She stood outside on the Strand, staring up at the building. Her building. Centuries old, it was imposing, a landmark, and it was about to become her permament abode as her place of work. DERAVENELS.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth Deravenel Turner pushed open the door and stepped inside. The commissionaire on duty straightened when he saw her. ‘Good morning, Miss Turner.’
She nodded, flashed him her brightest smile. ‘Good morning Sam.’ Moving across the gargantuan marble lobby, she took the stairs slowly, filled with a mixture of emotions: excitement, awe, anticipation, a sense of jubilation because it was now hers, but also a hint of trepidation, mixed with anxiety. That’s normal, she thought, absolutely normal. I’m starting on a great adventure.
Entering her office, she hung up her coat and walked into the centre of the room, looking around, and she couldn’t help thinking about those three men who had occupied this office before her … Her great-grandfather Edward Deravenel, her grandfather Henry Turner, and her father, Harry Turner, from whom she had learned so much. Men of honour, integrity and brilliance. She felt as if they were here in this room with her, felt their presence, their spirit … they were wishing her well …
Walking across the floor, she sat down at the desk. This was the beginning of a new life.
I was born for this. To be here at Deravenels on this very day. Monday, November twenty-fifth, 1996. To take over. To run it properly, to bring it through its current crisis, to bring it back to life. I must not be afraid. Not of anyone or anything. I must be determined, disciplined, dedicated, diligent, and devoted. I must think of nothing else but Deravenels. It is mine now and I must make it strong again. And I will.
I have two men on whom I know I can rely, whom I trust with my life – Cecil Williams and Robin Dunley. We will be the triumvirate that runs Deravenels and we will bring it back to its former glory, as it was in my father’s day. I know that I have enemies within this company, those who were devoted to my half-sister Mary and who will want to continue with her policies. But this cannot be. She damaged the company, and her ideas have taken their toll. Those people will have to go. There will have to be a clean sweep. That is what Kat said to me last night: she called me the new broom that sweeps clean. She loves these quaint old sayings, and they’re never far from her tongue. She manages to make me laugh when I’m gloomy or not feeling well, those times when no one else can get through to me. My devoted Kat, so special to me.
There was a knock on the door, and it opened immediately to admit Cecil Williams, who strode in saying, ‘Good morning, Elizabeth. You’re here early.’
‘To catch the worms,’ Elizabeth said, using one of Kat’s old-fashioned sayings. ‘And it’s certainly a memorable day, isn’t it, Cecil?’
‘Indeed it is.’ He sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of her desk, glancing at the old map hanging on the wall behind her. ‘I’m happy to see that back in its proper place. Do you know, I remember it from my childhood, when my father worked for Henry Turner, your grandfather.’
‘I’ll never know why Mary had it removed,’ Elizabeth remarked. ‘But then I’ll never understand some of the other things she did when she sat in this office. Here’s the bank transfer.’ She took the piece of paper out of her briefcase. ‘Robin wants me to show it to you, then take it home.’ She handed it to him.
‘Good idea,’ Cecil remarked, and looked down at the transfer, pursing his lips. He lifted his head, stared at her. ‘I can’t be sure until I look into it, but I think these might have been funds she transferred from her personal bank account.’
‘It’s still my money, whichever account it came from,’ Elizabeth announced, her tone brisk. ‘Anything and everything she had was inherited from our father and therefore it was mine as well as hers. And she had no right to give it away.’ Leaning forward over the desk, her expression intent, purposeful, she asked, ‘Can we get the fifty million euros back?’
‘To be honest, I don’t know, Elizabeth. I have to go through every single file Mary kept, and the books, and hopefully I will find the relative documents –’
‘If there are any,’ she interrupted peremptorily.
‘Only too true. I’m afraid there might not be. After the meeting I’ll start digging. And by the way, I’ve decided to bring in an outside firm of auditors. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is absolutely necessary.’
‘It certainly is. I think we should get as much information as we can, and as quickly as possible, in order to make the right moves.’
Cecil nodded. ‘And which particular moves are you thinking about?’
‘Sweeping clean, Cecil. I’ve been considering that for days, and I believe we have to let five hundred people go, globally.’
‘Five hundred. In one fell swoop?’
‘Not necessarily all at once, no, but there’s a lot of dead wood at Deravenels. I knew that when I was working here and Robin has confirmed it. It’s people who should be retired. Mostly.’ She frowned. ‘You seem surprised. Don’t you like the idea?’
‘I feel the same as you do, Elizabeth, but we must be careful. I don’t want to create a stir in the City. There are those who might think we’re in great trouble. Sacking a lot of employees all at once tends to make people nervous, and they end up thinking the worst.’
‘I realize that we should do it in the best way, the nicest way. We don’t want to provoke gossip. Early retirement will appeal to many.’ Elizabeth paused, and there was a momentary hesitation before she added, ‘We have to cull the offices around the world as well, don’t you think?’
‘I do,’ Cecil replied without hesitation. ‘We only touched on it briefly last week, but I’m well aware we’re top-heavy with staff. Maybe I’ll put Sydney Payne to work on that particular problem. He’s such a marvellous diplomat, and it’s a situation that’s going to need careful handling. As I just said, Deravenels cannot look weak, at risk, in danger of going under.’
