Sons of Fortune (40 page)

“Julia
Kirkbridge
.”

“And
what...”

“That’s
enough of the third
degree,
you can ask her all the
questions you want to tonight because she’s more than capable of taking care of
herself.”

“Thanks
for the warning,” said Su Ling when Nat sprung an extra guest on her only
moments after he’d arrived home.

“I
should have called, shouldn’t I?” he said.

“It
would have made life a little easier, but I expect you were making millions at
the time.”

“Something
like that,” said Nat.

“What
do we know about her?” asked Su Ling.

“Nothing,”
said Nat. “You know Tom; when it comes to his private life, he’s even more secretive
than a Swiss banker, but as he’s willing to let us meet her one can only live
in hope.”

“What
happened to that gorgeous redhead called Maggie? I’d thought that...”

“Disappeared
like all the others. Can you ever remember him inviting anyone to join us for
dinner a second time?”

Su
Ling thought about the question for a moment, and then admitted, “Now you
mention it, I can’t.

I
suppose it could just be my cooking.”

“No,
it’s not your cooking, but I’m afraid that you are to blame.”

“Me?”
said Su Ling.

“Yes, you.
The poor man
has been besotted with you for years, so everyone he goes out with is dragged
along to dinner so that Tom can compare. .”

“Oh
no, not that old chestnut again,” said Su Ling.

“It’s
not an old chestnut, little flower, it’s the problem.”

“But
he’s never done more than kiss me on the cheek.”

“And
he never will. I wonder how many people are in love with someone they have
never even kissed on the cheek.”

Nat
disappeared upstairs to read to Luke as Su Ling set a fourth place at the
table. She was polishing an extra glass, when the doorbell rang.

“Can
you get it, Nat? I’m a bit tied up.

There
was no response, so she took off her apron and went to the front door.

“Hi,”
said Tom as he bent down and kissed Su Ling on the cheek, which only brought Nat’s
words to mind.

“This
is Julia,” he said. Su Ling looked up at an elegant woman, who was nearly as
tall as Tom, and almost as slim as she was, although her fair hair and blue
eyes suggested a heritage nearer Scandinavia than the Far East.

“How
nice to meet you,” said
Julia.
“I know it’s hackneyed,
but I really have heard so much about you.”

Su
Ling smiled as she took Julia’s fur coat. “My husband,” she said, “is caught up
with
. .”

“Black
cats,” said Nat as he appeared by Su Ling’s side. “I’ve been reading The Cat in
the Hat to Luke. Hi, I’m Nat, and you must be Julia.”

“Yes,
I am,” she said, giving Nat a smile that reminded Su Ling that other women
found her husband attractive. “Let’s go into the living room and have a drink,”
said Nat, “I’ve put some champagne on ice.”

“Do
we have something to celebrate?” asked Tom.

“Other
than you being able to find someone who is willing to accompany you to dinner,
no, I can’t think of anything in particular, unless
. .”

Julia
laughed. “Unless we include a call from my lawyers to say that the Bennett’s
takeover has been clinched.”

“When
did you hear about that?” asked Tom.

“Late
this afternoon; Jimmy called to say that they’ve signed all the documents. All
that we have to do now is hand over the check.”

“You
didn’t mention this when you came in,” said Su Ling.

“The
thought of Julia coming to dinner drove it out of my mind,” said Nat, “but I
did discuss the deal with Luke.”

“And
what was his considered opinion?” asked Tom.

“He
thought that a dollar was far too much to pay for a bank.”

“A
dollar?” echoed Julia.

“Yes,
Bennett’s have been declaring a loss for the past five years and, if you
exclude the banking premises, their long-term debt is no longer covered by
their assets, so Luke may prove to be right if I can’t turn it around in time.”

“How
old is Luke?” asked Julia.

“Two,
but he already has a proper grasp of financial matters.”

Julia
laughed. “So tell me more about the bank, Nat.”

“It’s
only the beginning,” he explained as he poured the champagne, “I still have my
eye on Morgan’s.”

“And
how much is that going to cost you?” asked Su Ling.

“Around
three hundred million at today’s prices, but by the time I’m ready to make a
bid, it could be over a billion.”

“I
can’t think in those sort of sums,” said Julia, “
it’s
way out of my league.”

“Now
that’s not true, Julia,” said Tom.

“Don’t
forget I’ve studied your company’s accounts, and unlike Bennett’s, you’ve made
a profit for the past five years.”

“Yes,
but only just over a million,” said Julia, giving him that smile again.

“Excuse
me,” said Su Ling, “while I check on dinner.”

Nat
smiled at his wife and then glanced at Tom’s guest. He already had the feeling
that Julia just might make it to a second date. “What do you do, Julia?” asked
Nat.

“What
do you think I do?” was thrown back with the same flirtatious smile.

“I’d
say you were a model, possibly an actress.”

“Not
bad. I used to be a model when I was younger, but for the past six years I’ve
been involved in real estate.”

Su
Ling reappeared. “If you’d like to come through, dinner is just about ready.”

“Real
estate,” said Nat as he accompanied his guest into the dining room, “I would
never have guessed.”

“But
it’s true,” said Tom. “And Julia wants us to handle her account. There’s a site
she’s looking at in Hartford, and she will be depositing five hundred thousand
dollars with the bank, in case she needs to move quickly.”

“Why
did you select us?” asked Nat, as his wife placed a bowl of lobster bisque in
front of her.

