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“So who did buy them?”
“The chairman of an established Yorkshire bank, on behalf of one of his clients.”
Diego decided the time had come to try another approach, one that had never failed him in the past. “If you were to mislay that order, Mr. Alexander, I will give you one hundred thousand pounds.”
“If I did that, Mr. Martinez, I would not only lose my license, but end up in jail.”
“But it would be cash, so no one would be any the wiser.”
“I am the wiser,” said Alexander, “and I shall be reporting this conversation to my father and brother at the next partners’ meeting. I must make my position clear, Mr. Martinez. This firm will not be doing business with you, or any member of your family, in the future. Good day, sir.”
The line went dead.
* * *
“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
“I’m an optimist, so give me the good news.”
“We pulled it off. You’re now the proud owner of on
e million two hundred thousand shares in the Barrington Shipping Company.”
“And the bad news?”
“I need a check for one million seven hundred and forty-thousand pounds, but you’ll be pleased to hear that the shares have gone up four shillings since you bought them, so you’ve already made a handsome profit.”
“I’m grateful, Cedric. And as we agreed, I’ll cover any losses you made over the weekend. That’s only fair. So what happens next?”
“I’ll be sending one of our associate directors, Sebastian Clifton, up to Grimsby tomorrow with all the paperwork for you to sign. With such a large sum involved, I’d prefer not to entrust it to the vagaries of the postal service.”
“If that’s Jessica’s brother, I can’t wait to meet him.”
“It most certainly is. He should be with you around noon tomorrow, and once you’ve signed all the certificates, he’ll bring them back to London.”
“Tell him that, like you, he’s about to have a gourmet experience, the finest fish and chips in the world, eaten out of yesterday’s Grimsby Evening Telegraph. I certainly won’t be taking him to some fancy restaurant with a tablecloth and plates.”
“If it was good enough for me, it’ll be good enough for him,” said Cedric. “I look forward to seeing you next Monday at the AGM.”
“We’ve still got several other problems,” said Sebastian after Cedric had put the phone down.
“And what might they be?”
“Although Barrington’s share price has already begun to bounce back, we mustn’t forget that Fisher’s letter of resignation will be released to the press on Friday. The suggestion from a board member that the company is facing bankruptcy could send the stock tumbling again.”
“That’s one of the reasons you’re going to Grimsby tomorrow,” said Cedric. “Fisher is coming in to see me at twelve, by which time you’ll be enjoying the best fish and chips in the land with a side order of mushy peas.”
“And what’s the other reason?” asked Sebastian.
“I need you to be out of the way when I see Fisher. Your presence would only remind him where my true allegiance lies.”
“He won’t be a pushover,” warned Seb, “as my uncle Giles discovered on more than one occasion.”
“I don’t intend to push him over,” said Cedric. “On the contrary. I plan to prop him up. Any other problems?”
“Three actually: Don Pedro Martinez, Diego Martinez and, to a lesser extent, Luis Martinez.”
“I am reliably informed that those three are all finished. Don Pedro is facing bankruptcy, Diego could be arrested at any moment for attempted bribery and Luis can’t even blow his nose unless his father hands him the handkerchief. No, I think it won’t be too long before those three gentlemen are taking a one-way trip back to Argentina.”
