I grab the top sheet from my pile and scan it for something to tell Nigel. It?s a page of information on the Leary Group, its board of directors, and its major shareholders. I spot a name that I recognize. ?That Duncan Taylor is a major shareholder in Leary, and . . .? I pause for dramatic effect, ?and is the chairman of Tryton.? I look at Nigel triumphantly. Actually, I?m not sure if it?s interesting or not, but at least it?s a link. Or should that be linkage?
Nigel looks really impressed in spite of himself. ?I?m sorry, that?s really good work,? he says, the smirk disappearing from his face. ?What else do we know about Duncan Taylor??
I flick through the pages in front of me, but can?t find his name anywhere. Frankly, one incredible insight is, I think, quite enough for one day.
?Nigel, it?s been a long day. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow to find out about Duncan Taylor.?
?You can wait?? says Nigel incredulously. ?You don?t need to know now??
?Um, well, of course Iwant to, but, you know, sometimes you?ve got to be patient,? I say knowledgeably. ?If we rush it, we could screw up.?
Nigel nods slowly. ?You could be right. But can I take these anyway? Maybe a fresh set of eyes will be able to find out something else.? A fresh set of eyes. Yes, that would be good.
?Why don?t you brief me tomorrow morning?? I say crisply. I?m getting into this whole business lark. The good thing about going out with David is that you learn all sorts of phrases that make you sound incredibly businesslike. He?s always asking people to brief him or to debrief him. I?m not entirely sure what the difference is, so I use them interchangeably. Actually I don?t really use them at all, but I?m going to from now on. I might even buy a proper suit and a briefcase and start striding around purposefully. Who knows, when Guy sees all the work I?ve done, I may get promoted. I could be a high-flying business executive with loads of airmiles and a mobile phone that never stops ringing.
I look at my watch and to my amazement it?s nearly five-thirty. We finish at five, and I?m never late going home unless Nigel forces me. Everyone else has left already. I realize I?m going to be late for David if I?m not careful. I quickly turn off my computer and put on my coat. Nigel has gone back to his hunched-over-computer position, so I don?t bother to say good-bye to him; I just give him a quick wave and go.
I decide against taking the lift. (It?s superstition. I never take the lift on my way out of work in case it breaks down and I?m stuck in it overnight. Whereas I always take it in the morning; if it breaks down then, it means sitting in the lift instead of working and that?s fine by me. So long as I?ve got a magazine or something, obviously.)
The stairs at Leary are at the back of the building so I make my way across the office quickly. I open the door to the stairwell and I?ve just started walking down when I hear two people having a fraught discussion. Any fraught discussions at Leary generally mean fantastic gossip; I once heard one of the directors telling a girl from communications that her backside was as whippable as a horse?s. Denise loved that; she told everyone and no one ever found out that it came from me. I didn?t mean for it to end up in the company newsletter and for the director to leave, but that was hardly my fault.
?What did he say exactly?? I hear one man say.
?He asked about HG?s future plans. But in detail. He wanted to know the three-year plan and stuff. Wouldn?t be a problem, but he said it in front of a couple of board members and got them all interested, too.?
?Okay. We?ll just have to fudge it. Why don?t you send Guy to New York for a few weeks to do some reconnaissance work? If he?s out of the picture, I can easily smooth things over with the board. Once they see the financial implications they won?t give a fuck about three-year plans.?
?Even the Learys? They always get so emotionally involved,? says the other man sarcastically.
?The Learys? The guys are idiots. Come on, all three of them are about to pop their clogs anyway. Look, it?ll be fine, so long as we get round Guy.?
?If you say so. Are you still on for a spot of golf tomorrow??
?Absolutely . . .?
The voices are getting closer so I nip back to the door and quickly close it behind me. This is like being in a film. So Guy could be sent to New York because of the information Nigel sent him. And by the time he gets back it?ll be too late! I?ve got to warn him somehow. I peek through the glass panel of the stairway door and see our chief exec, Robin Friend, and some other guy I don?t know walk past.
Breathlessly I slip back to my department and find Nigel.
?You won?t believe what I?ve just heard!?
Nigel looks up with a start. ?I thought you?d gone.?
He isn?t looking up at me, but staring at something on his computer screen.
?Stop it! This is important!? I tug his arm. ?Nigel, I?ve just seen Robin and some other guy on the stairs. And they were talking about Guy and sending him to New York because he?s asking questions about the merger, and then they were talking about the Learys and how they are so old that they don?t know what they?re doing anyway, and . . .? I tell him everything I can remember about the conversation.
?So Nigel, who are the Learys? Are they the owners of the company??
?The Learys? They?re the founders,? he says. ?At least their family founded it. Couple of generations ago. There are three Learys on the board now?they own about forty percent of the company between them.?
?How come only forty percent? Don?t they own it all if they founded it??
Nigel looks distracted. ?About twenty years ago the company needed more money so the family sold sixty percent of the shares to private investors. About ten percent is held by people owning just a few shares, and the rest is split between five people. They?re all on the board, too.?
?But you must know all this,? Nigel continues, ?because it?s all here.? He looks pointedly at the pile of paper I?d given him earlier.
?Oh, yes, yes of course,? I say dismissively, trying to ignore the hint of a smile on Nigel?s lips.
?The Learys wouldn?t be too happy if they knew that HG was going to shut down the company,? Nigel continues. ?We?ve got to warn them. We?ve got to stop this!?
