for Suzanne ended when she called to say she couldn't get in as her five-year-old Jake had been vomiting through the night and she was taking him to the doctor's.
"Before you go, have you got the Hensen report Ade gave you yesterday?"
"Yes, top drawer of my desk."
"It's locked," pointed out Alex.
"Oh bugger, I've got the key here. Shall I come in after the doctor's?"
"And Jake?" asked Alex.
"What if I put the key in a cab?" suggested Suzanne.
"Listen, don't worry. It can wait. I'm not seeing him till one tomorrow. Call me later and let me know whether you're coming in and I can have a quick look before lunch."
"Did you look at what you found on Hensen?" Alex asked Adrian.
"I read the first paragraph or so. Said he is stinking rich but I knew that already."
Alex went back to the drawer and wondered whether she could prise it open.
"Ade, run the report again for me, will you?"
"Sure, give me twenty minutes, just got to sort this glitch out, otherwise you'll be getting some rude phone calls from our lesser clients."
At Hensen, meanwhile, Katherine was sorting out her boss's meetings for the next day. "You've got a conference call with New York at three, so you won't be able to linger at lunch."
"Cancel it," he said.
"What, lunch?"
"No the conference call."
"It's important, Jack Wyatt, big investor."
"Tell him I'm really sorry, he is the greatest man who ever lived and I love him like a brother, but I've got more important things to do."
"Lunch with Miss Anderson?"
"Yep."
"And you pay her in a year a small percentage of what Wyatt pays you a month?"
"Yep."
"You like her, don't you?" asked Katherine, making a note to call Wyatt when east-coast America had woken up.
"I don't know her. But from our brief encounter at the races I surmised she is good-looking, smart, not opposed to some fun judged by the way she was knocking back the drinks on Saturday and, well, quite intriguing. Plus I have always had a fondness for American girls.
"Oh, and Tavis gave me the thumbs up. And he is a man whose judgement I respect."
"That is the same Tavis whose last recommendation for a potential Mrs Hensen resulted in you making a £100,000 pay-off?"
"Men are like racehorses, Katherine, they don't always run to form."
"You do," she replied sharply, before walking out of the office for a cigarette.
In Stratford, Kerry had turned up with coffee. For a time, she and Alex talked about anything and everything that didn't include Nick Hensen, Alex being aware that at any minute Adrian would be handing over a file to replace the one that was locked in Suzanne's desk. But, eventually and inevitably, his name was mentioned.
"Oh, said Kerry, "the pitch we are doing on Thursday doesn't include a reference to our newest, most famous and most intriguing of clients. Shall I get Adrian to add him in PowerPoint?"
"I guess," said Alex. "But be careful how we phrase it. They might find out we have been only working for them for less than a week."
"No it's easy, we paint it as though we are growing so fast that our recently-won contracts include the fabulous Mr Hensen, one of the richest men on the planet. And we'll try to make it look like an aside...oh, yeah, we forgot to tell you, we work for a company that bets in billions."
"Invests, Kerry."
"Yeah, sure, like your dress."
The two of them giggled.
"What do you think of him, I mean looks wise?" asked Alex.
"Well from what I've seen on the internet he looks more like he should be on the front page of GQ than the Financial Times.
"And I certainly wouldn't kick him out of bed for crumbs, darling."
They laughed again.
"And certainly not for 505 million!" Kerry added.
The two of them were now in hysterics.
"Behave you two. Genius at work," shouted Adrian from the other side of the office.
He then brought over the report in a brown folder. "Nick Hensen, report number two," he said, handing it to Alex.
"Shred it," she said.
"You were going to fire me today but don't bother - I'm
"Before you go, have you got the Hensen report Ade gave you yesterday?"
"Yes, top drawer of my desk."
"It's locked," pointed out Alex.
"Oh bugger, I've got the key here. Shall I come in after the doctor's?"
"And Jake?" asked Alex.
"What if I put the key in a cab?" suggested Suzanne.
"Listen, don't worry. It can wait. I'm not seeing him till one tomorrow. Call me later and let me know whether you're coming in and I can have a quick look before lunch."
"Did you look at what you found on Hensen?" Alex asked Adrian.
"I read the first paragraph or so. Said he is stinking rich but I knew that already."
Alex went back to the drawer and wondered whether she could prise it open.
"Ade, run the report again for me, will you?"
"Sure, give me twenty minutes, just got to sort this glitch out, otherwise you'll be getting some rude phone calls from our lesser clients."
At Hensen, meanwhile, Katherine was sorting out her boss's meetings for the next day. "You've got a conference call with New York at three, so you won't be able to linger at lunch."
"Cancel it," he said.
"What, lunch?"
"No the conference call."
"It's important, Jack Wyatt, big investor."
"Tell him I'm really sorry, he is the greatest man who ever lived and I love him like a brother, but I've got more important things to do."
"Lunch with Miss Anderson?"
"Yep."
"And you pay her in a year a small percentage of what Wyatt pays you a month?"
"Yep."
"You like her, don't you?" asked Katherine, making a note to call Wyatt when east-coast America had woken up.
"I don't know her. But from our brief encounter at the races I surmised she is good-looking, smart, not opposed to some fun judged by the way she was knocking back the drinks on Saturday and, well, quite intriguing. Plus I have always had a fondness for American girls.
"Oh, and Tavis gave me the thumbs up. And he is a man whose judgement I respect."
"That is the same Tavis whose last recommendation for a potential Mrs Hensen resulted in you making a £100,000 pay-off?"
"Men are like racehorses, Katherine, they don't always run to form."
"You do," she replied sharply, before walking out of the office for a cigarette.
In Stratford, Kerry had turned up with coffee. For a time, she and Alex talked about anything and everything that didn't include Nick Hensen, Alex being aware that at any minute Adrian would be handing over a file to replace the one that was locked in Suzanne's desk. But, eventually and inevitably, his name was mentioned.
"Oh, said Kerry, "the pitch we are doing on Thursday doesn't include a reference to our newest, most famous and most intriguing of clients. Shall I get Adrian to add him in PowerPoint?"
"I guess," said Alex. "But be careful how we phrase it. They might find out we have been only working for them for less than a week."
"No it's easy, we paint it as though we are growing so fast that our recently-won contracts include the fabulous Mr Hensen, one of the richest men on the planet. And we'll try to make it look like an aside...oh, yeah, we forgot to tell you, we work for a company that bets in billions."
"Invests, Kerry."
"Yeah, sure, like your dress."
The two of them giggled.
"What do you think of him, I mean looks wise?" asked Alex.
"Well from what I've seen on the internet he looks more like he should be on the front page of GQ than the Financial Times.
"And I certainly wouldn't kick him out of bed for crumbs, darling."
They laughed again.
"And certainly not for 505 million!" Kerry added.
The two of them were now in hysterics.
"Behave you two. Genius at work," shouted Adrian from the other side of the office.
He then brought over the report in a brown folder. "Nick Hensen, report number two," he said, handing it to Alex.
"Shred it," she said.
"You were going to fire me today but don't bother - I'm
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