He’d hoped she wouldn’t notice what he had an hour ago whiledressing. A gaunt look had invaded his face, noticeable from the tired eyes and sallow skin. Something more than just old age or stress was happening.
Something bad.
“I’ll let you know when I have a problem.”
She shook her head. “Like hell you will. So I’ll keep asking.”
8:40A.M.
CHRIS FOLLOWEDNANCY OFF THE ELEVATOR.
Her low heels pounded the carpet as she headed toward a locked mahogany door. The thirtieth floor accommodated only the company boardroom and a conference center used for large gatherings and occasionally leased out to third parties, the view from its glass walls and observation deck worth the high rent charged.
He watched as Nancy unlocked the boardroom door. The three executive secretaries alternated preparing for the monthly board gathering. Hamilton Lee’s handled January, April, July, October. Larry Hughes’ February, May, August, and November. Nancy was responsible for March, June, September, and December. Company rules required that one of the owners always witness the preparations.
Five other rules also governed.
First. Switch on the overhead fluorescents. Though the space was less than three hundred square feet and a morning sun enveloped, the ceiling lights were always lit. A Bohemian crystal chandelier, imported from the Czech Republic, dangling from the center, was more for decoration and remained unlit.
Second. Prepare the windows. A wall switch mechanically retracted a set of ivory sheers across the tinted glass. Their opaqueness still allowed the bright morning to filter through but shielded the interior from any curious viewers. For night meetings, another row of retractable lined curtains was available that allowed no light in or out. Both the walls and the glass were soundproof.
Third. Activate the signal jammer that prevented any cell phone reception or remote eavesdropping from outside the room.
Fourth. Prepare the stations. The conference table had been crafted by a north Georgia cabinet shop, carved from Honduran mahogany, its unique shape, like a cog from some intricate machine both circular and individual, with no added prominence given to any one side. The fusion of the boomerangs formed three individual workstations, each equipped with a leather blotter, four drawers, a computer, and a high-backed chair. Nothing identified who used which side. Only within the drawers, which stayed locked, did the personalization of each station become apparent.
Nancy withdrew a chamois from a drawer and swiped the table clean of dust. The shiny surface matched the mahogany façade of the room’s polished walls. The floor was covered in a royal-blue carpet the consistency of a Turkish rug, which likewise helped contain sound. She straightened each chair and blotter, then switched on the three computers.
Chris glanced at his watch. 8:59A.M.
Fifth. At no time, once prepared, was the boardroom left unattended.
So he stepped to the door and waited.
9:01A.M.
CHRIS WATCHED AS THE BRASS ELEVATOR DOORS PARTED AND THEremaining two-thirds of the corporation stepped onto the thirtieth floor. Larry Hughes and Hamilton Lee each wore a tailored business suit. The only variations in their dark conservative theme were their individual choices of tie, cuff links, and jewelry. Together, the three men owned the entire company and had since the beginning. For organizational purposes the everyday responsibilities had been subdivided years ago. Chris was the moneyman and oversaw accounting, payroll, purchasing, billing, and accounts receivable. Lee’s realm was production, managing the paper mill, the sawmills, the bag plant, and the building products and forestry divisions. Hughes got all the rest. Sales, land acquisitions, land management, human resources, and industrialrelations. Within their individual areas, each ruled supreme. Only together, as the board of directors, could they establish company-wide policy.
Lee smelled of his usual cologne. Hughes of cloves from the gum he habitually chewed. Chris offered only the expected pleasantries with minimal civility. He despised being confined in a room with them, and knew the feeling was mutual.
Nancy left.
He watched her stroll away. She would return to her office, locking access to the thirtieth floor. The elevator only moved between the two floors, installed solely for company use, and the building’s main elevator array had already been barred from access.
The thirtieth floor was now secured.
He closed and locked the boardroom door.
Lee and Hughes headed for their respective side of the conference table. No one spoke. He watched while Lee unlocked the drawers at his workstation and removed a spectrum analyzer. A brief sweep of the room confirmed no electronic listening devices. A check was required by the board itself both prior to and after any meeting. No cell phones were ever allowed.
Lee replaced the monitor in the drawer. “The room’s clean.”
Chris wedged himself into the high-backed chair and rolled close to the table. The other two men did the same. For this calendar year Lee served as designated chairman. The job rotated annually in a set order and carried no additional aura or duties except to chair the meetings.
“This June meeting of the board of directors is called to order.”
Chris slipped a gold watch from his vest pocket and noted the start time on a pad. 9:06A.M.The task of serving as secretary likewise annually rotated. He would make notes in his own form of shorthand. Later, Nancy would generate a polished version of minutes, to be approved at the next meeting, for the official record.
Lee glanced at Hughes. “Item one. Projected third-quarter production figures. Update us, Larry.”
