Chapter 27

The tall man in suit and sunglasses announced that I was from DC and that I came respecting my appointment with him. Edward Swift looked to my direction and inspected me with his eyes for a whole minuet without a word and looked back to the man that led me in and finally spoke “I was expecting a man not a woman.” 
I jumped in “I came here in the replacement of Mr. David from the IH department sir.” 
“Hmm… So what do you have to say.” he asked without putting the book down. 
As I stood there, I started to make the speech that was prepared. “Well _ I started _ first of all, our company is one of …” 
He cuts me off and finishes my sentence “The greatest company in the country…” 
Confused by the interruption I continued “Well we are known for delivering…” 
He cuts me off and finishes my sentence again “Delivering what is expected of you and more…” 
I started to lose my temper, yet I continued “Well if you invest in our company the…” 
Once again he finished my sentence for me “The profit that I get will be beyond my expectation…” He finally looked up at me and said “Don’t you thing I haven’t heard all that ridiculous speech from every single representative of DC throughout the years?”  
I felt like that was a rhetorical question so I listen to him until he finished. But he had already finished. He looked down at the book he was reading. I can tell that he has read the book multiple times on the accounts of how worn out the sheets of the book was. Which means; he would rather read the book he has already read than listen to anything I had to say. 
“DC is the kind of company that is worth investing in…” 
“I thought we were done here.” he rudely interrupted me again. “I have no interest in your company what so ever.” 
“You invested in MWD.” I said in an angry tone. “What makes MWD any different from DC?” 
It seemed that he liked my question; he said with a half smirk on his long face “If you have any knowledge about MWD, you would have known.” 
“I actually know more about MWD because I used to be an employee there. I just don’t get what you find interesting in it.” 
“You have worked there?” he asked. 
“Yes” I firmly answered. 
“Well have you ever read the magazines?” he hits me with a question no one has. Seeing the hesitance in my answer he said “You haven’t. I have always been intrigued by their work ethics and representation. The first representative they sent to me seduced me within minutes. But every single representative DC has sent would shit their pants just by the glare of my eyes. If the representatives were that weak, it only means that DC is weak as well. And I personally don’t admire weakness.” 
I was asked to leave within ten minutes of my arrival. The first hunt I went to was not this hard. I was a charm back then. What the hell happened? I couldn’t believe he said he liked MWDs’ work ethic. Is he crazy? The MWD I remember was not as amazing as the man said. But I was ashamed about not ever reading the magazines. Granted I didn’t really know they made magazines until after I quit my job. I went to a book store nearby and bought one of the recent magazines of MWD. I was impressed. Every single page made me curious about the next. Everything was captivating. I jumped my eyes from one page to the other with full attention till the end. I couldn’t believe I worked for this amazing company. I realized that I have judged MWD by just one person (My former boss) and quit like that. I realized why MWD was a competitor with DC when it comes to investors. MWD was not disrespectful and disgusting as I thought it was. No matter how unpleasant my boss was to me, at least he did his job well. The magazine served its readers well. I went back to the store to buy more and kept reading for about an hour. 
After I was done reading I realized something. Just as I have been judging MWD through just my boss, maybe Edward Swift was judging DC through a couple of sloppy representatives. All DC needs is a strong confident representative. I was not going to go home just like that so I went back to his house. This time, it was not easy to get to his study considering that I was told to leave the first time. But I refused to return empty handed. “I will not leave without speaking to Mr. Swift.” I told the tall man with the black suit and sun glasses. The man spoke in to his left hand sleeves “The woman from DC is back.” But whatever it was that he heard through his left ear, I could assume it was not good. He stepped closer to me and asked “Mr. Swift does not wish to be disturbed. I must ask you to leave.” 
I tried to beg the tall man with puppy eyes and squeaky voice but he wouldn’t let me pass. All that was left for me to do was be completely stubborn. So I came up with a strategy right there on the spot. The good thing was that one of the guards had accidentally let me in thinking I had an appointment so I was already inside the house. The bad news was that they could call the police on me and I would end up in jail. Whatever the outcome may be, I was going to give it a shot. 
I laid flat on my back right there and said in a shameless tone “I will not leave this house without speaking to Mr. Swift first.” I looked at the tall man and he seemed uninterested. 
I increased my voice “I will sleep here today unless you let me talk to Mr. Swift.” The tall man took his glasses off and looked at me in disbelief. The glare in his eyes was too scary I finally realized why every DC representative had failed to get Edward. But I looked away from those terrifying eyes “Let me meet Mr. Swift.” 
I was scared that the tall man would peal me off of the floor and throw me out of the house or worse: shoot me right where I was. But instead, he just walked away and went through the door leading to Edward Swifts’ study. I stretched my body in to a star fish as to make myself comfortable because it seemed that I would be there longer than I had planned. Few minutes in to lying on the floor I was cold, exhausted and more dangerously bored. But I did not give up. 
Fifteen minutes later the tall guy in black suit and sunglasses walked out of the room and asked me to follow him and went back in to the room from which he came out of. I stood up, dust myself and walked in. Edward Swift has not moved from where he had been sitting earlier and he still had the same book in his hands. 
After the tall man left the room I waited until Edward would put his book down and actually listen to what I have to say but he didn’t. I realized that he wasn’t reading the book but just staring at the pages considering how his eyes didn’t move along the lines and how he would not turn the pages over. 
“The Great Gatsby, what a book.” I awkwardly said. 
“You have read this book?” he asked with that terrifying frown still on his face. 
“Yes” I lied. I haven’t read the book but I have seen the movie “It was such a shame that a man like Gatsby had to die for a crime he didn’t commit.” I gave a comment. 
“He didn’t just die for a crime he didn’t commit” he looked up from the book “He died because of the woman he loved.” 
“Well” I said “The woman he loved ran over her husbands’ mistress and the mistress’ husband killed Gatsby thinking he killed her so he did die for a crime he did not commit and for the women he loved. I think we are both right.”   
Edward Swift looked at me for a while and looked down at his book once again. In order for me to capture him I need him to pay full attention to what I have to say. Oliver once told me that an investor hunt is like a blind date, you need to have something in common for the date to go well. The book didn’t work so I looked around the room to find that common thing. 
I saw a picture next to where Edward was sitting. In the picture there was a man in an army uniform standing next to Edward Swift. 
“Is that your son?” I asked him. With his eyes still on the book he answered “Yes” 
“He is in the army that is cool.” I commented. 
Edward still had his eyes on the pages of the book “Was” he said with a smooth tone. 
“I am sorry” I continued “My brother was in the army too.” 
“How long did he serve?” Edward asked me. 
“Just a couple of years: he was pronounced MIA about nine years ago.” I answered. 
“That is about the same time my son was pronounced MIA as well.” 
I looked at the picture for a while and a light bulb went off in my head. “Your sons’ name, is it Josh Swift?” I asked him doubting that it would be. 
Edward looked at me in curiosity “How did you know?” He asked. But instead of an answer I gave him another question just to be sure “Did he write you any letters?” 
“Once in a while.” he answered wondering what my next word would be. 
“And has he ever mentioned about a friend of his called Kevin?” My questions continued. 
Edwards’ eyes went wide “How did you know?” he asked probably thinking I am a mind reader.