“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Michael. It absolutely is. It’s forward-thinking and good for the Society’s financial future. Just because Oliver is at the helm of this plan doesn’t mean it doesn’t have potential. It has alotof potential. He’s already tested the waters, and the appetite is there. And among many of our members. Look, I understand you are cautious, but as a legacy you’ve also had the luxury to be cautious. It’s like my oldmentor used to say: ‘The rich have the richness of time.’ The rest of us are scrappy SOBs. So I recognize a good deal when I see one and prefer to act on it.”
“But, Peter.”
“What?”
“There’s more to it than that. I already did the geomancy reading.”
“Is that what this is really about? So what did it say?”
“That this is not a good idea.”
“Well, Michael, maybe you didn’t ask the right questions. You should do another.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Peter. And in fact, I was being diplomatic. The reading suggested that this would be a decidedlybadmove for the Knox. We can go review it—”
“Screw the geomancy, for once! This isreal life.This is business.”
Michael is quiet for a few seconds, and when he replies, he sounds troubled. “The Knox has always—always—relied on geomancy as part of our decision-making process. It’s been tradition for over two hundred years.”
Peter scoffs. “I’d be willing to bet that if William Knox were alive and kicking today, he would be in agreement with me. Sometimes you have to fly in the face of tradition, Michael. Be daring and bold.”
“Peter,” Michael says, sounding exasperated, “what is the Society without tradition? It’s built on tradition—built out of tradition.”
“Easy to say when you’re the legacy kid,” Peter retorts. “Tell me, Michael, when was the last time you were bold? You’ve never been, have you?” His tone has turned bitingly personal, almost mocking. “You couldn’t even ask out that girl you were sosmitten with in London. What was her name? The grad student who used to study at the café around the corner from our flat?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Sure you do.”
Michael sighs. “Look, you’ve made your position clear. But I have to ask: You’re not going along with Oliver…just to go along with him, like some of the others who’ve quickly changed their tunes now that he’s almost in charge?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Like I said, it’s a good financial plan—”
“And this has nothing to do with your…personal interest in the product?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Peter asks sharply.
“Peter, I understand you’ve been through a lot—”
“You have no idea what I’ve been through.” There’s a surprising hardness to Peter’s voice.
Michael pauses. “You’re right. I don’t. I’m sorry. Sometimes I wish you would tell me.”
There’s silence, tense. Then the sound of a chair being pulled back.
“So this is where I was sitting last night. Do you see it?”
“No, I don’t. Should I call you?” Michael asks.
Ah, Peter left his phone.
“Wait—here it is.”
“Glad you found it.”
The footsteps come dangerously close to the bar.
“Anyway, Michael, it’s quite popular these days, as we’re learning. Now I’ll admit…It does have certain medicinal qualities that have helped me in the wake of, you know. Frankly, I wish I’d had this stuff earlier, at other times in my life.”
