As he continued to look down, Priya sat up on the lawn chair and her hands moved behind her back. Then she slowly removed the bikini top. Her well-endowed chest was tanned. Her nipples were erect. Jack started to breathe hard. Was she putting on a show for him?

  After several more minutes, Priya rose from the lawn chair and walked towards the spacious swimming pool in the center of her backyard. She stuck her left toe in the pool as if to measure the temperature of the water. Then turning to face Jack, she removed her sunglasses, slowly took off her bikini bottom and dove into the pool. A small splash flew into the air as her naked body disappeared underneath the surface.

  Jack leaned forward and squinted his eyes. His face almost touched the window. Moments later, Priya’s head emerged from the water. She had a wicked smile on her face as she looked up to Jack. His eyes widened. Then she lifted her right index finger and beckoned to him.

  Seconds later, Jack bounded down the stairs, through the living room and out the front door. He ran towards the gate to Priya’s backyard and furiously tried to open the door. The gate was unlocked. He quickly removed his clothes and jumped into the pool. Jack and Priya passionately embraced. They were lost in each other…then they heard the garage door open.

  Jack froze. His eyes darted rapidly from side to side. Priya’s mouth opened as she looked towards the house. Jack quickly scrambled to get out of the pool and put on his pants. Soon he rabbited out of the backyard through the gate and disappeared. In thirty seconds, Raj walked out onto the pool deck and glanced at his wife.

  A smile came to his face. “What are you doing?”

  Priya’s eyes flashed. “I know you don’t like me to have tan lines.”

  Raj took two steps forward. Priya tossed her hair. “I’ve missed you.”

  Priya slowly climbed out of the pool and walked towards him. They embraced, and she whispered, “Oh, Raj, I want to feel the heat with you in the pool.”

  Then she leaned in and caressed his ear with her tongue. Raj started to breathe hard as Priya inserted a finger inside his belt and led him to the side of the pool. Quickly, Raj unbuttoned his shirt as Priya lowered his pants. In seconds, Raj jumped into the pool and turned to face Priya sitting on the side with her legs apart and dangling in the pool. As Priya leaned back, she looked up to see Jack staring at her from his second-floor window.

  CHAPTER 11

  The status presentation was ready—the product of a team of four people who spent over sixty hours creating and editing twenty earlier drafts. Raj had personally done five revisions. Billy Estes was recruited away from McKenzie and Peabody by Raj to help with presentation formatting and aesthetics. He looked much younger than his age, with a peach-fuzz beard that would be an embarrassment to most high-schoolers. Sometimes he annoyed managers with the gee-whiz expression on his face and by taking his shoes off and sitting cross-legged on office chairs during meetings. The kid was a little rough around the edges, but nobody ever made better-looking presentations. Initially, Raj’s presentation started off as a wall of words with page after page of bullets and sub-bullets, but had now been transformed into an objet d'art by Billy. The slides had been beautified with colorful figures and diagrams, and now appeared worthy of being framed and permanently mounted on the wall. I wondered how much it cost to create the thirty-minute presentation.

  Raj rolled up the sleeves of his custom-tailored white shirt as we sat in the executive conference room to present the status report to the senior leaders at National Airlines. As usual, he looked immaculate, with his perfectly coiffed hair. The presentation would be projected, but Bill and Dan always received a hard copy, on which they could scribble notes or directives in the margins.

  Bill turned over the cover slide and glanced at Raj—it was time to begin. Everyone focused on the executive summary. “Bill, the integration of Global’s assets is ahead of schedule. We plan to finish in twelve months rather than fifteen.”

  Bill nodded. “Outstanding…but does this plan accelerate the incremental cash flow?”

  Dan interjected before Raj could respond. “Bill, you’re absolutely right. The focus needs to be on the incremental cash flow. The board demands it.”

  Raj nodded in agreement. “Dan, that is a very prescient observation. Our focus has always been on cash flow rather than operational nice-to-haves.”

  Raising his eyebrows, Bill asked, “When will the combined schedule with connections be for sale in the reservations system?”

  “I have directed the team to make that our top priority. We got off to a slower start than expected, but I personally took control of that effort and turned it around. Under my hands-on leadership and guidance we should be fine.”

  Sid Levy, Vice President of Reservations, sat directly to my right. He reported dotted line to Raj on the integration project. His face was scrunched up and beet red. His right eye twitched, and his left hand was balled up into a fist. Bill made some notations in the margin and then looked at Sid and scowled. Renee Horvath sitting just inches away from Raj chuckled and raised her eyebrows.

  Twenty minutes later, the final slide in the deck flashed up on the screen. Raj concluded, “Bill, Renee and I are flying to London this afternoon to inspect the new facilities at Heathrow. We need to ensure that our customers have a first-class experience—what they expect every time they get on a National Airlines flight. It’s a very competitive landscape, so we must provide the necessary amenities.”

  For the past several weeks I had been running the day-to-day integration effort at headquarters as Raj and Renee had traveled together around the system. Everyone on the team worked long hours but usually Raj and Renee worked together late into the evening.

