I unravel myself from my coat and place it across his free arm, then straighten my skirt and blazer as Neil hands over his knee-length, black coat and the red scarf that drapes loosely around his neck.
A second Savoy butler leads us to our table in the restaurant.
‘Mr Ghurair, your guests.’
‘Abdulla, it’s an absolute pleasure to see you again.’ Neil beams, offering a hand. ‘This is Scarlett Heath, the colleague I mentioned to you.’
‘Ah, yes, nice to meet you, Scarlett.’
‘And you, Abdulla,’ I say, shaking his hand. ‘When did you arrive in London?’
‘I arrived Saturday. I have a good friend who invites me to his football when I visit. He takes care of me.’
Abdulla remains straight-faced beneath his black moustache, despite his friendly tone.
‘Shall we?’ Neil says, gesturing with a hand for us to sit.
The waiter steps forward to pull out my chair but before he gets to it, I flash my eyes to his and subtly shake my head. He clasps his hands together at his lower back and takes a step away from the table as we sit. Then he moves to place our linen napkins across our laps, starting with Abdulla. I smile my thanks when I catch his eye. I appreciate being wined and dined and having doors held open for me as much as any woman but this isn’t the kind of meeting to draw attention to my gender. We’re presented with leather-cased brunch menus and remain silent for the short minute it takes for us to choose an order. I don’t look for long, opting for the first brunch plate I like to prevent any unnecessary delay or show of indecisiveness.
‘Madam, are you ready to order?’ The waiter pulls a pad of paper from his black trousers and a pen from the pocket of his burgundy waistcoat.
‘Yes. I’ll have eggs Benedict on brown, a fresh orange and an Earl Grey tea, black with a slice of lemon. Thank you.’
He moves to Abdulla then Neil and takes our menus with him as he leaves us to talk.
‘Abdulla, I was enlightening Scarlett as to the family business on our way here. She was very impressed, as I always am. I think I’m right in saying you’re looking to acquire in the UAE and Europe?’
‘Yes. Correct. Our focus is Middle East for now. We do not want to be the biggest construction firm in the UAE; we want to betheconstruction firm in the UAE.’
I mentally scoff at the thought of the fun competition authorities would have with an attitude like that in Europe. Neilshoots me a warning glance and visibly relaxes when he’s confronted with my best fake smile.
Our drinks are placed around the table. Neil takes a sip of his black coffee after stirring in three brown sugar cubes – it must drink like tar – then gets back to business.
‘So tell me, Abdulla, what are your immediate needs?’
Abdulla places his glass of sparkling water back on the table in front of him, then rests his elbows on the cotton cloth and interlocks his fingers.
‘I have three companies that I would like to buy. Two are small family businesses that I know well. I can work with the owners. The third is a competitor. I do not like the family, I do not like what they stand for and I do not want them to have an… ah…sayin how I run my business.’
‘Then you either need to negotiate hard and get them out for as little as possible, or we need to think about differentiating the share classes, weakening their power to vote on matters of business,’ I say, pausing for a drink of Earl Grey. ‘Weakening their power might be enough of a deterrent and they might decide to walk away but failing that, at least you wouldn’t relinquish control, as such.’
Abdulla nods but annoyingly looks to Neil for confirmation.
‘She’s right,’ Neil says, although it does little to dampen my irritation.
Three waiters place our respective breakfasts in front of each of us in perfect unison and I tuck into my eggs Benedict, all the while counting to ten in my head. Neil clears his mouth of a forkful of smoked salmon before speaking again.
‘We can talk about the detail of how you want to structure the acquisitions, Abdulla, but what sort of time frame are you working to? Three deals is a lot of work; of course, quite how much work depends on the size of company involved, the levelof due diligence required and any unexpected issues that crop up.’
‘Yes. I recognise that. You are here because I am told good things about your firm, Neil, and I like you, but this is your opportunity to tell me you can meet my needs. If you cannot, another firm will get my business.’
‘Of course.’
‘I would like to complete at least one deal by end of year.’
I almost choke on my mouthful of English muffin. My eyes flick to Neil’s over my glass as I soothe my throat with cool orange juice.
Neil’s face is firmly schooled into a poker expression. ‘Calendar year end or tax year end?’
