Oliver Benjamin
CHAPTER 4
FAUST: Reknown is naught, the deed is all.
JOHANN VON GOETHE, Faust II
1. Hot Water
Roy became an increasingly regular fixture at the Bidden estate,
where his loyalty was rewarded with the finest meals, wines and the
company of Ellie, who had charmed him so completely that he was
slowly forgetting that he disliked her husband so much.
One night after a celebratory supper at the Bidden mansion,
Morris insisted they consecrate their latest acme with a dip. He
brought out Sambuca and champagne from his wine cellar and they
all jumped into the jacuzzi.
Biddenbrooks’ hundredth store opened that week and Bidden
recognized to what degree Roy had been instrumental in achieving
that goal. After all, Roy had been the one to suggest that they
pinpoint the city’s most successful coffeehouses, move in next to
them, and dilute their customer base. Biddenbrooks, with its greater
size and capital could afford to bleed money while their smaller
neighbors could not. Then they could take the lion’s share. This
strategy worked so well that the company doubled its number of
outlets in two years. Morris liked to boast that “their cups runneth
over.”
Roy had not seen anything wrong with this in the beginning. He
merely felt that the kind of imperfect brewing going on in those
philistine cafés should not be allowed to perpetuate. Coffee had
begun its renaissance in earnest, but if too many made a mockery of
it, it could backslide into those dark ages when it was
indistinguishable from dishwater. Roy had only wanted to spread the
gospel, but soon the whole thing spun out of control. The strategy
worked so well that by the time he realized this, it was too late to
temper it.
Bidden did not see any reason to backpedal from success and he
credited his V.P with such an admirable pragmatism that he raised
his salary. Roy was now a reasonably wealthy man, employed in a
field that he loved. He swept the dregs of his misgivings into airtight
63
 |
 |
 |
 |