They were studying the thick files of information he had messengered over to them the day before, detailing his own personal and career backgrounds and the companies he was currently involved with. It had been a while now since anyone had spoken, but he could see that several of them had reached the Profit Picture page for the movie, and, though the figures were certainly ambitious, he didn’t consider them beyond the realms of achievement. Indeed, should the returns only amount to half of what he had forecast, Virago Knox would still stand to make something in the region of twelve million dollars, for a mere two-million-dollar investment. Interminable minutes ticked by, until finally Truman Snowe, the company chairman, took in a silent verdict from the rest of the board before returning his sharp eyes to Michael. Then, in true American style, with no preamble at all, Snowe said, ‘The two-million-dollar investment for development will be transferred to the World Wide account as soon as the relevant documents have been drawn up.’ Until that moment Michael hadn’t realized how tense he was.
