water. During all this he could see her mind sizing things up. Then came resolution. She pushed back, clutching the table edges with both hands, about to address the board.
‘OK, Ted. Look, I had a bad night and a bad day for that matter. If you hadn’t called me I would have called you. I’m willing to do what I can - within reason.’
‘ Why? What’s really behind this? I’m struggling with your democracy needs the People’s Bank thesis. And you’re too young to be having a midlife, Erin.’
She nodded. She knew she had to give him more. But she wasn’t ready to talk about the deeper fears stirred up by her intimate knowledge of Stanstead and what José had told her. She played her first card.
‘ Ever been to Scotland?’
‘ Nope. Always meant to. Heard you’ve got neat golf courses. All those links.’
‘None in Drumchapel, I can assure you. It’s a high rise housing estate north west of Glasgow. They flattened the old central slums like the Gorbals and moved the people out to new tower blocks.’
‘I’ve heard of the Gorbals .’
‘L ovely red sandstone tenements. Once. For a population of ten per cent of the numbers in the ‘30’s. An ant hill of refugees and unemployed. No plumbing, no care. But plenty of heart. Rather than do them up, the council tore them down and built new slums outside the city - without shops, pubs, playgrounds or soul.’
‘Smart work.’
‘ Blame Corbusier.’
‘This Drumchapel – it’s where you grew up? Slum kid, eh?’
‘Not exactly. M ore a riches to rags story. My folks had a nice wee house in a Glasgow suburb. Let’s just say things went off the rails. We ended up in a crumbling tower in the middle of nowhere. I was six when we moved.’
‘ Culture shock?’
She nodded. ‘ Slums, gangs, drugs, the stink of urine in the lifts – when they worked.’ She shuddered. ‘The whole bit. I’ve put as much distance between me and that life as I possibly could.’
‘ You’re living the American Dream. So what?’
‘ I travel a lot in the Far East. Outside the five star hotels, down among the ordinary folk, it’s just Drumchapel or Castlemilk or Easterhouse. Only warmer. You don’t forget. Have you ever had to pawn something to buy food? Ever taken a pay day loan to pay the gas bill? Outfits like People’s Bank are needed. Otherwise the sharks will get you.’
For the briefest of moments he caught a look on her face; yearning came closest to describing it. The first crack in the corporate veneer. He really needed to reset his compass on this lady and this situation. Bring him proof of time travel or God, and he’d believe it.
‘I thought People’s Bank were the sharks.’
‘That’s because you haven’t done your homework.’
Ouch. ‘So this is banker’s guilt.’
‘Sarcasm runs off me . I’m not embarrassed to have a conscience. How about you?’
The blue eyes bored into his . He emptied his glass and poured some more.
‘How about your colleagues. Get ‘em together and mount a boardroom coup or something.’
‘ We never get the chance. I’m only here for a couple of weeks during quarterly meetings. And we never have downtime. To be honest, I’m not sure I trust any of the others. One of Warwick’s ways of controlling us is to keep each of us in the dark about what the others are doing. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be afraid of your boss?’
Ted sucked at his teeth. ‘Some idea maybe.’
‘He picks us off one by one. Makes each of us think we’re his right hand ma n and swears us to secrecy. Bribes us with promises and bonuses. Then he makes an example of one of us at meetings. An uncanny knack of picking on whoever’s got something to hide. We’re all spineless. I’m disgusted with myself and with my colleagues if you must know.’
Ted emptied the bottle and caught her look. Teetotallers were so prissy.
‘ Fine, gimme facts, evidence; documents, emails, tapes. If you’re going to be a whistle blower,
‘OK, Ted. Look, I had a bad night and a bad day for that matter. If you hadn’t called me I would have called you. I’m willing to do what I can - within reason.’
‘ Why? What’s really behind this? I’m struggling with your democracy needs the People’s Bank thesis. And you’re too young to be having a midlife, Erin.’
She nodded. She knew she had to give him more. But she wasn’t ready to talk about the deeper fears stirred up by her intimate knowledge of Stanstead and what José had told her. She played her first card.
‘ Ever been to Scotland?’
‘ Nope. Always meant to. Heard you’ve got neat golf courses. All those links.’
‘None in Drumchapel, I can assure you. It’s a high rise housing estate north west of Glasgow. They flattened the old central slums like the Gorbals and moved the people out to new tower blocks.’
‘I’ve heard of the Gorbals .’
‘L ovely red sandstone tenements. Once. For a population of ten per cent of the numbers in the ‘30’s. An ant hill of refugees and unemployed. No plumbing, no care. But plenty of heart. Rather than do them up, the council tore them down and built new slums outside the city - without shops, pubs, playgrounds or soul.’
‘Smart work.’
‘ Blame Corbusier.’
‘This Drumchapel – it’s where you grew up? Slum kid, eh?’
‘Not exactly. M ore a riches to rags story. My folks had a nice wee house in a Glasgow suburb. Let’s just say things went off the rails. We ended up in a crumbling tower in the middle of nowhere. I was six when we moved.’
‘ Culture shock?’
She nodded. ‘ Slums, gangs, drugs, the stink of urine in the lifts – when they worked.’ She shuddered. ‘The whole bit. I’ve put as much distance between me and that life as I possibly could.’
‘ You’re living the American Dream. So what?’
‘ I travel a lot in the Far East. Outside the five star hotels, down among the ordinary folk, it’s just Drumchapel or Castlemilk or Easterhouse. Only warmer. You don’t forget. Have you ever had to pawn something to buy food? Ever taken a pay day loan to pay the gas bill? Outfits like People’s Bank are needed. Otherwise the sharks will get you.’
For the briefest of moments he caught a look on her face; yearning came closest to describing it. The first crack in the corporate veneer. He really needed to reset his compass on this lady and this situation. Bring him proof of time travel or God, and he’d believe it.
‘I thought People’s Bank were the sharks.’
‘That’s because you haven’t done your homework.’
Ouch. ‘So this is banker’s guilt.’
‘Sarcasm runs off me . I’m not embarrassed to have a conscience. How about you?’
The blue eyes bored into his . He emptied his glass and poured some more.
‘How about your colleagues. Get ‘em together and mount a boardroom coup or something.’
‘ We never get the chance. I’m only here for a couple of weeks during quarterly meetings. And we never have downtime. To be honest, I’m not sure I trust any of the others. One of Warwick’s ways of controlling us is to keep each of us in the dark about what the others are doing. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be afraid of your boss?’
Ted sucked at his teeth. ‘Some idea maybe.’
‘He picks us off one by one. Makes each of us think we’re his right hand ma n and swears us to secrecy. Bribes us with promises and bonuses. Then he makes an example of one of us at meetings. An uncanny knack of picking on whoever’s got something to hide. We’re all spineless. I’m disgusted with myself and with my colleagues if you must know.’
Ted emptied the bottle and caught her look. Teetotallers were so prissy.
‘ Fine, gimme facts, evidence; documents, emails, tapes. If you’re going to be a whistle blower,
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