  Soon the meeting ended, and I headed directly to the elevator bank for the short ride down to my office on the fourth floor. An elevator door soon opened, and I entered. Just before the door closed, Sid Levy stepped in, muttering something. He grimaced and looked at me for several seconds. “That son of a bitch is just all about his personal aggrandizement at the expense of others. He’s a goddamn showboat.”

  Then Sid stood silent, glaring at his copy of Raj’s presentation, until I exited the elevator on the fourth floor.

  CHAPTER 12

  Late Saturday afternoon, as I brushed the grass clippings off my shoes and pushed the lawnmower back into the corner of the garage, my cell phone started to ring. Jim Flaw’s name flashed on the screen. He was my long-time neighbor and a real-estate mogul. His firm, Flaw Realty, was the top-selling producer in Dallas that could sell anything and command top dollar. We weren’t close friends, but maintained a cordial relationship. Over the years, I had steered a steady stream of home buyers and sellers to him that contributed to his bottom line.

  “Hello, Jim. How are you?”

  “It’s a great day to do yard work. Your place is looking good.”

  Sitting down on a stool in my garage, I said, “Thanks, what can I do for you?”

  “How would you like to drink a beer and chew the fat?”

  “Outstanding. See you in ten minutes.”

  I walked up the street past Maggie’s old house and towards Jim’s palatial digs. Not surprisingly, Jim owned the grandest house on the street. The stately white columns next to the circular driveway and the immense second-floor balcony set it apart. Jim awaited me near his front door. He was a short guy with a round face and a stylish haircut. As usual, even on a Saturday, he wore a pressed, white long sleeve shirt, two-hundred-dollar slacks and highly polished loafers.

  “Let’s sit up on the balcony and catch the breeze. Does a Coors work?”

  “Sure, that’s my beer.”

  Jim’s balcony commanded a complete view of the street from north to south. The northerly breeze felt refreshing. We exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes, and then Jim placed his beer on the table and looked me in the eye. “How are our new neighbors Raj and Priya doing?”

  “I see Raj every day at work, but Priya not so much. I think they like the house and neighborhood.”

  “Thanks for steering them my way—the twenty-thousand-dollar commission is appreciated. You know, I really didn’t know what to think of them when we met.”

  Jim’s comment surprised me. “Oh, really?”

  Jim took a sip of beer. “Raj carries himself with a certain flamboyance. With his formal speech and gestures, he reminds me of a politician on television.”

  “Ha ha. I know what you mean. His stint at McKenzie and Peabody did that.”

  Jim laughed. “I guess that’s what justifies their astronomical fees.”

  He took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled. The smile left his face. “Are they good people?”

  “Sure…yeah…why do you ask?”

  “Well, word from my banking friends is that they are seriously in arrears on their mortgage payments.”

  “Really?”

  “Isn’t Raj some kind of senior vice president? What does he make?”

  “Just guessing, probably a base salary of five hundred thousand dollars. Maybe double that with the bonus and stock plan.”

  “He has less than twenty thousand dollars in all of his bank accounts in Dallas.”

  “Well, they lead a lavish lifestyle, and Priya has champagne tastes.”

  “Yeah, but how do you run through that kind of money, especially given his last job in consulting?” Jim raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Well, keep me in the loop. Maybe I can sell that house again.”

  I finished my beer and headed home. Jim’s story didn’t ring true—it was all probably a big mistake.

  CHAPTER 13

  Our second monthly status update on the integration of Global’s assets acquired in Project Green Field was scheduled later that afternoon. Progress was ahead of schedule, but Bill and Dan focused on project expenses in the last update and expected more details today. Raj, Renee, Billy Estes and I huddled in my office. Raj slowly turned the slides reviewing both content and format.

  “You know, this has way too much detail on the consulting expenses. Aggregate the information on this slide.”

  I looked around at the group. “But, I think we need to be responsive to Bill and Dan.”

  Raj turned to me and grimaced. “You need to follow the plan. You don’t have a free license to ad-lib and work off your stream of consciousness.”

  It was obvious that my relationship with Raj had changed. During his earlier tour of duty at National Airlines, we were peers and friends. Now, I was a direct report in his large organization. He called the shots.

  “Okay, got it. You’ll have the final deck in thirty minutes.”

  Raj took a couple of deep breaths and smiled. “Thanks. I didn’t mean anything by that comment. I appreciate your hard work.” Raj paused briefly and continued, “Bill and Dan better not start to micro-manage me. Once they start, they never stop. I need to set the parameters.”

  “Let me run through the slides one more time,” said Raj as he flipped through the presentation. Looking up, he turned to Billy Estes. “The fonts and colors aren’t consistent across the slides. What are you thinking? This is half-ass work. I expect a helluva lot more from you than this.”

  Estes’ face reddened as he looked down and remained silent.

  Two hours later, the project leadership team assembled in the executive conference room to make the presentation. As usual, Raj planned to do all of the talking. We were there to provide support, only if needed. Raj, seated next to Bill and Dan’s chairs at one end of the large oval table, looked impeccable with his gray suit. Not a hair was out of place. Bill strode into the room, sat down and scanned the room. “Well, gents, how are we doing?”

