KERRI'S WAR (Volume 3 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 30

Houston. Monday, December 17.

Ken Layton, perhaps appropriately dressed in a black suit, sat at his massive glass and stainless steel desk. He frowned and shook his head as he examined the results of Enerco's offer to purchase one hundred percent of the common stock of Iacardi and Sons. The good news was that ninety-seven percent of the stock had been tendered. The bad news was, just as Walter Deeks had predicted, Kerri King, the president of Iacardi and owner of three percent of Iacardi stock, had rejected the offer, rendering it invalid. The Iacardi Shareholders' Agreement was very clear on the subject of takeover offers: to validate such an offer, one hundred percent of the shares must be tendered.

He had two choices: abandon the offer, which he had no intention of doing, or find a way to get Kerri King to sign. With respect to Kerri King, he had two choices: accede to her demands, which he had no intention of doing, or force her to sign, which was precisely what he planned to do.

He turned to face Jeffery Wheeler. "We're going to phase two, Jeff," he said, expressionless. "I've already spoken to Peter Tavaris. He's getting things lined up to hit Miss King with a class action suit. That, by itself, might be enough to change her mind. I like our chances. He's using a great law firm, all of the players have been financially aggrieved, and they're with him, one hundred percent."

Wheeler wasn't convinced. "Let's make sure, take the gloves off, hit her with both barrels, then kick her when she's down."

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. Who's going to be the hit man?"

Wheeler pointed his index finger at his chest. "Me. It gives me pleasure to watch people squirm."

"Okay, you've got it, but be careful. She's smart. She could play hard ball. By now, I'm sure she knows Wilhelm Lentz is missing. She's probably concluded that his disappearance had something to do with her visit. Now if you show up with information about her private banking activities, she'll make the connection in a heart beat."

"I don't give a shit what she does. She can can look until hell freezes over, she'll never find the boys from Belarus, Lentz, his car, or his briefcase. She won't even get the law involved. She knows they'll ask questions, and those questions will ultimately lead to all that money she's been hiding in Lentz's bank."

Layton smiled. "I like the way you think. Do a good job on this. I want that woman on her knees, begging to sign."

Wheeler, energized and motivated, returned to his office and dialed the New York number of Iacardi & Sons. He asked to speak to Kerri King, and his call was transferred.

Kerri pushed her hair back and lifted the receiver to her ear. "Kerri King," she said.

"Miss King, my name is Jeffery Wheeler. I'm the chief operating officer of Enerco Inc., in Houston. I was wondering if you would be kind enough to spare me some of your valuable time. I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you. I'm prepared to fly to New York at a time that's convenient for you."

Kerri moved directly to what she assumed was Wheeler's point. "I assume you want to talk about Enerco's offer to purchase Iacardi, and if you do, you're wasting your time. I thought I made my position perfectly clear on..."

"Please listen to me," Wheeler interrupted. "You're making the biggest mistake of your life."

"Why?"

"I'd much prefer to discuss this with you in person, and I really think you owe it to yourself to listen to what I have to say."

"If you think threatening to sue me is going to change my mind, you're wrong."