Hot Potato

51. Calming the Waters

There was no reply from Dunc, neither a call nor a text. Likely in a meeting, his phone off or silenced. After a minute or so, I asked Marcy, "Do you know which sign shop?"

"No, but Kevin might. The three of us were discussing designs before he left."

Half a minute later, in Kevin's office, he said, "The same one we used for the vinyl banners, Anchor Signs."

"We need him immediately; do you have their phone number?"

"Never needed to call." He pointed out the front. "A block and a half away, 3rd and Columbia. Faster if I run over and get him."

When Dunc arrived and had read the letter, he shook his head. "Appears they've used convoluted phrasing and obfuscation to dupe recipients into believing this is an interlocutory injunction." He tapped the page. "Even titled it as such, but it definitely isn't one; it's simply a notice of impending application. The BC Court rules state that no application shall be made until formal notice has been given to all other parties."

"So, with everyone notified, would they have applied?"

"From the tone of this, likely. But it would be seen by the Court as frivolous, defeating the first of their three-part test. Then, the second part – that irreparable harm will result if the injunction is not granted – is without merit, and the application would be denied. Plimpton's has received nothing but praise from those who mentioned them."

"But to do anything but praise them would be folly." I shrugged. "Our marketing pitch is that we're following Plimpton's very strong lead – continuing their vision."

"But that might be seen as trading on their reputation."

"By some, Marcy." Dunc folded the letter and gave it back to her. "And I suspect Mr Plimpton's lawyers have seen potential fees, rather than honesty. With the purchase of the company came its reputation. They're inseparable. That reputation is now ours. Ours to use to our best advantage."

"You need to explain all this to Cynthia." I thumbed my phone on, went to calls and tapped reply, then handed it to Dunc.

When he had finished the call and gave me my phone, I asked, "Did you ever meet him?"

"Meet whom?"

"Mr Plimpton."

"Yes, while I assessed the value of his mining and exploration companies, then later, negotiating in the boardroom. He seemed empty. Defeated."

I nodded. "Grieving."

"Yeah, his only child – gone. Built his empire for him. No reason for it anymore. Said it only reminded him."

"Now, the new mentions evoke the memories." I blew a deep breath. "For a long time, I couldn't look at the mountains – not even pictures of them – without renewed grieving."

"But, the picture of Tantalus on your wall?"

"Grandma gave me that to help bring closure."

We were silent for a while, then I said, "I wonder if there's any way we can ease this for him. Maybe have Cynthia tone down the use of formerly Plimpton's."

Suong, who had remained silently listening, said, "Or stop using it altogether. Most of the potential audience will have already seen the references and made the link. They'll spread the word, so there's little to be gained by our repeating. Besides, it's time to concentrate more on promoting you, Gianna. You're the restaurant now."

As the full impact of this began hitting me, Dunc said, "Suong's right, Gigi." Then he turned to Marcy. "Hand me that letter again, and I'll draft a reply for your approval. Something to smooth the waters. I'll send the three of you editing access to the doc, so we can tweak it."

In my office ten minutes later, I read the draft:

We now own the company that formerly traded as Plimpton's; thus, there is no legal reason for us to stop citing its legacy. 

However, out of respect for your client's feelings, we will cease mentioning that legacy and instruct our marketers to refrain from making reference to it.

Please convey our continuing deepest sympathies to your client.

Duncan McSweeny, LLM, MBA, AACI
Chief Financial Officer and Legal Counsel
the Hot Potato Group, inc.

I added a note to it:

Love the tone and the sentiment, but why the formal signature?

He replied:

To strut. Sort of a pissing game among lawyers. Besides, it'll show this isn't coming from an admin clerk.

Marcy added a note:

I like it. I say send it as it is.

Suong wrote:

Agree.

Dunc added:

Great! I'll paste it onto our letterhead and attach that to an email.

I reread the letter, marvelling at its simplicity and clarity – especially when compared to the bafflegab of the one from Mr Plimpton's lawyers. If they had simply said that the mentions trigger renewed grieving, we would have immediately understood, sympathised and complied.

My mind rambled through the many months of my own grieving, then I shook my head. But back to work. We've a chain-wide soft opening to organise.

<><><>

Points to consider in this chapter:

Dunc's analytical legal approach has diffused the situation. But is there more to this?

What does the group's decision show about them?

If you enjoyed this chapter, please click the star to let me and Wattpad know.