Russell Wiley Is Out to Lunch Read Online Free Page B

feels people’s eyes on him from all over the room. In reality, no one has given us more than a passing look since we came in. It’s obvious to everyone else that we’re only minnows in this pond. The only eyes on Henry are mine. I’m wondering why he brought me here, what it is he wants to discuss. He seems slightly more coherent in person than he did on the phone.
    “How long have we worked together?” Henry asks, leaning toward me.
    “Four years and a couple of months.”
    “We’re a good team, Russell. I can trust you, can’t I?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “I can tell you things in confidence.”
    “Anything you tell me, Henry, goes straight into the vault.”
    “Loyalty’s important.”
    “I know that.”
    It’s true. Henry is one of those executives who values loyalty even ahead of competence. It’s a trait that becomes more dangerous the higher he moves up the food chain, dragging deadwood like Jeanie Tusa, our finance director, with him. Like all of Henry’s loyal lieutenants, Jeanie’s now in a position where she can really screw things up.
    Henry sips his mineral water and dabs his lips with his napkin in a slightly effeminate way. A thought flashes through my mind that he’s about to confess something of a personal nature. The chatter at the other tables seems artificially loud.
    “Just between you and me, Connie’s planning a major restructuring within the next six months.” He pauses to allow the significance of this revelation to sink in.
    “Makes sense,” I say, reaching for Fabrice’s famous unsalted, hand-churned butter.
    “She has to get everything done within twelve months of the merger. The voluntary retirement program came first. Next we’ll have the first round of layoffs. After that, a company-wide restructure.”
    “Why so fast?” I say, biting into a chunk of buttered bread.
    “Wall Street,” says Henry. “In the first twelve months, all merger-related costs can get rolled up into a single accounting charge. Won’t affect earnings. Connie’s set herself a BHAG of reducing expenses by two hundred million.”
    I’m chewing, but I nod to show him I understand. Connie’s built her career by adapting the best ideas from business books and making them her own. She’s a big believer in the BHAG concept—the setting of Big Hairy Audacious Goals.
    “My guess is she’ll merge the business and lifestyle groups. Why does a company our size need two separate print divisions?” Henry leans forward again, even further this time. “If she does that, Jack’s out and Yolanda will be running things. You and I could end up working for Barney Barnes.” Henry can’t say Barney’s name without his lip curling in a sneer. Years ago Barney worked for Henry in the business group before quitting to join Yolanda Pew—Jack Tennant’s counterpart—who heads the lifestyle group.
    My first thought is it would make far more sense to keep the business and lifestyle groups separate and get rid of the dopey Mark Sand, who heads Burke-Hart Online. That way Jack and Yolanda would get full control of their respective brands both in print and online. And the Chronicle would have at least a chance to shape its multimedia destiny.
    My second thought is that, even if Henry is right, working for Barney Barnes wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Barney’s smart and confident. He’s won the trust of Connie and Yolanda. He’s launching new magazines like Flip , Posse and Heel , and he’s hiring new people all the time.
    Henry’s view of things is sometimes impaired by his history with Barney, the fact that Barney never paid a price for walking out on him or Jack. In fact, Barney’s treachery paid off big. He’s one man in our company who’s really going places. He recognized early that the traditional, male-dominated parts of our business were stagnating. He embraced the new, feminine side of Burke-Hart just as our lifestyle and specialty fashion titles were really taking off. Last year he produced