Point of Contact

10

A firm knock on the door caught everyone’s attention. It swung open. Jack stood in the doorway, harried and apologetic.

“Sorry I’m late. There’s a wreck two blocks up.”

“Jack, it’s great to see you,” Rhodes said. He and Hendley stood to greet him. After a brief struggle, Paul managed to stand up, too.

Rhodes examined Jack’s face. “I like the mustache, Jack. There’s something else about you, but I can’t quite make it out.”

Since the hostage-rescue operation Jack had shaved his beard, keeping only a thick but well-groomed mustache, and cut his long hair short and parted it in the opposite direction. He’d even put on a little base makeup to hide the remnants of his black eye. It wasn’t vanity. As the son of President Jack Ryan, Sr., “Junior” liked to change up his looks every once in a while to avoid being recognized when he was out in public.

“You look like a young Burt Reynolds,” Hendley said.

“Who’s Burt Reynolds?” Jack asked.

“My wife’s childhood crush,” Hendley said. “Before your time. Say, have you met Paul Brown?”

Jack extended his hand, smiling. “Accounting, right?” He liked Paul’s unexpectedly firm grip.

“I’m surprised you remember me. We’re on opposite ends of the building and on different floors.”

“You do good work,” Jack said. But in truth, Jack hardly knew the man. He met him a couple times at Christmas parties, saw him in a few general staff meetings. But Paul Brown’s reputation was sterling.

“You do good work, too,” Paul said. “Or so I hear.”

For a moment Jack hesitated. Neither Paul nor Rhodes knew about The Campus, Hendley Associates’ “black side” operations. In order to fund those operations, Hendley and Jack Ryan, Sr., also formed the “white side” private-equity management enterprise known to the public as Hendley Associates. The firm had grown exponentially over the years, both in terms of personnel and AUM — assets under management. Jack actually began his work on the white side as a first-rate financial analyst before joining The Campus as a special operator — without his father’s knowledge or permission.

“We never worked together, did we?” Jack said.

“No, but you worked with Kevin Hedrick on a project I’m familiar with a few years back. He said you were the sharpest knife in the drawer.”

“Kevin was the lead on that one. He just made me look good.”

“I know what it is,” Rhodes said, like a math student solving a problem. “You’ve put on some muscle since I last saw you. Hitting the gym pretty hard these days, eh?”

“You look pretty good yourself, Senator,” Jack said, trying to take the attention away from himself. In fact, he’d recently added another five pounds of muscle, thanks to a new training regimen, bringing the total to fifteen since he left college.

“Pilates and yoga, mostly,” Rhodes said. “And Whole Thirty.”

Jack and Rhodes shared a couple personal stories for the next few minutes, pulling Hendley into the friendly mix. Rhodes had been a frequent guest at the White House and even the President’s personal residence when he was a senator. Rhodes had worked tirelessly on behalf of President Ryan’s defense agenda in his first term, earning him both Hendley’s and Ryan’s gratitude and allegiance.

Paul Brown noted the easy familiarity between the three men. Old friends, it seemed to him. Two former senators and the son of a President. Paul felt like an intruder. He was just the son of a beat cop who was raised on his grandfather’s dairy farm. “Can I get you something to drink, Jack?” Hendley asked.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

They all took their seats and Rhodes filled Jack in on the part of his presentation he’d already given to Paul. He picked up where he’d left off.

“So the bottom line, gentlemen, is that we need an independent, third-party firm to conduct a ‘good faith’ audit of their assets, and in the end, you’d both sign a form that would summarize your findings. Nothing too complicated or involved. That way, both parties can be assured we’ve negotiated a reasonable purchase price.”

“Any doubts about that by either party?”

Rhodes shrugged. “We’re offering double the current stock price. If they’re as good as we think they are, it’s more than worth it. But two more sets of eyes on the prize will put a few hearts at ease, including mine.”

Rhodes leaned forward. “And as everyone in the industry knows, Hendley Associates has a sterling reputation for this kind of work, and nobody”—Rhodes waved a finger at Paul—“is better at forensic accounting than Paul Brown. I’ve seen him at work, believe me.”

Jack frowned. He’d never seen Rhodes at Hendley Associates before. He wondered when Paul and Rhodes had worked together — and why.

Rhodes said, “Paul, what I’d ask you to do is look at their books — it’s all digital now, of course. Root around in there, make sure everything is on the up and up.”

“Do you have your suspicions?” Hendley asked.

