Gillette watched Stockman's press conference, his eyes narrowing as Stockman mentioned Everest and him by name. Thanks to Quentin Stiles, the campaign wasn't going to last very long. Unless Stockman cooperated.

"Christian."

Gillette looked up from the television. Marcie Reed stood at his office door. "Come in." He gestured toward one of the chairs as he turned off the television. "Have a seat."

"I'm busy, Christian," she said, sitting down across from him, her short skirt riding up her thighs. "Let's make this quick."

"We'll take as long as we need to," he said flatly.

Her eyes flashed to his, picking up on his tone. "What's going on?" she asked, her voice softening.

"Did you hear about Congressman Allen's news conference?"

She nodded deliberately. "Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Marcie, Allen accused us of fraud in the Dominion IPO. You and Donovan ran that process for us. Bill's dead. That leaves you."

"Allen's wrong," she answered matter-of-factly. "As far as I know, there were no problems at Dominion when it went public. The auditors were all over it. I don't know where the congressman could be getting that kind of information. We'll be cleared."

She was good, Gillette thought. He'd seen her in action before, convincing a CEO she had sensitive information about his company when she didn't. Enabling her to manipulate him even though she was bluffing. "I'm going to ask you straight up, Marcie. Are you working for Paul Strazzi?"

"What!"

"Are you working for Paul Strazzi?" Gillette repeated.

"No. How could you possibly think that?"

"Like I said, you and Donovan did the IPO. The rest of us didn't hear much about it."

"What does that have to do with Paul Strazzi?"

"I think he's trying to take over Everest. I also think he's working with someone inside this firm."

"That's ridiculous," she said, shaking her head.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"You and Bill didn't tell us much about what was going on with Dominion. Why was everything so hush-hush?"

"This is ridiculous," she said, standing up and heading for the door. "I'm not going to sit here and take it."

"Senator Stockman is about to get some bad news," Gillette called as she reached the door. "Information that would probably end his run for president if it were released to the public."

Marcie slowly turned back around.

"Information I will release." Gillette studied Marcie's expression, certain he saw fear, an emotion that he'd never seen her show before. "Unless he works with me. Unless he tells me what's really going on with Congressman Allen and who his contact is inside Everest."

"Why would Stockman know anything?"

"He's working with Strazzi."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do." He pointed at her. "Now, do you want to tell me anything, Marcie? Believe me, it'll go a lot better for you later if you cooperate with me now."

She stared at him for a few moments. "There's nothing to tell," she finally said.

Gillette saw indecision. "Why did you tell Lefors that Troy Mason was in the bas.e.m.e.nt with a woman at Donovan's funeral reception?" he asked, hitting her with everything. "Why didn't you just come to me?"

Marcie shook her head. "That's absurd," she said, turning to go. "Absolutely absurd. I never told anyone that. I didn't know Troy was down there with a woman."

Gillette gazed at the empty doorway when she was gone. He'd detected hesitation in her reaction to questions about Dominion but not to the question about Mason.

21.

A Price. Everyone has one; you just have to find it. Then be willing to pay it. Everyone has one; you just have to find it. Then be willing to pay it.

STRAZZI USHERED THE WIDOW INTO his office, holding the chair for her as she sat down. "Would you care for something to drink, Ann?" he asked politely, moving behind his desk. It made him want to puke to be so pleasant, but he had no choice. He needed her to relax, needed her to feel comfortable while they discussed her selling her Everest stake, so he made the effort, made those insincere gestures he hadn't made in so long, the kind of gestures others made toward him. "Water? Coffee?" he asked, sitting down, too.

"Hot tea," she answered.

Almost defiantly, Strazzi noticed. She was tense; the stress was obvious in her voice. And she was clutching that black purse in her lap with both hands like there was a million bucks inside and someone was eyeing it. Still, she seemed calm. "Of course, Ann." He picked up the telephone slowly, like he had all the time in the world. "Vicky."

"Yes?"

"Could you bring Mrs. Donovan some hot tea?"

"Right away, sir."

"Thank you." He smiled as he put down the receiver. "Vicky's wonderful," he murmured, trying to act as if this was just another day. "Always a joy to be around, always a smile on her face."

The widow didn't respond.

"Well, how are you, Ann?" Strazzi asked, forcing sadness into his tone and concern into his expression. "I'm sure this has been a difficult time."

"Don't put the act on for me, Paul. I know what you want. Let's not waste time."

Strazzi's expression hardened. "All right," he agreed, leaning forward.

"Do you have something you want me to consider?" she wanted to know.

"Yes."

"What?"

"Did you see Congressman Allen's press conference earlier this afternoon?" Strazzi asked, trying to dial up the heat before he got into the details of his offer.

"I did." The widow sniffed. As if she found the fact that he'd ignored her question annoying. "One of Stockman's aides called me beforehand so I was sure to see it."

"Then you understand how difficult the Dominion situation is. That savings and loan is going down. You might as well use your shares to start your fire on Christmas morning." Strazzi stared at the widow. "How much have you lost?"

"Fifty million," she answered indifferently. As if it had been fifty cents.

Strazzi leaned back in his chair, trying to figure out if she really didn't care, or if she was that good a poker player. "Dominion's the tip of the iceberg, Ann. You heard Congressman Allen. He's going to send in the storm troopers to do a full-blown investigation at Everest. If they find anything, Christian Gillette and his people will have a h.e.l.l of a mess on their hands." Strazzi hesitated. "And, like I told you before, my information is that they will will find things. Bad things." He paused again. "And they're going to have to pay a big fine related to Dominion. That alone could take them down." find things. Bad things." He paused again. "And they're going to have to pay a big fine related to Dominion. That alone could take them down."

