to carry her to safety. Morris was beefy and handsome and she felt so
delicate and light in his hands, though she was anything but. Even
after the roaches were rounded up he insisted on cradling her,
throwing her up and catching her as she screamed and giggled. He
was hospitalized with a sprained back muscle two days later.
They were married three months after that, and she immediately
contrived to have Morris installed as vice-president of Sloane
Brothers. After much fanfare and well-wishing, he immediately set
about driving the company into the ground. Due to his inept tactics,
the company lost an incredible two-thirds of its market share within
two years. Rowena, who was the major shareholder, refused to
believe that he was responsible for this and would not listen to her
board when they demanded he be fired. Rowena, who knew nothing
about business, knew everything about love. Love was more powerful
than money. Love conquered all. She did not realize that it was
herself who was being conquered by it. Morris kept her cup filled
with love. He also kept her cup filled with chocolate milkshakes and
doughnuts and bon-bons. In two years, She ballooned to the point
that she could not leave the house. Colin grew up with a mother that
could barely take care of herself, much less a hyperactive and spoiled
brat.
When Sloane Brothers was finally forced to declare bankruptcy,
Morris reported that an offer had come in to buy them out. The bid
was exactly one-fourth what it might have sold for only a few years
prior. Morris convinced Rowena that it was the smart thing to do,
and she signed away four generations of family fortune to the bidder.
The offer, of course, had come from Morris himself. He had
organized a cadre of cronies to form a new corporation and as soon
as the sale was complete, took over the new business himself. Morris
then set about rebuilding the remains of Sloane Brothers from the
ashes. It would take many years before the public caught on to
premium coffee, but he harbored a patience that came with certitude.
He chose the name Biddenbrooks from a Thomas Mann novel
which he claimed drew a strong parallel between economic
prosperity and high-quality coffee. The story of a wealthy 18th
century family in decline, Morris noted that as the quantity of coffee
imbibed in the novel deteriorates, so do the family’s fortunes.
“Mann was trying to tell us,” Morris said in the company
brochure, “that the modern mind requires premium coffee to
function well. It is the fuel of our economic and philosophic success.
ABYSSINIA
78
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