[Jack Emery 01.0] The Foundation by Steve P Vincent

Author:Steve P Vincent [Vincent, Steve P]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller
Goodreads: 25204609
Publisher: Momentum (Pan Macmillan)
Published: 2014-09-11T06:00:00+00:00

Ernest closed the lid of his laptop with too much force. It slammed shut, causing the ice in the glass next to the computer to jingle a little. He let out a long sigh as he swung back in the leather chair, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He’d been at his desk for fourteen hours, trying to catch up on work that had piled up in the past few weeks. The days spent dealing with the Senate committee and the EMCorp board, the negotiations with Michelle Dominique and China—and freeing his people—had put him behind with everything else.

But what had finally broken him for the day was a pair of emails he’d only reached a minute ago. One, from Dominique, suggested a particular line on the next day’s coverage, while another, from the Chinese, suggested a different approach. While the emails were couched in polite terms and carefully manicured to appear appropriate if they fell into the wrong hands, he knew they weren’t suggestions at all. For Ernest, there could be no clearer illustration of the prison he’d engineered for himself.

He didn’t regret the choices he’d made at various points to save himself, his company and his staff. He consoled himself with the fact that, in a time of great stress, he’d done what he’d had to do. Not everyone in his position would have. But the deal with the Chinese, on the back of the one with Dominique, had placed him in an impossible bind. He felt the agreements strangling the life out of him.

He’d hoped the arrangement would last a little longer, but it wouldn’t. He felt old, and knew that if there was to be a reckoning for the decisions he’d made, it may as well be now. With another sigh, he opened his eyes and reached for the phone on the desk. He dialed in a number he’d committed to memory and switched the call to loudspeaker. The phone rang and Ernest used this time to steel himself for the coming conversation.

“Hello, Ernest.” Dominique’s tone was impatient. “I hope this is important.”

“It is. I need to renegotiate our deal.”

She gave a small laugh. “Why would you need to do that?”

He rubbed his head. “I’m in a hopeless situation, but I want to honor both our agreement and another I’ve made. I can only do that if you’re flexible.”

There was a pause. “Being flexible wouldn’t really be in my interests, Ernest, nor would it lead to you honoring our agreement in any way. My terms were clear. I delivered. The Senate inquiry has gone away and your company is off the hook in the United States. I expect you to continue to live up to your end of the bargain.”

Any hope he’d had for a reasonable negotiation was out the window. “I had all good intentions of honoring my agreement with you, but things have changed.”

She laughed again. “The Chinese? Yes, Ernest.”

He was genuinely shocked. “You know? How?”

“I know you made a deal with the Chinese, that’s clear.

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