  Raj took a deep breath and started the presentation. “Bill, we’re three months ahead of schedule. Because of our aggressive and productive approach, the company will generate an extra fifty million dollars of revenue.”

  “Good, good. Last month you mentioned there were challenges with the reservations system. Are the issues resolved?”

  Raj glanced over to Bill and Dan, and then looked at Sid Levy, seated next to me. “Yes, I resolved the issues around selling the connecting itineraries. I handled that…Sid helped, too.”

  Looking out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sid sitting motionless with his eyes riveted on Raj. Then I heard a snap and glanced down. Sid held a broken pencil in his hand below the table.

  Dan surveyed the room. “That’s good news. The board will be happy to hear about the additional fifty million dollars of revenue. Have we reviewed the jumbo jet maintenance records?”

  “That work is in process. Tech Ops didn’t have time to do a comprehensive look before the acquisition, but my consultants are all over it. No compliance issues have been found so far.”

  “Good. Now, let’s get into the expense detail.”

  The expense summary flashed up on the screen. Dan grimaced. “This is a rather high-level summary. I told you last month that I wanted to understand the details behind the variances—especially the consulting fees.”

  Uncharacteristically, Raj frowned and briefly paused. “Dan, it’s about the whole baguette, not just the crumbs.”

  Bill and Dan glanced in surprise at Raj. Raising his voice and jabbing his right index finger in the air towards Dan, Raj continued, “I’m bringing you an additional fifty million dollars of revenue. Why are we wasting our time talking about nickels and dimes? I am focused on maximizing value to National Airlines. What are you focused on?”

  There was a deafening silence. I didn’t know what to expect. No one had ever talked to Dan like that. Would Raj be fired on the spot? Everyone looked down at the table. Several seconds passed, and then Bill gave a half smile. “Raj, you son of a bitch, just get the integration done as soon as possible.”

  Then, as was customary, Bill and Dan tore up their copies of the presentation and tossed the paper into the trash can on their way out of the conference room. Raj flashed a victorious grin and gathered his papers. The project leadership team packed into the elevator and headed down from the seventh floor. As we descended, Raj smiled and glanced around the group. “The board knows who’s getting things done now.”

  Several thoughts raced through my mind. Raj had limitless ambition, so anything was possible. Did he fire the first salvo in a coup d'état? Had he just leap-frogged Dan in the pecking order? Would Raj succeed Bill when he retired, rather than Dan? These were heady times at National Airlines.

  CHAPTER 14

  Looking out my office window, I heard steps and turned towards the door. Sid Levy walked in and slammed the door shut with a bang. I spun around in my chair to face him. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he started to speak. “That son of a bitch is trying to destroy me.”

  Trying to calm things down, I said, “Sid, have a seat, let’s talk.”

  “He’s trying to take me out. If he keeps it up, I’ll rip his head off and shit down his throat.”

  This could be a bad scene, and I briefly thought about calling security. Instead, I tried to talk him through his rage. “Why don’t we head over to the Beachcomber and have some drinks.”

  “Sure, why not. I poked around and found out a few things about our boy.”

  I grabbed my coat, and we walked to the parking lot. Surprisingly, we found a parking spot near the front door of the Beachcomber. A booth in the far corner wasn’t occupied, so we walked over and ordered a pitcher of cheap beer. Sid’s eyes darted back and forth, and he was breathing hard.

  I studied Sid as he tapped his fingers on the table. “What’s on your mind, Sid?”

  “The other night I drank some margaritas with Billy Estes, Raj’s PowerPoint guy he brought with him from McKenzie and Peabody. He was very upset after Raj excoriated him in the pre-meeting. He wondered how much longer he was going to be around.”

  Raising my eyebrows, I said, “I haven’t talked to him much.”

  “We split a pitcher of margaritas. He got sloppy drunk and spilled his guts about Raj’s exploits at McKenzie and Peabody. What do you know?”

  “Of course we worked together years ago during his first tour of duty at National. Bill and Dan touted him as a superstar in the corporate integration space. Evidently, they used to refer to him at McKenzie and Peabody as ‘golden boy’ in Paris. Raj is a superstar. We're lucky to have him on the team.”

  Sid smirked and took a sip of his beer.

  I was puzzled by his reaction. “Huh, you disagree?”

  He nodded. “Just below the shiny surface, there’s a layer of slime.”

  “Bill and Dan said he came highly recommended by the McKenzie and Peabody brass.”

  “Ha ha. McKenzie and Peabody just blew smoke up their asses. Raj left under a dark cloud. If he didn’t resign and take the job here with us, he was going to be fired. They got rid of their problem without generating any unfavorable publicity or dealing with a costly lawsuit and severance payment.”

  “What?”

  “Raj had worn out his welcome—he had to go. Perceptions had changed.”

  “Huh?”

  “Evidently, he worked a telecom merger in Las Vegas for six months. There were several dubious moves, and he was under investigation by McKenzie and Peabody’s internal operations group.”

  “Wow.”

  Sid leaned back in the booth and smiled. “Yeah, I got another little nugget.”

 

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