Softener Chapter 2

Softener

Chapter 2

There are certain skies, on certain days, made for men with corner offices.

At least that’s what men with the corner offices believe.

This was not one of those days for Ted Cross, who worked in a corner office facing southwest on the 27th floor of the Helmsley building in Manhattan. It was storming. The clouds were such that Ted couldn’t see six inches past the glass. He hated days like this.

It was early in the morning, not even seven. Maybe, he thought to himself, the clouds would roll away when the sun started to rise, and he would get to watch his little dots.

The little dots are what Ted called the people he could see down below. It wasn’t that he enjoyed how it made him feel bigger than everyone, though it did. Ted preferred to think of everyone, including himself, as insignificant. To him, life was all about attaining the best views, and most of the time Ted felt like he’d accomplished that.

But on stormy days like the one in March he was presently experiencing, Ted had a tough time enjoying being that high up. Through the clouds, all Ted could see was his own reflection, and he thought he looked pathetic. Behind the tailored suit, the 30k wristwatch, and $100 haircut, he was, of course, empty. Making lots of money had been his only hope for enjoying life, and it inevitably was not appearing to work.

All day long, Ted did calculations in his head. If he invests x amount into y stock, over z years, if he moves up the ladder a little further, maybe, maybe, he could afford to live like some of his bosses. But it was doubtful. And even then, what would be any different in his life?

When it was sunny, Ted didn’t have as many thoughts like this. At least not until the night. Then it was a matter of getting the right drugs and alcohol mixture into his system until he inevitably woke up the next morning ready to vomit and then hit the gym.

Ted hardly registered the speaker buzzing on his desk behind him until the voice of his secretary pierced through his daymare.

“Ted, there’s a Michael Sloan for you on line one.”

Michael Sloan… What’s it been, 10 years?

Ted quickly went to pick up the phone, eager for the distraction.

“Michael?”

“Hey, Ted!  What’s it been, ten years?”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“How’ve you been?”

“Oh, you know. Grinding away. It’s a cloudy day here in Midtown.”

“You still living the bachelor life?”

“Oh yeah. Haven’t spoken to Marsha in about a year.”

“But you’re still getting out there.”

“Trying to. How about you? Still enjoying cutting people open?”

“I’ll never tire of it.”

“And how’s Joan?”

“She’s fine. I’ve been trying to find a way to ask her something, recently.”

“Oh? What’s that.”

“I want her to buy this new fabric softener. Winding Road ? They sell it at Right Life. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

Ted hadn’t heard of it.

“Sure I have. So what’s the problem? Why can’t you just ask her to buy it?”

“Well, you know Joan. She can be a bit finicky about things like this.”

Ted had always remembered Joan being pretty relaxed and level-headed. Maybe things were different behind closed doors.

“This can’t be why you’re calling, Michael.”

“Well, not exactly. I was wondering if you’d be interested in coming out to Cleveland for dinner.”

Cleveland for dinner? Had Michael lost his mind?

“For dinner? That’s quite a trip.”

“Well, you’re always bragging about how they give you access to the jet at work. Why don’t you just take a trip out here for the evening? You’ll be back in New York before dessert digests.”

“And why am I coming out there? Besides to see you two.”

“Well, I’d love for you to talk some sense into Joan. About how great Winding Road is.”

Ted paused for a minute. He didn’t want to tell his friend he was sounding like a loon, but he also didn’t want to fly out to Cleveland for dinner.

“Michael, I’ve actually never tried that fabric softener before. I typically get my stuff dry cleaned.”

“Oh, Ted. You have to try it. I mean, I haven’t gotten to try it, but the commercials…Ted, they’re incredible.”

“Alright, bud. Well I’ve gotta get back to work. I’ll look into coming out to visit soon. Or, hey, you guys can come out here if you want. Got plenty of space in the guest bedroom.”

“Sure, sure. And if you come out here you know Joan’s brother still runs our Four Seasons. He’d be happy to get you a room on the house.”

“Oh, I forgot. Yeah, that sounds nice.”

“Ted, just make sure you try the fabric softener first.”

Ted heard Michael hang up the phone. He shook his head.

Surgeons, he thought to himself

After requesting a second cup of coffee, Ted decided to check out how his team was doing in the bullpen.

Ted’s team was made up of three analysts (Frank Shaw, Al Richardson, and Liza Bothell),  two lawyers (Ian Washington and Celeste Ewing) , an accountant (Mike Prescott), a PR Rep (Paul Cho), and four interns whose names Ted hadn’t learned yet.

Together, they worked for the law firm Lionel & Partners on behalf of its client, Right Life. Their job was to anticipate legal trouble and lawsuits that Right Life might incur in the future.

Ted approached Frank, his lead analyst.

“Hey, Frank. How’s the morning?”

“We’ve had better ones, we’ve had worse. Personally, I’ve gotta remember that gin is not meant for Tuesday nights.”

