“Local boy made good, Vietnam hero, Harvard scholar who returned to Hartford to build up the bank with his closest friend. Even throw in your cross-country experience—the nation is going through a bout of jogging mania at the moment—and one or two of them might even be shareholders. And if anyone wants to interview you from Cycling News to Knitting Weekly, just say yes.”
“And who will I be up against?” asked Nat. “The chairman of Fairchild’s?”
“No, I
don’t think so,” said Logan, “Murray Goldblatz is an astute banker, but they won’t risk putting him on television.”
“Why not?” asked Tom. “He’s been the chairman of Fairchild’s for over twenty years, and he’s one of the most respected financiers in the business.”
“I agree, chairman,” said Logan. “But don’t forget that he had a heart attack a couple of years back, and worse, he stutters. It may not worry you because you’ve become used to it over the years, but the chances are that if he goes on television, the public will only see him once. He may be the most respected banker in the state, but stuttering spells dithering. Unfair, but you can be sure that they’ll have thought that through.”
“So I guess it will be Wesley Jackson, my opposite number?” mused Nat. “He’s about the most articulate banker I’ve come up against. I even offered him a place on our board.”
“You may well have,” said Logan. “But he’s black.”
“This is 1988,” said Nat angrily.
“I’m aware of that,” said Logan, “but well over ninety percent of your shareholders are white, and they will have taken that into consideration as well.”
“So who do you think they’ll put up?” asked Nat.
“I don’t have any doubt that you’ll be up against Ralph Elliot.”
“So the Republicans have ended up endorsing Barbara Hunter after all,” said Fletcher.
“Only because no one else wanted to run against you,” Jimmy replied. “Once they realized you were nine points ahead in the polls.”
“I hear they begged Ralph Elliot to throw his hat in the ring, but he said he couldn’t consider it while he was in the middle of a takeover bid for Russell’s Bank.”
“A good excuse,” said Jimmy, “but there was no way that man would have allowed his name to go forward unless he knew he had a reasonable chance of beating you. Did you see him on television last night?”
“Yes,” said Fletcher with a sigh, “and if I hadn’t known better, I might have fallen for that ‘be assured of your future by joining the largest, safest and most respected bank in the state.’ He’s lost none of his old charisma. I only hope your father didn’t fall for it.”
“No, Harry’s already pledged his one percent to Tom Russell, and is telling everyone else to do the same thing, though he was shocked when I told him how much his shares were worth.”
Fletcher laughed. “I see the financial journalists are speculating that both sides now have around forty percent, with only another week to go before the offer closes.”
“Yes, it’s going to be close. I only hope Tom Russell realizes just how dirty it will become now that Ralph Elliot is involved,” said Fletcher.
“I couldn’t have made it clearer,” said Jimmy quietly.
“When was this sent out?” Nat asked as the rest of the board studied the latest missive circulated to all shareholders by Fairchild’s.
“It’s dated yesterday,” said Logan, “which means we have three days left to respond, but by then I fear the damage will have been done.”
“Even I wouldn’t have believed Elliot was capable of sinking this low,” said Tom as he studied the letter signed by Murray Goldblatz:
Things you didn’t know about Nathaniel Cartwright,
the Chief Executive of Russell’s Bank
—Mr. Cartwright was neither born nor raised in Hartford;
—he was rejected by Yale after cheating in the entrance exam;
—he left the University of Connecticut without a degree, after losing the election for student president;
—he was sacked from J P Morgan after losing the bank $500,000;