Final Venture

11

Lynette Mauer sat next to Gil, watching him through her large glasses with an expression close to awe, lapping up everything he was saying. This was a Monday morning meeting with a difference. The firm's largest investor was present.

It was also the first Monday morning meeting since Frank had died – the previous week's had been cancelled. The chair opposite Gil, Frank's chair, was empty. I could almost see him now, relaxed, cracking a joke, one long leg crooked over the other. His tenseness over the week before he died was forgotten. The old Frank, the relaxed, amiable but remarkably shrewd venture capitalist, would be the person we would all remember.

The meeting wasn't exactly rigged, and to be fair to Gil he had never told us to behave differently when an investor was present. But troubled investments were skated over rather than dissected, any disagreement was polite and swiftly resolved, and we talked a lot about BioOne.

This was good news for me, because I didn't have to talk much about Net Cop. It was good news for Art because he was allowed to expound upon his favourite subject. As usual, an open can of Diet Dr Pepper rested on the table in front of him, the dark purple liquid bubbling mysteriously in a glass. I had tasted Diet Dr Pepper once. It brought back memories of a particularly unpleasant chemical cherryade from my childhood. Art guzzled it all day.

'The Street can't get enough of BioOne stock,' he was saying. 'The price is up to forty-five. Now that's not quite the sixty dollars we were at a couple of months ago, but the whole sector's been trashed.'

'OK, and at forty-five dollars a share, what's the value of Revere's holdings?' asked Gil, for Mauer's benefit.

Art paused as though he hadn't really thought about the question before. 'I'd say just shy of three hundred million.'

'Good. And we hold, right?'

Art smiled. 'We hold. Harrison Brothers is confident that the stock will be back up to sixty by year end. And we haven't gone wrong holding BioOne stock yet.'

'Good. Now I think you'll all agree that we had a very interesting meeting with Jerry and Dr Enever last week. The Boston Peptides acquisition will be a useful addition to the BioOne drugs portfolio. Can I take it we support the deal?'

There were nods around the table. It was pointless me protesting. This was just a formality, and anyway I wasn't a partner. I didn't get a vote.

'Excellent,' said Gil. 'Do you have any questions for Art, Lynette?'

Lynette Mauer glanced quickly up at Gil, fluttered a little, and then spoke. 'I enjoyed the meeting as well. It does seem to be a very successful investment, Art. Well done. I see you have been looking after our money well.'

Art beamed.

'I do have one question. It's something I saw in the paper at the weekend about Alzheimer's. After the meeting, it kind of jumped out of the page at me.' She smiled sweetly at Gil, who returned her smile encouragingly. 'Where is it?' She shuffled through her papers, and pulled out a piece of torn-out newspaper bearing the New York Times typeface. Ah, here.' She scanned it quickly. Art fidgeted with impatience.

'Yes. It's something about galantamine,' she pronounced this word awkwardly, 'which is some kind of drug extracted from narcissi bulbs. It's supposed to be a more effective treatment for Alzheimer's than what's on the market at the moment. Do you think this might be a threat to neuroxil-5?'

Ah, no, not at all,' replied Art quickly.

'Why not?'

Art replied slowly, as if addressing a child. 'Neuroxil-5 prevents the build up of beta-amyloid in the brain of an Alzheimer's affected patient. It is this beta-amyloid that eventually kills the brain cells. No other treatment has succeeded in attacking this beta-amyloid in the way neuroxil-5 does.'

'I understand that,' said Mauer. 'But it says here that this drug galantamine inhibits cholinesterase, which is what kills brain cells. So which is it?'

'Which is what?' asked Art carefully.

'Which is it that kills the brain cells? The beta-amyloid stuff or the cholinesterase stuff?' Mauer looked at Art ever so sweetly, as though she was completely confident he would be able to answer.

Art was stumped. He didn't have a clue. He was just about to open his mouth, when Ravi jumped in.

'As you know Ms Mauer, Art is our BioOne expert,' he began. 'But I did happen to catch that article about galantamine too.' He had all our attention. Ravi's approach to these meetings was usually to keep quiet until he was spoken to. But now, as he addressed Mauer over his half-moon glasses, he spoke quietly and with authority. 'I think the truth is that Alzheimer's involves a complex tangle of different biochemical reactions in the brain. It is difficult to separate cause from effect. It seems likely that drugs like galantamine delay the onset of Alzheimer's. But, as Dr Enever explained last week, BioOne believes that neuroxil-5 neutralizes a gene that is behind all these processes, including the production of beta-amyloid and cholinesterase, and a lot of others as well. We won't know for sure until the Phase Three clinical trials are complete, when we can look at the effect of the drug on over a thousand patients rather than just the hundred or so tested so far.'

