‘Of course. Shoot.’
I thanked him, and I did.
‘I see,’ he said slowly, when I was done. ‘Someone has got it in for you, in a big way. You reckon it’s Susie’s new husband, do you?’
‘Yes, I do. Who else would it be?’
‘I have no idea,’ he admitted, ‘but why would it be Culshaw? Doesn’t he stand to inherit?’
‘That’s another story. Susie’s will was out of date. She never changed it after Oz died. When I showed her the implications of marrying Culshaw, she asked me to do some things to ring-fence the children’s interests, and gave me legal authority to act for her. But you’re right, even in the absence of a relevant will he’s likely to be entitled to a good chunk of her assets.’
‘So, I ask again; why would he want to diminish those?’
‘To get at me, by hurting Tom. There’s something else you don’t know.’ I hadn’t told him about Culshaw’s crude attempt to extort two million from me the year before, so I updated him and told him of the get-even threat the shit had made in our last exchange.
‘Indeed?’ Miles growled when I was done. ‘Yeah, the guy is a nasty piece of work. But from the sound of things he isn’t exactly stupid either. He made that threat while Susie was still alive. You’re small beer to him now, Primavera. Still, I don’t like the idea of him having any hold over those other two kids of Oz’s.’
‘How do you think they feel about it?’ I said.
‘I know, I know.’
‘And what can I do about it?’ I moaned.
‘Could the marriage be declared invalid?’ he murmured, more to himself than to me. ‘It happened in Vegas, you said?’
‘Yes, but that doesn’t make it any less valid. Audrey Kent was the witness. I don’t imagine there’s any doubt about it.’
‘No,’ he conceded, ‘as long as all the legal requirements have been met, and as long as the person who performed the ceremony is fully licensed. Leave it with me. I’ll have that checked out. Now, about your problems in the City. If someone in the US accessed, without authority, information that’s confidential to the management of a quoted company, and used it in any way, that would break a whole raft of laws. I’m sure it will be the same in the UK. You might want to get back on to your PR people and get a list of anyone they know to have been shown this information. They won’t have any sort of privilege; you could go to court to force them to reveal the source.’
‘I can do the first part of that in two minutes and instruct the second in not much longer,’ I told him.
‘Yes but, and there is always a but … what if the information hasn’t been stolen? Who’s on the circulation list?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Normally it would be the directors and maybe also the company secretary if he isn’t on the board.’
‘He isn’t.’
‘Okay, then if I were you, before I took any action I would report what you know to the directors and ask them point blank whether one of them has been leaking information. They’ll scream bloody murder, but you can tell them it’s your duty to ask the question, and they’ll have to live with it.’
‘What if one of them admits it?’ I asked.
‘Then you push a pad and a pen across the table and ask for a resignation letter there and then.’
‘It could get messy, Miles.’
‘From what you’ve told me, Primavera, it’s messy already. Your PR lady was right, you need some public support, and you need it fast.’ He paused for a few seconds. ‘This golf course development; what do you know about it?’
‘Very little. There’s no reference in last year’s annual report, and only a couple of brief items in minutes since then.’
‘In that case, you ask the managing director for a full report, and to account for every penny that’s gone into the development so far. Then you veto any further spend.’
‘Can I do that?’
‘You’re the chair; you can do what you like till the shareholders stop you.’
‘It’s my first meeting,’ I pointed out. ‘I’m a new girl.’
‘By the time the meeting begins, you’ll be a very powerful new girl.’ He laughed.
‘How, for God’s sake?’
‘Sister-in-law,’ he drawled, ‘I could invest five million in Gantry shares with one call to my London broker. Problem is, if I did that, the city would see through it; it would be me doing a family member a favour. However … I have friends, seriously wealthy friends, that I’ve made even wealthier by giving them crazy returns on their investments in my movie projects. When does your meeting begin?’
I checked my watch. ‘An hour and a quarter.’
‘In that case, check the company’s share price fifteen minutes before, and look for recent acquisitions. When you get in there, lay the information you get on the table, and look around as you do it. If your enemy’s in that boardroom, he’ll be the one who looks sick.’
My conversation with Miles boosted my confidence for the meeting. I’d had no clear plan of action before, but he’d more or less drafted my agenda. I’d packed a business suit for the occasion, the kind that Susie would have worn, but on impulse, I left it in the case and opted instead for my casual Catalan look, Cardin jeans, a flowery shirt, tucked in, a wide black belt and black moccasins. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted to say to them, ‘This isn’t someone sent along to play a part and nod her head when required. This is a new broom and watch it, or you will be swept away.’
‘You sure?’ Liam asked, when I revealed myself.
‘Absolutely.’
‘Then God help whoever’s been making mischief,’ he chuckled.
The guys decided that they were going to visit Glasgow’s still relatively new Riverside Museum. Tom had done the planning on his iPad and had decided that the best way to get there was by using the dedicated bus service, which runs from the city centre. I let them go on their way, and then called a taxi to take me to the Gantry Group head office. While I waited in the lobby, I went online via my laptop (I’d asked Tom to use his iPad earlier because it’s instant, and takes no time to boot up), found the Stock Exchange site, and looked up the Gantry listing. The share price hadn’t recovered fully from its slump since Susie’s death, but the loss had been halved. As Miles had told me to, I checked recent acquisitions and found an eight million pound purchase by an American corporate buyer. Eight million! Bloody hell, Miles had called in a big favour. I managed to link up to the hotel’s printer and ran off a copy, just as my black cab arrived.
Actually they weren’t that far away from the hotel, in a modern block on the intersection of Waterloo Street and Wellington Street, nice military names that helped boost my combative mood.
The noticeboard in the foyer told me that the company occupied the third floor. I took the lift up and stepped out, at five minutes to ten.
The first thing I saw was a framed photo of Susie, on a table in front of the reception desk. It was draped in black ribbon and there was a condolence book in front, with a ballpoint pen in a stand. I signed it, glancing at some of the other names; there were many. I recognised a couple of footballers, a musician, and a comedian; three others had added the word ‘Councillor’ after their names, as a form of underlining.
If I’d been expecting the managing director to be waiting to greet the new chair, I’d have been disappointed. There was no welcoming group in reception. The immaculately dressed woman behind the desk wasn’t too effusive either, but I made allowances for that. She’d have known Susie well, no doubt, and had no reason to be cheerful.
She had done her homework, though. She knew who I was. ‘Mrs Blackstone,’ she said, rising from her chair and coming round from behind the barrier. ‘Cathy Black, office manager.’ We shook hands, and she ushered me into a corridor to my left. ‘Mr Culshaw and the other directors are here already. They’re waiting in the boardroom. I’m sorry, I should have said two of the other directors. There’s been a formal apology for absence from Mrs Kent.’
I nodded. ‘I’m aware of that,’ I said. ‘She advised me.’ I didn’t bother to add that she’d also faxed me a proxy form allowing me to vote on her behalf in any division, as I thought fit.