Patterns

Walter Ramsey is a ruthless force behind Ramsey & Company, a Manhattan-based industrial empire he inherited from his father. He brings Fred Staples, a young industrial engineer whose performance at an Ohio factory Ramsey recently acquired impressed him, into a top executive role at headquarters. Ramsey is quietly grooming Staples to replace the aging Bill Briggs as the second-in-command.

Briggs has spent forty years with the firm, having worked for and admired the company’s founder. He cares greatly about his work, regularly prioritizing it above spending time with his teenage son, but his people-centric approach clashes with Ramsey’s heartless “modern” method. Not wanting to fire Briggs outright, Ramsey does everything in his power to sabotage and humiliate Briggs into resigning. The old man stubbornly refuses to give in, but the stress takes its toll and he starts to drink, which does not help his already deteriorating health.

Staples is torn by the messy situation, his sympathy for Briggs in conflict with his own ambition, a tension that is shared by his wife, Nancy Staples. At a board meeting, while discussing a report Briggs and Staples wrote together, Ramsey praises Staples for turning Briggs’ old, well-intentioned but unworkable ideas practical, and there is a heated exchange. Shortly after leaving the room, Briggs collapses, and he soon dies in the hospital.

Fed up, Staples goes to tell Ramsey off and announce he is quitting. Ramsey rebukes him, asserting that a corporation like Ramsey & Company needs men with their talent in order to succeed. He offers Briggs’ job to Staples at double his present salary, double his stock options, and an unlimited expense account, but Staples resists. Undeterred, Ramsey increases the fever of his pitch, adding that Staples will never be able to reach his full potential anywhere else. When Staples counters that he hates Ramsey and would not be Ramsey’s whipping boy, but would constantly argue and fight and try to take the presidency for himself, Ramsey, seemingly energized by someone who can work at his level and challenge him, says he is willing to continue under these conditions. Staples leaves and tells his wife that he is staying on, as that way there is at least a chance he can influence things for the better.

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 at 12:33