Dylan Davenport sat in the conference room of the Davenport Family Office in downtown Kingsport. He’d come back from Greece early for this meeting, a meeting which he didn’t want to attend, but he felt it would be the only way for his voice to be heard. For Dylan, the issue at hand wasn’t about control as much as it was about ego. Not his; Eli’s. Over the last few weeks, Dylan had read and re-read Eli’s proposal to take Davenport Technology private with varying degrees of worry. Before Dylan could finish his thought, Eli strode into the office, a cup of coffee in one hand, his briefcase in the other. “You’re late,” muttered Dylan as he took his seat at the table.
Eli Davenport gave Dylan a tight, annoyed smile. “It’s always nice to know you’re minding the trains, Dylan.” He took a short sip of the piping hot cup of coffee before adding, “My plane is leaving for San Francisco in two hours. What’s this about, Dylan?”
“I think your plan to take Davenport Technology private is too risky.”
“Says who?”
“Me.”
“Ah,” chortled Eli. “You.”
“Yes, me. Me with an MBA from Harvard. Me who ran the company for ten years…”
“Before you quit,” snapped Eli. He glared at Dylan with simmering contempt. “Your arrogance is breathtaking.”
Dylan clenched his jaw. The one thing he hated about Eli was that his brother always knew how to push his buttons. “Now, wait just a minute…”
“You’re so arrogant, Dylan. You always have been. Just because Mom and the board elevated you to CEO of Davenport when you were thirty-five doesn’t make you some sort of savant. You’re a rich kid whose mommy gave him the top job at the family company. Nothing you’ve done in your entire life has been because of your merit.” Eli snorted with resounding disgust. “You’re a joke.”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed as his breathing quickened. “I took Davenport from $850 million in revenue to $3.5 billion in two years, Eli. What else do you think made the stock price rise? I’m the one who suggested the board increase dividends! Who benefited from that? You and the rest of the family. You want to call me arrogant? Well, look at yourself. You swan around San Francisco like you came from some ghetto when you’ve had just as much money, privilege, and access as me. The Davenport name opens doors and the money that comes with it has allowed you to set up your investment company to become richer than you ever dreamed.” He took a deep breath before saying in a low, controlled voice, “I’m the reason why you are where you are today, Eli.”
Eli held his brother’s eye contact for what seemed like a lifetime. While they were polar opposites, they were alike in many ways, especially when it came to their egos. It was the trait they’d inherited from their father. “Fine.” With that, Eli stood up and started to leave the room. “You can’t stop the plan to take Davenport Technology private, Dylan.”
“Are you sure about that,” muttered Dylan.
“It’s a good plan!” exclaimed Eli. “You’re just jealous because you didn’t think about it first!”
“I don’t want to burden Davenport Technology with over $5.5 billion of debt in order to stroke your ego, Eli. It’s a horrible plan. Before we know it, the vultures will buy up our debt to force a sale of the company or its parts. I will not let that happen!”
“You’re not Dad! You can’t stop me, Dylan. Nick is on my side. Lisa is coming around. You don’t have the power to stop what I know is the right thing to do for our family.”
“Our family?!?! Until a few weeks ago, the only person who’d seen you in years was Lisa. You took your money and your trust fund, moved to San Francisco, traded on our name, and pretended we didn’t exist. My god, Eli! You’re never here and now you want to do the right thing for your family? Man, go to hell.”
Eli could feel the walls closing in on him. He hated it when he and Dylan sparred because they knew each other…the essence of the other so well, everything they said to each other was soaked with historical subtext. “I’ve had enough of this, Dylan. I’m leaving.”
“Of course. Run away like you always do, Eli. See you in another ten years, bro.”
As Eli started for the door, he turned to his brother with a feeling of dread. “I wish I knew why you hated me so much.”
Dylan stared at Eli with utter contempt. “I don’t hate you, Eli; I pity you.”
“Well. At least that’s out of the way. I’ll see you on the vote about taking Davenport Technology private.”
Dylan rose from his seat with a diffident air. “You are not taking the company private. I will not let it happen.”
“You can’t stop me!”
“I can, Eli. When I was CEO, I nominated half of the board. I suggested Meredith to replace me as CEO. Half of Wall Street loves me; the other half wants to sleep with me. And, you’re forgetting one very small detail.” Dylan walked over to his brother with a purposeful stride in his step. When they were nose to nose, Dylan whispered, “If I tell Mom to vote against you, she will. She controls her shares and Nick’s shares. She’ll vote against you as will I. You’ll lose. You know it.”
Without another word, Dylan brushed past Eli and strode out of the conference room.
As Eli stood in the cold room, he thought about everything which had led him to this moment. He thought about his childhood, his years in San Francisco, and the family he barely knew. Yes, Dylan had told a few hurtful truths, but for Eli, none of that mattered. He was going to take Davenport Technology private whether his family supported him or not. It was only a matter of time, planning, and execution. Eli had all of the time in the world. He knew far too well that Dylan had shown his hand too quickly. However, Eli was never one to give up. He would drop this takeover plan all the while building up another one that no one would see coming. The first thing he needed was an ally…and Eli had the perfect one at his disposal.
In our next installment, Connor explodes…
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