Negotiations with Forde

Koom, koom, koom…

Heavy pounding echoed from beyond the sliding door and down the hall.

The servant woman shuffled away without hesitation. She exited the room and reentered a few seconds later, walking in behind a sharply dressed man. 

The man stood tall at 1.95 meters. With fitted, black gloves, he undid the top button of his light blue dress shirt with a low, droning sigh. His unbuttoned, brown suit was clean and lintless, matching his perfectly polished dress shoes. 

A red-brown, thick beard hung from the man's chin. It was trimmed and squared off at the bottom, reaching the upper edge of his sternum. And the man's dark brown hair was slicked back and pulled into a big man bun at the back of his head. 

Below his sharp, heavy eyebrows, the man's brown eyes exuded domineering arrogance.