Mauer smiled at Ravi. 'OK, I understand, thank you very much. I'll watch this one with interest.'

I felt as much as saw Daniel suppress a snigger next to me. Art was trying to smile. But he was furious. His neck was reddening as though any minute his head would begin to boil. Ravi had been hired as a biotech partner after Revere had invested in BioOne. Art had made it clear that he should stay clear of BioOne, and Ravi had scrupulously done just that. Until now The trouble was, Ravi knew a lot about biotech, and Art didn't. We all understood that and now Lynette Mauer did too.

We moved on to new deals, of which the most interesting was Tetracom. Diane was an excellent presenter. She fed her audience information in such a way that they jumped to positive conclusions before she did. I knew there were still plenty of questions to be asked, but listening to her, it seemed that we should sign up on the spot. She finished her description with a note of caution, saying that she and I would be in Cincinnati the following week to clear up some detailed points. Mauer was impressed. We all were.

We came to the end of the meeting. Gil clearly thought it had gone well. He finished up by turning to Mauer.

'Lynette, perhaps you could tell us something about the Bieber Foundation's plans. As you know, we're raising a new fund next year. We look forward to welcoming you into it.'

Lynette smiled all round. 'Yes, there is something I'd like to say to all of you.' Gil stiffened first. This wasn't in the script. The rest of us looked on, our interest quickened.

'I'd like to thank all of you for the work you've done for us over the last few years. As you know, the Bieber Foundation has invested in your funds since the beginning. And your returns have been good, thanks in large part to BioOne.' A nice smile for Art. 'And of course to Frank Cook, who was responsible for so many successful investments.' She paused, out of deference to his memory.

There was a but. We were all waiting for the but.

'But we have had a recent change of policy. In future the Foundation will consolidate its investment in venture capital into two or maybe three firms. We will be reviewing all our venture capital investments, including Revere.'

The sweet smile stayed on her lips. Gil looked confused.

'I'm sure we can count on your continued investment in our funds, Lynette,' he said smoothly.

'Perhaps. But I wouldn't rely on it, Gil.'

'But, Lynette, our returns…'

'I have analysed your returns, and if you take out BioOne and Frank Cook's investments you are left with a performance that isn't quite as good as some of your competitors. You seem to have missed the Internet bus almost entirely.'

'Art, here, looked into that market, and concluded it was all hype. We firmly believe those companies are overvalued.'

'They've made a lot of people a lot of money,' said Lynette.

The firm had made some investments in the area in the early days. Frank had done a couple of successful small deals, and then Art came up with two spectacular disasters, which had set the firm's returns back significantly. Art's conclusion was that the problem was with the market, not his investing skills, and he had urged a policy of avoiding the sector. Frank and I had only been able to squeeze Net Cop through the investment committee by arguing that it was building the nuts and bolts of the Internet rather than an ephemeral 'community' in cyberspace. In truth, many of the Internet stocks had been hyped to the stratosphere. But most of our competitors had made money putting them there, and Mauer knew this.

'Perhaps we should discuss this in my office,' said Gil hurriedly.

'Why, certainly, if you like,' said Mauer.

The meeting broke up. Daniel strolled over to the small woman. 'Ms Mauer?'

'Yes?'

'Daniel Hall. I noticed you are a major investor in Beaufort Technologies. I just wanted to suggest that you should perhaps take your profits. The stock is due for a big correction.'

Mauer's eyes flicked up at Daniel. 'Why? What's wrong with Beaufort?'

'Nothing's wrong with the company,' Daniel said. 'It's just that the market's love affair with 3-D animation is wearing thin. It's going out of fashion.'

Gil was glaring at Daniel, but he had Mauer's attention. 'Thank you,' she said, and followed Gil out of the room.

'Talk about a death wish,' I said to Daniel as we made our way back to our office. 'You just about kissed goodbye to your career back there.'

Daniel smiled. 'Beaufort's going down. Lynette Mauer will remember I told her. And when it does fall, she'll be glad I warned her, and so will Gil.'

'Maybe. If we still have a firm by then. But if Bieber pulls out, so might some of the other investors.'

'Oh, Revere will survive,' said Daniel. 'And she saw right through Art, didn't she? That was just great!'

