk with me,” he said, and led me away from the meeting room. “It is important that in a board meeting, you conduct yourself with a certain amount of decorum.”

I frowned at him. “I’ll try.”

“This is one of those times when being calm and deliberate will win more battles than outrage,” he said. It was weird, because he wasn’t talking down to me, he was trying to explain the strategy I needed to use.

“I’ll do better now that you told me that,” I said with a smile. He patted the side of my arm and I followed him into the boardroom. There were name tags and packets for us on the table. I noticed that I was in between Dad and Grandmaman, but Grand winked at me and swapped my tag with my father’s so I was in between Grand and Dad. That made me giggle, and largely brought me out of my bad mood.

Everyone dutifully took their seats and began to scan the agenda and the board packets. We were seated around a large board table that looked like a rectangle with a bulge in the middle. Stef sat at one head of the table while Grand was on his right. I giggled to myself thinking that this was just the opposite of how they sat at Escorial. I was next to Grand, followed by Dad and Grandmaman. Craig Arundel sat at the opposite end of the table from Stef with Claire to his right, followed by Evelyn, Harvey, and Fireside. Stef gave everyone a few seconds to get situated then he opened the meeting. “Welcome,” he said. “We have two new Board members joining us for the first time, so I will let them introduce themselves.” That kind of threw me for a loop, since I’d expected Stef to do that for me, so I almost panicked, scrambling to think of something to say.

Fortunately, Evelyn went first. “I’m Evelyn Somers, and I am one of the executive directors of Anders-Hayes,” she said cheerfully.

“Anders-Hayes?” Fireside asked. “What do they do?”

“Anders-Hayes is a Hollywood production company specializing in motion pictures,” she said to him succinctly. Her tone had changed completely to one that was very firm and formal. The transition was impressive. She’d obviously had to deal with old asshole men a lot in her career, and she was clearly explaining to him she wasn’t putting up with any crap.

“How many executive directors do you have?” he demanded.

“There are three of us, and we run Anders-Hayes as a team,” she replied.

“Well welcome,” he said. His attitude completely changed my strategy.

Stef looked at me. “I’m Will Schluter,” I said. They waited, expecting me to say more, but I figured that anything I said would just expose me as a punk rookie.

“You’re Stef’s grandson?” Fireside asked me. His tone was neutral with a hint of disdain for my youth and the nepotism that had gotten me onto this Board.

“I have that honor,” I said, almost mimicking Evelyn’s tone, and speaking like Alex Granger.

“It’s good to have you here,” Harvey said, nicely shutting things down.

“Thanks,” I said to him in a much friendlier way than I’d responded to Fireside.

“We have a full agenda,” Stef announced. “Mr. Arundel tendered his resignation to me on Friday, and I accepted it. He has since asked us to allow him to withdraw his resignation and to remain as the Director of the Foundation.”

“That’s good news,” Fireside said, and smiled at Craig.

“I turned in my resignation because of the report you talked to me about,” Craig said to Stef. “When I read it, I realized that much of the problem was that the direction I had taken the Foundation was different than what this Board evidently wanted.” He was kind of being a dick. I didn’t get why Stef didn’t just shitcan him.

“Not all of it was about strategy,” I said. “A big part of that report was about how employees are treated here. They’re afraid to offer ideas or even speak their minds.”

“That’s surely hearsay,” Fireside said, squaring off with me. “This organization pays its employees above margin wages and gives them a top-tier benefits package. I know, because I’ve complained about that every time compensation comes up. They’re lucky to have their jobs.”

“It’s not about money, especially at a non-profit like this,” I said. “They’re more about having an impact and making a change. And according to them, it sucks here. Everyone is a drone.”

“I think that is an unfair characterization of how our employees feel, and quite frankly, a formal survey would yield more accurate results,” Craig objected. “I consult with the staff constantly, and the plans we develop are developed together.”

I opened the report and read one of the quotes Jake had written down. “When we meet with Craig, he doesn’t want to hear what we think; he just tells us what to do and expects us to do it. If we raise objections, his face turns as cold as ice and he just stares at us. It’s more effective than just saying ‘shut the fuck up’.”

“It’s part of their job to follow directives,” Fireside argued. “What are you, 18? Where did you get all this management experience.”

I looked at him, letting him see my total anger. “Do not patronize me,” I said to him loudly, going just to Grand’s maximum volume level. “Don’t throw your Theory X management bullshit at me. That’s totally ineffective with an educated workforce.” He blanched when I did that, even as he glared at me. Grand patted my leg in a supportive way.

“That only emphasizes my point. Since we don’t know who said that, we have no idea if it is true,” Craig said smugly.

“If you read the report, you would see that names were not included to remove the threat of retaliation,” Dad said coldly. “It was the only way to get people to speak freely.”

“Then it is worthless,” Fireside alleged.

“It is not,” Stef disagreed. “As the chairman of this Board, I spoke to Mr. Pike and he told me who said what. I pledged those identities would remain confidential, and that is how they will stay.”

“Shouldn’t we as a Board vote on that?” Fireside asked.

“We can if you would like,” Stef said, and looked around the table. The way he did that, it was clear that he expected everyone to support him, and the looks he got back from them must have convinced him that he was right.

“Let’s table that for now,” Fireside said.

“So back to the agenda. This Board must first consider this report and decide whether to rehire Mr. Arundel, and then discuss a new resolution designed to give the Board more involvement in how we spend our money,” Stef said.

“I don’t have the time to do that,” Harvey said, referring to the new resolution. “I can’t spend every waking hour going through proposals.”

“That resolution takes the spending equation completely out of the hands of management,” Arundel noted.

