"Robert Weinberg - Logical Magician 01 - A Logical Magician" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weinberg Robert)

to deal with him on a regular basis. They had to play the game his way or not at all. No
one dared drop in unexpectedly on Roger. If they weren't listed in his appointment book,
he completely ignored them. It didn't matter who they were or what company they
represented. Roger refused to make exceptions. His rules were never bent, much less
broken.
Business lunches began exactly on the hour, not a minute late. Presentations ran by
the clock. Thirty minutes for a report meant that one second afterward Roger refused to
listen to another word. His world ran like clockwork, and everyone on his payroll worked
by the same schedule. Or they didn't work for Quinn Enterprises.
Behind his back, most of Roger's several dozen employees agreed that their boss
belonged in a lunatic asylum. However, one and all they kept their doubts strictly to
themselves. They jumped to obey their boss's slightest whim. In a period of retrenchment
and recession, working for a lunatic was a lot better than not working at ail. For, where
most other scientific consulting and marketing companies had fallen on hard times, Quinn
Enterprises continued to expand.
Without exception, all of the major financial experts agreed that the phenomenal
growth of the company related directly to the unique genius of its founder and CEO,
Roger Quinn. Virtually unknown only a few years before, he entered an already crowded
field and beat the biggest companies at their own game. Started as a small sideline
operation in Roger's apartment, Quinn Enterprises had become a major West Coast
corporation, poised on the brink of global expansion. In the last six months, QE had
opened offices in New York, Chicago, and several other major metropolitan areas. Rumor
had it that foreign offices were soon to follow.
What baffled his rivals and many of his own employees was Roger's amazing skill at
exploiting the problems and failures of his rivals. Whenever another company experienced
difficulty in fulfilling a contract, Roger and his team were there with the necessary answers
just in the nick of time. If a material shortage caused a backup in manufacturing a new
product, Roger knew where to find the necessary ingredient. Moreover, he oftentimes
controlled the only available supply of the goods and priced it accordingly.
It was almost as if Roger knew when and where problems were going to occur
before they happened. His rivals suspected sabotage, but there was absolutely no
evidence to support such claims. No one could find a thing to link Roger or his employees
with any of the problems or failures experienced by the other firms. The only explanation
consistent with all the facts, incredible as it seemed, was that Roger possessed a hidden
talent for sensing trouble. No one accepted the theory gracefully, but they had little choice
in the matter. Roger wisely kept his mouth shut. He didn't really care what his rivals
thought. As long as they never guessed the truth.
Humming softly to himself, Roger made his way down the lone staircase leading to
the subbasement of his mansion. A tall, thin man with a scraggly beard and bright blue
eyes, he wore a pair of battered jeans and a faded black sweatshirt embossed with his
company's logoтАФa five-pointed star with a large R in the center.
Surprisingly, no one drew a connection between the symbol and a pentagram. A
fact that pleased Roger no end.
Always the maverick, he delighted in thumbing his nose at the establishment.
Corporate executives considered Roger eccentric. But plenty of other CEO's of major
corporations were equally odd. All each of the money men cared about was that his firm
delivered on tough assignments when other businesses failed. Quinn Enterprises had saved
dozens of important contracts that otherwise would have collapsed. It provided a
necessary service and charged premium prices for that work. "We help you out when you
need us most" was the company motto, one that had become famous throughout the