Her sanction came out when Matthew spoke: "It's brilliant."
William breathed a silent sigh.
Matthew advanced his own view of the overall premise, and when he finished he sat back and clasped his hands in his lap, his face glowing with certainty.
Any concerns William might have had for Matthew's strategic ability and comprehension now departed. "Bravo," William said. "Of course, there's much we'd have to discuss." Then, cautiously: "And this plan must remain a secret between us. You and I will guide it along privately through its early stages, until we reach the point where a merger makes perfect sense." He studied Matthew's expression for any sign of consternation, and was pleased to find none.
"You know, its funny," Matthew said, with no hint of humor in his voice, "The big concern I've had about considering this job at Wallaby was ICP. Now your big concern and my big concern may very well wind up becoming the computer industry's single biggest concern ever."
"Quite," said William, raising his glass to toast his new secret partner.
The touch-tone sound of the computer's modem brought William back to the present.
As planned, Matthew had sent him an e-mail message that validated the decision he had voiced earlier to his advisers.
However, when he read the last part of the message, about Peter Jones's possible departure from the company, he felt a shiver. Granted, he was relieved now that Matthew had won support, and that the secret merger plan could proceed. He favored a scenario whereby Jones stayed with Wallaby and continued to lead the development of the company's future products.
Pondering this, he studied his finger on the Joey's trackpad. Sliding his fingertip across the smooth surface felt natural and intuitive, a genius design. Peter Jones's genius design. Without the trackpad, the Joey would not function as it did. Elegant. Silky. Smooth. Right.