Maybe. Or maybe Revere was falling apart about our ears.

'Ayot, come with me! Gil's office. Now!'

It was Monday afternoon. I looked up from my work. Art was standing at the door to our office, his face was red, his short grey hair bristling.

John and Daniel turned open-mouthed. I slowly followed Art.

Gil was standing stiffly behind his desk as I came in, his weather-beaten face grim.

'Sit down, Simon,' he said coldly.

I took one of Gil's armchairs. The two older men seated themselves opposite me. Art could barely contain himself, his big forearms wrapped across his broad chest in an effort to suppress his anger.

Gil leaned forward towards me. 'Art tells me that you are responsible for a serious breach of confidence. Very serious.'

Oh Lisa, Lisa!

'Apparently someone has told the Boston Peptides management about BioOne's bid for the company. This has raised major difficulties with the negotiations, which were at a delicate stage.'

'You bet it has!' Art couldn't contain himself any longer. 'We've had to cave in to management's demands right away. We'll have to make a public announcement tomorrow morning. This is going to cost us money!'

'Art believes you were responsible for this leak. Is he correct?'

The eyes peered at me through those lenses. I wouldn't lie to Gil.

I nodded. 'I'm sorry.'

'Sorry!' screamed Art. 'I tell you not to do something, and you go right ahead and do it anyway! Sorry isn't good enough. Anyway, couldn't you have gotten your wife to keep her big mouth shut?'

'I did ask her to-' I said.

'And she took no notice. If you can't trust your own wife, you shouldn't have spoken to her! Stupid bitch.'

'Hey!' I rose from my chair, the anger boiling up inside me.

'That's enough!' Gil put his hand on my arm. 'That's enough, Art. I know you're angry but let's keep the personal comments out of it. Take it easy, Simon.'

I glared at Art and sat down.

Gil turned to me. 'What you did today was a serious breach of trust. The firm has gone out of its way to back you up these last few days. We expect loyalty in return. I expect loyalty in return.'

'I know. I'm sorry, Gil. It's just it was the kind of secret I didn't want to keep from my wife.'

'That's not good enough, Simon, and you know it,' Gil said. 'Art suggested that we should try to keep the whole deal away from you until it's announced publicly. I told him no. We're a small firm, and we have to be able to trust each other. Frankly, I thought we could trust you. And it's not a question of us making you lie to your wife. We were just expecting you to behave ethically and professionally. That's not unreasonable is it?'

I sighed. 'No, it's not.'

'OK. At many firms this would be enough to get you fired. But we don't work that way here. Let this be a warning to you. I don't expect to see any signs of a breach of trust in your colleagues again.'

'OK, Gil. And I am sorry'

I left his office seething. I marched straight back to my desk and picked up the phone, ignoring the stares of John and Daniel. I punched in a number.

'Lisa Cook.'

'You told Henry about the take-over, didn't you?'

There was a moment's silence. Then Lisa's voice, curt and crisp. 'Maybe.'

'What do you mean, "Maybe"? You either did or you didn't!'

'It was important to Boston Peptides. Henry told me he would treat the information carefully.'

'Well, he didn't, did he?' A small voice inside told me to calm down, get a hold of myself. But it was too late. It had been a stressful week for me too. 'Lisa, I can't believe you'd do that to me! I only told you about the take-over because I felt I had to. Because you're my wife, and I felt I could trust you. But I couldn't could I? The deal's blown wide open, Art's furious, and I just got a massive bollocking from Gil. It's lucky I wasn't fired.'

'Simon, I…' Lisa was clearly taken aback by my anger. I had never been that angry with her before.

'Yes?'

'I'm sorry, Simon.' Lisa's voice was cold now. 'I did what I had to do.'

'No, you didn't. What you should have done is keep quiet and wait for the news to get to Henry direct from BioOne. It's almost as though you place your loyalty to Boston Peptides above your loyalty to me.'

'And why shouldn't I, just for once? This is my career we're talking about. I started on this stuff long before I met you. Simon, I just don't think you understand that my job is as important to me as your job is to you.'

'Lisa-'

'Goodbye, Simon.'

And there was a click as the line went dead.

There was complete silence in the room as I stared at the receiver lifeless in my hand. Daniel and John were looking at me aghast.

'Don't tell me she forgot to fold your socks again,' said Daniel at last.

I smiled, deflated, and tried to go back to work.

