‘Clever French,’ countered Nat, ‘to devalue when we’re asleep.’
The French devaluation meant little to Fletcher as he read the details in the New York Times on the train into work the following morning. Several banks had taken a bath, and one or two were even having to report solvency problems to the Securities & Exchange Commission. He turned the page to read a profile about the man who looked certain to be running against Ford for president. Fletcher knew very little about Jimmy Carter, other than that he’d been governor of Georgia and owned a large peanut farm. He paused for a moment, and thought about his own political ambitions, which he’d put on hold while he tried to establish himself at the firm.
Fletcher decided he would sign up to help the ‘Back Carter’ campaign in New York in whatever spare time he had. Spare time? Harry and Martha complained about never seeing him. Annie had joined yet another non-profit board, and Lucy had chicken pox. When he’d phoned his mother to ask if he’d ever had chicken pox, the first thing she said was, ‘Hello, stranger.’ However these problems were quickly forgotten only moments after he’d arrived at the office.
The first hint of any trouble came when he said good morning to Meg in reception.
‘There’s a meeting of all attorneys in the conference room at eight thirty,’ she said flatly.
‘Any idea what it’s about?’ asked Fletcher, realizing that it was a silly question the moment he’d asked it. Confidentiality was the firm’s hallmark.
Several partners were already in their places, talking in hushed tones, when Fletcher entered the boardroom at eight twenty, and he quickly took a seat directly behind Mart’s chair. Could the devaluation of the French franc in Paris affect a law firm in New York? He doubted it. Did the senior partner want to talk about the Higgs & Dunlop deal? No, not Alexander’s style. He looked around the boardroom table. If any of them knew what was on the agenda, they weren’t giving anything away. But it had to be bad news, because good news was always announced at the six o’clock evening meeting.
At eight twenty-four, the senior partner walked in.
‘I must apologize for keeping you away from your desks,’ he began, ‘but this was not something that I felt could be covered by an internal memo, or slipped into my monthly report.’ He paused and cleared his throat. ‘The strength of this firm has always been that it has never become involved in scandals of a personal or financial nature; therefore I considered even the hint of such a problem had to be dealt with expeditiously.’ Fletcher was now even more puzzled. ‘It has been brought to my notice that a member of this firm was seen in a bar frequented by lawyers from rival institutions.’ I do that every day, thought Fletcher, it’s hardly a crime. ‘And although this in itself is not reprehensible, it can lead to other developments that are unacceptable at Alexander Dupont and Bell. Fortunately, one of our number, with the best interest of the firm at heart, felt it his duty to keep me briefed on what might have become an embarrassing situation. The employee I am referring to was seen in a bar talking to a member of a rival firm. He then left with that person at approximately ten o’clock, took a cab to his home on the West Side, and did not reappear again until six thirty the following morning, when he returned to his own apartment. I immediately confronted the employee concerned, who made no attempt to deny his relationship with the member of a rival firm, and I’m pleased to say that he agreed the wisest course of action was to resign immediately.’ He paused. ‘I am grateful to the member of staff who reluctantly decided that it was his duty to report this matter to me.’
Fletcher glanced across at Ralph Elliot, who was trying to feign surprise as each new sentence was delivered, but no one had ever told him about over-acting. It was then that Fletcher recalled seeing Elliot on Fifth Avenue after his evening drink. He felt sick the moment he realized it was Logan the senior partner was referring to.
‘May I remind everyone,’ emphasized Bill Alexander, ‘that this matter should not be discussed again in public or in private.’ The senior partner rose from his place and left the room without another word.
Fletcher thought it would be diplomatic to be among the last to leave, and when there were no partners left in the room he rose and walked slowly towards the door. On his way back to his office he could hear footsteps behind him, but he didn’t look round, until Elliot caught up with him. ‘You were in the bar with Logan that night, weren’t you?’ he paused. ‘I didn’t tell my uncle.’ Fletcher said nothing as Elliot slipped away, but once he was back at his desk he wrote down the exact words Elliot had threatened him with.
The only mistake he made was not to inform Bill Alexander immediately.
One of the many things Nat admired about Su Ling was that she never once said, ‘I told you so,’ although after all her warnings, she had every right to do so.
‘So what happens next?’ she asked, having already put the incident behind her.
‘I have to decide whether to resign or wait to be pushed.’
‘But Steven is the head of your department, and even Adrian is senior to you.’
‘I know, but they were all my positions, and I signed the buy and sell orders, so no one really believes they made any of the plays.’
‘How much did the bank lose?’
‘A few dollars short of half a million.’
‘But you’ve made them much more than that in the past couple of years.’
‘True, but the other heads of department will now consider me unreliable, and will always be fearful that it just might happen again. Steven and Adrian are already distancing themselves as quickly as they can; they won’t want to lose their jobs as well.’
‘But you’re still capable of making the bank huge profits, so why should they let you go?’
‘Because they’ll be able to replace me; business schools throw up bright new graduates every year.’
‘Not of your calibre, they don’t,’ said Su Ling.
‘But I thought you didn’t approve?’
‘I didn’t say I approve,’ replied Su Ling, ‘but that doesn’t mean I don’t recognize and admire your ability.’ She hesitated. ‘Will anyone else offer you a job?’
‘I don’t suppose they will be calling me as frequently as they were a month ago, so I’ll just have to start calling them.’
Su Ling wrapped her arms round her husband. ‘You’ve faced far worse than this in Vietnam and so did I in Korea, and you didn’t flinch.’ Nat had almost forgotten what had happened in Korea, although it was obviously still troubling Su Ling.
‘What about the Cartwright Fund?’ she asked as Nat helped her lay the table.
‘Lost around fifty thousand, but it’s still showing a small profit over the year. Which reminds me, I must ring Mr Russell and apologize.’
‘But you’ve also made them handsome returns in the past.’
‘Which is why they put so much trust in me in the first place,’ said Nat, thumping the table. ‘Damn it, I should have seen it coming.’ He looked across the table at his wife. ‘What do you think I should do?’
Su Ling considered his question for some time. ‘Resign, and get yourself a proper job.’
Fletcher dialled the number without going through his secretary. ‘Are you free for lunch?’ He paused. ‘No, we need to meet somewhere where no one will recognize us,’ — pause — ‘is that the one on West 57th?’ — pause — ‘see you there at twelve thirty.’
Fletcher arrived at Zemarki’s a few minutes early. His guest was waiting for him. They both ordered salad, and Fletcher called for a light beer.