if they can do any reasoning with Miss Lovely.”
“Reasoning with her about what?” asked David.
“Reasoning with her about doing what’s best for the company.”
“How does having a boyfriend have anything to do with the company?” asked Walter.
I tried to answer so as to convince him. “The Lovely Chocolate Company has presented itself as a family-friendly company; it has the image of wholesomeness and trust and loyalty. It is also known worldwide and does business with who knows how many countries all over the world, mostly western, European countries, and in the Americas. If it got out that Miss Lovely was seeing someone…”
“Not just someone, a married man,” chimed in David.
“A married man with children, four children,” added Walter. “Four beautiful children.”
“Yes. Wouldn’t a scandal like this cause ripples in the Lovely Family-Oriented Chocolate Company?” asked David.
“Maybe. Perhaps. Who knows how this would affect the company,” I said.
“It might make their stock fall,” said Walter. “Call me jaded, but I doubt that people really care about that anymore.”
“Maybe not here, not as much as they would, say, 50 years ago, but what about around the world?”
“Around the world?” asked David. “How would they find out?”
“I don’t know,” I said. Then, offering possible answers: “The internet, probably. Radio. Television. Newspapers. Magazines. The Lovely Chocolate Company is a huge business, and its name means something.”
“And you’re going to walk right in to the board of directors, and tell them that Susan Lovely has a boyfriend, just like that,” smirked David.
“Not just like that. Something like that.”
“I don’t think I’d like to be there when you do,” said Walter.
“Well, I was hoping you fellows could give me a little feedback, tell me what to expect.”
“Expect to be laughed out of the boardroom,” said Walter. “They wouldn’t care if she dated a moose!”
“A chocolate moose,” cracked David.
Walter and David laughed at this. I suppressed a smile, but still felt a little concerned.
I continued, “What I’m thinking is, if they see the issue, if they hear what I’m saying, they might, perhaps, suggest to Miss Lovely to drop her boyfriend, for the sake of the company if nothing else.”
“These are businessmen. Money talks; everything else walks. If you can’t convince them it’s about the money, they won’t hear you,” muttered David.
“I was afraid of that.” I rubbed my head. “Anyway, I needed some feedback, and I got it. Thanks, fellows.”
Walter spoke up, “You know, you might have a point here, Randall. They can get in touch with her faster than we could, they have access to her, and they also have business with her. You might be on the right path.”
“I gotta get home,” said David, rising from the table. “When were you planning on seeing this board of directors?”
“They are meeting tomorrow at 2 p.m. I thought the sooner the better.”
“Will they let you into their meeting? How did you get in?” David asked.
“I contacted the CEO, a Mr. Hal Ostrander. They’ll give me three minutes, at the very beginning.”
David said, “You mean to tell me a multi-billion dollar company just lets anybody off the street come into its board meetings and talk about anything under the sun?”
“Not just anything,” I said. “About what’s best for the company. I told Mr. Ostrander what I had to say would directly affect his company’s sales, and when he heard that, he decided to give me three minutes.”
David and Walter looked at each other. “You’d better speak quickly, then,” said David. “The more information, the better.”
“Yeah,” said Walter. “You’ll have to spill all like an auctioneer, and hope they can keep up!”
“I’ll do the best I can. Thanks for coming over.” David headed to the front door.
“Wish I could help you with this,” said Dave, opening the door. “I’ll be working tomorrow. What about you?”
“I’m going to take a long lunch.” David looked at me as though he didn’t believe me. “They’re kind of used to my irregular schedules. They know I don’t miss deadlines; that’s all they care about.”
“Yeah, well…,“ said Dave, “your face is going to be known, now.”
“I’ll have to deal with that.”
“Helen once caused you a lot of grief. If she could see what you’re doing for her…”
“Helen is a victim, now.” David looked at me. I continued, “She needs our help.”
We shook hands, and he walked to his car and drove off. I shut the front door and went back to the kitchen table. Walter was still sitting, drinking from his cup, waiting for me to come back in.
“Well, you’ve got a big