knowing you ladies very well. I’ve met Mrs Pearson’ – he bowed to Tara – ‘but not you, Lady Calthorpe, or you, Miss Trevellyan. So I think some introductions may be in order. You know Victor Goldblatt, of course, the head of Goldblatt Mindenhall, whose relationship with Trevellyan goes back many years. They have ably represented and advised us for a long while. With him is Ali Tendulka, a very talented young lawyer who has recently joined Goldblatt Mindenhall and whom we are very happy to have as part of our team.’
So that’s who he is
, Poppy thought.
Not really Trevellyan after all
. She noticed that Ali Tendulka was glancing over at Jemima, who didn’t seem to be aware of him at all.
The older man continued, ‘On my left here is Simon Vestey, the head of finance and to his left is our accounts director, Paul Glanville. Also, on my right, from our marketing and sales departments, William McKay and Ian Kendall. Our head of publicity hasn’t been able to join us today unfortunately.’
As their names were mentioned, each man murmured and nodded.
It’s like the war of the sexes
, thought Poppy.
Typical for a boardroom to be full of men
.
‘Simply lovely to meet you all,’ said Jemima in a smooth voice, the kind that Poppy recognised as meaning trouble. ‘The only thing is – who the hell are
you?
’ She pulled off her glasses and eyed the old man at the head of the table with a steely grey gaze.
‘Of course, of course, I should have said at once. I’m Duncan Ingliss, the managing director of Trevellyan.’
‘The man in charge.’ Jemima stared at him, twirling her glasses between her thumb and forefinger.
‘Yes, my dear. It has been an honour to navigate this splendid old company through the last two decades.’ He smiled condescendingly at Jemima. ‘I hope you will see fit not to rock the boat and to allow me to continue at the helm of this dear old girl, as your father would have wanted.’
‘Well, Mr Ingliss, I’m sure you’re more than well aware by now that our
mother
clearly did not want any such arrangement and consequently this ship has just got a new captain. Three captains, to be precise. So, you’d better forget about steering anything and tell us exactly what’s going on, because I, for one, want to know why on earth we’d suddenly be expected to take over the running of a company that’s supposedly doing so well under its current management!’
Poppy bit her lip, realising suddenly that Jemima had just put in a nutshell what had been bothering her since the reading of the will. This task could not possibly be an easy one, or what was the point of setting it? She felt a tingle of panic as she considered that it might not just be difficult – it might be nigh on impossible.
Tara shot Jemima a warning look. ‘This has come as quite a shock to all of us,’ she said calmly. ‘As far as we understand it from the terms of our mother’s will, we are now joint chairmen and chief executives of Trevellyan.’
‘That is correct,’ Victor put in.
‘Well, there are several questions that come to mind at once, not least what our financial liabilities are in respect of this inheritance …’
‘We have the company accountant here,’ interrupted Ingliss. ‘I’m sure he can answer any questions that you have.’
‘Well, I’m not an inheritance tax expert,’ said Paul Glanville, looking nervous. ‘I’m mainly concerned with the financial aspects of Trevellyan on a day-today basis …’ He trailed off under the pressure of Jemima’s expectant glare.
Tara seemed impatient. ‘Look, we all know that there are breaks on capital gains tax for businesses who are restructuring. I’m sure there are plenty of ways that stock can be reassigned in order to maximise efficiency. But my question is whether the company counts as part of my mother’s estate or not.’
Much to Paul Glanville’s obvious relief, Victor Goldblatt leaned forward to respond. ‘The intricacies of
So that’s who he is
, Poppy thought.
Not really Trevellyan after all
. She noticed that Ali Tendulka was glancing over at Jemima, who didn’t seem to be aware of him at all.
The older man continued, ‘On my left here is Simon Vestey, the head of finance and to his left is our accounts director, Paul Glanville. Also, on my right, from our marketing and sales departments, William McKay and Ian Kendall. Our head of publicity hasn’t been able to join us today unfortunately.’
As their names were mentioned, each man murmured and nodded.
It’s like the war of the sexes
, thought Poppy.
Typical for a boardroom to be full of men
.
‘Simply lovely to meet you all,’ said Jemima in a smooth voice, the kind that Poppy recognised as meaning trouble. ‘The only thing is – who the hell are
you?
’ She pulled off her glasses and eyed the old man at the head of the table with a steely grey gaze.
‘Of course, of course, I should have said at once. I’m Duncan Ingliss, the managing director of Trevellyan.’
‘The man in charge.’ Jemima stared at him, twirling her glasses between her thumb and forefinger.
‘Yes, my dear. It has been an honour to navigate this splendid old company through the last two decades.’ He smiled condescendingly at Jemima. ‘I hope you will see fit not to rock the boat and to allow me to continue at the helm of this dear old girl, as your father would have wanted.’
‘Well, Mr Ingliss, I’m sure you’re more than well aware by now that our
mother
clearly did not want any such arrangement and consequently this ship has just got a new captain. Three captains, to be precise. So, you’d better forget about steering anything and tell us exactly what’s going on, because I, for one, want to know why on earth we’d suddenly be expected to take over the running of a company that’s supposedly doing so well under its current management!’
Poppy bit her lip, realising suddenly that Jemima had just put in a nutshell what had been bothering her since the reading of the will. This task could not possibly be an easy one, or what was the point of setting it? She felt a tingle of panic as she considered that it might not just be difficult – it might be nigh on impossible.
Tara shot Jemima a warning look. ‘This has come as quite a shock to all of us,’ she said calmly. ‘As far as we understand it from the terms of our mother’s will, we are now joint chairmen and chief executives of Trevellyan.’
‘That is correct,’ Victor put in.
‘Well, there are several questions that come to mind at once, not least what our financial liabilities are in respect of this inheritance …’
‘We have the company accountant here,’ interrupted Ingliss. ‘I’m sure he can answer any questions that you have.’
‘Well, I’m not an inheritance tax expert,’ said Paul Glanville, looking nervous. ‘I’m mainly concerned with the financial aspects of Trevellyan on a day-today basis …’ He trailed off under the pressure of Jemima’s expectant glare.
Tara seemed impatient. ‘Look, we all know that there are breaks on capital gains tax for businesses who are restructuring. I’m sure there are plenty of ways that stock can be reassigned in order to maximise efficiency. But my question is whether the company counts as part of my mother’s estate or not.’
Much to Paul Glanville’s obvious relief, Victor Goldblatt leaned forward to respond. ‘The intricacies of
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