“No, not at all. Dalfan Technologies is an old and reputable firm in the most honest market and robust economy in Asia. But everyone thought Enron was the golden child, too, in its day. In the current market, large-cap companies like ours can only grow our market share and capture new growth through acquiring smaller, faster-growing companies like Dalfan.”

“But your board doesn’t want to overpay for the privilege,” Hendley said. “Or buy a pig in a poke.”

“Exactly. A third-party audit protects everyone’s interests.” Rhodes turned to Jack. “I’ve known Gerry for twenty years, and I cheered him on when he decided to jump into the private sector and start this magnificent firm.” He turned back to Hendley. “Wasn’t I your biggest cheerleader? Didn’t I tell you you’d succeed?”

Hendley smiled. “Guilty on both counts. And I’m truly grateful for your support over the years.”

Rhodes turned back to Jack and Paul. “So what other firm would I turn to other than Hendley Associates?”

Hendley saw the hesitant look on their faces.

“It’s a great honor for the senator to ask us to do this and I’d very much like to accept. The remuneration is extremely generous, too. However, he’s placed three conditions on our employment. And the first two conditions are the two of you, gentlemen.”

Jack and Paul exchanged a confused look.

Rhodes smiled. “I specifically requested you, Paul, because I know your work and I know you understand the value of discretion. There’s no one I trust in the world more than you to handle this thing.” He paused for effect. “I’d bet my life on it.”

Rhodes’s little speech seemed kind of over the top to Jack, but by the look on Paul’s face, it had the desired effect.

Rhodes turned to Jack. “And I didn’t ask for you, Jack. I asked Gerry who his best financial analyst was and he named you without skipping a beat — which was no surprise to me at all. You’re whip smart, just like your father. And given our past history together, I couldn’t be more delighted to have you on board with Paul.”

“I appreciate that, Senator.”

“And if I can’t have the two of you, well, it’s a no-go for me. Sounds crazy, I know, but that’s how strongly I believe in our little team.”

“Well, there you have it,” Hendley said. “Without the two of you, we don’t get the contract.”

Jack and Paul exchanged a noncommittal look. They saw in each other’s eyes exactly the same thing. Neither wanted to do the job — for different reasons, obviously. But there would be an inevitable fallout for both of them if they didn’t take it, Gerry Hendley’s disappointment being the worst of it. Jack saw that his boss clearly wanted the gig.

Rhodes saw this silent exchange as capitulation and took it as a sign of victory.

“Paul, if you agree to take the assignment, you’d handle the forensic accounting. I’d want you to turn on that radar brain of yours and cut through all of the haze. I really don’t think you’ll find anything, and that’s as good an outcome as I can hope for.” Rhodes paused. “But don’t mistake my meaning. If there’s something wrong, something fishy, I want to know. I have a fiduciary responsibility to my company and I’m counting on you to help me fulfill it.”

“Of course,” Paul said. “But any competent CPA can do that kind of work.”

Rhodes pointed at Jack. “Jack, if you sign on, your assignment would be more qualitative in nature. I’d want you to look around, size up the people you meet there, the working conditions, the general feel of the place — even the city. Is it the kind of work environment you’d want to be in? Are the people happy, productive? What’s Dalfan’s quality control like? Their security? And I’d want you to take some time to confer with Paul. If he pulled up a questionable file or two, I’d hope you’d burn some shoe leather and check things out, kick the tires. Do you catch my drift?”

“I think so.”

“They’ll put on their very best dog-and-pony show,” Hendley said. “That’s to be expected. Just keep your eyes and ears open and try to see what’s behind the curtain.”

Rhodes added, “I need you both to keep a very low profile while you’re over there. If word of what you’re doing gets out, it could affect the deal.”

Jack and Paul nodded their agreement.

“Questions?” Rhodes asked.

“What was the third condition for the job?” Jack asked.

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot. You would need to leave for Singapore tonight. We’re up against the clock and it’s a twenty-one-hour flight.”

Paul Brown’s eyes got wide as dinner plates. Jack frowned.

Rhodes saw that he hadn’t sealed the deal yet. He turned to Hendley. “Gerry, do you mind if I have a private word with Paul here in your office?”

“No, not at all. I want to grab a cup of coffee, anyway, and catch up with Jack about another matter. Will thirty minutes do?”

“That should be fine.”

“Call me if you need more,” Hendley said. The four men stood. “C’mon, Jack. They’ve got prune Danish in the cafeteria this morning.”

Jack sighed quietly and followed him out the door.

Gerry Hendley was about to serve him a steaming pile of something, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be prune Danish.