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this how Harry Wess-ner felt when I confronted him about Arthur Bean
?
Trapped and terrified?
Charlie hated feeling this out of control. The room seemed to dim, although nobody had adjusted the lights. Blood from his pumping heart pounded in his ears. Who was Charlie Giles to attack Jerry Schmidt in this way? Granted he was climbing the ladder, buthe wasn’t on Jerry’s rung, at least not yet. And this was going to be a humiliating experience for Jerry. For a moment, Charlie almost felt sorry for the man.
    Then he remembered what Jerry was here to do. He was here to shut down InVision.
    You brought this fight to your door, Jerry, he thought.
    Charlie pushed his chair away from the table and stood up. He made brief eye contact with each of the powerhouse attendees. He stayed quiet for a second, collected his nerves, then spoke with authority.
    “Leon, I’ll be glad to take the floor for five minutes,” Charlie said.
    “And what exactly are you talking about, Charlie?” Jerry asked.
    “Well, Jerry,” Charlie said, “if you must know, my topic is you.”
    That caused some commotion, a few laughs, and some sidebar conversations. Jerry Schmidt smiled, but it was nervous and forced.
    “I’m confused,” Jerry said. “What do you mean, me?”
    “Better to show you than to tell you,” Charlie said.
    Inwardly Charlie smiled. The moment was his to control.

Chapter 6
    T he room grew silent, and all eyes rested on Charlie. Moments later Charlie plugged his USB key into the computer and projected his PowerPoint presentation onto the large, retractable white screen at the front of the conference room.
    “I don’t want to say how I know, Jerry, because that wouldn’t be fair to my source,” Charlie began. “But I know what you’re here to present today, and I respectfully must disagree with it.”
    “I’m sorry. What did you say? You disagree with me? I find that a bit strange, Charlie,” Jerry returned.
    “Well, it’s the reason I’m here today. I’m here to implore this executive team to consider all sides and to not make any hasty decisions about InVision’s future based on a single perspective. Based on
your
perspective, Jerry.” Charlie made sure to face his adversary when he spoke his name.
    “I’m still confused, Charlie,” Jerry said. “How is it you came to know about my presentation?”
    “That doesn’t matter right now,” Charlie said. “I thought the best way for you to understand how and why InVision will help to shape SoluCent’s future is with facts and data. For some of you seated here, I’m sure this will just be a refresher course.”
    Charlie’s PowerPoint deck was only six slides in all, but each helped tell a carefully crafted story: healthy consumer interest in In-Vision, lower than projected production costs, a multipronged sales strategy that included a comprehensive advertising plan and details of the partnerships with some of the world’s most prominent automotive manufacturers. The business case was as airtight as a killing jar.
    Charlie’s presentation style, forceful but not overly animated, was no less convincing than the content. His word choice had been carefully crafted and memorized. His timing ensured the presentation took less than five minutes, without him seeming rushed or vague. Having run his own executive-level meetings, Charlie had anticipated a tight agenda and limited floor time.
    The final slide was a direct comparison of Jerry’s assertions, taken from the PowerPoint Anne Pedersen had provided, with Charlie’s data in larger, bold type. Several sub-bullets backed up his claims and illustrated just how wrong Jerry’s assertions were.
    “These numbers are irrefutable,” Charlie concluded. “I welcome an audit, and I promise you, the Magellan Team uses GAAP for all our figures. There is no fudge factor here.”
    Everyone in the room sat quietly after Charlie finished. There was some shuffling of papers, the soft creaking of chairs.
    “Any questions