Free The Watchman of Ephraim (Book Club Edition) by Gerard de Marigny

right of the head of the table were, in order: Mugsy Ricci, Karla Matthews and Les Pastak; and to the left: John Francis, Charlie Santappia, and Michelle Wang. Debbie Lynch was sitting at the opposite end of the table and De Niro was standing at a small podium just beyond the head of the table. De Niro called the meeting to order.
    “ Good morning ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Cris De Niro. As you all know, I have recently acquired Liberty Defense Contractors and as you may have seen by the new signs being hung all about, it has been renamed, The Watchman Agency.
    "Before I explain the reason for the name change, let me first introduce each of you to one another, along with your new titles and job responsibilities. In some cases you may have been promoted into your new position and in other cases, your title might have changed along with your new role within the agency. Each person in this room has been chosen because our new president and I both feel you are the best at what you do. You will also notice that I have brought in two new people, both of whom I have known for a long time and for which I have the utmost respect.”
    “ Let me begin by introducing the new president of The Watchman Agency, Captain Louis “Mugsy” Ricci United States Navy, retired. Mugsy Ricci was one of the most decorated members of the elite Navy Seals. He was last stationed as Commanding Officer of the Naval Special Warfare Center. Captain Ricci will speak with all of you later, but for now, let me say that I am confident that you will all find him to be a fair but firm leader.”
    “ Sitting across from Captain Ricci, some of you may have recognized, is Mr. John Francis. John will work in the capacity of the newly created position of Chief Information Officer for The Watchman. “Johnny-F,” as he is known to his friends and my friendship go all the way back to our childhood in the Ridgewood section of New York. Some of you may know of his fantastic accomplishments and success but that doesn’t tell even half of his story. Most of what John has worked on for the last several years is considered top secret. In his role here at The Watchman, John will be tasked with super-charging our information-gathering and data crunching. I will also do my best to see to it that he has a blank check when it comes to any technology he wants to acquire for this agency …my knees just buckled when I said that.”
    The room erupted in laughter, except for Pastak who forced a fake smile concealing his anger. His position at the table revealed his spot in the pecking order, which was basically just over the Executive Assistant. What he didn’t realize was that both the Chairman and the CEO considered Debbie Lynch to be more valuable to the agency.
    “ To Captain Ricci’s right is Karla Matthews. Karla has been promoted from Director to Vice President of Government Relations. Her responsibilities will encompass all of our agency’s relations not only with the United States government but also with any other governments and sovereignties with which we may interact. Karla is a Rhodes Scholar, among other things and has a number of years of experience and success working within various areas of the State Department.
    “ Across from Karla is Major Charles Santappia, United States Marine Corps, retired. As my own dad was a Marine, I know firsthand that, ‘once a Marine, always a Marine.’ Charlie was a highly decorated member of the second Marine division. He has vast experience commanding and taking part in all types of military operations, from peace-keeping to special operations of which, if he told us about them, he’d have to kill us all.”
    The room filled with laughter again.
    “ Charlie has been promoted from Director to Vice President of Operations. His duties include tactical command of all operations of The Watchman conducted inside and outside of these walls.”
    “ To Charlie’s left - is Michelle