Read Online Lovers in Their Fashion by S F Hopkins - Free Book Online Page B

utterly unafraid. Where those qualities had gone, no-one could say.
    John never bothered with bodyguards, much less armour plated cars and bullet-proof windscreens. With the Chairman here he had been given no choice and had endured two days of ponderous travel from office to office and ministry to ministry as Charles pressed the necessary flesh. Pointing out that Rio’s subway is one of the safest in the world had been met with a shake of the head. Heaven knew what reaction he might have received to a suggestion that they try a frescão, one of the air-conditioned buses that you hailed like taxis.
    Through all of this activity, John had been aware that there was personal business to be done and he waited patiently for Charles to bring it up. He, after all, was not supposed to know about Tom McGarrick’s impending retirement, or how the Chairman planned to deal with it. As Charles was leaving next morning, the moment must be soon.
    It came after both waiters had left the balcony and the two men had started on their meal.
    ‘Rhoda’s not well,’ said Charles.
    ‘I’d heard the odd word,’ replied John, who did not have it in him actually to lie, even by implication.
    ‘Naturally we all hope she pulls through,’ the Chairman went on. ‘Tom’s decided to call it a day, though. Wants to spend some time with her. Just in case.’
    ‘Poor Tom.’
    ‘He’s earned his retirement,’ said Charles. ‘His is a hard job and he’s set a demanding example. I need someone just as good to follow him. There aren’t many around.’ The Chairman’s eyes focused on John. ‘I’m offering it to you.’
    ‘Me?’ John kept his expression completely blank. Although he’d expected this, he still did not know how he was going to respond. Knowing that something wouldn’t be offered again was a powerful incentive. So was his duty to Tony. And there was, of course, Alice.
    None of which could change the fact that he didn’t really want to give up his globe-trotting lifestyle.
    ‘It’s time to move on,’ Charles said. ‘You’ve held this roving commission nearly ten years now. You’ve proved yourself. And you know the company on the ground, right across the world, better than anyone.’
    ‘When do you want a decision?’
    ‘What’s to decide? Look, John. Ten years ago you were a coming man in Head Office, the world before you. Suddenly we lost some business. It happens. And then you were knocking on the Chief Exec’s door asking for a move. Any move. We didn’t ask why then and I’m not asking now. Of course, you hear things.’
    The old fox – how long had he been keeping this up his sleeve? ‘You do?’
    ‘You do. Things that might be true and might be nonsense. What does it matter? Young men get restless.’
    ‘What sort of things did you hear?’
    ‘How many sorts are there when a single man in his twenties suddenly wants to be thousands of miles away? Cherchez la femme, John. Not difficult in this case, seeing as she worked for us, too. She left at about the same time. Done very well for herself. But that’s your business, John. Not ours. The other thing, now. That might have been our business. If we’d chosen to make it so.’
    John waited for him to go on, but Charles had suddenly become immersed in selecting the fattest and juiciest from a bowl of shrimp in chili sauce.
    ‘The other thing,’ said John.
    Charles nodded. ‘The other thing.’
    You spent years dealing with the man and you forgot how he could be when he really wanted something. How closely he held his cards until, one by one, he played them. How he always made sure he had the best cards before he even sat down at the table. ‘Chairman…’
    ‘Charles, please. Board members should be on first name terms, don’t you think?’
    ‘I haven’t accepted yet.’
    ‘I expect you want to know what “other thing” I meant.’
    ‘If you wouldn’t mind.’
    ‘You’ve come on leaps and bounds as a negotiator,’ said Charles. ‘One of the