Enemy In the Room (6 page)

“What do you know about the Brothers?”

“Enough to know that they would be a
disaster for any country they tried to rule.”

“Are you crazy? They are the world’s only
hope! Look at what they do in Iran. Even though they are Persian
Shi’a, they are a true Islamic state, with religious leaders in
charge. It’s incredible! We hope for the same thing in Egypt, and
in all the other countries with governments pandering to their
Western masters.”

Ellis took a deep breath. “Look, Trevor,
we’ve been through this before, and we’re not going to solve the
world’s problems. Let’s come back to our phones. You know how badly
I feel about your father’s death; I’m sure it’s why my father gave
you half of everything, for which I’m glad, because we built this
business together. But this cheating is wrong. Knox Communications
is not going to do it, no matter what you think. You don’t have
kids. I can’t tell my two boys to play fair if I’m going to steal
information and use it to outbid or outmaneuver others. If
necessary, when I get back from Charlotte tomorrow, I’ll call a
meeting of our investors and tell them what you’ve been doing and
ask them to confirm that we must stop.”

Trevor sat down, his arms folded tightly.
“You always think you know best.” He spoke in Arabic, which Ellis
did not understand. He looked intently at his cousin. Then he said
in English, “I won’t let your personal sense of right and wrong
kill this sweet deal.”

“And how will you stop me? I know the
investors. They won’t like what you’re doing any more than I
do.”

Trevor was silent, his lips pursed and he
shook his head slightly from side to side.

Ellis turned to leave. At the door he looked
back. “I’m taking the King Air. In the morning I’m going over the
proposed cell tower sites around Charlotte. When I get back we’ll
try one last time. Maybe one of us will have to go. It’s not what I
want, but I can’t be in business with someone, even my cousin, who
doesn’t see the difference between right and wrong.”

When there was no response from Trevor,
Ellis left, closing the door behind him.

Trevor sat almost motionless for several
minutes. He looked at the disheveled stacks of paper—of
information—
now in a mess on his desk. He pulled out his
gold pen and rotated it, tapping the desktop with each turn.
Finally he picked up the phone and dialed a number he had memorized
a month before.

“Yes?” said a man’s voice on the other
end.

“He’s on the way. The King Air.”

“OK.” The line went dead.

Turning from the memory of the following
day’s corporate plane crash, Trevor closed his eyes for a moment.
All those years ago. Why couldn’t Ellis see the power in this
gift from Allah
? Trevor had made sure that his cousin’s wife
and sons were well taken care of after the plane crash, but he
almost never thought of them as family. They were just like all the
other Americans. Blasphemers. Enemies of God.
Allah be praised
that my eyes are not blinded by this country, and that we can do so
much with what He has given us. The problem now is that there is
almost too much information
.

He swiveled back in the direction of the
keyboard, turned his gold pen nervously a few times, and then typed
instructions on several RTI issues that required his lieutenants’
special skills He ended with, “President Harper’s media and
entertainment legislation must not pass Congress. The legislation
must fail.”

At noon the next day the elevator doors
opened in the chrome and glass lobby of Capital Tower, and Kristen
Holloway exited, concluding her walk-through with the property’s
listing broker, Bill Porter.

Putting her notebook in her large purse, she
turned to face him. “Tell me again the asking price.”

“Eighty-five million.”

She grimaced.

He shrugged. “Downtown is hot again, and
we’ll just have to see if anyone wants it.”

“If we’re interested, what would it take to
stop the process? Would an offer close to full price do it?”

He looked away, and then returned her gaze.
Finally he said, “I’ll ask the owners whether they want to
negotiate with USNet alone, or let the process run for three
weeks.”

“Please do, Bill. And I’ll report to David.
We’d like to get the ball rolling.”

Porter nodded. “I’ll check with the owners
and let you know.”

Sitting at his desk that afternoon, Todd
Phelps, David’s most experienced direct report after Kristen, was
running through his email while talking on the phone with an old
business school friend, Mike Campbell.

