With this sureness, he offered
a teaser.
"I don't think I'm giving away any secrets by saying yes, you're
correct. They're up to something. And yes, it is something very
exciting."
William pushed his untouched plate aside. The two men shared a
moment of heavy silence, each considering his own tactics.
Maintaining a hint of a smile, William was the first to make a
move. "Matthew, I would like to suggest a possible business
arrangement."
Matthew gave an agreeable nod.
"ICP is gigantic. Everything we do is planned many years into the
future. Although our personal computers are outselling Wallaby's
Mate system, I suspect that whatever they have coming down the
pipeline will be completely unexpected and radical."
"Correct."
"Yes," William said. "That's what I figured." He paused
thoughtfully. When he spoke, his voice was casual and revealing,
the way a man's voice becomes when he is dead certain of the
object of his desire.
"I've always envied Peter Jones and his company. But of course
I've got my own company to worry about. For my own entertainment,
I've been looking for some time at Wallaby as a case study. I've
toyed with the idea of spinning out a rebellious group of
engineers and forming a new subsidiary with the charter to build
radical new portable computers. However, members of the board to
whom I've casually mentioned this have not responded positively.
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