Aces and Knaves

Hyde Park."
    James frowned. "Michael assured me he was dependable. That's what happens when you delegate. I understand he botched the job. He wasn't supposed to get rough. I hope you and Arrow didn't get badly hurt." He looked at the bruise on my cheek, still evident, as if spotting it for the first time. "But I heard you sent him away screaming."
    "Arrow did."
    "That girl's got more balls than any of the testosterone-challenged boys on my staff. It's too bad she's a...girl. I'd love to have her work for me."
    "I'll tell her that. But I want you to promise me that no harm will come to Seamus."
    "Oh, Seamus is safe enough from me. There's no point in locking the barn door after the manure is gone. I assume he told you bad things about me in connection with the Dickie Stewart incident."
    "They weren't complimentary."
    "There was never any love lost between Seamus and me. But you can't believe everything he tells you—just as you can't believe everything Michael tells you."
    I saw no point in going into the details of what either one had told me so I kept quiet.
    "Next topic," James said. "I understand you got your baseball card."
    "I haven't actually received it yet, but I expect to soon. But I want to talk to you about that. Since I can't afford it, why don't we turn around and resell it."
    "It's your card so your decision. But I suspect that you won't get your money back with too quick a sale. It's got to age for a while, like fine wine. And as far as what you owe me, that's easily settled. All I need from you is one little favor."
    I had walked into his parlor and was entangled in his web, so what could I do but listen?
    James appeared to gather his thoughts and then said, "If I have any investment philosophy it's to stay flexible. The approach I take varies from company to company. With some companies, I'm content to take a minority interest. In other cases I've purchased a controlling interest in a privately held company. The trickiest thing to do is to acquire a controlling interest in a publicly-held corporation because you usually have to battle management."
    "Why would you want to do that?" I asked.
    "There are companies with untapped potential. For example, they might have products that aren't being marketed properly. Profits could be greatly increased with the proper management. But when management is the problem, naturally the managers object to being replaced. That's why it's necessary to gain control of the company."
    "And you feel that Dionysus is one of these companies." Isn't that what he was leading up to?
    "Nothing against your father or Ned, God rest his soul." James sipped his drink through a straw and looked out at the ant-like cars crawling over the Bay Bridge. "As you know, I've known Ned all my life. I took an interest in Dionysus at the time Richard brought Ned into the company and I've watched it ever since.
    "I never invested in Dionysus because I wanted to stay at arms-length from Ned, for personal reasons. But he and Richard did a brilliant job of growing the company. However, recently I felt they missed some bets."
    "Is that when you started buying Dionysus stock?"
    "Yes. Once they began to make mistakes, any obligation I had to Ned to stay out of his life ended. In the corporate world, management has a responsibility to increase value for the shareholders. If I can do it better than the current management, then the shareholders benefit if I take over the company."
    "If," I said, marveling at his hubris. "But who's to decide if you're the knight in shining armor who is going to save the company?"
    "The shareholders. By voting either for me or the current management."
    "If you take over Dionysus, what is going to happen to my father, uh, Richard?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
    "Richard has had a good run. The package he would get would put him on Easy Street. His stock would be worth more because I would pay him a premium over the market for his shares. He would be able to recover his health without the stress of business to worry about. He would live a good life. I think his new wife..."
    "Jacie."
    "Jacie would appreciate it too. They would have more time together. They could travel..."
    "Sail off into the sunset. What about the other employees?"
    "We'll need all of them to keep Dionysus growing."
    "Including Arrow?"
    "Including Arrow. I've got big plans for her, believe it or not."
    I took a rain check on that one. "Okay, where do I fit into this?"
    James leaned forward in his