Read Freedom Club for Free Online Page B

chair. “I believe I was polite. Did I offend in some way?”
    “Not directly, no,” Armando said, as he leaned back in a more relaxed manner and drummed his fingers lightly on his bulbous gut. “However you certainly did challenge him. You need to be careful.”
    “I thought we were having an open discussion. Is debate not permitted?”
    “Yes, of course it is. This isn’t an issue of what was said, but instead of...how it was said.” Armando waved his arm meanderingly about to make his point. “We’re not having a flap with Ivan, for God’s sake. That was Drexel. He’s currently a contender for the chairmanship of the Sentient oversight committee, and the only Sentient that all board members pay close attention to.
    Sumeet crossed his arms defiantly. “Not all.”
    Laughing a little, Armando nodded in slow agreement. “Yes, all right. Not all. But most of the other 73 members do. I’m fortunate to have him working with me, and to be quite frank, guys at your level are even moreso.”
    Contemplating the last remark, Sumeet said, “It’s annoying, don’t you think?”
    “What is?”
    “Well,” Sumeet huffed with frustration. “The Sentients we work with are always so factually correct.”
    Armando shrugged. “So?”
    “They have instant access to facts and figures that no human can match. But normally, Sentients don’t speculate much. It’s as though intuition is an ability they must forsake for having extensive memory and computational skills.”
    “What’s your point?” Armando asked, staring at a few speckled grounds stuck curiously on the bottom of his cup.
    “The point is, Drexel seems to speculate when there seems no other way to win an argument. It’s rather convenient, don’t you think? I wonder if this is true intuition or the formation of a habit that...well, true or not, let’s him outmaneuver an opponent. Smash with brute logic and if they’re still alive, finish them off with an assumption or two. It’s like the old bull fights. I feel like the poor beast on the ground. The matador walks up with the sharp blade and finishes me off!”
    Sumeet stabbed playfully in the air. He looked up at Armando, trying to see if he could spark some reaction. But Sumeet was heading into unknown territory. He knew full well he was asking Armando to be critical of Sentients, a maneuver which could have negative consequences.
    Sumeet continued: “What do you think? Does he really have the ability to go into the deep subjective?”
    Armando looked at the bottom of his coffee cup aimlessly. “I don’t know. Maybe. But as colorful as your analogy is, it exemplifies your negative attitude.”
    Sumeet fumed. What’s he talking about? It wasn’t a negative comment from his point of view. He simply recognized a pattern of strange behavior, something he expected his manager to appreciate. It was all beginning to backfire.
    “I suggest you don’t share those thoughts,” Armando said. “For sure, don’t say that kind of thing to Ivan. Anyway, don’t worry much about this deal going down the tubes. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? I mean, who cares if we do the damn deal or not? There are more in the pipeline. If not Xin-Ulam, then something else.”
    The conversation was over. Armando had made his position clear. He was on the side of Sentients. And as for Sumeet? Well, it didn’t matter all that much.
    “Of course you’re right,” Sumeet lied helplessly. “Let’s put everything behind us. Thanks for your time today.”
    “That’s the attitude,” Armando said. “Keep up the good work!”
    The phone rang and Armando gestured that he had to take the call. Sumeet nodded politely, and walked outside. The door closed. Armando picked up as Drexel’s image reappeared on the flexi wall.
    “Sorry to keep you waiting. I was just finishing up with Sumeet.”
    “That is interesting, because I wanted to speak with you about him,” Drexel answered.
    Armando looked concerned.