"Ludlum, Robert - THE JANSON DIRECTIVE" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ludlum Robert)

Harnett's corner office had a sweeping view of Lake Michigan and downtown
Chicago. A high chair, a high floor: Harnett wanted there to be no mistaking
that he had scaled the heights.
Harnett himself was a fireplug of a man, short and powerfully built, who spoke
with a gravelly voice. Janson had heard that Harnett prided himself on making
regular tours of the company's active projects, during which he would talk with
the foremen as if he had been one himself. Certainly he had the swagger of
somebody who had started out working on construction sites and rose to the
corner office by the sweat of his brow. But that was not exactly how it
happened. Janson knew that Harnett held an MBA from the Kellogg School of
Management at Northwestern and that his expertise lay in financial engineering
rather than in construction engineering. He had put together the Harnett
Corporation by acquiring its subsidiaries at a time when they were strapped for
cash and seriously underpriced. Because construction was a deeply cyclical
business, Harnett had recognized, well-timed equity swaps made it possible to
build a cash-rich corporation at bargain-basement prices.
Finally, Harnett hung up the phone and silently regarded Janson for a few
moments. "Stevie tells me you've got a real high-class reputation," he said in a
bored tone. "Maybe I know some of your other clients. Who have you worked with?"
Janson gave him a quizzical look. Was he being interviewed? "Most of the clients
that I accept," he said, pausing after the word, "come recommended to me by
other clients." It seemed crass to spell it out: Janson was not the one to
supply references or recommendations; it was the prospective clients who had to
come recommended. "My clients can, in some circumstances, discuss my work with
others. My own policy has always been across-the-board nondisclosure."
"You're like a wooden Indian, aren't you?" Harnett sounded annoyed.
"I'm sorry?"
"I'm sorry, too, because I have a pretty good notion that we're just wasting
each other's time. You're a busy guy, I'm a busy guy, we don't either of us have
time to sit here jerking each other off. I know Stevie's got it in his head that
we're a leaky boat and taking on water. That's not how it is. Fact is, it's the
nature of the business that it has a lot of ups and downs. Stevie's still too
green to understand. I built this company, I know what happens in every office
and every construction yard in twenty-four countries. To me, it's a real
question whether we need a security consultant in the first place. And the one
thing I have heard about you is that your services don't come cheap. I'm a great
believer in corporate frugality. Zero-based budgeting is gospel as far as I'm
concerned. Try to follow me hereЧevery penny we spend has to justify itself. If
it doesn't add value, it's not happening. That's one corporate secret I don't
mind letting you in on." Harnett leaned back, like a pasha waiting for a servant
to pour him tea. "But feel free to change my mind, OK? I've said my piece. Now
I'm happy to listen."
Janson smiled wanly. He would have to apologize to Steven BurtЧJanson doubted
whether anyone well disposed toward him had called him "Stevie" in his lifeЧbut
clearly wires had got crossed here. Janson accepted few of the offers he
received, and he certainly did not need this one. He would extricate himself as
swiftly as he could. "I really don't know what to say, Mr. Harnett. It sounds
from your end like you've got everything under control."
Harnett nodded without smiling, acknowledging an observation of the
self-evident. "I run a tight ship, Mr. Janson," he said with smug condescension.