SECRETS OF THE PAST
Chapter Twelve
Jack left and got into his car.
He went to F.W. Stationers and went to his father's office. On the desk was the
written form his dad had left for the company to be turned over to him.
Jack signed it and passed it to
the receptionist.
"Anita, I want you to get
this processed ASAP." He winked at her and went back to his father's
office.
Anita would process the form the
next day, since it was already after hours.
Jack sat in his father's chair
for a while, liking the feeling that he was now going to control F.W.
Stationers. He decided to do what he had always wanted. He called a few of his
dad's associates and thought up a new marketing scheme so they could get more
business. He told all of them to meet him at the company at eight o'clock AM.
*****
The next morning, Jack woke up
early, feeling refreshed. He put on his favorite suit, took out his new
briefcase, and adjusted his tie. He was whistling as he put his presentation
together. It had taken him almost all night to put it together.
"Jack?" Rose heard him.
She woke up.
"Hey, Rose." Jack gave
her a big smile.
"Wow. You look handsome
today, don't you?" She had always liked Jack's style.
"Rose, you are now looking
at the new owner of F.W. Stationers," he said proudly.
"Congratulations." Rose
was lying on her side now.
"Thank you, love. I gotta
run. I have a very important meeting." He went over to her, wishing he
could lay in bed with her.
"All right." She waved
good-bye and kissed him before he left.
Jack got into his car and turned
on the radio.
"Good morning, New York.
We've got a news flash for you today. Renowned con artist Frank Abagnale was
arrested yesterday. He was a master of the trade. He operated during the
sixties as the best forger in town, stealing one point two million in check
fraud. He acted as a pilot, a pediatrician, and a lawyer. This guy was slicker
than silk," the DJ said.
Jack turned off the radio. He
drove down the street, thinking that if any of the associates had listened to
today's broadcast, he was going to kill those reporters.
He parked in his dad's space and
arrived just before 7:40. He got out of his car and went to the office;
reporters waited at the door.
"Mr. Abagnale, what is your
father gonna do now that's he's in jail?" a beautiful blonde reporter
asked.
"I will give you a statement
soon. Can you get off my property, please?" He absolutely hated reporters.
They always twisted the truth.
They left.
Jack settled into his office.
Anita came in.
"Jack, everything is ready
for you." Anita was his loyal friend and co-worker. She loved working for
him, as well as for his father.
"Thank you, Anita." He
smiled at her, giving her a chill.
He laid out his presentation,
looking at the fine print. Everything was in order. He went into the conference
room and set folders of his presentation among the eight chairs. After he had
done that, he went to get some coffee. By that time, it was eight o'clock.
People started to come in.
Atlantic Stationers, Mead
Corporation, Wilhelm and Associates, H.P. Stationers, Webster's and Co., Allen
and Donner, Stationer's Unlimited, and Gilbert Minetti and Sons. All of them
sat at the conference table.
Jack sat at the head of the
table.
"I wanna thank you all for
making it here today. I know this is short notice, but I have got some new ideas,
and hopefully you guys can help out. As you know, F.W. is reaching its
fifteenth anniversary. I would like to make a new promotion. As you see in
diagram A of the folders before you, it's a Christmas theme. I would like to
make new greeting cards with celebrities on them. Not your traditional cards,
of course, but these ladies and gentleman will be done in a holographic
version. I think this will reflect more on teenagers, but I plan to make ones
with Marilyn Monroe and so on for the latter generation." Jack was
nervous.
A lady from Wilhelm and
Associates asked a question.
"Will there be a photo
shoot?" She glanced at the young CEO.
"Um…yes. I would like new
photos," Jack answered. "I will tally up some celebrities and call
their agents. Any of you have requests that you think would sell?" He
waited for their ideas.
"Leonardo DiCaprio should
sell, since he has two new films out this Christmas," said H.P.
Stationers.
"Harry Potter and Lord
of the Rings," someone said.
