Be Careful What You Wish For

17

‘THE FIRST THING you must do is tell your uncle the truth,’ said Cedric. ‘And I mean the whole truth.’

‘I’ll tell him everything as soon as I get back this evening.’

‘It’s important that Sir Giles knows what you did in his name, because he’ll want to write and thank Mr Harris at the Theatre Royal, as well as the head porter of the Savoy.’

‘Albert Southgate.’

‘And you must write and thank them both as well.’

‘Yes, of course. And I apologize again, sir. I feel I’ve let you down, because the whole exercise has turned out to be a waste of your time.’

‘These experiences are rarely a complete waste of time. Whenever you bid for a new contract, even if you are unsuccessful, you almost always learn something that will stand you in good stead for the next one.’

‘What did I learn?’

‘Japanese for a start, not to mention one or two other things about yourself that I’m sure you’ll benefit from at some later date.’

‘But the amount of time you and your senior staff have spent on this project . . . along with a great deal of the bank’s money.’

‘It won’t have been any different for Barclays or the Westminster. If you manage a success rate of one in five with projects like this, that’s considered par for the course,’ he added as the phone on his desk rang. He picked it up and, after a moment, said, ‘Yes, send him in.’

‘Shall I leave, sir?’

‘No, stay put. I’d rather like you to meet my son.’ The door opened, and in walked a man who could only have been of Cedric Hardcastle’s lineage: an inch taller perhaps, but the same warm smile, broad shoulders and almost bald dome, although with a slightly thicker semi-circle of hair sprouting from ear to ear, making him look like a seventeenth-century friar. And, as Sebastian was about to discover, the same incisive mind.

‘Good morning, Pop, good to see you.’ And the same Yorkshire accent.

‘Arnold, this is Sebastian Clifton, who’s been assisting me with the Sony negotiations.’

‘I’m glad to meet you, sir,’ said Sebastian as they shook hands.

‘I’m a huge admirer of your—’

‘– my father’s books?’

‘No, can’t say I’ve ever read one. Have quite enough of detectives during the day without reading about them at night.’

‘My mother, then, the first woman chairman of a public company?’

‘No, it’s your sister Jessica that I’m in awe of. What a talent,’ he added, nodding towards the drawing of his father on the wall. ‘So what’s she up to now?’

‘She’s just enrolled at the Slade in Bloomsbury, and is about to begin her first year.’

‘Then I feel sorry for the other poor sods in her year.’

‘Why?’

‘They’ll either love her or hate her, because they’re about to discover they’re just not in her class. But back to more mundane matters,’ Arnold said, turning to his father. ‘I’ve prepared three copies of the contract, as agreed by both parties, and once you’ve signed them, you’ll have ninety days to raise the ten million loan for a five-year period at a rate of two and a quarter per cent. The quarter being your fee on the transaction. I should also mention—’

‘Don’t bother,’ said Cedric, ‘because I have a feeling we’re no longer in the running for this one.’

‘But when I spoke to you last night, Pop, you sounded quite bullish.’

‘Let’s just say that circumstances have changed since then, and leave it at that,’ said Cedric.

‘I’m sorry to hear it,’ said Arnold. He gathered up the contracts, and was just about to put them back in his briefcase, when he saw it for the first time.

‘I’ve never thought of you as an aesthete, Pop, but this is quite superb,’ he said, carefully picking up the Japanese vase from his father’s desk. He studied the piece more closely before checking the bottom. ‘And by one of Japan’s national treasures, no less.’

‘Not you as well,’ said Cedric.

‘Shoji Hamada,’ said Sebastian.

‘Where did you find it?’

‘I didn’t,’ said Cedric. ‘It was a gift from Mr Morita.’

‘Well, you didn’t end up completely empty-handed on this deal,’ said Arnold, as they heard a tap on the door.

‘Come in,’ said Cedric, wondering if it just might be . . . the door swung open and Tom marched in. ‘I thought I told you to stay at the Savoy,’ said the chairman.

‘Not much point, sir. I was waiting outside the hotel at nine thirty, as instructed, but Mr Morita never showed up. And him being a gentleman what’s never late, I decided to have a word with the doorman, who tipped me off that the three Japanese guests had checked out and left the hotel in a taxi just after nine.’

‘I never would have thought it possible,’ said Cedric. ‘I must be losing my touch.’

‘You can’t win ’em all, Pop, as you so often remind me,’ said Arnold.

‘Lawyers seem to win even when they lose,’ replied his father.

‘Tell you what I’ll do,’ said Arnold. ‘I’ll forgo my vast, unearned fee, in exchange for this small, insignificant bauble.’

‘Get lost.’

‘Then I’ll be on my way, as there’s clearly not much more I can do here.’

Arnold was placing the contracts in his Gladstone bag when the door swung open, and Mr Morita and his two colleagues walked in, just as several church bells in the Square Mile began to chime eleven times.

‘I hope I’m not late,’ were Mr Morita’s first words as he shook hands with Cedric.

‘Bang on time,’ said Cedric.