“Because my late husband dealt with Mr. Russell over
the Robinson Mall site.
Although we were the
underbidders
on that occasion and failed to secure the
deal, Mr. Russell didn’t charge us,” said Julia. “Not even a fee.”

“That
sounds like my father,” said Tom.

“So
my late husband said that if we were ever to look at anything else in this
area, we should only bank with Russell’s.”

“Things
have changed since then,” said Nat, “Mr. Russell has retired and...”

“But
his son is still there, as chairman.”

“And
he has me breathing down his neck to make sure people like you are charged when
we give them a professional service.
Though you’ll be
interested to know that the mall has been a great success, showing an excellent
return for its investors.
So what brings you to Hartford?”

“I
read that there are plans to build a second mall on the other side of the
city.”

“That’s
right. The council is putting the land up for sale with a development permit.”

“What
sort of figure are they looking for?” asked Julia as she sipped her soup.

“Around
three million is the word on the street, but I think it’s likely to end up
nearer three point three to three point five after the success of the
Robinson’s site.”

“Three
point five is our upper limit,” said Julia. “My company is by nature cautious, and
in any case, there’s always another deal around the corner.”

“Perhaps
we could interest you in some of the other properties we represent,” said Nat.

“No,
thank you,” said Julia. “My firm specializes in malls, and one of the many
things my husband taught me was never to stray away from your field of
expertise.”

“Wise man, your late husband.”

“He
was,” said Julia. “But I think that’s enough business for one night, so once my
money
has
been deposited, perhaps the bank would be
willing to represent me at the auction? However, I require complete
discretion,
I don’t want anyone else to know who you’re
bidding for. Something else my husband taught me.” She turned her attention to
the hostess. “Can I help you with the next course?”

“No,
thank you,” said Su Ling, “Nat’s hopeless, but is just about capable of
carrying four plates into the kitchen, and when he remembers, pouring the
occasional glass of wine.”

“So
how did you two meet?” asked Nat while, prompted by Su Ling’s comment, he began
to refill the glasses.

“You
wouldn’t believe it,” said Tom, “but we met on a building site.”

“I’m
sure there has to be a more romantic explanation.”

“When
I was checking over the council land last Sunday, I came across Julia out
jogging.”

“I
thought you were insistent about discretion,” said Nat smiling.

“Not
many people seeing a woman jogging over a building site on a Sunday morning
think she wants to buy it.”

“In
fact,” said Tom, “it wasn’t until I’d taken her out for dinner at the Cascade
that I discovered what Julia was really up to.”

“Corporate
real estate must be a tough world for a woman?” said Nat.

“Yes,
it is,” said Julia, “but I didn’t choose it, it chose me. You see, when I left
college in Minnesota, I did some modeling for a short time, before I met my
husband. It was his idea that I should look at sites whenever I went out
jogging, and then report back to him. Within a year I knew exactly what he was
looking for and within two, I had a place on the board.”

“So
you now run the company.”

“No,”
said Julia, “I leave that to my chairman and chief executive officer, but I
remain the majority shareholder.”

“So
you decided to stay involved after your husband’s death?”

“Yes,
that was his idea, he knew he only had a couple of years to live, and as we
didn’t have any children he decided to teach me everything about the business.
I think even he was surprised by how willing a pupil I turned out to be.”

Nat
began to clear away the plates.

“Anyone
for
creme
brulee
?” asked Su
Ling.

“I
couldn’t eat another mouthful; that lamb was so tender,” said Julia. “But don’t
let that stop you,” she added, patting Tom’s stomach.

Nat
glanced across at Tom, and thought he’d never seen him looking so content. He
suspected that Julia might even come to dinner a third time.

“Is
that really the time?” asked Julia, looking down at her watch. “It’s been a
wonderful evening, Su Ling, but please
forgive
me, I
have a board meeting at ten tomorrow morning, so I ought to be leaving.”

“Yes,
of course,” said Su Ling, rising from her place.

Tom
leaped up from his chair and accompanied Julia out into the hall, before
helping her on with her coat. He kissed Su Ling on the cheek, thanking her for
a wonderful evening.

“I’m
only sorry that Julia has to rush back to New York. Let’s make it my place next
time.”

Nat
glanced across at Su Ling and smiled, but she didn’t respond.

Nat
found himself chuckling as he closed the front door. “Some woman that,” he said
when he joined his wife in the kitchen and grabbed a drying-up cloth.

“She’s
a phony,” said Su Ling.

“What
do you mean?” asked Nat.

“Exactly
what I said, she’s a phony-phony accent, phony clothes, and her phony story was
altogether too neat and tidy. Don’t do any business with her.”

“What
can go wrong if she deposits five hundred thousand with the bank?”

“I’d
be willing to bet a month’s salary that the five hundred thousand never turns
up.”

Although
Su Ling didn’t raise the subject again that night, when Nat arrived at his
office the following morning, he asked his secretary to dig up all the
financial details she could find on
Kirkbridge
and
Company of New York. She was back an hour later with a copy of their annual
report, and latest financial statement. Nat checked carefully through the
report and his eye finally settled on the bottom line. They had made a profit
of just over a million the previous year, and all the figures tallied with
those Julia had talked about over dinner. He then checked the board of
directors. Mrs. Julia
Kirkbridge
was listed as a
director, below the chairman and chief executive. But because of Su Ling’s
apprehension, he decided to take the inquiry one step further.

He
dialed the telephone number of their office in New York, without going through
his secretary.