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Max waves away the comment. “Finish your breakfast. You can’t help with any of this.” He puts fifty pounds on the table. “Keep Cress company. First the Sheremetov Brothers on Cecil Court, then to the Savoy for her lunch appointment. Meet me at Simpson’s with the bankers. Two of them are very interested in the physical security that we offer as well as the software.”
After he leaves, JL sips his cappuccino, frowning I take a bite of toast. “Go catch him up. You don’t need to babysit me.”
He studies my face. “Yeah, I do.”
* * *
Max
I grab a taxi. In less than ten minutes, I’m walking in the door of the GSU office.“We weren’t expecting you for another hour, Mr. Grant,” the receptionist says.
“Calls to make before the meeting.” I pull off my overcoat and hang it in our tiny closet. The larger coat cupboard is in the conference room for clients. I peek into the room. The staff set the table with packets of papers and a trolley sits nearby with the makings for tea and a plate of sweet biscuits.
A team of interns occupies my borrowed space. Startled, they quickly pack up their project and log out of the computer. “Sorry,” two of them mutter as they scurry past me.
The third stops at the open doorway. “We were told working in here would be okay.” His tone is a mixture of apology, defensiveness, and belligerence.
“It’s okay. No one expected me in this early. But I need to use the space.” I turn and slip into the now vacant office chair. As if he can see straight into the office, Clay rings me at that precise moment. I knew he’d call as soon as he heard about the breach. And he would have been notified right away, no matter the time.
“You heard?” Clay barks in my ear.
“Yes. I’ve already been on the blower with Jarvis.”
He snorts. “Is this Elizabeth Talbot chick worth all the tumult?”
“She. Is. The. Best.” My fist hits the table with each word. “Jarvis is a bloody idiot. They have history. Tell him to get over himself and get on with the job.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks, Clay. I don’t have time to deal with it today.”
“You deal with the double-barreled bank presidents and sell the hell out of them. I’ll be the closer.”
“Thanks. Anyone else besides Metin and Charles?” Charles is our CFO. Always good to have the money bloke at a meeting with bankers.
“Just JL. He’ll join after lunch, right?” Clay continues to focus on the logistics.
“He’s coming to lunch. We’re taking them to Simpson’s.”
“The place with the silver trolleys and carved roast beef?”
“The very same. Perfect for wining and dining old-school private bankers.”
“Bit heavy for lunch.” He stretches. “I’ll join you later. We can talk about contracts and close the deal. Three your time? That should give me time to talk to Jarvis so he can bring this consultant on board.“
“Great.”
When the representatives of three small, prestigious private banks, Glister-James, Clothier Regent, and Rybrooke Marshal come in, it’s like looking in a funhouse mirror. Did they coordinate in advance? I stifle a chortle and compose myself.
All three white-haired men wear navy pinstripe suits and white shirts with French cuffs and heavy gold cuff links. They are all tall, but while Glister-James is lanky, the other two are portly. They remind me ofPunchcaricatures of British clubmen. I focus on their ties. If clothes make the man, ties are an insight into their souls.
Glister-James sports an Old Harrovian tie, Clothier Regent is a member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers as a sign of the origins of the bank, and Rybrooke Marshal proclaims his Cambridge Blue in rowing. Interesting that they project themselves variously as a public school old boy, a businessman, and an athlete.
I could have presented myself in any of those guises, but I made a different choice. None of them went to Oxford, so my Balliol tie doesn’t impress. Maybe I should have worn my Grant tartan. Full kilt kit would have made an impression. But maybe not the one I want.
First off they ask about Clay and I tell them that he will join us later in the day. This causes some disgruntlement since they all thought that the bulk of their dealing would be directly with him.
We have a long morning of presentations. Metin starts off with the big-picture presentation. Then I explain more about the cybersecurity side and what our software can do for them. They have with many pointed questions about the functionality of the software and the security protocols, which I assume were prepared by their staff computer person.