‘And you,’ said Morita, looking at Arnold, ‘can only be the unworthy son of a great father.’

‘That’s me, sir,’ said Arnold as they shook hands.

‘Have you prepared the contracts?’

‘I have indeed, sir.’

‘Then all you’ll need is my signature, and then Father can get on with his work.’ Arnold took the contracts back out of his Gladstone bag and laid them out on the desk. ‘But before I sign, I have a gift for my new friend, Sebastian Clifton, which is why I had to leave the hotel so early this morning.’

Mr Ono stepped forward and handed a small box to Mr Morita, who in turn gave it to Sebastian.

‘Not always a good boy but, as the British say, his heart is in the right place.’

Sebastian said nothing as he untied the red ribbon and removed the silver paper before lifting the box’s lid. He took out a tiny vase glazed in crimson and yellow. He couldn’t take his eyes off it.

‘You’re not looking for a lawyer, by any chance?’ asked Arnold.

‘Only if you can name the potter without looking at the base.’

Sebastian handed the vase to Arnold, who took his time admiring how the red ran into the yellow, creating orange streaks, before he ventured an opinion. ‘Bernard Leach?’

‘This son is of some use after all,’ said Morita.

Both men laughed, as Arnold handed the exquisite piece back to Sebastian, who said, ‘I don’t know how to thank you, sir.’

‘But when you do, be sure to deliver your speech in my native tongue.’

Sebastian was so taken by surprise, he nearly dropped the vase. ‘I’m not sure I understand, sir.’

‘Of course you do, and should you fail to respond in Japanese, I will be left with no choice but to present this vase to the son of Cedric.’

Everyone waited for Sebastian to speak. ‘Arigatou gozaimasu. Taihenni kouei desu. Isshou taisetsuni itashimasu.’

‘Most impressive. Needs a little attention to the finer brush strokes, unlike your sister’s work, but impressive all the same.’

‘But how, Morita San, did you work out that I could speak your language when I’ve never said a word of Japanese in your presence?’

‘Three tickets for My Fair Lady would be my bet,’ said Cedric.

‘Mr Hardcastle is a shrewd man, which was why I selected him to represent me in the first place.’

‘But how?’ repeated Sebastian.

‘The tickets were too much of a coincidence,’ said Morita. ‘Think about it, Sebastian, while I get on with signing the contract.’ He removed a fountain pen from his top pocket and handed it to Cedric. ‘You must sign first, otherwise the gods will not bless our union.’

Morita watched as Cedric signed all three contracts, before adding his own signature. Both men bowed and then shook hands.

‘I have to rush to the airport and take a plane to Paris. The French are causing me many problems.’

‘What kind of problems?’ asked Arnold.

‘Nothing you can help me with, sadly. I have forty thousand transistor radios sitting in a bonded warehouse. The French customs are refusing to allow me to distribute them to my suppliers until every box has been opened and inspected. At the moment, they are managing two a day. The idea is to hold me up as long as possible, so that French manufacturers will be able to sell their inferior product to impatient customers. But I have a plan to defeat them.’

‘I can’t wait to hear it,’ said Arnold.

‘Simple really. I shall build a factory in France, employ locals and then distribute my superior product without having to bother with customs officials.’

‘The French will work out what you’re up to.’

‘I’m sure they will, but by then everyone will be like Cedric and want a Sony radio in their front room. I can’t afford to miss my plane, but first I’d like a word in private with my new partner.’ Arnold shook hands with Morita before he and Sebastian left the room. ‘Cedric,’ Morita said, taking the seat on the other side of the chairman’s desk. ‘Have you ever come across a man called Don Pedro Martinez? He came to see me after the show last night, along with a Major Fisher.’

‘I only know Martinez by reputation. However, I have met Major Fisher, who represents him on the board of the Barrington Shipping Company, where I also serve as a director.’

‘My view is that Martinez is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, while Fisher is weak, and I suspect dependent on Martinez’s money to keep afloat.’

‘You worked that out after only one meeting?’

‘No, after twenty years of dealing with such men. But this one is clever and devious, and you should not underestimate him. I suspect that for Martinez, even life is a cheap commodity.’

‘I am grateful for your insight, Akio, but even more for your concern.’

‘May I beg a small favour in return before I leave for Paris?’

‘Anything.’

‘I would like Sebastian to remain the link between our two companies. It will save us both a lot of time and trouble.’

‘I only wish I could grant you that favour,’ said Cedric, ‘but the boy’s going up to Cambridge in September.’

‘Did you go to university, Cedric?’

‘No, I left school at fifteen and, after a couple of weeks’ holiday, joined my father at the bank.’

Morita nodded. ‘Not everyone is cut out for university, and some are even held back by the experience. I think Sebastian has found his natural metier, and with you as his mentor, it’s even possible you might have found the right person to eventually take your place.’

‘He’s very young,’ said Cedric.

‘So is your Queen, and she ascended the throne at the age of twenty-five. Cedric, we are living in a brave new world.’