"You told me you had proof there were problems with the portfolio companies," she reminded him.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, let me see it."

There was a light tap on the door and Vicky came into the office, buying Strazzi time.

"Here you are, Mrs. Donovan," she said, placing a cup of hot water, a bowl of tea bags, a spoon, and a small pitcher of cream down on a table beside the older woman's chair.

"Thank you."

Vicky smiled. "Do you need anything, Mr. Strazzi?"

"No."

Vicky turned and moved quickly out of the office.

"I don't have that doc.u.mentation yet," Strazzi said frankly when Vicky was gone. And Allen hadn't called another press conference to mention the company names at Everest.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"I just don't," he said deliberately, trying not to let his irritation filter into his tone. Letting her see it would probably scare her. Maybe make her back off completely.

The widow slipped a tea bag into the hot water and began to stir. The spoon clinked off the sides of the cup. "I didn't hear anything specific in terms of portfolio company names from Congressman Allen during the press conference, either. I thought you said he was going to mention the Everest companies that were in trouble, not just Dominion."

Strazzi shrugged. "He didn't get around to it." This wasn't going well, he thought to himself. Not well at all. In fact, he half expected her to stand up and leave. Troy Mason was going to pay dearly.

They were both silent for a few moments.

"So, what's your offer, Paul?"

Strazzi's eyes flashed to the widow's. He'd been picking at a scab on the back of his hand, thinking about what he was going to do to Mason. He studied the widow's expression. She had tried hard to seem unconcerned about Allen's press conference, and nonchalant about her $50 million loss on Dominion. But now he saw how brittle her defiance was. She wasn't that good a poker player after all. There was panic seeping into the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. He'd been around a long time and he could spot panic the moment it appeared. In addition, she was holding on to her purse so tightly now that her fingers were ghost white.

"Two billion," he answered quietly, thanking lady luck she hadn't brought a lawyer or an investment banker with her to negotiate. Probably because she didn't want to pay the multimillion-dollar fee. He'd heard she was cheap.

"In cash?"

"A billion in cash and another billion in a five-year note," Strazzi went on. "I'll pay the note off at the rate of two hundred million a year. Plus, I'll pay you 5 percent interest."

"That doesn't seem like a great deal."

"It's what I'm willing to pay," he answered firmly.

"A few months ago my husband told me the Everest stake was worth at least four billion," the widow countered.

"Maybe when the sharks weren't circling the ship and the ship didn't have a leak. But Everest is going down, Ann. At least, without me."

"What do you mean by that?" She perked up, listening intently. "What can you do?"

"I have connections. I can take the heat off Everest. I can get Allen to call off the dogs if I agree to get involved. If I tell them I'll clean up the mess. My people have already had preliminary talks with officials in Washington." Strazzi wagged a finger at her. "But, Ann, if I'm not involved, Allen will go after Everest with the big guns, make no mistake about it. I mean, look at it from his perspective. It's a great opportunity. It'll make him look like he's doing something to protect the public from Wall Street, which is always popular. Your stake won't be worth four billion in that scenario. In fact, it could be worth less than two. Much less. Maybe nothing."

"You just want to toss out Christian Gillette so you can get control of Everest," the widow snapped.

"A man doesn't offer $2 billion for something because he's feeling generous. Not if he's in his right mind. Sure, I want control of Everest," Strazzi continued, not giving her a chance to speak. "And, yes, I'd kick Gillette out. As fast as I could. So what? What do you care? As long as you get your two billion." The widow was gazing at him with a faraway look. He could see her indecision. She didn't know what to do. It was time to turn the screws-hard. "Hey, if you want to take a chance and try to ride out the storm with Gillette, have at it. I admire your loyalty. But remember this: Gillette doesn't have anywhere near the investment in Everest you do. He might take more chances because he has so much less to lose."

The widow stuck out her tiny chin. "I want two and a half half billion, and I want it all in cash." billion, and I want it all in cash."

Strazzi felt his pulse jump. She was in. She was going to sell. She'd made the psychological leap. Now it was just a question of structure because they were close on price. "I won't go higher than two billion, but I'll increase the cash portion to a billion five. And, Ann, I can close this thing quickly. I already have a team of lawyers waiting at the first tee. I can have the cash to you by Monday afternoon."

"Two and a quarter. All cash."

Strazzi hesitated. He hated giving in-even a little. Especially to a woman. But he wanted this more than anything in the world. "Two billion in cash and $250 million in notes. Take it or leave it, Ann. That's my final offer, and it won't be on the table for long." He stood up and moved toward the door. "I'm going to get some coffee. When I get back, there's a fifty-fifty chance I'll still be offering you the deal. If I'm not, I'll offer you nothing."

As Strazzi reached for the k.n.o.b the widow spoke up. "Can you really have the cash to me Monday afternoon?"

He smiled for a moment as he stood with his back to her. "Absolutely," he confirmed, turning around to face her. "No later than two o'clock."

She stood up and moved to the door beside him, staring at him intently as she opened it for herself. "All right, I accept your offer. I'm using the same lawyers Bill used for our personal affairs. Porter and Hughes over on Park."

"I know them."

"The partner I work with there is John Meyers. He's expecting your call."

"I'll get in touch with him right away."

"Good. I'll see myself out."

"I have several calls into Donovan's widow." Miles Whitman was sitting in one of the chairs in the corner of Gillette's office. "I don't call her much, but when I do, she usually calls me back quickly." He hesitated. "Not this time, though. I'm sorry, Christian," he said quietly. "I don't know what to tell you."

"She's meeting with Strazzi right now," said Gillette, sitting across the coffee table from Whitman.