know.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment with any certainty. Normally he’s reasonably open to sharing information. Of late, not quite so.”
To a casual observer, the elegantly attired trio sitting by a window with a view over the Champs-Élysées looked just like any other high-end gathering discussing business over lunch. The first man, the American who had offered to lead the merger negotiations with their potential new business partner, was about fifty-five with closely cropped blond hair. He was dressed impeccably in a pale gray suit with a fine check, a white shirt with narrow purple stripes and a dark green tie ornamented with subtle splashes of purple, to complement the shirt. To his right, the other man, the other side of sixty and completely bald, was more conservatively dressed than his colleague, in a navy blue three-piece suit and pale blue shirt worn with a burgundy tie. Both of them shone with health and vitality, assiduously trim with no sign of the midlife paunch or sagging jowls too often associated with highly successful men in the grip of middle age, for whom indulgence was a daily privilege. Both clearly enjoyed the success that had come to them and went to great lengths to prolong their ability to savor it.
The woman was extraordinary. She was striking to look at, with fair skin, full lips, soft brown eyes and thick, shoulder-length, raven hair, which she occasionally tucked behind her left ear, conveying an air of playful seductiveness. Her full figure was cloaked in a fitted black leather jacket, black blouse and skirt, with knee-high black leather boots. Her minimalist approach to jewelry enhanced her contemporary elegance. She was fifty-two, but looked forty.
These three were part of a larger group of twelve, consisting of a chair and eleven members. The dozen referred to themselves collectively as The Board and presided over a multinational, multi-billion-dollar enterprise. But unlike other boards, run in accordance with charters and laws and governed by stock exchanges and government watchdogs, this board was silent, operating below the radar, the power behind the publicly listed corporation. Ultimately answering only to itself, it pulled strings, influenced and manipulated situations, individuals, governments. Its very existence and the identities of its membership were more closely guarded than the most sensitive of any country’s top secrets. Retirement was mandatory at sixty-five and the retiring member invited a new member to join. New members were appointed after an extensive vetting and selection process lasting, in most cases, years, and a final, unanimous vote. Membership was international and kept strictly to the very top-shelf corporate and government executives of CEO and director-general level. The board operated in the shadows of global commerce and yet, with the official corporation as its instrument, was a major influence on most markets. No names were ever used when in each other’s company. This was the rule by which they lived and they never broke it, no matter how seemingly innocuous the occasion or circumstance. Many years before, board members had decided upon a suitable motif by which it would identify itself, one that would reflect its beyond-the-law modus operandi. So it was that the stylized, blood-red profile and headdress of a Native American chief became the official emblem of the enterprise, The Renegade Group of Companies.
The board members quietly concluding their meeting at Restaurant Le Diane were the three responsible for strategic assessments and recommendations.
“Very well, it’s settled then,” said the American. “I’ll have my people meet with her first and will report back to you both once I’ve reviewed their findings. Then, if we intend to proceed, I’ll extend my stay in LA to meet with her personally.”
CHAPTER 21
Intrepid HQ
Broadway, London
“Miss Haddad is here, sir,” said Mrs Jolley from the door. “Shall I send her
“Unfortunately, I can’t comment with any certainty. Normally he’s reasonably open to sharing information. Of late, not quite so.”
To a casual observer, the elegantly attired trio sitting by a window with a view over the Champs-Élysées looked just like any other high-end gathering discussing business over lunch. The first man, the American who had offered to lead the merger negotiations with their potential new business partner, was about fifty-five with closely cropped blond hair. He was dressed impeccably in a pale gray suit with a fine check, a white shirt with narrow purple stripes and a dark green tie ornamented with subtle splashes of purple, to complement the shirt. To his right, the other man, the other side of sixty and completely bald, was more conservatively dressed than his colleague, in a navy blue three-piece suit and pale blue shirt worn with a burgundy tie. Both of them shone with health and vitality, assiduously trim with no sign of the midlife paunch or sagging jowls too often associated with highly successful men in the grip of middle age, for whom indulgence was a daily privilege. Both clearly enjoyed the success that had come to them and went to great lengths to prolong their ability to savor it.
The woman was extraordinary. She was striking to look at, with fair skin, full lips, soft brown eyes and thick, shoulder-length, raven hair, which she occasionally tucked behind her left ear, conveying an air of playful seductiveness. Her full figure was cloaked in a fitted black leather jacket, black blouse and skirt, with knee-high black leather boots. Her minimalist approach to jewelry enhanced her contemporary elegance. She was fifty-two, but looked forty.
These three were part of a larger group of twelve, consisting of a chair and eleven members. The dozen referred to themselves collectively as The Board and presided over a multinational, multi-billion-dollar enterprise. But unlike other boards, run in accordance with charters and laws and governed by stock exchanges and government watchdogs, this board was silent, operating below the radar, the power behind the publicly listed corporation. Ultimately answering only to itself, it pulled strings, influenced and manipulated situations, individuals, governments. Its very existence and the identities of its membership were more closely guarded than the most sensitive of any country’s top secrets. Retirement was mandatory at sixty-five and the retiring member invited a new member to join. New members were appointed after an extensive vetting and selection process lasting, in most cases, years, and a final, unanimous vote. Membership was international and kept strictly to the very top-shelf corporate and government executives of CEO and director-general level. The board operated in the shadows of global commerce and yet, with the official corporation as its instrument, was a major influence on most markets. No names were ever used when in each other’s company. This was the rule by which they lived and they never broke it, no matter how seemingly innocuous the occasion or circumstance. Many years before, board members had decided upon a suitable motif by which it would identify itself, one that would reflect its beyond-the-law modus operandi. So it was that the stylized, blood-red profile and headdress of a Native American chief became the official emblem of the enterprise, The Renegade Group of Companies.
The board members quietly concluding their meeting at Restaurant Le Diane were the three responsible for strategic assessments and recommendations.
“Very well, it’s settled then,” said the American. “I’ll have my people meet with her first and will report back to you both once I’ve reviewed their findings. Then, if we intend to proceed, I’ll extend my stay in LA to meet with her personally.”
CHAPTER 21
Intrepid HQ
Broadway, London
“Miss Haddad is here, sir,” said Mrs Jolley from the door. “Shall I send her
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