Devious web, p.1
Devious Web, page 1
Copyright © 2024 Shelley Grandy
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Print ISBN: 978-1-68463-274-9
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To my husband Roy, daughter Erin, and granddaughters Emilia and Olivia.
PELLUCID:
1: admitting maximum passage of light without diffusion or distortion: a pellucid stream
2: reflecting light evenly from all surfaces
3: easy to understand.
—Merriam-Webster
PART ONE
Chapter 1:
TOM AND LAWRENCE—JULY 29, 2021
The pandemic had not been kind to Lawrence Cameron, at least not to his waistline. As The Big Guy strode across the restaurant to join him for dinner, Tom could easily see that Lawrence had packed on a few more pounds while working from home. Toronto’s legendary finance guru and media commentator had earned his nickname for his investing prowess, but now the term was even more suitable for the six-foot-two-inch, 250-pound influencer.
When Tom stood to greet him at their table, Lawrence gave him his usual whack on the back and the now customary COVID-19 elbow bump. Even though Tom had played football in high school and was himself six feet tall, he always felt dwarfed by his main investor and personal mentor. Maybe it was also because of the gap in experience between them, as Lawrence was twenty years older.
“Tom, how’s my favorite entrepreneur doing?” Lawrence asked while settling into the comfortable leather banquette reserved especially for him by the manager of ONE, the see-and-be-seen restaurant adjacent to the Hazelton Hotel in Toronto’s upscale Yorkville enclave.
“Good, thanks, Lawrence, but crazy busy with all that’s going on with the business, as you can imagine,” Tom responded.
“No doubt. And I bet you never thought that seven years in, you would have brought Pellucid so far!” Lawrence said.
Tom agreed as he reflected on how truly surreal it was that the data analytics software company he had founded—Pellucid—was valued at over US $200 million, and a Silicon Valley company was now proposing an acquisition.
To have hit that milestone at the age of thirty-eight is honestly mind-blowing, Tom thought.
“I’m looking forward to hearing your updates today, Tom, but given that Grace just put me on a no-frills diet, I’m definitely ready to dive into this menu before we get started,” Lawrence joked.
Tom smiled, knowing that Lawrence’s second wife, Grace, did her best to keep her husband’s life—and his weight—balanced. He knew Lawrence would be eyeing the restaurant’s signature lobster spoons as an appetizer and something carb-heavy and definitely not on Grace’s diet plan for the main course.
While Lawrence ordered for them, Tom admired the contemporary styling of the chic restaurant.
It’s the little things everyone missed during the restrictions of the pandemic, like being able to get together with friends or enjoying this kind of ambience, Tom thought.
Yorkville, with its high-end boutiques and elegant hotels and restaurants, was where Toronto’s elite dined and shopped. It wasn’t part of Tom’s typical day-to-day, but he and his wife, Miriam, sometimes had drinks at ONE’s expansive bar because the art gallery she curated was just around the corner.
After the waiter had filled their glasses with a Chianti Classico wine, Lawrence leaned forward and spoke quietly so other diners wouldn’t overhear.
“So, what about the acquisition? What’s the latest from Crystal Clere?” he asked.
Tom confided that the California artificial intelligence company’s CEO had confirmed he would be offering US $250 million in cash and stock to acquire Pellucid. The next step would be for Tom to receive a letter of intent formalizing the offer, and then Pellucid’s board would have until September 15—about six weeks—to decide whether to approve the sale.
“I’m open to the offer, which is certainly substantial, but I still feel a bit reluctant, Lawrence. I always envisioned taking Pellucid to an IPO on the TSX and Nasdaq myself. On the other hand, it’s hard to turn down a huge payout from a well-established company like Crystal Clere that’s a great fit for our software,” Tom said.
“Not only that, Tom, but as they say, timing is everything. The pandemic has shown you never know what kind of economic climate you might encounter just when you’re ready to take the company public. Sometimes it’s good to take a profit and focus on the next opportunity,” Lawrence said, as he nodded to acknowledge a couple of people passing by their table who obviously recognized the Big Guy from media interviews.
“That’s a great point, especially after everything we’ve seen over the last year, from market volatility to the January 6 insurrection,” Tom agreed. “It definitely creates a more opportunistic mindset.”
“And of course, I wouldn’t object if my investment in Pellucid netted out to a nice-sized return,” Lawrence quipped.
“Ha, I’m sure!” Tom replied. “Well, for now, Winston is earning his CFO pay and then some, working through the due diligence to address all the financials, and Crystal Clere’s CEO and I are in discussions ensuring we’re well aligned. But so far, I can say that I like what I see. And that’s important because if we sell, they’ll probably want me and possibly a couple of my senior team to commit to working for a year or so as part of Crystal Clere.”
