Relative Control

Hey, Terry, what's up?

Sara, John Masters called.

He wants to see you about corporate legal advice.

Yeah, John Masters, the CEO of Powerhouse?

Uh, looks like he has time tomorrow, so I tentatively

set up a meeting at 10:00.

Patch me through to Jake.

Good morning, Sara.

Jake, so I have...

Uh, one second, please.

So, listen, I have an appointment tomorrow at 10:00

with John Masters.

I think he's the CEO of Powerhouse.

If you would look into that, I will be right there

after I drop some stuff off at my parents' house.

You got it.

Thank you.

["Revolution Rock and Roll" by Low Cut Connie playing]

Hello, Dad. I am on my way,

and will be there as soon as humanly possible.

It's gonna be all right, Ralph. It's gonna be all right.

I don't wanna leave home.

-Yeah, yeah, okay, I understand. -Get him this one.

Look, Ralph, here's-- here's some water.

Here, take a swallow. It'll help clear your throat.

Thanks, babe.

You understand, don't you, Chief?

Yeah, absolutely. Look, if you don't wanna go,

just tell your son you're not doing it, okay?

That's what I would do.

I would've tried that, but the truth is,

I don't wanna live alone either.

Ralph?

Ralph, Ralph!

What's going on? You're moving?

-Yeah, -Yeah, where to?

-Pleasantville Manor. -Oh, the manor!

That is right down the road from me.

No, no, no, you're not gonna be alone there, Ralph.

Promise.

I just hope I see you guys again.

-Oh, you're gonna see us again. -Ralph, of course

you're gonna see us again. Right, Kay?

And look, you're not that far away.

And I always have my phone handy, all right?

So if you wanna do it, just call me. It's always here.

Come on, let me help you out, Ralph.

Anytime, he'll call you anytime.

-All the time, night or day. -Okay...

Yeah, I have the scars to prove it.

- Bye. - Watch your step here.

Watch your step there, Ralphie boy.

- Okay. - I got it.

That's it.

-Sara. -He's-- Yes, yes.

Don't ever do that to us, okay?

The only way I'm leaving here is feet-first on a slab.

Your father's right.

Oh, yeah, you guys are gonna stick it out,

you kids, you, huh? All right.

Well, speaking of that,

on a very timely note, here are your wills to sign, please.

You split everything between you and Sissy when we're gone?

Well, why would I do that, Dad?

Sissy has Todd to take care of her.

I need to support myself. No, of course I did.

You're kidding me. Also,

here are your powers of attorney and your living wills to sign.

Oh, oh, no, no, no. No living will. No living will.

-Me neither. -Wha-- Why not?

Because I don't want anybody else

able to pull the plug on me, okay?

Hey, Kay, do you remember Charlie, uh, McDowell,

and he had that stroke?

- -Who?

Yeah, well, um, anyway, Charlie McDowell had a stroke,

and the doctor got his family together

and called them together and said,

well, he wasn't gonna make it.

-Fine. -I'll help you.

Well, the doctor was wrong.

But if Charlie had done that living will,

the doctor would've been right, but Charlie would've been dead.

Yeah.

Well, far be it from me to compete

with Charlie's resurrection.

So, why don't you just sign the powers of attorney?

How about that?

That way I can take care of you, Dad, okay?

In case you guys can't.

If we sign these powers of attorney,

you can't sign those living wills for us.

No. God, no, Dad.

Well, I wanna read through them first, okay?

Okay. Yeah, well, that was kind of the whole point.

All right, I gotta go to work.

Yeah, I gotta go to work, too.

I gotta see a man about a horse.

That's lovely, Dad.

Sara? Sara, wait.

Have you heard from Eric lately?

Yes. As a matter of fact, he just called last week.

-How's he doing? -He's good.

You know, he was a big help to us. We really miss him.

Yes, I miss him, too.

Well, moving to Oregon seems to be about

as far away from here as you could possibly get.

At least in the lower 48.

Does he have a job?

No, Dad, he doesn't have a job.

So, you're still supporting him.

Yeah, let's just hope he doesn't turn out

like his old man, that worthless bastard.

We're still there, are we?

Well, don't worry about Eric, Dad.

I will euthanize him before I let him do that, okay?

Well, maybe that's why he's there.

Gentlemen.

So, my company and I need advice,

and our board unanimously agrees

that you're the one to give it.

Well, thank you for your confidence.

I have worked with a few of them before on other matters.

No thanks needed. You have a great reputation,

and we're just here to get acquainted.

-Okay. -This is my team.

You'll get to know them soon enough,

but for today's purposes,

there's only one player you need to meet.

Donald Decker.

Donald is our general counsel.

As you can see, he is literally

and figuratively my right-hand man.

He'll be your primary contact.

Wonderful to meet you, Mr. Decker.

So, here's the problem.

Recently, Trojan Capital Investments

bought a 5% position in our company.

Our board and I think that they

may be trying to take control,

and we don't want that to happen.

Well, it sounds like you and your board

have very good instincts. I do know Trojan.

I went to law school with one of their attorneys, Ben Jacobs.

Mm.

Trojan is a predator.

They will often target a company,

buy a large block of stocks, and try to take it over.

If they are successful,

they will very often wring money out of the company,

oftentimes leaving it bankrupt and employees out of work.

That's what we thought.

We cannot let that happen. My God.

More than 1,000 of our employees are also shareholders

through their pension plans.

Well, they could end up losing their retirement savings

as well as their jobs.

Right. Well, with Trojan, that is definitely

a very real possibility.

When is your shareholders' next meeting scheduled?

Uh...

-In about six months, John. -Um...

Generally, I like to send an email--

Uh, excuse me. I have an urgent phone call.

Uh, but I promise it will be brief.

Jake, if you don't mind.

The crisis at the border continues to mount

as hordes of Central Americans,

including vagrants and thieves,

make their way through Mexico

-to the Texas border... -Hello?

Dad, what's wrong?

Ah! Ah, I just wanted to let you know

that my new chair arrives today, and I wanted you to see it.

What? I will see the chair this weekend, Dad.

I'm in the middle of an important meeting.

Well, if it's such an important meeting,

why did you call me?

Well, I... I didn't. You called me.

...threatened with terminations.

Oh, thank God for convenience stores.

You got me a large?

I'm large, too. It's not a big deal.

Thank you for your patience, gentlemen.

Odds are that Trojan is planning a takeover bid

before your shareholders' next meeting.

We will certainly know soon enough.

They will start to publicly criticize your management

and propose new directors for the board.

Criticize what?

The company's profitable,

and extremely well-run, if I do say so myself.

Well, I'm sure that is true, John,

but we do need to start looking for vulnerabilities.

Trojan already has.