Oliver didn’t need to hear any more. Those choice words said everything. The room stared to spin, the violinist grating on his every nerve, the temperature increasing instantaneously. He stood up.
‘Oliver, please, sit down.’ Andrew got up.
‘If you’re telling me what I think you’re telling me then I have nothing to say to you.’ He recoiled from the table, staring at the man opposite, his father’s best friend.
‘We’ve kept things discreet for the past couple of months but I said she had to tell you before it got out.’
‘I don’t want to hear it.’
‘Oliver, come on, this is a little over the top, don’t you think?’
It was all Oliver could do to keep standing. He wanted to lash out, spray the table settings to the ground in fury. Instead, he ground his teeth together and spilled words out. ‘If you’re telling me that you and my mother are having some sort of romantic relationship, then this merger…’ He took a breath. ‘This merger is over.’
Now it sounded like the violinist had ceased playing and everyone in the room had stopped talking. The sounds of fine dining had been replaced by hushed whispers.
‘What your mother and I have together has nothing to do with this. The merger is business, Oliver.’
‘Yes, it is. Myfamily’sbusiness.’
‘Which is only going to benefit from this mutual joining,’ Andrew responded.
Oliver shook his head. ‘No.’
Andrew sighed. ‘Listen, I’ve done all the right things. I’ve bided my time, I’ve stayed out of things but?—’
‘You’ve bided your time?! What is that supposed to mean?’ He laughed. ‘You’ve been hanging on for the moment your best friend met his maker? Jesus Christ!’
‘I didn’t mean that. I just meant… Richard’s been dead for a while now.’
He couldn’t stand this any longer. He wanted to punch AndrewRegis, but if he did it here, he would make the front page of the paper tomorrow as well. No, he had to maintain his cool.
He held his hand out to Andrew and waited for a response. ‘It was nice to see you again, Andrew.’
The man looked at the offering and Oliver pushed his hand a little closer. Andrew took it, giving it an unsure shake. ‘Let’s schedule another time to get together, once all this has had a chance to sink in.’
Oliver straightened himself. ‘Be in no doubt, Andrew, our business is concluded.’ He turned to the waiter who was returning with the bottle of red wine on a silver tray. ‘Charge the wine to my account.’ He looked to Andrew. ‘With my compliments.’
His heart fighting for room to expand and contract, Oliver turned and headed for the exit. The animated Santa leered and swayed and the Christmas lights flickered in his peripheral vision as he fought his way to the door of the Riley Club. He burst through it, out onto the street, desperately pulling in a breath of freezing air.
It took him half a dozen inhalations to feel anywhere near better. With shaking hands, he reached into his coat for his cell phone.
He called up a contact and dialled, waiting for a response. ‘Hello, Daniel?’ He looked back to the door of the Riley Club, half expecting Andrew Regis to be following him. ‘Daniel, it’s Oliver Drummond. I need you to do some work for me.’
24
WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK
‘I can’t believe my Majestic Cleaning name is Agatha,’ Hayley exclaimed.
‘I can’t believe you were thinking of getting the subway here.’
Hayley manoeuvred Angel out of the cab before stepping down onto the pavement behind her. She looked up at the house sitting proud at the top of a snow-covered grassy bank. It was imposing in its size and perfect. White pillars propped up the front entrance and the US flag hung from a pole to the right of the front door. The windows had shutters, giving it a colonial feel. It looked worthy of a cleaner much more accomplished than her. She cleared her throat and turned to Angel.
‘Have you not seen the people on the subway? Me dressed in this outfit would not be the craziest costume on there, I can assure you.’ Hayley brushed down her burgundy skirt, then adjusted the waistband. The white shirt was made for someone with an AA cup size, not a generous C. She felt like an extra onNanny 911.
‘The mop would have got some funny looks,’ Angel continued.
The driver opened up the trunk and handed her the wicker basket apparently containing all her hygienic needs. Hayley thrustthe mop at her daughter and dug into her rucksack for some money for the cabbie.
