Goldengirl

‘$2,000,000 each, to include all expenses.’ Before anyone commented, Dryden added, ‘And that brings me to Proposal Number Two. That is, to give the trust a controlling interest in Goldengirl Incorporated by having you, Dr. Serafin, on the board as its representative. You would receive a fee, of course, which we could agree upon with the trustees, but so far as press and public are concerned, you would not be a direct beneficiary. If we raised twenty million in revenue, Dryden Merchandising would then take its two million; Mr. Sternberg, Mr. Valenti, Mr. Cobb and Mr. Armitage would be guaranteed two million each; and there would be ten million for the trust fund. From the public’s point of view, Goldine would be getting fifty per cent of the money. How much of that she was generous enough to give her father would become a private matter.’

‘You’re a smart cookie!’ said Sternberg.

‘I like it,’ said Cobb, ‘but I have a query. Without prejudice to your reputation as an agent, Mr. Dryden, what would you propose if the revenue amounted to less than the twenty million you estimated?’

‘I said the figure each of you would receive would be guaranteed,’ answered Dryden, ‘so I was implying that the trust fund would stand the loss, if we call it that. Equally, if the revenue topped twenty million, the excess would to go the trust.’

‘I’ll buy that,’ said Valenti. ‘Two million guaranteed?’

‘Subject to three golds,’ said Dryden. He was watching Serafin. The others, he had assumed, would agree; in their world, guaranteed sums in units of a million were more potent than percentages. With Serafin there was a question of status. Would he settle for anything less than his own share? The money was more, but he would have to rely on Goldine for his cut. Was it really the money he wanted from all this?

‘I’m agreeable,’ said Dick Armitage, almost forgotten.

‘Very well,’ said Serafin. ‘I think Dryden has a valid point about public interest. We shall not be making any of our financial arrangements public, but if questions were asked, it would obviously look better if the trust fund were seen to account for a sum large enough to satisfy any doubts. With your approval, gentlemen, I shall make arrangements for an agreement to be drafted on those lines. I appreciate your co-operation in this matter. It says much for our unity of purpose that we have reached a mutually acceptable arrangement in so civilised a way.’

‘It’s important that this is formally agreed to without delay,’ pressed Dryden. ‘My participation must be conditional upon it.’

‘It will be done,’ promised Serafin.

‘In that case, I’ll get my lawyers to draft an agreement between Dryden Merchandising and Goldengirl Incorporated. It can be done without any breach of security. How do they get in touch with you?’

‘Through my P.O. box in Bakersfield,’ said Serafin, handing him a card. ‘I’ll mail copies to my fellow members of the board here. We can confirm everything when we meet next. I suggest an appropriate venue would be Eugene, Oregon, during the National Olympic Trials. Shall we say July tenth? I can arrange hotel accommodations. I assume you would all wish to be in Eugene for the period spanning Goldengirl’s events. That takes us through to July sixteenth. The Trials follow the program of the Olympics.’

‘I’ll give a progress report on the merchandising campaign,’ Dryden offered. ‘By then, most of it should be mapped out.’

‘But you won’t involve anyone else until after Eugene,’ Serafin firmly ordered. ‘We can tolerate no breaches of security. This will be a solo exercise on your part until mid-July. Is that perfectly clear? Between us, we are a powerful group, and without going into detail I can tell you that any leakage of information about the project would do you and your group of companies no service, no service at all.’

‘I don’t care for threats,’ said Dryden.

‘Threats? We deal in facts, not threats,’ said Serafin. ‘And the outstanding fact is that the interest of everyone around this table is served by observing the rule of secrecy. During the weekend, you have heard a number of reasons why we think it advisable to avoid publicity. There is another which has not been mentioned, and that is Rule Twenty-six of the International Olympic Committee — the Eligibility Code. The essense of it is quite simple: to be eligible for participation in the Olympic Games a competitor must not have received any financial rewards or material benefit, except as permitted in certain bylaws.’

‘Hell, they’d need a commission to prove anything,’ said Sternberg.