William
pulled up a small stool and sat down.
"It all went very well, Matthew," William said. "I just wanted a
moment alone with you to tell you how happy I am, especially
after the shakiness we've experienced over the past few months."
"Thank you. And I understand. We've both had our own concerns,
you on one side, me on the other."
"Yes," William agreed. "I sometimes didn't believe we would make
it to this day, but we did, and now we're ready to move into the
final phase." The final phase: ICP acquires Wallaby, and Matthew
comes under William's command. "And they bought your response
with nary a doubt," William said. "That was good. Because they're
going to have a big surprise in a couple of months."
He was referring to the reporter's question that had been
directed to Matthew minutes ago: "With this 'strategic
alliance,'" the reporter had said, affecting a difficulty with
the definition of the agreement, "aren't you afraid, Mr. Locke,
of a possible ICP takeover of Wallaby in the future? Or is this
perhaps something you may want?"
Despite the dead-on accuracy of the reporter's speculation,
Matthew had not wavered in his response, explaining, with a
discernible hint of Peter Jones's once-infamous arrogance, that
today's strategic alliance announcement was as close as Wallaby
intended to get to ICP.
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