Well, what Neil should have done, of course, was to call time on this motley little crew and bounce them out of the club there and then, and his failure to do so led to matters escalating out of control.
Yusuf later filled me in on the details: Devi returned to room and the girls and the men enjoyed a few more drinks. About thirty minutes later a scream and a lot of shouting was heard coming from the room; Yusuf and two other security ‘lads’ rushed in the room to be greeted by the sight of Devi straddling the prostate overweight figure of one of the government workers and screaming like a banshee as she scratched his face and neck with her two-inch finger nails; the rest of the room was also in uproar as the guy’s friends attempted to assist him while the other girls jumped on their backs and did everything they could in order to prevent them from doing so. It was a right mess.
Yusuf and his men were able to break up the fighting quickly enough, but ironing out the repercussions took a lot longer. I was forced to make one of my irregular appearances, and considering the hour it is fair to say I was not best pleased. After a lot of negotiating and arguing, we came to an arrangement that the gentlemen would not be presented with a bill for the evening’s entertainment but nor would any of them be welcome in the club again for an extensive period of time. In addition, I ordered Yusuf to be more diligent in training and supervising his doormen and I informed Neil that Devi would have to go. Neil tried to defend her, but I made it clear that I held the two of them equally responsible for the night’s events and either Devi could go on her own, or Neil could join her. Either way, Devi had to go.
I know Neil felt sorry for Devi, and I have the feeling that he personally made arrangements to help her out somehow, but I was not privy to the details and I didn’t push for them.
By now we were well into 2007 and life was busy, eventful and, in the main, fun. I was still embroiled in negotiations with The Group, but I was becoming less dependent on them for backing my deals and ventures. I continued to learn, to study, to consider and to educate myself regarding matters financial and business and I continued to reap the benefits. On a personal level my own family was growing up, and although I had no intention of stepping back from work altogether, I did wonder if it was time to scale things down a little in terms of my personal involvement and so have the opportunity to enjoy more quality time with them.
Around the fall of that year, I undertook a longish sabbatical to Europe with my wife and our three sons, and took the opportunity to really have a look at some of the places I had promised myself I would one day return to. While the trip was not exactly a trip down memory lane, this time around I was at least able to see the different sides of places such as Paris, London, Berlin and even Moscow. We saw and visited places on the tourist trails and although I could sometimes feel and sense the ghosts of the past lurking in the shadows, all-in-all the trip was a cleansing and cathartic exercise, and I came back feeling revitalised, rejuvenated and ready to go again.
I did indeed take a slightly more relaxed outlook on life and on business in general following our sabbatical, and certainly started to get a little more enjoyment and sense of tranquillity from life than before. The investments and portfolios I was now entrusting other people to develop and nurture continued to pay dividends and I was able to devote more time to my family and leisure pursuits. Now, as I approached my late forties I found for the first time in life I was actually finding some kind of balance and fulfilment.
Neil moved around within The Group and broadened his horizons, too. He was still nominally in charge of the schools and he had to spend a certain number of hours in each of the three premises we had in Jakarta, but he’d come on a long way in a short time. The problem with Devi was never repeated and Neil was normally able to deal with situations and occurrences as they arose without usually having to involve me or call on the backing of The Group.
The one exception to this involved a rather naïve and gullible worker at the Mexicanas called Jack who let himself be taken advantage of by a woman who was old enough to know better. Neil did was what necessary to clear up the matter, however, and it all blew over in a matter of weeks thanks to contacts and backhanders in the appropriate places.
Neil himself was going through changes in his life at this time. He’d been struggling for some time at home, I knew, and although he’d tried to keep a lid on things in the main, it was obvious he was having difficulties. By this time I’d long given up asking him anything about Yossy, and I would keep any and all enquiries regarding his family perfunctory in the extreme and limited to Tess and the boy,
