to foreclose on those loans.'
'But we're talking about people here. Men with families. Men who depend on us for their livelihoods.' Katherine took a cigarette from her handbag. Her hand shook as she lit it and inhaled. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Nelson through the smoke. 'You know nothing about this company, Mr Nelson. You don't have the right to tell us to throw our workforce on the scrapheap.'
'I know numbers, Mrs Freeman. That's what I do. You can be as sentimental as you like, but when all's said and done it all comes down to money. I admire your loyalty to the employees, but I'm afraid it's misplaced. Do you seriously believe that the employees are going to stand by you if this company goes under? Do you think they'll have any sympathy for you while you're standing in the unemployment line?' He shook his head, answering his own rhetorical question. 'They'll be taking care of themselves. They won't give you a second thought.' He paused for a moment. Tm sorry if you're upset by what you're hearing, but you have to realise that the bank has your best interests at heart. We're the only friends you have.'
Anderson sniggered. 'With friends like you ...' he said, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Nelson pretended not to have heard him. 'You have to look at the benefits of this,' he said. 'The company will be profitable in a way it's never been before. You'll have more money for research and development of new products - something that I'm sure Josh would appreciate. And during the development phase, you won't be saddled with a cash-draining workforce. You go to the Taiwanese with the product, and they'll manufacture it to order. I'll tell you something else - the quality of their work will probably be better than you get here in the US. And once you've filled the orders, you stop production. The Taiwanese don't have the same labour laws or unions that we do.'
Anderson massaged the bridge of his nose. 'This is just your way of getting the bank's money back, isn't it?' he asked.
Nelson rested his hands on die back of his chair. 'Absolutely not,' he said. 'You know as well as I do, Maury, that if the bank was to foreclose on its loans tomorrow, we'd recover our money in full. But if CRW aggressively down-sizes, transfers its production overseas and gets new products in development, I think you'll see the bank taking a much more relaxed view of your operations.'
Anderson sat back in his chair heavily. Freeman could see that the finance director wasn't convinced by Nelson's scenario, and Katherine had a look of dismay on her face. Josh seemed unimpressed, but he usually expressed little interest in anything THE BIRTHDAY GIRL 73 that took place outside his laboratories and test rigs. Bill Hannah raised a hand, like a child wanting to ask a question of his teacher.
Freeman nodded at him. 'Yes, Bill?'
'What about the technology transfer?' Bill asked. 'I'm sure the Defense Department would have something to say about us giving our military technology to the Taiwanese.' Nelson smiled. 'Good point,' he said. 'That might have been the case with the missile guidance systems, but the bottom has dropped out of that market. Products such as the MIDAS minefield system are actually quite low-grade in terms of technology. It's not as if we're talking about ballistic missiles.'
'That means you expect our new products to be along similar lines, then?' Hannah asked.
'I certainly think that Josh and his team should be looking at products less focused on military use, that's true,' Nelson said. 'Video security systems, video telephones, products which would have far wider applications than defence.'
Katherine looked up at the painting of her father as if wishing that the old man would step out of the gilded frame and take over the meeting. Then she looked at Freeman, and he knew that she was comparing his performance with the way her father would have handled the situation. He could see from the look in her eyes that the comparison
'But we're talking about people here. Men with families. Men who depend on us for their livelihoods.' Katherine took a cigarette from her handbag. Her hand shook as she lit it and inhaled. Her eyes narrowed as she studied Nelson through the smoke. 'You know nothing about this company, Mr Nelson. You don't have the right to tell us to throw our workforce on the scrapheap.'
'I know numbers, Mrs Freeman. That's what I do. You can be as sentimental as you like, but when all's said and done it all comes down to money. I admire your loyalty to the employees, but I'm afraid it's misplaced. Do you seriously believe that the employees are going to stand by you if this company goes under? Do you think they'll have any sympathy for you while you're standing in the unemployment line?' He shook his head, answering his own rhetorical question. 'They'll be taking care of themselves. They won't give you a second thought.' He paused for a moment. Tm sorry if you're upset by what you're hearing, but you have to realise that the bank has your best interests at heart. We're the only friends you have.'
Anderson sniggered. 'With friends like you ...' he said, leaving the sentence unfinished.
Nelson pretended not to have heard him. 'You have to look at the benefits of this,' he said. 'The company will be profitable in a way it's never been before. You'll have more money for research and development of new products - something that I'm sure Josh would appreciate. And during the development phase, you won't be saddled with a cash-draining workforce. You go to the Taiwanese with the product, and they'll manufacture it to order. I'll tell you something else - the quality of their work will probably be better than you get here in the US. And once you've filled the orders, you stop production. The Taiwanese don't have the same labour laws or unions that we do.'
Anderson massaged the bridge of his nose. 'This is just your way of getting the bank's money back, isn't it?' he asked.
Nelson rested his hands on die back of his chair. 'Absolutely not,' he said. 'You know as well as I do, Maury, that if the bank was to foreclose on its loans tomorrow, we'd recover our money in full. But if CRW aggressively down-sizes, transfers its production overseas and gets new products in development, I think you'll see the bank taking a much more relaxed view of your operations.'
Anderson sat back in his chair heavily. Freeman could see that the finance director wasn't convinced by Nelson's scenario, and Katherine had a look of dismay on her face. Josh seemed unimpressed, but he usually expressed little interest in anything THE BIRTHDAY GIRL 73 that took place outside his laboratories and test rigs. Bill Hannah raised a hand, like a child wanting to ask a question of his teacher.
Freeman nodded at him. 'Yes, Bill?'
'What about the technology transfer?' Bill asked. 'I'm sure the Defense Department would have something to say about us giving our military technology to the Taiwanese.' Nelson smiled. 'Good point,' he said. 'That might have been the case with the missile guidance systems, but the bottom has dropped out of that market. Products such as the MIDAS minefield system are actually quite low-grade in terms of technology. It's not as if we're talking about ballistic missiles.'
'That means you expect our new products to be along similar lines, then?' Hannah asked.
'I certainly think that Josh and his team should be looking at products less focused on military use, that's true,' Nelson said. 'Video security systems, video telephones, products which would have far wider applications than defence.'
Katherine looked up at the painting of her father as if wishing that the old man would step out of the gilded frame and take over the meeting. Then she looked at Freeman, and he knew that she was comparing his performance with the way her father would have handled the situation. He could see from the look in her eyes that the comparison
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