“Yes, it’s pretty standard for the acquiring company to want at least the CEO to stay on for continuity,” Lawrence agreed. “Overall, you’ve got this, Tom. Working through the process, making sure you have all the information up front, and doing the due diligence is the right approach. Then when you have all the facts and feel comfortable, I’m sure it will be easier to make your final decision. And, of course, whatever direction you decide to take, the board of directors must be onside with it as well.”
Tom nodded agreement as Lawrence twirled some of his impressively presented main-course seafood linguini onto his fork.
“Okay, so fill me in on Patrick,” Lawrence said. “I know you were having some issues with him last time we talked. How did that net out?”
Tom sighed. It had been a tough situation to manage. Five years before, Tom had met Patrick McGowan at the stable where they both boarded horses and had soon hired Patrick to be his business development manager. The two men were close in age but had vastly different personalities. While Patrick’s Irish flair and direct manner with prospects had proven helpful in building the business, his proclivity for partying had created problems.
Tom shared with Lawrence that he’d had no choice but to fire Patrick and, after a contentious final meeting with him, he suspected their friendship had been permanently shattered.
“That’s unfortunate, Tom,” Lawrence said. “But eventually Patrick’s shenanigans would have attracted attention and reflected badly on Pellucid. I know you hate being tough on people, but didn’t he lose an investor for you when he missed a key meeting?”
Tom indicated that had indeed been the last straw and agreed he had run out of options when it came to keeping Patrick on his payroll.
The two men lingered over coffee and liqueurs while reviewing Pellucid’s latest quarterly results, upcoming sales pipeline, and the company’s case study currently in development at Tom’s father-in-law’s business in North Carolina, one of Tom’s biggest early-stage clients.
“Are you staying here in Yorkville tonight or at your place?” Tom asked as he and Lawrence concluded their business.
“Next door at the Hazelton,” Lawrence replied. “Grace and I have been living up north at the cottage during the pandemic, and I’m more comfortable playing tourist here in Yorkville rather than rattling around our big house in Rosedale without Grace.”
Tom chuckled at Lawrence’s candor and, as always, admired the close relationship Lawrence had with his wife. The two men parted ways, with Lawrence going to the bar for a final nightcap before turning in and Tom heading for home.
Chapter 2:
TOM—JULY 29
The sun was setting when Tom left the restaurant, and as the warm July air enveloped him, he f
Having Lawrence as a sounding board was always helpful when navigating tough decisions as CEO. But Tom knew that, along with resolving the acquisition issue, he needed to address some gaps in his personal life.
He had been consumed with work and putting aside concerns about his relationship with Miriam. His marriage was the one puzzle piece out of place and, as he stepped out onto the sidewalk on Yorkville Avenue to find his Uber, Tom promised himself he would face up to that.
Just then there was a sudden screech of tires as a black SUV launched itself over the curb, aiming straight for him. Tom was barely able to dodge aside before the vehicle veered back onto the road and sped away.
As he leaned against the restaurant’s exterior wall and caught his breath, Tom felt shaken after such a close call—and he doubted it was accidental.
Chapter 3:
ELISE AND WINSTON—JULY 29
The Pellucid office, located in a typical older downtown building in Toronto’s Entertainment District, combined historical charm—brick walls and soaring leaded windows—with modern decor and the latest in electronic equipment, including smart lighting and Sonos wireless speakers in every room. There was also a fully equipped kitchen and a large lounge area that made the space a good home away from home for the team who had spent many hours working there, as is common at early-stage companies.
However, the office had been closed since the start of the pandemic and only recently reopened with limited attendance to enable social distancing. It was almost a luxury for employees to come back after the confinement of working from home in small condos or townhouses. Although quite a few Pellucid employees were sick with COVID, fortunately none had to be hospitalized.
Elise Armstrong, Pellucid’s chief marketing officer, was glad to be able to reconnect with staff today in person and welcomed things getting back to a semblance of normal. But when she walked into the office bathroom, she had to admit that seeing herself in the mirror under the glare of harsh office lighting was a bit of a shock. She looked so pale it was obvious she had been working too many hours and getting little sun this summer. She would pick up some bronzer as soon as possible and try to look more alive.
And she was also going to get out of shape fast if she didn’t make a point of getting to the stable to ride. She was part-boarding a horse at the barn where Tom and Patrick kept their horses in Caledon, about an hour northwest of downtown Toronto, but her visits to the stable had been less frequent lately due to COVID restrictions and because of work. Elise’s mom had assured her that she was highly unlikely to gain weight on her five-foot-nine-inch frame, but her mother was no doubt biased.
