Monday, eight candidates were scheduled for interviews. By 3 o’clock, faces and information were running together. Mary stuck her head in Dave’s office a few minutes later; “Dave, last one. I know you’ll like her,” she said with a grin.
Chris Lewis was a stunning young woman; beautiful, but with a poised, professional demeanor. The resume said 29 years old, Harvard MBA with her undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Wisconsin. Go Badgers.
“I see on your resume you were a Finance major at Wisconsin and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Are you aware that Mary and I went to UW?” He didn’t say when.
“Yes, noticed that when I did research on your firm. Am I hired?”
Not just yet, but It’s a possibility, he thought. “Chris, tell me a little about yourself. I’ve seen your resume, but would like to hear it from you.” He sat back and watched her as she spoke.
“Well, Mr. Bradford, I pledged Delta Gamma as a sophomore, but went inactive my last year. I was busy with other things and frankly the sorority life got a little old, or maybe I did. I wrote for the school newspaper and was a Teaching Assistant my senior year. Believe me, I kept busy.”
“There aren’t too many undergraduate TAs. That’s impressive. Any sports?”
“I’m a pretty good swimmer and I like to snow ski, but I didn’t have much time for sports in college. I went to all the football games and a few basketball games. I also took up martial arts at Harvard.”
“I see you worked a couple years for a financial firm after you graduated from Wisconsin. Tell me a little bit about your job.”
As she talked, Dave was thinking that Chris was something special. She was sharp, businesslike and professional. She spoke with a quiet confidence and assurance. What was she doing here?
Dave realized he was just stalling. He might as well get to the heart of it. “Chris, why Tampa, and why are you interviewing with a small company such as ours? You know we can’t pay you what a major bank or consulting firm would, and I know that Harvard MBAs can make more money in San Francisco or New York.”
Chris smiled, like she knew that this was the question she was waiting for. “Several reasons, Mr. Bradford. First, my parents moved to St. Petersburg and I would like to be close to them. I’m the only family they have. Second, I like what you are doing with this company. You have grown this firm from basically nothing to a firm likely to do $10 Million in revenues this year. That’s impressive. I also see you are doing projects in the Caribbean. I speak fluent Spanish. Eventually, I plan to start my own international financing firm concentrating on the Caribbean and South America. That was my major at Harvard. In the interim, say five years, I could help you grow your firm.”
She was too good to pass up. he made a snap decision to offer her a job.
“I’m impressed, Chris. You have done your research. Not many people your age have a vision of their future like you do. I didn’t.”
The interview switched focus. Dave was now selling her. “It so happens that I have a major project that might be right up your alley.”
Chris listened as he described the Mexico Casino project and the role that he thought that she could play. He told her about Ken. “Initially, you’ll work with Ken and me to identify a source of funding for these projects. You could anticipate 25% travel. Interested?”
“I sure am, Mr. Bradford. I assume I will report directly to you.”
“Yes. Ken will take the lead initially, but if we are successful, there will be more than enough responsibility for everyone.
“I’m prepared to offer you the same deal as Ken’s; $5,000 per month base salary, plus a bonus. I guarantee that if the firm makes money, you will too.”
“The job sounds fabulous and the money is more than fair. I accept. You will not be disappointed. May I start Monday?”
After she left, Mary came into the office smiling. “Well, did you offer her a full partnership?” Dave laughed, because he knew what Mary was thinking.
“Mary, that’s one, impressive young lady. She has her head on straight and knows what she wants. You can laugh, but I’m not kidding.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Dave laughed. “She starts Monday and is moving into my office.” He ducked just in time.
Dave made two more job offers from the ten people he interviewed. Roger Felton was a 45-year-old mortgage broker with 20 years in the business. He could help train the other new hire, Pete Romine, who was inexperienced, but eager to learn. It was a good day for the firm. The future looked bright.
Bradford was 1down, but playing good golf. He figured he was four over par, including the double bogey on the Par 3 fourth. That’s about what he shot. Ken always stressed to play within yourself and not change your game because of someone else. That was particularly relevant on the fourteenth hole, a Par 4, 465-yard monster that is the number one handicap hole.
Dave would need two big shots to reach the green. The tendency is to over swing, which as all golfers know, is counterproductive. We all know it, but sometimes we can’t stop ourselves.
Dave swung easily and hit a good drive down the right side of the fairway and had an outside chance to reach the green. Buzz’ drive was down the middle, about 30-40 yards longer. He couldn’t help but rub it in; “Was that a 5-wood you hit?”
Ken would have told Bradford to ignore him, but he couldn’t resist; “I wanted to lay back a little and give you a chance.” Dave almost added, like I did on the last hole when you blew your chip.
