Original Sin

‘Not now, darling,’ said Meredith quickly. ‘We’re wanted on the terrace. I can smell the ham from here and you know Dolly cooks such a wonderful fourth of July ham.’

Liz pushed the door closed and turned to face them, her mouth set. ‘What do you two have to tell me?’ she asked more forcefully, a sensation of fear punching her in the chest.

‘Liz, please. It’s a holiday.’

Liz turned to William, who seemed to shrink as she looked at him. ‘Well, then?’ she asked her brother. ‘Perhaps you’ll tell me.’

William ran his hand through his hair.

‘We thought you should know ahead of the next board meeting that we’ve decided to discontinue Vital Radiance.’

Although Liz had been prepared for the announcement, she was still shocked and surprised.

‘All those suggestions I made to salvage VR from the marketing idiots,’ said Liz, ‘I assume they have not been actioned?’

‘Mother and I think it’s best for the company if we cut our losses.’

‘This is a board decision, William,’ replied Liz. She knew of course that between them William and Meredith owned the bulk of the shares and could effectively do anything they liked.

‘Liz, the decision has been made,’ said Meredith. ‘We made mistakes and we have to accept them.’

Liz snorted. ‘Vital Radiance was a one–hundred–million–dollar launch. That’s an expensive mistake. In most companies, that would raise questions over leadership,’ she added, looking directly at William.

‘Come on, Liz,’ said Meredith. ‘We need to look forward now, not back. We have to take a long view about where the company is going, how the industry is changing, and our place within it.’

Liz caught her look over at William again. ‘Meaning …? ’

William went and sat on the chaise longue by the window. ‘Liz, we have tried to turn the company around and we’ve had some successes. But the fact of the matter is that five years ago we had sales of almost a billion dollars. Today it is four hundred million dollars.’

‘I know the figures,’ she snapped.

William stood up again and began pacing around the room as Meredith began to speak. Liz felt as if they were trying to assault her on both sides.

‘In which case, you don’t need me to remind you that the company is saddled with debt,’ said Meredith. ‘Skin Plus has cost us a fortune to launch. For longer–term growth we need liquidity. And the best way to obtain that is to sell a share in the company.’

‘How much of a share?’ said Liz, the sinking feeling growing in her stomach. ‘How much?’ she shouted.

William and Meredith kept silent, but they didn’t need to speak. Liz knew exactly how much. A majority share. These idiots were going to lose control of the family company rather than admit their failures. Rather than hand the reins to her, let her turn the company around, they preferred to roll over and die.

‘Bruno Harris has been sniffing around for a long time,’ said William. ‘I think we should talk to him.’ Bruno Harris was a prominent Manhattan corporate raider. His investment vehicle, Canopus Capital, was known for buying up ailing companies, breaking them up, then selling them on for profit.

‘Harris knows Asgill is a strong brand name and that the perfume division is doing well. He told me he thinks The Balm can be converted into a multi–billion–dollar brand like Olay Beauty Fluid. I am going to propose at the board meeting that we enter into negotiations for a majority sale.’

Liz did a quick calculation in her head. Traditionally, sales of cosmetics companies were one to two times the amount of sales turnover. Liz estimated it would be nearer one rather than two, as Asgill’s was a fading, debt–laden company and someone like Harris would take advantage of that. If the family sold a fifty–one per cent, share, it would realize around two hundred million dollars, putting her share at only ten million bucks. She could barely buy a Hamptons beach house with that! Struggling to contain her anger, Liz turned to her mother.

‘We are a family company,’ she said in a low voice, ‘and it should stay in the family, growing for the next generation. There are ways to do that.’

Meredith shook her head sadly. ‘Of course it’s a family company, Liz, and no one is more ambitious for this family,’ she said. ‘When William says majority sale, what we are talking about is more of a regroup.’

Liz felt unnerved by that use of the word we. What had she and William been cooking up?

‘A regroup?’

‘We both feel that Skin Plus has enormous potential.’

Liz’s eyes widened. She looked at them both disbelievingly. This wasn’t happening. They couldn’t be serious? Were they really talking about hijacking her business?

‘We want to spin off the Skin Plus business,’ explained William, avoiding her furious gaze. ‘Harris doesn’t particularly want it anyway, and if it’s included in the deal, it will push the price too high. So our plan is to sell him the rest of the business and use the capital to expand Skin Plus aggressively. We’re talking international growth within twelve months; it can be our platform for a more modern, more up–market family company.’