Resistance from even one member of the executive staff
could have prevented his plan from advancing to its present
place.
The first phase of Matthew's plan, to gain support after his
arrival at Wallaby, had been successful. He had become a credible
and qualified champion of Wallaby's high technology platform of
computer products, a status he would have never reached without
Peter's focused coaching and friendship.
Just a year and a half earlier, "Business Week" had touted Peter
and Matthew as "The Brains and Brawn of Silicon Valley." Gracing
the cover was a jocular photo of the two, an insightful,
undisguised shot whose overall effect was similar to that of a
Hollywood buddy film promotion poster. On the left stood Peter,
wearing jeans and a white Oxford shirt. His shirtsleeves were
rolled to the elbow and his arms were folded nimbly across his
chest. Of slight build and tenuous stance, his physical composure
was that of a lanky high school student, yet his eyes had the
depth of a twenty-coat lacquer finish. They were the eyes of a
man older than his years, whose mind performed at a
cycles-per-second rate equal to that of three men combined. He
was thirty-one.
Beside Peter stood Matthew, one arm hung loosely over the younger
man's shoulder. He wore khaki pants and a chambray work shirt
whose sleeves, like Peter's, were rolled to the elbows.
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