Prologue

The young woman entered the office, looking intimidated by her surroundings. The office was located on the top floor of the Markem building, which was located just off the river. The place was decorated in what one might call ‘Business Wow.’ It was meant to impress, and it succeeded in doing exactly that.

Here on an appointment to meet Dr. Markem, she was wearing her nicest outfit. In fact, it was an outfit that she had bought just for this occasion. She’d fussed with her appearance for thirty minutes. She desperately wanted to make a good impression.

Why was she so unnerved? She was entering the office belonging to one of the richest men in the country. He very seldom gave interviews to the modern press. This time, he had specifically requested that she be the one who interviewed him. She couldn’t help wondering why he wanted her to be there.

Her boss stepped into the office behind her, and looked around at the furnishings. He was an old time reporter with credentials that dated back to the day when newspapers were still printed on paper. He’d been around the block more than once. This wasn’t his first time to meet someone rich and powerful. Despite that, the office managed to impress even him.

The secretary at the desk said, “Miss Powers, Dr. Markem is wrapping up a conference call at the moment. He’ll see you in a minute.”

“Thank you,” the young woman said politely.

“Do you have appointment, Sir?”

“No. I’m Elliot Parks. Miss Powers works for me. I was concerned about her coming here without an escort.”

“I’ll let Dr. Markem know of your concerns,” the secretary said while her fingers flew over the keyboard.

Turning to her boss, Miss Powers said, “Are you sure he asked for me, specifically?”

Elliot answered, “Yes. He was quite insistent that if we wanted an interview with him, that you had to be the reporter who does the interviewing.”

“I don’t know him. How would he know about me?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Elliot said looking around. A poster caught his eye.

He walked over to a poster sized print of photograph of an old man and a soccer star. His eyebrows went up upon seeing it. He had heard about that photograph, but he’d never seen it. Miss Powers looked at the picture and said, “That’s an amazing photograph. Who took it?”

“He did.”

“That’s incredible. What’s the story behind it?”

“I don’t know.”

The secretary said, “You can both go in now.”

“Thank you,” Miss Powers said.

The two of them passed through the door into the private office of Dr. Danny Markem. Miss Powers swallowed heavily on seeing the expensive office furniture and the view from the window. One could see the river below. Her boss was equally impressed.

Dr. Markem stood beside his desk and said, “Come in, Miss Powers.”

“Thank you for your invitation, Dr. Markem,” Miss Powers said.

“You’re quite welcome,” Dr. Markem said. He turned to her boss and said, “Mr. Parks, I’m rather pleased that you chose to escort Miss Powers here. I appreciate a boss who looks out for his employees like that, particularly when said employee is a fifteen year old intern. I would have been quite disappointed if you hadn’t sent someone along to her assure her safety.”

“I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you, although that’s not why I did it. It is rather odd when a man of your stature insists on being interviewed by an intern, rather than an experienced reporter. It is doubly odd when the intern is a fifteen year old girl. It looks suspicious. I wanted to be assured that your reasons are above board.”

“I have my reasons,” Mr. Markem said.

“You’re not going to share them with us?”

“I think you’ll understand why by the end of the interview.”

“I’m not happy about that, but I’ll take your word for it, for now,” Mr. Park said.

“Why don’t you have a seat here, Miss Powers? Mr. Parks, would you mind sitting over there?”

The chair he had indicated was for her was right in front of his desk. The chair for her boss was across the room. Miss Powers turned to look at her boss. He nodded his head. He walked across the room to a chair while she sat in a chair right in front of the desk.

“Would you like something to drink, Miss Powers?”

“No, thank you.”

Mr. Markem walked around to his chair behind the desk and sat down. Miss Powers opened her purse and pulled out a small tablet. In the old days, reporters had used small pads of paper to keep notes from an interview. Now it was the tablet computer. They allowed hand written notes, recorded interviews, and allowed one to take pictures. It was the universal tool of reporters everywhere.

She asked, “Do you mind if I record this?”

“Be my guest.”

“Thank you.”

He said, “I’m ready whenever you’re ready.”

“Dr. Markem...”

“Please, call me Danny.”

She nodded her head in response, although her eyes nearly bulged out of her eye sockets at the level of informality that he was suggesting. Mr. Park frowned and leaned forward getting ready to rise from his chair. A sharp glance from Dr. Markem sent him back to his seat.

“May I call you Valerie?”

“Valerie is fine.”

“So ask your first question, Valerie.”

“Dr. Markem...”

“It’s ‘Danny.’”

She glanced over at her boss seeking guidance. He said, “Call him Danny.”

“Danny, you are one of the wealthiest men in...”

Interrupting her, Danny waved a finger back and forth. He said, “I don’t think that introduction is leading to a good first question. Would you like to try again?”

Flustered, Valerie looked over at Mr. Parks for guidance. He had gone through the questions with her. That was the first question he thought she should ask.

“Dr. Markem...” Mr. Parks began.