The Spiked Heel — Ed McBain

A struggle for control of a shoe company becomes a battle between good and evil in this corporate thriller by the author of the 87th Precinct series.
 
For three generations, footwear company Julian Kahn has been synonymous with high fashion. And for Raymond “Griff” Griffin, head of Kahn's cost department, it would be a perfect place to work were it not for Mr. Kurz. A petty tyrant installed by the bank when ownership's grip on the company began to slip, Kurz has made the life hell for every one of his employees. When he's fired, Griff and the other executives rejoice, unaware that things are about to get a whole lot worse.
 
The Kahns are selling the company to multinational conglomerate Titanic Shoe, and to oversee the transition, Titanic sends the devil in the form of Jefferson McQuade. A brute of the boardroom whose specialty is psychological warfare, McQuade hasn't come to oversee a merger, but to break the company's soul. His first target is Griff, but this exec has never been one to back down. In the battle for Julian Kahn, the stakes are far higher than the cost of a simple shoe factory: Griff will have to fight for his life.