"You're a brilliant young man," Matthew said. "You've made this industry what it is. Were it not for you, we all know this company could never have been." His words flowed easily, without tremor.
"You had a dream to make portable computers for individuals, and you created this company out of sheer willpower and brains. Everyone here acknowledges that."
This was worse than Peter had thought. How long would he and his team have to sit through this, he wondered. Should he stop him now, and thank him? No, he told himself. Let him finish. After all, he had hired Matthew, and if anyone was to blame, it was he, for not realizing that a potato chip man could not be transformed into a silicon chip man. At this last thought he felt the start of a giggle in his chest, and he was forced to bow his head and pinch his lips tightly together to contain his laughter.
Matthew paused. What Peter didn't see were the sympathetic glances sent his way by the members of his hand-picked team. He resumed, "I was hired to complement you so that you could concentrate on developing your product ideas without the burden of managing a rapidly growing organization…"
Resigned to listening to the rest of Matthew's good-bye speech, Peter let his mind concentrate on important things. Leaking batteries, for instance. Longer screen life. Easy-to-service keyboards. Storage. Faster performance. Yes, that one was becoming more and more important. Must have faster performance.
Matthew's voice had become a faraway drone. "But I cannot do my job without having the power to fulfill my responsibilities. You have managed to create a rivalry with your once-greatest fans…"
What else? Agents. Now there was a subject he had become more and more interested in. Which reminds me, Peter thought, I've got to call the guys at MIT and see what they've come up with that we might use with the -
"IJoey Plus computer is late for delivery because of your inability to manage your organization. All that must change."
He sensed that Matthew was winding down, and focused once again on the here and now. Glad tidings, etcetera.
"So I have decided to ask each member of the board and executive staff to vote."