This Was a Man (The Clifton Chronicles #7)(100)



‘I’m not sure your father felt the same way.’

‘No need to worry about Pops,’ said Jessica as she stared at a magnificent vase. ‘Once Mom starts to work on him, he’ll come round.’

‘I hope so, because it won’t be too long before we have to tell him.’





The chairman, the chief executive and the bank’s in-house lawyer were seated around an oval table in Sebastian’s office at eight o’clock the following morning.

‘Any sign of Victor?’ was Seb’s first question.

‘No one’s seen him since Friday night,’ said John Ashley. ‘He told his secretary he was going on a business trip but would be back in time for the board meeting.’

‘But that’s not for another ten days,’ said Seb. ‘Doesn’t Carol have any idea where he is?’

‘No, and he didn’t leave a contact number.’

‘That’s unlike Victor,’ said Seb.

‘Carol told me he’s never done it before.’

‘Curiouser and curiouser.’

‘Do you think the time has come to call in Barry Hammond?’ suggested Ashley. ‘I’m sure it wouldn’t take him long to track Victor down, and also to find out everything there is to know about Miss Candice Lombardo.’

‘No, we can’t have a private detective investigating the deputy chairman of the bank,’ said Seb. ‘Is that understood?’

‘Yes, chairman. But Miss Lombardo presented another cheque yesterday for immediate clearance,’ said Ashley as he opened her growing file.

‘How much this time?’ asked Arnold.

‘Forty-two thousand,’ said Ashley.

‘Do you have any idea what it’s for?’

‘No, chairman, I do not,’ replied Ashley.

Seb studied a balance sheet that had never been in the black and was about to utter a single word to let his inner team know exactly how he felt, but thought better of it.

‘What’s our legal position?’ he asked, turning to the bank’s in-house lawyer.

‘If the account is in funds, or the guarantor is good for that amount, we have no choice but to clear the cheque within forty-eight hours.’

‘Then let’s hope Victor returns soon, or at least contacts us in the next couple of days.’

‘Isn’t there a paper trail of any sort?’ asked Arnold. ‘Phone calls, credit cards, hotel bills, plane tickets, anything?’

‘Nothing so far,’ said Ashley. ‘His secretary has instructions to call me the moment she hears from him, but I’m not hopeful, because I have a feeling that if we do find Victor, Miss Lombardo won’t be far behind.’

‘There’s one other person who might know where he is,’ said Arnold.

‘Who?’ asked Seb.

‘His wife.’

‘Absolutely not,’ said Seb. ‘Ruth is the last person I want contacted under any circumstances.’

‘In which case, chairman,’ said Arnold, ‘we have no choice but to clear the latest cheque within forty-eight hours, unless you want me to report the whole matter to the Bank of England and ask if we can hold up any further payments until Victor returns.’

‘No, allowing the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street to wash our dirty linen in public would be worse than telling Ruth. Clear the cheque, and let’s hope Miss Lombardo doesn’t present another one before Victor shows up.’





‘She’s what?’ said Sebastian.

‘Pregnant,’ repeated Samantha.

‘I’ll kill him.’

‘You’ll do nothing of the sort. In fact, when you next see Richard, you’ll congratulate him.’

‘Congratulate him?’

‘Yes, and leave them both in no doubt how delighted you are.’

‘Why the hell would I do that?’

‘Because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. To lose your daughter and never be able to see your grandchild. Just in case you’ve forgotten, you’ve experienced something similar before, and I don’t need to go through that again.’

‘Are they going to get married?’ asked Sebastian, changing tack.

‘I didn’t ask.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s none of my business. Anyway, I’m sure they’ll let us know when they’re good and ready.’

‘You’re being very calm, in the circumstances.’

‘Of course I am. I’m looking forward to being a grandmother.’

‘Oh my God,’ said Seb. ‘I’m going to be a grandfather.’

‘And to think the FT described you as one of the sharpest minds in the City!’

Sebastian grinned, took his wife in his arms and said, ‘I sometimes forget, my darling, how lucky I am to have married you.’ He switched on the light on his side of the bed and sat up. ‘We ought to give my mother a call and warn her she’s about to become a great-grandmother.’

‘She already knows.’

‘So was I the last person to be told?’

‘Sorry. I needed to get all the troops on side before you heard the news.’

‘This just hasn’t been my week,’ said Seb, turning the light out.

Jeffrey Archer's Books