‘Yes, I understand. Last Thursday, when we were driving back to town, you said Deravenels needs an infusion of money. Where do you plan to get it from, Cecil? Or haven’t you thought that through yet?’
‘I have. Partially, at least. I think we should attempt to get all those euros back from Philip Alvarez. And I would like to sell off certain parcels of our real estate, but we can go over those points this afternoon in more detail, if you wish.’
‘I’d like that. But I just wanted to say this … I could give Deravenels some money.’
‘Never.’ Aghast, he gaped at her. ‘I will never permit you to give Deravenels money, not ever, Elizabeth. Although there might be a moment in time when you could lend them money. Or buy somebody’s shares. But give? Not on your life. That’s absolutely a no-no. I would never agree to such a rash move on your part. Now, here’s the list of board members, which you can look at whenever you have a moment. Don’t forget, the board meeting is not for two weeks.’
‘Any changes about this morning’s meeting?’ Elizabeth asked, settling back in her chair.
‘No. All of those invited are coming.’
‘I wasn’t planning to invite any of them to lunch. Were you?’ Elizabeth murmured.
‘No, I’m afraid not. There’s far too much work,’ Cecil pointed out. ‘This is my first day back in almost five years. I have a feeling I’ve a lot of catching up to do.’
Once she was alone, Elizabeth put the bank transfer back in her briefcase, and then picked up the list of board members which Cecil had left with her. Studying it carefully, she wondered whom she could get rid of easily. Three names stood out because those board members were old, and wouldn’t or couldn’t put up a resistance to her. Then there were two other men whom she knew did not like her, were not of her ilk, and so they would have to go. ‘How do I get them off the board?’ she muttered to herself, and glanced at the door.
There were several hard raps; it swung open and Robert Dunley hurried inside, smiling broadly, and carrying a bowl of flowers – red roses surrounded by white roses and green leaves.
‘Personal delivery, Miss Turner,’ Robert said, walking across to the coffee table, where he put the vase in the centre. ‘The red rose of the Turners and the white rose of the Deravenels,’ he remarked, and added, ‘Top o’ the mornin’ to you, me darlin’.’
‘Robin, good morning! Thank you so much. The flowers are beautiful.’ As she was speaking she stood up and walked over to him, gave him a big hug, clinging to him.
‘I just popped in to wish you luck,’ he said and hugged her back, holding her for a moment too long.
‘I showed Cecil the bank transfer,’ Elizabeth said, after they had stepped apart. Turning, walking over to her desk, she explained, ‘He thinks it might have been taken from Mary’s personal account.’
‘Damnation!’ Robert exclaimed. ‘If that’s the case, Philip Alvarez will say it was a wedding gift, or some such thing, and it will be harder for us to get it back. I hope it’s company money.’
‘Actually, it’s my money,’ Elizabeth pointed out in the same businesslike tone she had used with Cecil Williams. ‘And I promise you I’m going to get it back from that terrible man, no matter what.’
Robert stood in the middle of the office staring at her. The set of her mouth, the tough glint in her grey-black eyes telegraphed to him her determination to get her own way, and he remembered how, over the years, he had detected a hint of ruthlessness in her. But perhaps there was more than a hint.
She asked, ‘Why are you staring at me like that, Robin? Do you think I’m sounding too tough? Is that it?’
‘No, not at all,’ he replied, truthfully. ‘I believe you should be tough, and, if necessary, ruthless, in this particular situation. I’ve been thinking about Philip Alvarez, and I’m going to find out exactly what’s happening with that real estate company of his. I want to know how the development in Marbella has proceeded. I must find out everything I can about it.’
‘That’s a good idea, yes. And if necessary, you must go to Spain and be my “two eyes”, Robin.’
‘Let me do the research first.’
‘What exactly was his company building in Marbella?’ Elizabeth gave him a sharp look.
‘Villas, a golf club, polo grounds. It was to be a gated community, like those in America,’ he explained. ‘Philip wanted me and Ambrose to go, to look over the polo grounds, the plans for the stables, and all of the things pertaining to horses, in fact.’
‘I see. If he won’t give the money back we’ll just have to go after the development. Perhaps we could make it a viable entity, especially if we added a spa. They are big moneymakers these days, and they are growing in popularity.’
‘It could be up and running, and doing very well,’ Robert said, ‘but I think not. I remember reading something about it quite recently … I got the impression Alvarez had stopped building. And rather abruptly. Perhaps there is trouble.’
‘I wasn’t a bit surprised when he didn’t come to the funeral,’ Elizabeth remarked. ‘But it’s possible he stayed away because he didn’t want to answer awkward questions. About the Marbella project,’ Elizabeth shook her head. ‘That makes sense, don’t you think, Robin?’
‘It does. And I aim to find out.’ He strode to the door and turned around. ‘I’ll see you at the meeting in an hour.’
Elizabeth nodded and went back to studying the papers on her desk. But only for a moment. Her thoughts turned to Robert. She was extremely conscious of him, of his looks, his warmth, and, if she were honest, of his sexual potency. She bent her head, sniffed her jacket: his cologne clung to it, tantalizingly. A small shiver ran through her. Why was she suddenly having such strange thoughts about Robert Dunley, her childhood friend? Dropping her eyes, she stared at the page she had been reading. She smiled to herself then, knowing full well why.