That afternoon, Diane dropped by my desk. She was the only partner who managed to make her visits to the associates' office seem like informal chats, rather than missions to dispense orders or demand information. I hadn't spoken to her since her Cincinnati trip.

'How was Tetracom?' I asked.

'Fascinating,' she said. 'The product seems to do all they claimed. And the management team seems first class. I've got a good feeling about this one.'

'Excellent.'

'I'm going out there again next Monday. I'd really like you to come with me. I need some help, and… well, I'd like a second opinion.'

It was always flattering as an associate to be asked for an opinion rather than just spreadsheet time, and it looked as if Tetracom might go all the way to investment. Only a minority of the companies we looked at actually made it that far, and it was obviously smart for an associate to attach himself to a deal that eventually got done.

But, with Lisa in her current frame of mind, was it sensible to go on a trip with Diane?

Diane noticed my hesitation. 'It would be great if you could make it, but I'd understand if you have to be with Lisa.'

Be with Lisa? I didn't really have to be with Lisa. She could look after herself for one night. That bit about me thinking my work was more important than hers rankled. It simply wasn't true. She had betrayed my trust in her for the benefit of her career: I could go on a simple business trip for the benefit of mine.

'No, I'm sure she'll be fine,' I said. 'I'll be glad to come.'

Lisa arrived home at half past nine, by which time my anger at what she had done had subsided a little, and my concern about how she was behaving had grown. She looked terrible, lines of fatigue and misery ravaging her face.

'Lisa, I'd like to talk to you about the take-over.' She dumped her bag on a chair. 'There really isn't any point, Simon.'

'But Lisa…'

'There's no point. Have you had dinner?'

'Not yet.'

Lisa ordered some Chinese to be delivered, and picked up her book. I turned on the TV. When the food came we ate in silence. I made a couple of half-hearted attempts to start a conversation, but with little success. I was still angry, so I soon gave up.

I had developed a headache myself. I rummaged around in the bathroom cabinet for Lisa's Tylenol. I had to remove a paper bag to get at it. Inside were two bottles of pills, unlabelled. I opened them, and poured out a couple of the tablets. They were unmarked. I forgot the Tylenol, and took the bottles into the living room.

'Lisa. What are these?'

She looked up. 'BP 56,' she said. She looked me in the eye, defying me to say anything.

'BP 56! But that hasn't been tested on humans yet.'

'It has now.'

'Lisa! Can't you wait for those volunteers to take it? It might be dangerous.'

'Of course it isn't dangerous, Simon. It's been thoroughly tested on animals. And how could I allow volunteers to take a drug I wasn't prepared to take myself?'

'Oh, Lisa.'

'Simon, if there are any problems with the drug, I need to know now so we can do something about them. We can't afford to wait until we've gone through all the paperwork with the FDA.'

'But is it allowed?'

'Technically, no,' said Lisa. And if you told anyone at work, I could get into big trouble. But this kind of thing has been done plenty of times. Jonas Salk injected his whole family with polio to prove his vaccine worked. I'm not doing anything as dangerous as that.'

'I don't think it's a good idea, Lisa. Why didn't you tell me?'

She sighed. 'Because I knew you wouldn't like it. But I have to do it, Simon.'

I put the pills back in the bathroom. It seemed to me foolhardy for Lisa to take this untried drug, especially in the state she was in, but I knew there was no chance of me persuading her.

The phone rang. I picked it up.

'Hello?'

'Can I speak to Lisa?'

I recognized Eddie's voice. No 'hello', no 'how are you?'

'Hold on.' I looked up. 'It's Eddie.'

'I'll take it in the bedroom,' Lisa said.

She emerged twenty minutes later.

'How is he?' I asked.

'I'd say he's quite upset,' Lisa replied icily.

'Did you discuss any more of his theories?'

'If Eddie wants to talk about Dad, I'll listen to him,' Lisa said, picking up her book again.

It angered me that Eddie and Lisa were talking about me as a murder suspect behind my back. But I bit my tongue. There was one thing I had to tell Lisa, though. I waited for a good moment, but once again there wasn't one. So I told her just as we were getting into bed.

'I'm going to Cincinnati with Diane next Monday. I'll be out one night.'

Lisa looked at me sharply. 'Next Monday?'

'Yes. We've been through this before. I have to go.'

'OK,' she said, climbing into bed.

'Come on, Lisa. I can't refuse to go.'

'You do what you have to do,' she said, rolling over.

'I will,' I muttered.