"I had no idea you would be so favorable to the idea."
"Oh, yeah! It'd be great!"
"Well, don't get too excited. I haven't taken the job yet."
Decker still wasn't comfortable with the circumstances of the promotion but he did check the Internet for prices of apartments near the U.N.
After Christopher went to bed Decker got out the financial records that Elizabeth had kept while he was in Lebanon to determine how much he needed to ask for to be able to keep the house and get an apartment in New York. He had only studied the figures for a few moments when he dropped his head and began to cry. In Lebanon he had wondered so often what Elizabeth was doing. The figures provided a partial answer. Not only were they debt-free except for the mortgage, Elizabeth had made frequent extra payments on the house, and she had put a tidy sum in their savings account. The tears he cried were not of joy but of pain as he came to realize that Elizabeth must have pinched pennies the whole time he was in Lebanon, saving for when he got home. How many things, he wondered, had she denied herself? How many times had she and the girls eaten leftovers of leftovers? How many times had they made do with less when everyone around them had all they needed? Now he was home and here was all the money, but they wouldn't be able to enjoy it.
Between Elizabeth's frugality and the apartment prices he found on the Internet, Decker determined he wouldn't need to ask for as much from NewsWorld as he thought he might. Still, as he neared the bottom line he wondered just how much they were willing to pay him. This brought back the question of what was behind this sudden and uncharacteristic generosity. He was torn between keeping his mouth shut and just taking the job, and wanting to know what was behind the offer. Was this really a gift horse, as Hank Asher had suggested, or was it a Trojan horse? As he continued to think about it, he became more and more resolved to know the answers, and to know them before he took the job.
Decker went directly to Hank Asher's office, closed the door behind him, and gave Asher a slip of paper with a figure written on it.
"What's this," Asher asked, after he looked at it.
"That's how much I want to take the job in New York," Decker answered without flinching.
"Are you crazy?! That's twice what I make! There's no way they're going to pay you that much!"
"You're probably right," Decker answered, "But let's see."
Asher thought it was a dumb idea but he placed the call anyway. No sooner had he told his boss, Ima Jackson, how much Decker wanted than she authorized it. Asher put his hand over the phone and looked at Decker dumbfounded. "She says yes," he mouthed without actually saying the words.
This wasn't the way Decker planned it at all. He had assumed that Jackson would refuse and then he'd offer to negotiate. Then once he was talking with her face-to-face, he could get some answers. "Ask her why," Decker directed in a whisper.
Now Hank's pride was on the line. He didn't particularly appreciate that NewsWorld was willing to pay Decker so much more than he was making. He asked, but Jackson directed him to simply comply with her instructions. Asher gritted his teeth and took his orders like a good executive, but this would not be the end of it. Whatever happened with Decker, Asher planned to demand a substantial increase in his own pay in the very near future.
"So, what are you going to do?" Asher demanded, after he hung up the phone. He was angry about the whole situation, and didn't want to be pushed any further.
"Call her back and tell her I'm not interested. Tell her that if they want me that badly they're going to have to tell me why. Tell her I'm in no mood for games and either I get some straight answers or else leave me where I am and give me my damned office back! Tell her she can reach me at home. I'm taking the day off."
When Decker arrived at his house the phone was ringing. He recognized the caller's voice immediately as Ambassador Hansen's daughter, Jackie.
"Mr. Hawthorne," she said, "Ambassador Hansen asked me to call you. He was very impressed with your article about him in this week's issue of NewsWorld and he wishes to thank you for all the nice things you said about him."
"Well, please relay my regards back to the Ambassador. Tell him I appreciate his graciousness, especially considering the circumstances of the interview."
"Thank you, I will," she answered. "Ambassador Hansen would also like to know if you would be at all interested in discussing the possibility of accepting a position as his press secretary and chief speech writer. The position has just come open and the Ambassador feels that you would be an excellent choice to fill it."
Decker was surprised by the offer. Was this opportunity knocking? Perhaps another case of being in the right place at the right time? He was uncomfortable with what was going on at NewsWorld. If he took the job as head of the New York office, he would have to live with Asher's ire about his higher salary. But should he really turn down that much money? On the other hand, it made sense to look at another offer. Then he remembered the expression on Christopher's face when he talked about the U.N. Decker hadn't quite realized it yet, but since the deaths of Elizabeth and the girls, Christopher was quickly becoming his family.
"Sure," he said. "I'd be interested. I'd be glad to consider it."
"Good," she responded. "When could you come to New York to discuss it further?"
"I can be there tomorrow afternoon, if that's okay with Ambassador Hansen."
"That would be fine. We'll arrange for your airline ticket and I'll have someone call you back within the hour to confirm the time."
Decker hung up the phone and immediately went to work updating his resume.
In New York Jackie Hansen sat at her father's desk with the door closed. In a moment she would instruct her secretary to make the arrangements for Decker's flight. Right now she needed privacy to make another call. "This is Jackie Hansen," she said into the receiver. "I need to speak to the Director."
"Yes?" she heard after a moment.
"He said yes," Jackie Hansen said, without explanation. "He'll be here tomorrow for the interview."
"Excellent! You've done very well," Alice Bernley said, and then hung up the phone and smiled at Robert Milner. The look on her face left no doubt that the plan had been successful.
"I guess we can tell Bragford to call off the people at NewsWorld" Milner said. "I think this is a better arrangement anyway. We'll be in a much better position to direct the boy's future with Mr. Hawthorne working for Ambassador Hansen than if he had accepted the job at the magazine."
"Assuming that Jackie is able to ensure that her father offers him the job," Bernley said, "how can we be sure Mr. Hawthorne will accept the offer?"
"When NewsWorld abruptly withdraws its offer of a promotion and a raise, Hawthorne will have to consider it a professional insult. He'll be looking for some way to preserve his honor. Ambassador Hansen's offer will provide him that opportunity," Milner answered.
Chapter 14
Dark Awakening
Three weeks later – Tel Aviv
A small electric space heater blew a warm breeze across Tom Donafin's face as sounds began to fill his ears with the reality that surrounded him. Still more asleep than awake, his mind wandered aimlessly between dream and consciousness. Finally he committed himself to wakefulness and opened his eyes, but was suddenly struck with intense pain as tiny bits of glass scraped across the inside of his eyelids. Instantly his eyes closed again as he winced and moaned and rolled in pain.
Tom lay still, trying to relax his eyes as he sorted through his memories. The last thing he recalled was the missile that killed Nigel and destroyed the car. He did not recall being knocked unconscious, nor did he have any idea where he was now. He listened for voices or some distinguishable sound but heard none.