”Dave, Joe Fredericks is on line one,” Grace said over the intercom. “Hi, Joe, I assume you have spoken with Ken about the job offer. What’s your reaction?”
“Dave, I’m coming over to Tampa and stomp on you. What right do you have to be raiding my staff?” Dave grimaced and feared the worst until Joe started laughing and let him know he was only kidding.
“For a minute there I was ready to run out and hire a body guard. You must have 100 pounds on me. I don’t think I’d want to fight you. But seriously, is it okay with you? If it isn’t, Ken and I agreed that there is no deal.”
“Dave, it’s fine. I think this is probably best for everybody. Hopefully you can keep him motivated. He’s awfully smart, but can get bored pretty easily.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Did you decide when?”
“I’d like Ken to stick around for a couple of weeks just to make sure that we have an orderly transfer. I also want him to interface with that new lender you found. By the way, have I thanked you yet?”
“You just did, Joe. Keep me updated. Let me know if there are any problems with them.
“I will, Dave, and thanks again for your help. I hope we can work together on future projects.”
Bradford contacted his attorney, Mike Addison, and asked him to set up a corporation to handle Mario’s projects and to create a contract that spelled out the financial relationship between the two companies. “Dave, it’s vital that your company be viewed as an independent contractor,” Addison advised. “You don’t want to be assuming any liability incurred by Mario’s business ventures.”
The following Monday Bradford got to the office early, hoping to get through his email and unreturned phone messages before anyone arrived. He almost made it. “Are you ready for me, Mr. Bradford, or should I wait a little bit? No one was out front so I just walked on back,”
Dave looked up and saw Chris, dressed conservatively in a tan slacks and a blue blouse. She couldn’t hide her good looks. “Come on in, Chris, and please call me Dave. We’re not very formal in here and everyone is on a first name basis. May I get you anything? Coffee, coke?”
She took a diet coke from Dave’s mini-frig and sat down with notepad in hand.
“Mary and Judy can show you around later and get your W-4 information and stuff. I also want Sally to give you an overview of the leasing side of the business. Who knows when you might need the information? Let’s get started on Mexico. I need you to find us a lender by lunchtime,” Dave said
with a straight face.
Chris looked at me and hesitated only slightly. “Do we need the entire $4.2 billion right away or should we spread it out over a couple days?” She wasn’t falling for Dave’s jokes.
They spent two hours going over Mario’s’ projects and the information Mario had provided. “Any questions?”
“Not yet. I think I understand what Mario is looking for.””
”“Okay, let’s get started finding a lender. Chris, we are obviously looking for lenders with deep pockets, but let’s concentrate on getting funding for the Mexico casino project, and the three other Phase I Projects. $350 million is a little easier to swallow than $4.2 billion.”
“Agreed.”
“Eric will go over the funding sources that we had been utilizing for our commercial mortgage deals. They are in the ACT Database., but I’m not sure how much this will help you. Most of them won’t do business outside the U.S.”
“No problem. I have some sources of my own that I can try.” Dave had heard stories about the Harvard network. “Give me a couple of days and I’ll see what I can find out. I hope to provide you something that we can discuss Thursday. Is that soon enough?”
It was obvious by Thursday morning that Chris was even sharper than Bradford had hoped. She had a list of 45 lenders categorized into four groups, with a capsule summary of each lender. “Dave, I don’t have a lender, but I’m getting closer. Twelve of the 45 lenders are worth pursuing.”
“Okay, what’s your next step? Where would you like to go from here?”
“This is a 2-page summary of our requirements. I would like to email it to the 12 lenders and follow-up with phone calls. If they are interested, we can get them a full package. There is only so much information you can learn from the internet.”
“Nice job,” Dave said as he scanned the summary. “Give me a couple hours to look at this. In the meantime, email Ken a copy and get his input. I know he is eager to get involved.”
“No problem. Ken has already called me four times this week offering his assistance.”
Friday, Mike Addison completed the corporate filings and Dave Bradford became president of Global Management, LLC, a Limited Liability Corporation. From an outsider’s viewpoint, Bradford owned 100% of the shares and was in total control. Mario remained in the background, as he desired. There was a separate agreement that reflected the actual situation.
Bradford scheduled a formal signing ceremony for Sunday when Mario was scheduled to be in Tampa. Mary decided to host a small get-acquainted barbeque Sunday afternoon. This would allow Mario to meet Ken and Chris.
Dave’s ball was at the front end of a partially filled divot. In Florida, you don’t put the sod back over a divot, you fill it with sand. This does two things; the grass grows back much faster and balls are less likely to stop in the divot. Good players don’t have much problem with divots because they hit down on the ball. Players at Dave’s skill level that tend to “pick” the ball off the fairway have a problem.