“Then we will address that when we get to that agenda topic,” Stef said then looked at Craig. “As this Board prepares to consider the report and your retention, it is appropriate for you to leave the meeting.” Watching Stef like this, where he was firmly guiding this meeting along, was an amazing experience. His normal more flippant self was entirely set aside.

“I will do as you wish, but I think it would have been fairer if I were here to discuss the results of the report,” Craig replied.

“I think that is reasonable,” Grandmaman said, which surprised me. It was like she was suddenly on Team Craig.

“I think that if Craig is allowed to stay for that discussion, it is important that Jake Pike also be here to explain it,” I said.

“Those are unrelated issues,” Fireside argued.

“I move that this Board ask Mr. Arundel to leave this room so the Board can go into executive session,” Stef said firmly. He was clearly unwilling to let this meeting go down some rabbit hole.

“I will second that,” Grand said. Faced with that dynamic, the vote passed, and Craig left the room. He looked furious when he did.

“It is important that we retain talented people, especially in the top leadership position,” Fireside said as soon as Craig was gone.

“I agree, but this report posits that Mr. Arundel has not been an effective leader,” Dad said. “As Stefan has confirmed that the comments are legitimate, I think we need to consider if he is capable of moving this organization forward.”

“The Board has been happy with his performance up until this report was issued,” Claire noted. No one seemed surprised that she spoke up for him, not even the independent directors.

“I would like to comment on this situation,” Grand said. The meeting had been a bit rough and tumble, but as soon as he took the floor, everyone calmed down and paid attention. “I am looking at this situation and thinking that it is much like a damaged personal relationship, only in this case the parties are not a romantically involved couple, but consist of this Board, Mr. Arundel, and the employees.”

“I’m not following you,” Harvey said. He didn’t seem all that patient.

“Perhaps you would if you heard me out,” Grand said with a hint of snarkiness, then continued. “Sometimes when there is a disagreement the relationship looks like it might be able to mend itself, and sometimes the relationship is irreparably damaged. In my opinion, much of that revolves around the willingness of all parties to adapt to one another and agree on changes to make things better; of individuals to offer and accept apologies; and of people on the periphery who have been damaged to forgive. In my opinion, without those elements, the relationship is doomed.” It was hard to figure out if he was talking to us about our love lives or if he was talking about the Foundation. If he was talking about our love lives, he was he most likely referring to Claire and me. I met Claire’s eyes and could see how tormented his words made her. Had Jack asked her to forgive him? Had she turned him down, letting her pride overrule her feelings, or was she truly done with him? Was she really into Craig, or was he just a rebound?

“Tie this together for me,” Harvey prompted. He’d said that much more nicely than his first comment.

“In this case, the report indicates significant concerns that this Board should find problematic. There has been no acknowledgment on the part of Mr. Arundel that he has done anything wrong or bears any responsibility when he clearly has. I see no inclination on his part to even ask those working for the Foundation to forgive his errors. It appears that the employees of this foundation no longer trust him, and they are unlikely to change their attitude if he doesn’t change his. More than that, I think that relationship is so damaged that it is impossible for him to inspire the employees at all. If we retain him in his position, he will be unable to lead, and without any effort on his part, he will not be forgiven.”

“Why should he ask them for forgiveness?” Fireside challenged. “He’s the Director. It’s their job to listen to him.”

“Is that how your personal relationships are, where you just issue commands and expect to be obeyed?” I challenged. “I mean, unless you’re into BDSM, that’s pretty twisted.”

“This isn’t about my relationships,” he said to me nastily.

“I think this foundation needs a Director who knows what this Board wants, who appreciates the employees who work for him or her, and who will motivate them to achieve the Foundation’s goals,” Dad said. “I do not think that Craig Arundel is capable of doing that. Therefore, I move that the Foundation thank him for his past service and accept his resignation.”

“I’ll second that,” I said hastily, proud of myself for being Mr. Robert's Rules of Order.

“There is a motion on the table,” Stef said. “Do we need more discussion, or have we made up our minds?” He looked at every Board member individually and got a nod. Stef turned to the secretary and addressed her. “Ms Lyman, will you repeat the motion, then call the roll?”

“Certainly Mr. Schluter,” she said. “Motion has been made to acknowledge Mr. Arundel’s past service to this Foundation but to decline his request to withdraw his resignation, thus terminating his employment. Isidore Hayes?”

“I vote no,” Grandmaman said. “I am inclined to give people second chances.”

“Bradley Schluter?” she asked.

“I vote aye,” he said.

“William Schluter?”

“Yes,” I said succinctly. I got a dirty look from Fireside for not using the archaic ‘aye’, but I didn’t give a shit.

“Dr. Crampton?”

“I vote aye,” he said. Stef gestured his head, asking her to skip him, so she did.

“Randall Fireside?”

“I vote nay,” he said. “And quite frankly, if this passes, I will have to question whether I want to even serve on this Board.”

That was such a bullshit statement that it pissed me off enough to say something. “Then maybe we should rename it the ‘good riddance motion’.” Stef gave me a dirty look which shut me up. I apologized with my eyes for being a little bitch.

“Gavin Harvey?”

“I vote no,” he said.

“Evelyn Somers?”

“I abstain,” she said. “As this is my first Board meeting, I do not feel that I have enough background to vote for or against this proposal at this time.”

“We have 3 votes aye, 3 votes nay, and one abstention,” Ms Lyman said. “Claire Hobart?”

Everyone focused on Claire, and for the first time I noticed how she’d been struggling with this. She was clearly deep in thought. I looked at my watch and a full two minutes lapsed before she answered. “I vote yes. I do not think that, with the opposition Craig faces from this Board and from the employees of the Foundation, he can effectively direct it.” We all sat there stunned for about fifteen seconds.

“Stefan Schluter?” Ms Lyman asked.

“I will vote with my niece,” he said. And with that, Craig Arundel had been removed from the Foundation.