Blake Schwendiman's Blog and Blook

Chapter 7

Wednesday, 09 March 2022 – 11:30 a.m. MST

Ramesh marveled as he and Quinn arrived in Tempe, the headquarters of Q-Morrow Technologies. The company had literally reshaped the landscape of the college town. In the early years of the twenty-first century a small number of high-rise buildings rose up in Tempe, creating a new hub for commerce near the university. When Q-Morrow exploded in the mid 2010’s, billions of dollars were ploughed into the city. More towers were erected and Quinn’s companies became central to the economics and politics of the valley of the sun.

The main tower was magnificent. Its interior was immaculate, but not ultra-modern. Quinn had a taste for elegance and a love of the classics. His buildings were functional and beautiful. He took pride in them as he did any part of his life.

His office was at the top of the tower. The elevators opened on the top floor to reveal a large reception area. Behind the reception area was the conference room which faced north and opened to a panoramic view of the Papago Park and golf area.

Quinn’s office sat to the left of the reception area. It was large, but not overly so. A large portion of the office had been designated as Quinn’s personal space. Few knew what was there. Fewer still had ever seen it. Only one other person worked on the top floor, Valerie Decker – Quinn’s executive assistant.

Valerie had an office similar in size to Quinn’s, although because she was more likely to be the face of the corporate office, hers was in much better order. Valerie had started working for Quinn when she was just eighteen years old. She spent ten years at the company in various departments proving herself to be the most devoted employee Quinn knew. She had earned both a Bachelor’s degree and an MBA during her tenure at Q-Morrow. Quinn promoted Valerie to executive assistant nearly six years ago. In that time she became a trusted advisor and personal friend to Quinn and his family.

“Val, I’d like you to meet an old friend, Ramesh Kapoor,” Quinn said as they entered Valerie’s suite.

Val stood immediately and crossed the room to meet Ramesh. She was a stunningly beautiful woman. Her dark brown hair, deep blue eyes and beaming smile enchanted all that met her. Her gaze was continually filled with both confidence and happiness.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ramesh,” she said, holding out her hand. Ramesh took her hand and smiled back. He was sure he hadn’t felt quite so elated to meet anyone for years. He couldn’t withhold a smile if he had wanted.

“It is also very nice to meet you, Valerie.”

“Call me Val.” The lilt in Val’s voice mirrored the emotions of her eyes. “Can I have anything brought up for you?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine,” Ramesh smiled. He and Quinn then walked through the adjoining doorway into the conference room. Quinn recognized the dazzled look in Ramesh’s eyes and grinned.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Quinn’s stated as much as asked.

Ramesh broke from his trance and made eye contact with Quinn. He was clearly embarrassed.

“Remind me to tell you about her husband when we have a moment,” Quinn said, his eyes beaming with youthful excitement.

Valerie returned. “If you need anything while you’re here, please let me know.”

Ramesh was amazed at how quickly his mood changed in her presence. She had an intoxicating smile.

“I’m sure you have a lot to discuss,” she continued. “If you need anything, I’ll be on the twentieth floor making a presentation.”

Quinn thanked Valerie as she left and motioned for Ramesh to sit. He pointed to the conference room artwork. There were several large pictures mounted in exquisite frames throughout the room. Each was a landscape or a still life. All were black and white.

“What do you think of the artwork?” Quinn asked.

Ramesh didn’t have a strong opinion about art in general. He had been strong in the sciences and had a preference for some subjects in art, but in general he was not particularly interested.

“Very nice,” he answered, hoping that he didn’t offend.

“They’re charcoal,” Quinn continued. “Not photos. You really need to look at them close up. It’s amazing to me that anyone could do that with charcoal.”

Quinn stood and invited Ramesh to more closely examine the art. Ramesh conceded out of politeness rather than interest.

“They’re all done by an artist named Fluckiger. Has a studio in Idaho. Excellent work. I’ve always liked a good black and white, but these are simply the best.”

Quinn returned to his spot in the conference room and continued, “they always make me think. You know it’s black charcoal on white canvas. Just simply black and white. But he puts them together and you get all those complex shades of gray and you get something alive. Life, I think, is like that. Not really black and white ... lots of gray.”

Ramesh felt his throat tighten a bit as he began to understand the point. Quinn knew Ramesh well enough to know that he was a deeply ethical man with strong beliefs. Ramesh knew that Quinn was prodding him to see if there would be a debate.

“You know how I feel,” Ramesh returned.

“Yes,” Quinn smiled. “That’s why I brought you here.”

Quinn motioned to the opposite wall. The room darkened. Simultaneously, the wall became transparent, and then lit into several panels. Most of the views displayed news broadcasts, with others providing what appeared to be internal corporate information.

“You’ve probably not heard the news out of India today,” Quinn said.

One of the viewscreens expanded to the center of the large wall display and the audio changed correspondingly. On the view, a young British reporter stood in the dark, speaking of an explosion. The caption on the screen read Oliver James, BBC – Live in New Delhi. The volume of the broadcast increased and Ramesh heard the reporter clearly.

“Sireesha Naidu is confirmed dead at this hour. Several senior researchers have also died in this apparent attack. The motivation behind the attack is not yet known. Again, at this time we are only certain of a few facts. First, the explosion occurred shortly after six pm local time. Second, DNA scans confirm that Sireesha Naidu, owner of the Naidu corporations and wealthiest person in India, is dead.”

Ramesh uttered his astonishment in Hindi. “I had not heard,” he said quietly.

“Well, don’t waste any emotion on her death,” Quinn retorted. He seemed particularly callous about the news.

“How do you mean?” Ramesh asked, a bit perturbed that Quinn reacted so coldly.

“She’s not dead. If I were a gambler, I’d wager that she set this up.”

“Destroy her own facility? Why would she do that?”

“She has much more to gain. It was an outdated facility on the fringe of her business. It was the center of a misguided controversy that ensured that media crews would be onsite last night,” Quinn continued. “I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of Sireesha Naidu in the next few days.” He furrowed his brow. He appeared to be distracted momentarily. He glanced at his watch. “It’s going to be a couple of hours before those numbers mean anything. Let’s go grab some lunch. There’s a great new Indian place...”

“How long am I going to be here?” Ramesh interjected, cutting Quinn off. “I am sorry. I did not mean to interrupt. I had not thought I would be away for long. I...”

“Not to worry,” Quinn smiled. “I didn’t give you much information, did I?”

“None at all. I did not plan to be here for more than one or two days,” Ramesh said, looking away. He had not actually planned at all. He had one change of clothes.

“To be honest, I was hoping you could do a couple of things for me over the next few days. Maybe a week.” Quinn paused to read the expression on Ramesh’s face. It was clear that Ramesh was not planning such a long stay. “I can get you anything you will need. And I’ll cover any expenses. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you can just commit to staying until this evening, then you’ll have more information. You can decide then.”

“Yes, and lunch would be nice. I am quite hungry,” Ramesh said. He tried to cover the confusion he felt.

The lights in the room came up to normal and the screens dissolved into the walls again. Ramesh and Quinn left the conference and made their way to the elevators reserved for the executive floors.