“Have you seen the new Audi roadster?” Mike
asked. “It’s incredible.”

“That it is. I’ll never afford one on my
salary.”

“I picked one up on Saturday.”

Todd looked up from his screen. “No
way.”

“Yeah. Metallic blue.”

Todd paused. “No way for me, with a wife and
two kids.”

“I’ll show it to you when you’re here. Right
after we negotiate the lease.”

Todd shifted. “Yeah. Good. Listen, the lease
is important to us, too. That’s why we’re coming up on Wednesday.
We need space in Minneapolis for next year’s expansion of the
publishing group, but the rental rate has to be right.”

“We can deliver space to you in nineteen
months, max. It’ll be the best space in suburban Minneapolis, at
the best rental rate. USNet’s lease will let us fund our
construction loan and get started on the project, so I promise you
that the rental rate is going to knock your socks off.”

Todd finished an email note and pushed Send.
“Uh, great. But the folks across the street say the same. And
they’re a couple of months ahead of you.”

“Fine. But you need to check their permit
situation. We hear they have problems, and you should compare the
offers. I’m sure we’ll be less expensive.”

“I hope so. David Sawyer is really focused.
He wants to visit our Chicago projects on Wednesday morning, shoot
up to Minneapolis that afternoon, and have dinner with you and
Gillespie. We’ll spend the night and see the other project in the
morning. How does that sound?”

“Except for imagining you in that other
project, it should be fine.”

“Can you meet us at the airport on Wednesday
afternoon?”

“Sure. And listen, Todd, while you’re here,
we’ll talk about how to simplify this decision.”

Todd swiveled around to the window. “What do
you mean?”

“We’ll discuss it when you’re here on
Wednesday.”

“OK. See you then.”

“Can’t wait.”

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH

Two days later, well before dawn on
Wednesday, David finished his second cup of coffee, wrote a note on
their kitchen pad, and left it by the percolator.

Hope you have a great couple of days. Let’s
go to dinner when I get back tomorrow night.

I may be going to LA soon. Will try to see
Callie.

I love you.

D

A few hours later, as he and Todd Phelps
walked past baggage claim at O’Hare airport, David checked his
handheld and noticed that there was an urgent message to call
Kristen.

He and Todd shook hands with their two
Chicago hosts for the morning, and then he apologized that he had
to call the office. As they walked toward the car David
speed-dialed Kristen’s number.

“David, hey. Our online news this morning is
reporting that the Chinese government has just instituted sweeping
changes in Hong Kong.”

“Like what?” David asked, cradling the
mobile phone on his left shoulder.

“Like a declaration that Hong Kong is now to
be integrated completely into the mainland economy, that the ‘great
experiment’ is over. Private ownership is to be phased out in the
province.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish. It’s all still sketchy, but one of
the first bullet points is confiscation of all large land parcels
and major buildings, and a tripling of real estate taxes.”

“Not good, to say the least.”

“But, David, do you realize that if Knox
hadn’t changed his mind last week, as of yesterday we would have
been locked into a long-term lease for a ton of space in a
nationalized building?”

Sawyer paused, shifting the phone as he
changed hands with his bag. Todd and their hosts, who were deep in
conversation about their Chicago visit, walked ahead.

“Sometimes the man is uncanny.”

“I guess. Anyway, hopefully we have a leg up
on moving to Seoul and Singapore. I imagine that a lot of companies
will be bailing out of Hong Kong, too.”

“Yes. When do you plan to go out?”

“Next week, once you tell me how high I can
go on Capital Tower with Porter, so we can nail down a Letter of
Intent.”

“We need that building. Offer full price,
and we’ll agree to a thirty-day due diligence period. That ought to
get it for us.”

“Will do. I’ll call Porter this morning and
give him our standard letter at the asking price. Good luck in
Chicago and Minneapolis.”

“OK. Say hello to Porter for me.”

