They made it work because they worked at making it work. Stephen and Sarah’s marriage became more of a partnership than it had ever been. Sarah’s consistent gentleness had reduced Stephen’s anger and opened a path for them to make progress through their conflicts. On more than one occasion her patience gave Stephen a moment to pause and consider before reacting. Instead of battling over one another, they talked and worked through disagreements. It wasn’t perfect and there were more than a few personality potholes to make the journey back, but their relationship made a smooth landing and that gave them both enough hope to keep working at it.
Nevertheless, the economic slowdown during the next few years was unlike anything seen in generations. While they were getting along great as a couple, neither could do much to generate new business. Eventually, real estate development turned into a dry creek bed and the renovation business slowed down to a trickle. Several of the conglomerate companies took major hits from their multiple lines of business and conducted massive layoffs with several completely going out of business. The decline in work hit Stephen’s appraisal business hard and it wasn’t long before he ran out of work to pass along to his contract workers. For the minimal work he was getting, he had to do it himself in order to bring in enough money to meet their household needs. Even though they were not full-time employees of his, it pained him to turn away the people who trusted him to drive in new business. With an understanding of the world’s chaos around them, they were much more gracious and forgiving of Stephen than he was of himself.
The heart had skipped a few beats when he got the call from James Rockwell, “Please come in so we can talk about the work you do for us.” It was rare form for Mr. Rockwell himself to call. And if picking up the phone to talk with a contractor like Stephen was rare as a Sumatran rhino, asking him to come in and meet in person was the speckled unicorn.
Stephen stood alone in the confined lift watching the ascending numbers illuminate in sequence, 8… 9… 10… 11… The thoughtless elevator showed no compassion for the man whose anxious heart sunk further with the passing of each floor.
The refreshingly cold water bottle offered to him did little to ease the tension Stephen was feeling. A twinge of embarrassment hit as the bottle crackled under his unconsciously tight grip. Nevertheless, the pleasantness of the modest administrative assistant escorting Stephen through the hallway obligated him to generate a smile.
Only once before had he been to a conference room on Mr. Rockwell’s floor. It had been about a year and a half prior when he met with one of the company’s executives to discuss the potential of Stephen’s company assisting with some of the firm’s land acquisitions. The office was not overdone but it was professional. Artwork lining the perimeter walls provided a colorful diversity but just enough consistency to avoid being eclectic. The apparent quality in the frames let on that the pieces were not picked up at a local retailer but instead had the touch of a professional buyer.
The office showed class but it didn’t brag. There was no glass-enclosed trophy shrine of public recognition like he had seen in so many other developer offices. Despite his massive success, James Rockwell did not have a reputation as a flashy man. It was well known that he believed ego and opulence at best added distraction and at worst served as a thin veil for undeserved confidence. Resumes braggers had a short shelf life at Rockwell Development as their chief executive wanted his people to be so good at the work they were doing, they didn’t feel obligated or tempted to boast on prior accomplishments. The determination worked and his reputation for being a tough but fair businessman who could deliver solid and consistent performance was a siren call to customers and job seekers alike. Rockwell, ever the contrarian, had already built an incredibly high performing team but it was supplemented through aggressive hiring practices that went into effect whenever any of his competitors were known to be struggling. The recession kept his hiring team on their toes as they tenaciously pursued top talent that had no interest in being the last off a sinking ship.
It was Don Rockwell, James Rockwell’s father, who started Rockwell Development Company and passed it down to his son. Though the manner of transition was very different than the typical legacy continuation strategy often sought by wealthy families. Don Rockwell was a man of extraordinary vision, superhuman people skills, and a moral compass that could have been used as a timepiece. A workaholic by inheritance, Don was himself, an absentee father who spent more days on the road building business than he ever did at home building a family. Unfortunately, while he labored hard, Don’s dial for play was always set at a hundred percent. He had a well-earned reputation for being able to turn a three-day business trip into a weeklong gambling, drug-infused womanizing extravaganza. Known for his passionate love of fast cars and even faster women, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when the very public divorce from his third wife, who also happened to be his former secretary, caused Don to finally lose his controlling interest in the Rockwell Corporation. The ensuing financial fallout and questions about Don’s character soiled longstanding relationships and thrust the company to the brink of bankruptcy. What Don took for a casual setback, the Rockwell board of directors identified as an irreconcilable liability. However, it wasn’t until Don was engulfed in a pressure cooker of attorneys, board directors and investors that his nightmare truly began.
The eldest son from Don’s first marriage, having shown early flashes of brilliance in the real estate business, took it upon himself to redeem the family name. Despite learning more about his father through the papers than in person, he was astute enough to leverage the family reputation to form a star-studded investor group that strategically closed in on Rockwell’s largest customers and capital partners. Compounded by their President’s personal problems, it was only a matter of time before Rockwell’s board had the choice between an amicable buyout or face a hostile takeover by the rising powerhouse which had already pillaged customers, investors and employees. No one on the board had an appetite for a public takeover campaign that would undoubtedly reveal Don’s misogynist antics and further damage the company’s already depressed value.
Early eyes of skepticism were quickly replaced with sighs of relief when it was revealed that James, Don’s first-born son, would emerge as the driving force and the final signatory required to execute the buyout documents. Despite what would have otherwise been difficult circumstances, negotiations cruised with relative smoothness thanks to an extremely agreeable Rockwell board of directors. The biggest point of contention came at the final execution meeting when James refused to let the deal close unless Rockwell’s board allowed the company name to be released from usage restrictions and transferred in the sale. Distressed and already enraged by his board’s betrayal, Don finally cracked and put his foot down. He unloaded for a solid twenty minutes while James stood on the opposing side of the conference room’s fifteen foot solid mahogany table in silent defiance. James had nothing to say to the stranger who knew so little about him. The only response James wanted to give his father was typed in black ink upon the deal documents he now stood poised over. His firm stance and the placement of the pen directly parallel to the stack of papers made it abundantly clear that James had no intention of applying his final signature until Don relented. There were those in the room who considered it bad taste to launch such a personal eleventh-hour request. But they quickly recognized that the aging Rockwell was a train wreck of his former self while the younger model was as reserved and responsible as he was shrewd and brilliant. He was the antithesis of his father in every way except for his knowledge and understanding of the business.