And while technicians and aides run around frantically trying to find out what’s going on and stop whatever it is, the slides continue, living their own damning life. A picture of Schwartz receiving his order by the queen is followed by a slide bearing the words, “He’s responsible for the loss of 7,900 jobs.” Then comes a picture of Schwartz in an intimate conversation with a well-known prince from the House of Saudi, followed by the words, “He made his first million in Saudi oil.” A third picture shows Schwartz playing golf with the Israeli prime minister, prior to a slide with the words, “He sold out his friendships for power.” The next picture shows him at a glamorous funeral; however, the shot is not very flattering, as he’s seen smiling a self-satisfied little smile next to a widow pale with grief. This is followed by the sentence, “He’s behind the deaths of at least eight people…that we know of.”
While the slides continue, unstoppable, damaging to not only one man, but to a number of others who happen to be in the room, the crowd is getting restless, looking around. Some people leave in haste, while others clearly are entranced by the show. However, there seem to be few tears on behalf of a man who has suddenly aged and shrunk before their very eyes. The predator becomes the hunted, and the pack leaves the defeated behind. He knows it. They know it.
A couple of plainclothes police officers step up to the podium. Francis smiles at Jo.
Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to the men and women in corporate life who struggle for good but sometimes lose meaning or direction along the way, and to the men and women in monasteries all over the world, who deeply believe they help mankind through their prayers and renunciations.
Specifically, I am indebted to a wise monk and a tiny, loving nun, who took me under their wings during a long and difficult stay at their small forest monastery in Sri Lanka; to Ramesh Siva for showing me the opulent side of Sri Lanka; and to my clients, quite a few of whom are lawyers but decent ones.
I am grateful to Christian Madsbjerg for being an inspiration, to Susanne Fabricius for encouragement, and to Major Henrik Tams Gildberg of the Danish Army, for correcting unrealistic action scenes.
A great thank you is also owed Jan Sigetty Boeje and his team, for giving the book a professional and enthusiastic treatment in the final process.
To my family, Morten, Stinne, and Zoe for the life they create.
Thank you!
About the Author
Charlotte Larsen is a bestselling Scandinavian author of more than twelve books, including the bestselling crime thriller Game of Greed, and a series of management books.
A graduate of Aarhus University and University of New South Wales, Charlotte is highly recognized as a specialist in managerial issues. Besides working on her next novel, she serves as a high-end management consultant for high performing industries such as the legal profession, finance, and defense.
Charlotte keeps a blog on creativity, writes for a Danish broadsheet, and is generally an opinion maker in the Danish business community.
She lives and writes in the Danish countryside and keeps a closet full of business suits in a flat in Copenhagen.
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