While she touched up her lip gloss, Elise couldn’t help thinking that men were lucky they didn’t have to concern themselves as much with appearances. But in her role, she was often on Zoom calls, speaking at events, or meeting with journalists, so she needed to present herself well. And Elise’s thirty-third birthday was coming up soon, so she scrutinized her reflection in the mirror, looking for the first sign of gray.
None so far, thankfully, Elise noted, as she smoothed her long blond hair and went out to the office’s lounge area for a bite to eat with Winston Wilson, Pellucid’s chief financial officer. The Uber Eats delivery person arrived with their sandwiches and salads, and she poked her head into Winston’s office to let him know the food had arrived. Elise picked up a half sandwich and sank into a cushy armchair.
Winston had seemed preoccupied lately, and Elise suspected it was more than just the acquisition that was consuming his attention. A handsome Black man in his early forties with solid business experience acquired working for tech companies in Chicago and Toronto, he had always been something of an enigma. Tom had commented to her that Winston reminded him of a high-stakes poker player whose expression rarely offered a clue to what he was thinking.
So it was no surprise that Winston shared very little of his private life except for his fondness for a couple of nieces back home in Atlanta, Georgia, to whom, Elise gathered, he sent money from time to time. If it was a personal issue bothering Winston, he undoubtedly wouldn’t share it with her.
Elise could relate to Winston’s reserve because she had a secret of her own that she had only recently admitted to herself. She had done some soul-searching when her mother asked why she wasn’t dating, something Elise had attributed to being busy with her career. But when she was honest with herself, Elise realized that no one measured up to Tom in her eyes. She was totally captivated by her boss, Tom Oliver, and her feelings were only growing stronger.
In addition to the fact that his tall, athletic build and intense blue eyes made him her exact type, Elise loved that Tom was quietly unassuming despite being an impressive guy. He had a sharp, insightful mind and great entrepreneurial instincts, but he also had a high EQ and was always down-to-earth with people. The Pellucid team knew Tom had their back. And for Elise, being with Tom felt like a perfect fit.
Elise hoped she had successfully managed to hide her feelings—because Tom had been married to Miriam for quite some time before she had met him. Elise had wondered lately if all was well with Tom and Miriam, but she would never do anything to interfere with their relationship. She had accepted that she would have to be satisfied with spending time with Tom at the office and riding together when they had the chance.
“Elise, is everything okay?” Winston asked her as she held the half sandwich in her hand, staring out the window.
Elise smiled and said, “Yes, just thinking about my rather long to-do list, which is distracting when I’m supposed to be eating.”
“You deserve a break,” Winston said kindly while grabbing a plate and loading up on food. “You’ve been doing an awesome job getting us media coverage. And there’s been lots of positive feedback ever since the Financial Post magazine profiled Tom in their 2020 Top Forty Under Forty feature.”
“Thanks, Winston. Hopefully it all adds up to Crystal Clere seeing us as a hot commodity,” Elise noted.
Winston agreed, and Elise was pleased to see his shoulders relax a little as he apologetically excused himself, taking the rest of his dinner to his desk to start another night of number-crunching.
Elise wondered what he was brooding over aside from the acquisition. She was convinced there was more and wished she could help. But for now, it was back to work for her too, prepping Tom’s talking points for a Bloomberg News interview the next day.
Chapter 4:
TOM AND DETECTIVE LIU—JULY 30
Detective Jason Liu was in his office at the Toronto Police Service’s downtown College Street headquarters having his second coffee of the day and reviewing case files when the front desk let him know that a Tom Oliver was asking to see him. Liu was surprised but said to send Tom up to his seventh-floor office.
“Tom! What brings you here?” Liu said as he got up to greet his old friend.
“Well, first let me apologize for not having gotten together for a while,” Tom said.
“No worries. I think all of us have had fewer get-togethers during the pandemic. I’ve seen you pop up in the finance news, and it looks like Pellucid is going strong,” Liu responded.
“Yes, I can’t complain about that. But I’m here on something a bit more up your alley,” Tom said. “A bizarre incident happened last night, and I’d like your opinion if you have time?”
“Of course,” Liu said, intrigued, as he gestured for Tom to take a seat in the only available chair. Heaps of paperwork and file folders occupied the other two office chairs, which worked well as a deterrent to any time-wasting colleagues who might distract from Liu’s day.
Tom explained to Liu that he had almost been struck by a black BMW SUV when he came out of ONE restaurant in Yorkville the previous night. Had he not moved aside quickly and if the car hadn’t swerved back onto the road, it could have ended terribly.
“Did you get a look at the driver, or did anyone get the license plate number?” Liu asked.
