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Authors: Craig Hickman
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serious questions about the project’s continuity. Then, all we have to do is postpone Kresge & Company’s presentation.”
“Too risky,” Quinn said, getting up again and wrapping his towel around his waist. “Kresge’s already trying to convince the board that Fielder’s absence is not a factor. We need to put his competence in question. But it can’t appear as if I’m pulling the strings.”
“How do you expect to place his competence in question?” Tate asked, egging him on.
“I’ll need your help,” Quinn replied without prevarication, “Yours and Kamin’s.”
Perfect, Tate thought, he’s exactly where I want him to be. He leaned over his knees, remaining silent for several moments. Then he looked up at Quinn. “What do you want me to do?”
“If you were to raise certain questions about the Fielder family, suggesting that Charles may have suffered a mental breakdown and that the entire family had been in turmoil for some time, it would raise doubts about Wilson’s judgment on the Musselman project.”
“How would that play when I was the one who recommended his father’s firm instead of Kresge & Company in the first place?” Tate said, pretending to be reluctant.
“You simply tell them that you had no idea about Charles’ condition until you received certain information from one of his closest associates. Here’s where you’ll need to take some creative license. You could say that a confidential source told you that Charles Fielder has had mental stability issues for years. In recent months, his son Wilson had become increasingly troubled, even obsessed, over his father’s condition, displaying evidence of the same mental instability. It runs in the family. Bringing down the CEO of a large corporation and then dismantling his company are merely manifestations of Wilson’s self-destructive behavior and a deep-seated rebelliousness toward authority. He’s seeing a psychologist, which is true, by the way. His girlfriend is a psychologist. He’d become suicidal himself. His judgment on the Kresge project has to be questioned. Turn up the heat on Wilson Fielder,” Quinn said as he sat down again.
Tate sat in quiet admiration, his back pressed against the tiles. Very impressive, he thought to himself. Quinn had definitely done his homework on Wilson Fielder. Heart-felt motivation was such a beautiful thing. He was more than happy to let Quinn do the talking.
“Jules Kamin could add to the concerns about Wilson Fielder’s competence,” Quinn said. “If he could show how a breakup of Musselman will decrease rather than increase shareholder value, over the next five years, it would cast even more doubt on the project.”
Tate stood up and walked over to the ice-cold drench one more time, putting Quinn on a different kind of ice. As he stood there, his thoughts turned to Vargas. She had accurately assessed Quinn’s core obsession and now he’d confirmed it. There were no more lingering doubts about his ability to manipulate David Quinn. Tate walked back to the tile bench and sat down. It was time to see just how far Quinn would go.
“We may have to create some additional evidence to support our claims of incompetence,” Tate said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Wilson Fielder mismanaged this project from the beginning. Whatever we have to do to convince the board of his incompetence is fine with me.”
“What if Wilson comes back to defend himself?”
“Then, we’ll play hardball.”
“What are you thinking?” Tate asked, making Quinn specify exactly what he was willing to do.
“We’ll sue Kresge & Company for gross mismanagement of the project and demand damages of ten times their two million dollars in fees,” Quinn said with anger.
Tate pushed further, “What if Wilson decides to play hardball?”
“Then, maybe his family will have to suffer again,” Quinn said, standing up once more and turning around to face Tate. “Nothing physical you understand, just some
“Too risky,” Quinn said, getting up again and wrapping his towel around his waist. “Kresge’s already trying to convince the board that Fielder’s absence is not a factor. We need to put his competence in question. But it can’t appear as if I’m pulling the strings.”
“How do you expect to place his competence in question?” Tate asked, egging him on.
“I’ll need your help,” Quinn replied without prevarication, “Yours and Kamin’s.”
Perfect, Tate thought, he’s exactly where I want him to be. He leaned over his knees, remaining silent for several moments. Then he looked up at Quinn. “What do you want me to do?”
“If you were to raise certain questions about the Fielder family, suggesting that Charles may have suffered a mental breakdown and that the entire family had been in turmoil for some time, it would raise doubts about Wilson’s judgment on the Musselman project.”
“How would that play when I was the one who recommended his father’s firm instead of Kresge & Company in the first place?” Tate said, pretending to be reluctant.
“You simply tell them that you had no idea about Charles’ condition until you received certain information from one of his closest associates. Here’s where you’ll need to take some creative license. You could say that a confidential source told you that Charles Fielder has had mental stability issues for years. In recent months, his son Wilson had become increasingly troubled, even obsessed, over his father’s condition, displaying evidence of the same mental instability. It runs in the family. Bringing down the CEO of a large corporation and then dismantling his company are merely manifestations of Wilson’s self-destructive behavior and a deep-seated rebelliousness toward authority. He’s seeing a psychologist, which is true, by the way. His girlfriend is a psychologist. He’d become suicidal himself. His judgment on the Kresge project has to be questioned. Turn up the heat on Wilson Fielder,” Quinn said as he sat down again.
Tate sat in quiet admiration, his back pressed against the tiles. Very impressive, he thought to himself. Quinn had definitely done his homework on Wilson Fielder. Heart-felt motivation was such a beautiful thing. He was more than happy to let Quinn do the talking.
“Jules Kamin could add to the concerns about Wilson Fielder’s competence,” Quinn said. “If he could show how a breakup of Musselman will decrease rather than increase shareholder value, over the next five years, it would cast even more doubt on the project.”
Tate stood up and walked over to the ice-cold drench one more time, putting Quinn on a different kind of ice. As he stood there, his thoughts turned to Vargas. She had accurately assessed Quinn’s core obsession and now he’d confirmed it. There were no more lingering doubts about his ability to manipulate David Quinn. Tate walked back to the tile bench and sat down. It was time to see just how far Quinn would go.
“We may have to create some additional evidence to support our claims of incompetence,” Tate said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Wilson Fielder mismanaged this project from the beginning. Whatever we have to do to convince the board of his incompetence is fine with me.”
“What if Wilson comes back to defend himself?”
“Then, we’ll play hardball.”
“What are you thinking?” Tate asked, making Quinn specify exactly what he was willing to do.
“We’ll sue Kresge & Company for gross mismanagement of the project and demand damages of ten times their two million dollars in fees,” Quinn said with anger.
Tate pushed further, “What if Wilson decides to play hardball?”
“Then, maybe his family will have to suffer again,” Quinn said, standing up once more and turning around to face Tate. “Nothing physical you understand, just some
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