The Overseer Read Online Free PDF Page A

anything.
    And then the world faded to black.

Chapter 2
    M ONDAY MORNING . H OLDING a latte, John Temple stared out the window, looking down across the city of Manhattan.
    Somewhere just below were the famed Fifth Avenue and West Thirty-fourth Street. John wondered what the people on the street were doing. Thinking. Saying. He wondered how long it would take him to get down to street level and find a bench where he could sit and watch the world passing in its busy flurry. Mothers, fathers, businesspeople, small children in strollers, drivers honking and yelling. A glorious mess of humanity.
    “What are your thoughts, Mr. Temple? John?”
    He turned his head back to the conference table, looking at the people in business suits staring at him. Half a dozen of them. The members of the Domani in their sharp suits and streamlined appearance, the members of the Ora with their brightly colored and textured ties, and Jerry Kirkland, the only member of the Prima in attendance, wearing earth tones. It was hard not to stereotype orders that were so distinctly different. Often they wore their lapel pins when they were feeling more obvious about their affiliations—blue triquetras for the past-seeing Prima, gold for the present-seeing Ora, and red for the future-seeing Domani, for whom Domani Financial was named and operated by.
    “Uh…” John tried to think of a way to cover. “I’m sorry; I missed your question. What were you saying?”
    They stared at him for a moment, knowing full well he had been daydreaming again.
    He adjusted his suede jacket worn over a blue T-shirt. There had been discussion about his ideas of professional dress, and this was the best he could bring himself to do—even if he was underdressed compared to the dozen or so suits in the room.
    John had spent his adult life trotting the globe doing part-time missions and relief work. He wasn’t used to office life. He was used to digging wells and building sheds, planting churches in foreign countries. But that life was over now. Part of his work now put him in charge of Domani Financial—venture capital and investment. Putting people with money with people with needs. John’s longtime friend Vince Sobel—dark suit, perfectly sculpted hair, bright red tie—spoke up. “We’re in trouble, John.”
    “The economy’s bad.” John shrugged. “Everybody’s in trouble.”
    Vince cleared his throat, looking side to side, almost apologetic to his colleagues. “Did you hear what I said about the SEC?”
    John rolled his eyes. “Sure. I heard that. They’re like the FCC or something, right?”
    Shoulders seemed to sag across the conference room as trained professionals finally let their disgust with John show through. “No,” Vince explained. “The Securities and Exchange Commission.”
    John covered up his ignorance with a sip of latte. “What about them?”
    “We’re being investigated by them.”
    “So?” John rebuffed, casual as ever. “We have nothing to hide.”
    Vince seemed to wince under the pressure of a reply he obviously didn’t respect. “Do you remember when that telecommunications giant went bankrupt last month?”
    “Sure,” John agreed. “You guys said they were going under, so I had you pull all the stock before we lost everything.”
    “Do you remember that we advised against pulling all of it?” Vince asked.
    “Yeah.” John blinked. “But with all these companies going broke we’ve got to save our money somehow. We’d have lost a lot of money if I hadn’t told you to yank everything.”
    “In the short run,” Vince conceded. “And do you remember the automotive manufacturer that tanked?”
    “Sure.” He nodded. “I had you pull everything out of that investment.”
    “And do you remember us advising against that one as well?” Vince asked, prodding as if John were a child.
    “Yeah, but I saved a lot of money for us that time too.” John smiled. It pleased him to think that he was finally getting past his