He hung up, turning his attention once again
to Todd and their Chicago hosts.

Later that night in Minneapolis, the two
USNet real estate executives walked out of a French restaurant with
Mike Campbell and Frank Gillespie, the developers of Brookglen.
They had toured the site that afternoon. Over a superb dinner they
had discussed rental rates and delivery dates. Because the two
USNet visitors were going to see a competing project in the
morning, nothing was settled, but the discussion was productive.
And David made it clear that going forward, Todd Phelps would be
the point man for USNet’s decision-making process.

As they walked toward the two hosts’ cars,
Frank Gillespie said to David, “I’ll drive you to your hotel. Let’s
let these two young guys relive their business school days.”

“Fine by me,” David acknowledged. Turning to
Todd and smiling, he said, “Just remember we’re starting early, so
be bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning.”

“Of course,” Todd agreed, as he and his
friend opened the doors to Campbell’s new Audi.

As Todd admired the interior, Campbell
backed out and headed for Cabaret, a late-night watering hole for
the single and affluent. Even though Todd had a wife and two young
children, he looked forward to a few hours with his friend, and to
checking out the local ladies. He had been unfaithful to his wife
on three occasions, although he had never planned any of the
events. They just “happened” while he was traveling. And everyone
else did it, Todd imagined. It occurred to him that maybe tonight
something unplanned might happen again, and he smiled.

As they drove downtown, they talked about
where their friends from graduate school had landed. Mike seemed to
keep up with everyone. It sounded to Todd as if most of his former
classmates were making a lot more money, which he decided to file
away and mention to Sawyer.

After recounting the high incomes of several
of their friends on Wall Street, Mike said, “We have a plan that
could help you in that department, Todd.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’ve allocated a significant sum
in our Brookglen development budget for financing fees. Since
securing the USNet lease will reduce our loan interest, that’s
worth a lot of money. We’d reward anyone who helped us with our
financing.”

“I’m still not sure what you have in
mind.”

Mike glanced over at his friend and then
back to the road. “I mean, Todd, that we’ve budgeted $250,000 for
you if we can enter into the USNet lease in the next sixty
days.”

“For me?”

“Yes. Cash, check or money order. Where and
how you want. I recommend a suitcase full of cash or a deposit in a
Channel Islands bank. And of course neither USNet nor the IRS ever
needs to know, so you can keep it all.”

There was silence for a moment as Mike’s
proposal sank in. They exited the interstate and stopped at a red
light. Mike added, “And it’s not like you’re doing anything wrong.
Ours really is the best development on the west side of
Minneapolis. We’re just facilitating a decision that you would make
anyway. It truly is a well-earned financing fee.”

“And no one will know?”

“No one, my friend. It’s all yours.”

“When?”

“Half next week and half when we sign the
lease.”

They drove into the Cabaret parking lot.
Todd smiled and looked at Campbell as they pulled in next to two
other expensive drives. “I’ll definitely think about it and let you
know.”
This may be my double lucky night
.

David went back to his hotel room and, after
catching up with Elizabeth on Rob and her day, plugged in his
laptop to review two documents that he needed for the next
morning.

There was an email from a former employee
whom he’d fired a year earlier for spending too much time on the
internet, even after several warnings. The parting had not been
pleasant.

I wonder what he wants?

Wednesday 20: 15

To: David Sawyer

From: TonyB

Subj: Amateur Mid-East Bombshell Does It
All

David, I only met your daughter a couple of
times at company outings, but for your sake, family man, I hope
this isn’t her!

Your friend,

Tony

There was a link to a website run by USNet
for amateur adult video postings, and David was aware of the
content. He clicked.

In a few seconds the title came up and the
video started. It was a half-lit bedroom, a boy and girl in bed.
The girl looked just like Callie.
What are they doing
? Then
she spoke to her lover and turned toward the camera. It
was
Callie, or her twin.

He stood in disbelief.
What is she doing?
Who is that guy? I can’t believe it!