"Cameron Diaz and Star
Wars," called out Allen of Allen and Donner.
"All right. I will write up
the list and get them for a photo shoot date. I will send you guys the list.
Until then, thank you for coming. I will keep you posted." He shook all
their hands as they left.
After the meeting, Jack went into
his office and called a talent agency.
"Yes. I would like the
agents for Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Radcliff, Hayden
Christensen, and Elijah Wood." Jack held the phone.
"All right, sir. Hold on one
second." He heard the lady typing into her computer. "Okay, sir. Do
you want me to fax those numbers?" She awaited his command.
"Yes. Fax to number
555-9832." Jack looked at the number on the ledger.
He received the fax almost
immediately.
He dialed DiCaprio's agent,
Richard York. The phone rang.
"Richard York here."
Richard was going over DiCaprio's schedule.
"Yes. Hello, Richard. I am
Jack Abagnale, owner of F.W. Stationers," Jack said professionally.
"What can I do for you,
Jack?" Richard asked.
"I would like to have Mr.
DiCaprio come over to my business and have some photos shot. It's for a new
campaign of mine." Jack figured that since Richard seemed like a cool guy,
he would just be truthful for once.
"Ah…well, fax the details,
Jack, and I will let Leo know." He gave Jack the number, and Jack proposed
the contract within a few seconds, with the help of Anita, of course.
He faxed the details to Richard
about the greeting cards. Jack had read that Leo was a supporter of
environmental issues, so Jack also called Global Green.
"Global Green, USA. How may
I help you?" asked a woman.
"Yes. I am Jack Abagnale. I
am setting up a new campaign for my company, and I would like to donate forty
percent of what I make to you." He knew that would be a big help to him as
well, as a supporter of local causes he often participated in.
"All right, Mr. Abagnale. We
can set up an account for you," the operator said.
"Okay. Here's the info."
Jack read out the information for her.
Name: Frank Abagnale II
Address: 450 South Arroyo Drive
Company Name: F.W. Stationers, Inc.
Phone: (323) 555-0324
Acct #: 2302938904
"Okay, sir. Your account is
set up," the lady said cheerfully.
"Thank you." Jack hung
up.
Now he had to call the rest.
His phone rang.
"Hello. Is this Jack
Abagnale?" a man asked.
"Who, may I ask, is
this?" Jack had no idea who this guy was.
"Leonardo DiCaprio." He
spoke into the receiver.
"Ah…Mr. DiCaprio. Nice to hear
from you." Jack was amazed at how quickly Leo had responded.
"Yes. I wanted to know when
the photo shoot starts," Leo said.
"This week." Jack
checked his calendar.
"Great, because I am flying
to Japan and New York this week." Leo had a full schedule.
"Mr. DiCaprio, if you could
get others to pose for this new campaign, it would be much appreciated. I am
telling you this because forty percent of what we make out of this goes to
Global Green." Jack knew the way to catch flies was with honey, so to speak.
"Sure. I will ask a few
people. They will be glad to help." Leo wanted to participate in this
campaign, not only for the cause, but for promoting his new movies. He thought
maybe Jack and he could make an arrangement.
Jack knew once Leo had heard of
Global Green that he would really want to do this shoot.
Leo called Tobey Maguire, Jerry
Swindall, Sharon Stone, Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Virginie Ledoyen, and a few
others, and faxed the sheet he had received from F.W. Stationers to them.
Jack needed twelve celebrities
for his greeting card campaign. He wanted the twelve days of Christmas theme.
He started getting calls from
Leo's friends.
Tobey Maguire, Jerry Swindall,
Sharon Stone, Kate Winslet, Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Virginie Ledoyen, as well
as Elijah Wood, Daniel Radcliff, Lucas Haas, Billy Zane, and Daniel's co-stars
from Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
It was way more than Jack wanted,
but he knew he would make tons of money out of this, and all for a good cause.
This campaign was going to be big, not only for the product, but for the
company, as well.