Armansky had never once heard her laugh before, and for years he had been trying
to win her trust. Blomkvist had known her for five minutes and she was practically
giggling with him. He felt such a loathing for Blomkvist at that moment that he
surprised himself. He cleared his throat as he stood in the doorway and put down
the folder with the contract.
Blomkvist paid a quick visit to the Millennium office in the afternoon. It was his first
time back. It felt very odd to be running up those familiar stairs. They had not
changed the code on the door, and he was able to slip in unnoticed and stand for a
moment, looking around.
Millennium’s offices were arranged in an L shape. The entry was a hall that took up
a lot of space without being able to be put to much use. There were two sofas
there, so it was by way of being a reception area. Beyond was a lunchroom
kitchenette, then cloakroom/toilets, and two storage rooms with bookshelves and
filing cabinets. There was also a desk for an intern. To the right of the entry was the
glass wall of Malm’s studio, which took up about 500 square feet, with its own
entrance from the landing. To the left was the editorial office, encompassing about
350 square feet, with the windows facing Götgatan.
Berger had designed everything, putting in glass partitions to make separate
quarters for three of the employees and an open plan for the others. She had taken
the largest room at the very back for herself, and given Blomkvist his own room at
the opposite end. It was the only room that you could look into from the entry. No-
one had moved into it, it seemed.
The third room was slightly apart from the others, and it was occupied by Sonny
Magnusson, who had been for several years Millennium’s most successful
advertising salesman. Berger had handpicked him; she offered him a modest salary
and a commission. Over the past year, it had not made any difference how
energetic he was as a salesman, their advertising income had taken a beating and
Magnusson’s income with it. But instead of looking elsewhere, he had tightened his
belt and loyally stayed put. Unlike me, who caused the whole landslide, Blomkvist
thought.
He gathered his courage and walked into the office. It was almost deserted. He
could see Berger at her desk, telephone pressed to her ear. Monika Nilsson was at
her desk, an experienced general reporter specialising in political coverage; she