Bradford tried to hit the ball first, but caught it fat and his five-wood came up at least 75 yards short of the green. On grass, the club would have bounced into the ball, adding another 30 or 40 yards. The margin for error is less when hitting out of a divot or fairway bunker.
Buzz drilled a 4-iron 190 yards to the center of the green, 10 feet from the pin. Dave’s wedge was 15 feet right of the pin and he proceeded to 2-putt for bogey. Buzz’ birdie putt was dead center.
Bradford was two down again, with 22 holes to play.
Romano and Mario were having dinner in a small Italian restaurant in Miami Shores. “So tell me, Mario, how is your plan proceeding? Do you think this Bradford guy can deliver?”
“I have a good feeling about this guy. He already has hired two people to work full time on the project. We are on our way. Sunday we are getting together to sign the contract and meet his new people.”
“Excellent!” They both smiled and raised their wine glasses to toast their future success.
Mario and Gigi arrived early, giving them time to get the contracts signed and to have a private toast to their mutual success. Ken and Chris also came early and had an opportunity to meet Mario before the others came. It turned out to be a good thing because Bill Martin and Ginny showed up with their friend; Joe Martinez, Florida’s newly elected District Attorney. Fred and Ginny Shelton arrived a few minutes later followed by Buzz and his friend Jill.
Martinez was a high-energy politician that tended to dominate a party. He entertained his audience with wild stories of his early days as an assistant D.A. Bill told tales of their years together in college. “Joe, if some of the stuff we did as kids ever came out you wouldn’t be elected dogcatcher.”
“Bill, I have connections and would probably get off scot-free. Now you on the other hand might end up sharing a cell with a couple weightlifters. Remember that time you swiped that bag of apples off the fruit stand and the guy chased you for six blocks. He must have been over 50 and out of shape but he almost caught you.”
“I remember,” Bill laughed. “We weren’t more than 10 or 11 years old. I grabbed the apples and took off. He might have caught me if he hadn’t been yelling at me the whole way. If I remember right, you and Joey moved his fruit stand around the street corner while he was chasing me.”
“Yes we did. You should have seen the guy’s face when he came back and his cart was gone. He just stood there and stared at the spot where it had been, and then looked up at the street sign to see if he was lost. Those are great memories, aren’t they?”
Ken was in charge of the barbeque and it had appeared to be a good decision. He had that chef’s touch, which added a little pizzazz. Mary sidled over to Dave and whispered. “Everyone seems to be having a good time. I think our little get together is a success.” Dave nodded in agreement.
“Chris, have another bratwurst,” Ken offered.
“No way, I couldn’t possibly eat another thing. I didn’t know hamburgers and Wisconsin bratwurst could taste that good, I will need to diet for two weeks, but it was worth it.”
“You spoke to soon, Chris. Turn around.”
Mary walked out with a large ice cream cake with a single burning candle. “Gentlemen and ladies, this cake has several purposes. First of all I would like to welcome Ken and Chris into our small family. Welcome.”
“Here-here; we’ll drink to that,” and they did.
“Second, I want to celebrate our new partnership with Mario and wish to propose a toast to the success of the Mexico casino and all the other projects. Salute!”
“Everyone raised a glass and drank while Ken cut a small piece of cake for everyone.
After the other guests left, Chris and Ken helped clean up.
“Mary, that cake was a great idea. It was a perfect exclamation point to a great afternoon,” Dave said as he kissed her cheek.
“Well, Chris, did you enjoy yourself?”
“I sure did, Dave. I appreciated the opportunity to meet your friends. Everyone was friendly and I found Bill and Joe to be an interesting team. They obviously go back a long way. I’d like to get involved in politics some day.”
“What did you think of Mario? Is he what you expected?”
“I don’t want this to come out wrong, but there is something about Mario that I can’t put my finger on. He is courteous, and obviously intelligent, but there is something about him. I don’t know, I think he scares me a little. Do you know what I’m trying to say?”
Ken jumped in. “Chris I feel the same way. I got the feeling that when he talks to you his mind is somewhere else and he is looking right through you.”
“Well that makes it unanimous. I felt this way the first time I met him. I’m not sure it’s bad, but it certainly is something we should be aware of. Let’s keep our eyes open on this one.”
Later, after Chris had left and Mary was inside, Dave asked Ken what he thought of Chris.
“She is as sharp as you led me to believe. S
he will be fantastic. I just hope I can keep up with her.”
“I think so too, Ken, but I don’t think you will have a problem keeping up. As good looking as she is, I’m more worried about needing a chaperone.”
“Don’t worry about that, Dave. I’m almost old enough to be her father.”
Ten years age difference isn’t that big a deal, Dave thought.
Chapter 15
Par 4 – 390 Yards
Swiss Lender