“No, it certainly is not.” Ted chuckled.

“Listen, I wanted to ask if you’ve heard of this Winding Road brand coming to Right Life. I guess they make fabric softener?”

Frank’s face suddenly grew a look of concern.

“Oh, we’ve definitely heard of it. And they make a hell of a lot more than fabric softener. To be honest, we were all hoping you’d come down and explain to us what’s been going on.”

“Why, what has been going on?”

“Well, it seems like Right Life has been making some major purchases of Winding Road brand products.”

“How major?”

“…It’s not insignificant.”

Ted looked at Frank, hoping for more than that, but Frank just shrugged.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?”

“We thought you knew.”

“Alright, everyone listen up.” Ted raised his voice so everyone else could hear, though they’d all already been at least half listening to the conversation.

“Your job is to assume that I know nothing. If Right Life starts selling a new brand that we don’t know anything about, your job is to tell me. Your job is to sprint down the fucking hall to my office screaming at me. I shouldn’t have to get a phone call from a guy I haven’t seen in ten fucking years telling me to try a new fucking fabric softener we carry. Do I make myself clear?”

The team nods their heads. A few “yes’s” are murmured.

“Now, what can you tell me about this brand Winding Road?”

“Well, it…” Frank began before Ted interrupted him.

“Not you.”

“If I may,” started Liza Bothell. Ted nodded at her.

“They originated out of New Mexico last year where they currently have four plants. There are talks of planning to expand their manufacturing to the east coast next quarter.”

“ Next quarter? Do they have any other retail partners?”

Liza shook her head “Just us.”

“Well, fuck me. Mike, how much are we in for here?”

“It’s hard to say, because nobody from the home office has returned my requests for their spending reports, but….”

“Just give me your best guess.”

“Millions, for sure. Maybe more. I just got an email this morning announcing that Right Life is freezing all compensatory agreements pending appeal. I assume it is to cover their Winding Road purchases.”

Ted let out a deep sigh, then grabbed the golf putter that the team kept in the hallway. Ted jokingly pretended to hit Frank over the head with it, and a few people laughed nervously. After pacing to the window and back, Ted finally spoke up.

“Guys, this is not sounding good. I’m going to try and get somebody from Right Life on the phone about this. In the meantime, stay focused and please God tell me if something else happens. Frank, come with me.”

Frank and Ted walked silently to Ted’s office. Ted motioned Frank to the chair across from his desk.

“Frank, you know I like you. You’re the first person I hired here. I trust you, and more importantly, I respect you.”

“But…”

“But how the fuck did you let something like this happen without telling me?”

“Something like what, Ted? It’s the purchase of a product line. Retailers do it all the time.”

“Not this one, Frank. Not Right Life. If this retailer, Right Life, is making purchases it means everything is fucked.”

“And how’s that?”

“You wouldn’t understand. And for that, I can’t blame you, because if you did you’d be facing prison time. But if nobody from the home office knows about this then I might have to fire you.”

Frank looked taken aback.

“Fire me? Ted, come on. I’ve been with you since the beginning.

“Well, this might be the end. For both of us.”

“Why?”

“Tell me, Frank. How much do you know about Right Life? Tell me what they do.”

Frank sighed for a minute, before reciting the mission statement of Right Life.

“Right Life’s mission is to provide quality foods, produce, and home goods for everyday people. Our prices and goods are to be a reflection of…”

“Fuck the mission statement. That’s a bunch of horseshit for onboarding and investors. I want you to tell me what they do.”

“Um, they build, operate, and manage grocery stores.”

“That’s true. Do you know why?”

“Because it lets them make a lot of money?”

“That certainly doesn’t hurt. But no. They do it because it lets them hide a lot of money.”

“Oh.”

“Right. Which means if they’re spending a lot of money on something new, they are probably also hiding something new. Something illegal. Or dangerous to the company, and us.”

“So, what do we do?”

Ted picked up his desk phone and started dialing.

“I’m going to call Lionel and see what he has to say about this Winding Road brand.”

After a moment, the call picked up.

“Hi, this is Theodore Riggs calling from the Helmsley Building in Manhattan. I was hoping to get a minute with Mr. Grace. Is he…I see, so when do you expect him…well, it’s pretty important I’m not sure a message will convey….alright, alright. Just tell him to call me back.

Ted hung up the phone and looked out the window.

“He’s out for the next week. Corporate retreat.  A couple people from the firm are there.”

“But not you?”

“Always keep the dirt away from the vacuum until absolutely necessary.”

“I don’t think that’s an expression.”

“It is in this case.”

“Ted, don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? I mean…”

Ted shot Frank a look and he piped down. Ted turned back and kept looking out the window.

“So what do we do now?” Asked Frank.

Ted thought for a moment.

“You and I are going to Cleveland for dinner.”