THE BRIDGE TO CARACAS (Volume 1 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 23

A week later, a messenger of the courts presented Mike with Barbara's petition for divorce. The document alleged that the reason for the breakup of the marriage was that the husband of the petitioner had been mentally cruel. It further alleged that his cruelty had resulted in intolerable mental and emotional stress and anxiety for the petitioner.

Barbara moved out of the house, taking Kerri and most of the furniture to a luxurious two-bedroom apartment in north Toronto.

Mike wept. He wept because he was alone once again, because Kerri had been taken from him, because his marriage had been an enormous failure. It would be easy to blame the whole thing on Barbara, and yet he felt responsible.

After months of adversarial contact between the lawyers acting for Barbara and Mike, a settlement was concluded. It ordered that Barbara would retain custody of Kerri and be awarded all of the net proceeds from the sale of the matrimonial home, which Mike was ordered to offer for sale forthwith. It further provided for generous child support and alimony payments to Barbara. Mike was granted reasonable visitation privileges.

After their country home sold, Mike rented a one bedroom apartment close to his office and, in an attempt to forget, plunged deeper into his work.

Mike had always known that XG Petroleums walked a tightrope between success and failure. His worst fears had lately become a reality. Facing prolonged and intolerable gasoline surpluses, the refiners had decided to protect their investments in retail gasoline facilities and restore the dignity of their brands, once and for all. Until then, they had watched passively as independents proliferated in all markets, even those that had once been considered the majors' private domain. By posting brutally competitive retail prices, the refiners moved to recapture the huge and growing price-sensitive segment of the retail gasoline market.

The outcome was massive and prolonged price wars. The enormous profits the independents had once enjoyed evaporated in a matter of weeks. For highly leveraged XG Petroleums, the fallout was immediate and massive. The only attractive feature of the company had been price competitiveness, and it had lost its edge.

The arithmetic of the new situation was ominous. If IFB retained its fifty percent interest in XG, it would lose millions. Even worse, Darcy Bell's fifty percent interest in the company compelled him to make up fifty percent of the losses. A prolonged continuation of hyper-competitive market conditions would almost certainly bankrupt him, leaving IFB with one hundred percent of the catastrophe.

"We have the makings of a major catastrophe here, Mike," Owen Christian declared, stomping back and forth in front of his desk. "Unless something is done about that company fast, one of us is going to be extremely embarrassed." Christian stopped his pacing and pointed an accusing finger at Mike. "And it isn't going to be me. I told you before and I'll tell you again. I'm not going to be the one who takes the hit for XG. I don't care how you do it, but I want IFB out of this deal and I want it done soon. I don't think I have to remind you that your future is riding on how you handle it."

Mike was torn between rage and regret, unable to express either. It was embarrassing to watch a man for whom he once had a great deal of respect covering his ass in such a pathetic, bullying manner. Christian had been delighted with the enormous gasoline volume the XG acquisition had given to IFB, and he had gloated upon announcing that the fuel oil supply of IFB had been saved. And Christian's signature was on the acquisition proposal, the same as Mike's. His initial inclination was to remove Christian's teeth, but he elected instead to swallow his pride. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Owen," he said, gritting his teeth. "I accept the challenge."

Christian's face reddened. "You're damn right you accept the challenge! You have no choice!"

"Would you mind doing me a favor?" Mike asked.