‘Really?’ said Chris. ‘I knew you were in M&A, but I’d forgotten which sector. Maybe you can help.’
Eric stiffened. ‘I don’t know about that.’
‘You see, Ian told Lenka something quite interesting before she bought the bonds. He said there was a good chance that Eureka Telecom would be taken over by Radaphone. Since then, the deal has crapped out. Is there any chance that might be true?’
‘Whoa, Chris,’ said Eric. ‘That question blasts through about fifteen internal procedures, half a dozen regulations and a couple of Chinese walls.’
‘But Eric. As a mate. I really need the help. Just a clue.’
‘No, Chris. These rules apply especially to mates. And definitely no clues. And don’t assume from that that I know anything, OK? Also, Ian was way out of line telling Lenka that, whether it’s true or not.’
‘Sorry,’ said Chris. ‘I suppose I shouldn’t have asked you. Forget it. It’s just that it does worry me.’
‘Forgotten,’ said Eric. ‘But I suggest we stay well clear of the topic in future.’
‘Agreed. So how’s your business going?’
‘Pretty good,’ said Eric. ‘We did the Luxtel — Morrison Infotainment deal last year. And the Deutsche Mobilcom — Cablefrance deal. In fact, we’re number one in telecoms advisory worldwide. And as I said, it’s a hot place to be.’
‘You’re one of the top producers, I take it?’
‘I took over the group at the beginning of last year.’
‘Oh.’ Chris thought about that. At thirty-three, Eric was running probably the most profitable Mergers and Acquisitions group in the world. He must have got a good bonus last year. A bonus in the tens of millions of dollars. Chris was so tempted to ask, but decided against it.
Eric was watching him. He knew what he was thinking. He gave a tiny smile.
‘I always thought you’d do well,’ said Chris. ‘So well, that I think you can afford to buy me another drink.’
‘I’d like to, but I’m supposed to be going out to dinner with some clients in a couple of minutes. But look, you said you were coming to the States soon?’
‘I’m going to Hartford to see Rudy bloody Moss a week on Monday.’
‘Why don’t you come to dinner? I should be in New York that week, although the way things are going I can’t guarantee it. You haven’t met Cassie yet, have you?’
‘No. I’d like to do that. Thank you.’
‘Great. See you then.’
Eric slipped away, and approached a group of three Italian-looking businessmen in the lobby. Another big deal.
7
‘Bloomfield Weiss.’
‘Ian? It’s Chris.’
‘Oh.’
‘Where are you making Eureka Telecom?’
‘Do you want to deal?’
‘No. Just a level.’
‘One tick.’
Chris waited. He was expecting bad news, and he got it.
‘Eighty-eight to ninety.’ Ian’s voice was tense. Ready for an argument.
Chris didn’t give him one. ‘Ian, we need to talk.’
Ian sighed. ‘After Friday, I don’t think that’s necessary, do you?’
‘It’s about Lenka.’
‘We talked about Lenka.’
‘I went to her flat on Friday night. I saw her e-mails. Including one to you. And one to Marcus.’
‘To Marcus! What did it say?’
‘I don’t think we should talk about that on the phone, do you? I’ll see you in half an hour at Ponti’s.’
‘But Chris, I’ve got to talk to my clients!’
‘No, Ian. You’ve got to talk to me.’
This time it took Chris the full half hour to get there. The café was quiet at nine thirty on a Monday morning. Those who were going to work were already there, and it was too early for the loiterers to emerge. Ian was sitting at a table over a cappuccino and a cigarette, flirting with a striking six-foot tall waitress. His smile disappeared when he saw Chris. The waitress gave Chris a black look for interrupting them, and drifted off. Chris ignored her and sat down opposite Ian.
‘So, tell me about Marcus.’
Ian took a long drag on his cigarette and carefully flicked the ash into an ashtray before replying. ‘As you probably know, he’s Alex’s brother. He came to see Lenka about Alex’s death.’
‘And what did she tell him?’
‘I don’t know. You saw her e-mail to him. What did it say?’ Ian couldn’t hide his anxiety as he asked the question.
‘What do you think it said?’
‘I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking you!’ Ian’s impatience was growing.
Chris paused for a moment, enjoying Ian’s discomfort. ‘It said that she had something important she wanted to tell him about Alex’s death.’
‘But she didn’t say what it was?’
‘No. She said she wanted to see Marcus in person to explain it.’ As Chris said this, Ian relaxed. But only for a moment. ‘There’s a reply from Marcus. It says he’ll phone her.’
‘And you don’t know whether he did?’
‘No.’
Ian’s tension had returned.
‘There was also an e-mail from her to you saying she had to tell him about something. You begged her not to.’
‘That’s right.’
‘What was it?’
Ian thought for a moment. ‘What really happened, of course. That Duncan hit Alex and he fell in the sea. That Duncan was responsible for his death.’
‘And why should this bother you? You don’t care much about Duncan, do you?’
‘It’s not that. We’d all get in trouble, wouldn’t we? It was stupid of Lenka to even think of talking about it.’
‘Do you think that’s why she was murdered?’
Ian looked at him with derision. ‘Of course not. Are you suggesting I killed her? I was sleeping with her, for God’s sake!’
‘Ollie says that Lenka wouldn’t take your calls for a couple of days before she died.’
‘That’s true. I was angry about Marcus. She was angry with me. But there’s nothing odd about that. You know Lenka. She could lose her temper pretty easily.’
‘Her funeral is on Wednesday. Are you coming?’
Ian closed his eyes, and shook his head.
‘Why not?’
‘I can’t get away,’ Ian said wearily.
Chris stood up with contempt in his voice. ‘You weren’t really much of a friend to her, were you?’
Ian pursed his lips, anger flaring in his eyes. ‘Fuck off, Chris,’ he said.
Chris was still angry when he got back to the office. There was something about Ian that made him lose his temper every time. He knew it was stupid: his only chance of getting out of that bloody Eureka Telecom position was to persuade Bloomfield Weiss to buy the bonds. Well, if he hadn’t blown that on Friday, he definitely had now.
But what was it that was getting to him?
Obviously, the discovery of Ian’s relationship with Lenka had rattled him more than he had realized. Could he be jealous, as Megan had hinted? Did he regret that Ian had succeeded where he hadn’t dared to try?
He tried to think about that objectively. He was pretty sure the answer was no. He was very fond of Lenka, but he had never thought of her sexually. Right from the beginning, when he was still going out with Tamara, he had placed her off limits and kept her there ever since. That was the secret of their friendship. Lenka liked men. All her other relationships with males had deteriorated into sex and then breakup. But not with Chris. They felt safe with each other, they trusted each other, they were very good friends.
In which case, what was it about Ian that upset him so much? He had always assumed Lenka had torrid relationships with men, and although he had never known the details, he had accepted it as part of who she was: if anything, it made her more colourful. But to see Ian treating her as just another casual relationship, a hot babe to bonk for a few weeks, made him crazy. Why didn’t Ian recognize that she was so much more than that? He wasn’t even going to her funeral, for God’s sake! And the way he had used their relationship so cynically to sell her the Eureka Telecom bonds disgusted Chris. He didn’t believe for one moment that there was anything in the Radaphone rumour. It was just a product of Ian’s imagination, aimed at dumping twenty-five million euros of a difficult position. That should be good for a few grand on his bonus at the end of the year.