‘So, do you think they will?’
Wójtek stopped pacing, glanced at me, smiled and said, ‘I don’t know,’ with such a dollop of mock innocence that I didn’t believe him for a moment. He knew what the Poles were going to do, and what they were planning to do made him happy.
We got drunker and drunker, until I thought it was safe to escape.
‘But it’s only ten o’clock!’ protested Wójtek.
‘I know. But I have to be in to work by seven tomorrow. And with what I’ve drunk, I’ll feel bad enough as it is.’
‘Well, great to see you, Nick.’ He embraced me, and I left him alone with the dregs of the vodka bottle.
It was a tough cycle ride in the next day. My head hurt, and my mouth felt dry and furry. I stopped at a corner shop to buy a pint of milk, which I absorbed, rather than drank. Thank God it was downhill some of the way.
Ricardo laughed when he saw me. ‘I see you did your duty last night.’
‘Oh, God, does it show?’
‘It does. Was it useful?’
‘I think the Poles are going to devalue.’ I explained my conversation with Wójtek, and his barely hidden excitement that the Polish government were following his ideas.
‘Are you sure this guy has the influence he thinks he has?’ asked Ricardo.
‘I’m sure.’
‘Then well done!’ He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. ‘Time to adjust our Polish position.’
He went back to his desk and picked up the phone.
‘Not bad,’ said Jamie. ‘I’m impressed. Don’t tell me, you play rugby with Boris Yeltsin’s doctor.’
‘’Fraid not,’ I said. ‘Wójtek is about the full extent of my influential contacts.’
‘Well, you are an important person. But by the way...’
‘Yes?’
‘You look like shit.’
‘Thanks.’
I was pleased with myself. It was good to be useful to Dekker. Maybe Ricardo would make some money. If he did, he would be bound to remember my part in the profits. That was the good thing about Ricardo. He gave credit where it was due.
The phone rang.
‘Nick? It’s Wójtek.’
His voice sounded thick and horrible. It was a fair bet that he had drunk much more than I had by the time he had passed out.
‘How are you?’
‘Fine,’ he said. I smiled. Liar. ‘Yesterday, Nick. When we talked about Poland. And the devaluation. You remember?’
‘Yes, I do. Thanks, Wójtek. It was very useful.’
‘Yes, well. I like to help you, Nick. But when you asked about whether the Polish government would devalue, I didn’t answer you, did I?’
Oh, God. ‘No,’ I said, trying to sound bright. ‘No, you didn’t say anything at all.’
‘Good. Because if the financial markets found out about the devaluation through me, that would be a real breach of trust on my part.’
‘Of course, I understand.’ My ears were singing. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.
‘So will you give me your word you won’t tell anyone at your work about what we... didn’t discuss last night.’
Shit! Shit! Shit!
‘Nick?’
What to do? Lie, of course.
‘No. Don’t worry, Wójtek, I won’t guess anything. You just gave me useful background, that’s all.’
I think my voice sounded steady. I was just glad he couldn’t see my face.
‘Good.’ He sounded relieved. ‘It was great to see you again. Keep in touch, OK.’
‘OK, Wójtek. See you soon.’
I slammed the phone down, and took a deep breath. I looked up and saw Ricardo coming towards me.
‘Well done, Nick,’ he said. ‘We’re all set up now. I just hope you’re right.’
‘I’m right,’ I said. But I felt very wrong indeed.
‘Oh, we’re taking some clients out tonight. Very important clients. Would you like to come along?’
Oh, God. More drinking. The last thing I felt like was being nice to people I didn’t know. I wanted to go to bed early. Very early.
But it was clear that I should feel flattered to be asked. So I summoned up a smile, and said, ‘Great.’
I grabbed a cup of coffee from the machine, and reached for the paper. I laid it out on my own desk away from the square. I had earned myself some peace and quiet. The coffee didn’t really seem to help. My head still hurt, and my stomach was queasy. I felt hot. I was sweating gently. Vodka was an occupational hazard of studying Russian. I could see that it would become a problem in this job too, once I became seriously involved with Eastern Europe.
I glanced at Isabel. She was reading through a pile of papers, her hair hanging down and hiding most of her face. God, she was attractive. Since our drink the previous Friday, we had exchanged a few friendly words, but nothing more. I guessed that she wanted to make sure that nothing developed between us. And that was a great shame.
I remembered Jamie’s warnings about her. He was wrong, surely. I was certain I could trust her. But I had no intention of following her suggestion and talking to Ricardo about my suspicions. Prudence suggested I should do nothing, although that didn’t seem right, either. My head hurt. I didn’t come to any conclusion.
‘Nick, what is it?’
‘What?’
‘You’re staring.’
My eyes came back into focus. Isabel was looking at me with an amused smile on her face.
I could feel myself reddening. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. My eyes and brain aren’t well connected this morning. I was out drinking for Dekker last night.’
‘Such loyalty is touching,’ said Isabel.
Embarrassed, I cast my eyes down to the paper in front of me. I leafed through to the arts pages. I had to admit that the film reviews in the FT were pretty good. There was a new Polish film out by Krzysztof Kieślowski. It sounded interesting. I’d try and see it if I got the time.
Oh, damn! I hated having to lie to Wójtek. I had betrayed his trust. Of course, it was partly his fault. Mostly his fault. I had gone there telling him who I was and what I wanted. He had been stupidly indiscreet. He knew it: that’s why he had just rung me in a panic. It was his fault. His fault that I had betrayed his trust.
No. It didn’t work. Wójtek would be seriously upset with me if he ever found out what I had done. I would just have to hope that he never did.
Stephen’s words echoed to me, in that pompous accent of his. ‘Quite honestly, it’s hard to go too far in this business. As long as you don’t get caught.’
Ugh.
After a couple of glasses of wine, my brain began to clear, or at least the pain softened. We were in Vong’s, a smart New York restaurant that had migrated to Knightsbridge. There were seven of us and five of them. Ricardo was there, with Eduardo, Jamie, Miguel, and a couple of others. Our guests were officials of a central bank. This trip to London had become something of an annual event, a thank-you from Dekker for business done in the past and to be done in the future.
I had to admit that, for civil servants, these people were quite fun. The food was delicious, the drink flowed, and with it the laughter.
I was sitting next to Eduardo, but we spoke little, until towards the end of the meal he leaned over to me. ‘You’ll learn a little about how business is done tonight,’ he said, with a twinkle in his dark eyes.
‘Oh, yes?’
‘Yes. It’s important to give your customers what they want. And that’s not just the best prices or the best deal. Ricardo can do all that. But someone has to look at the broader relationship. That’s my speciality. Do you know what I mean?’
He looked at me closely, his lips parted in a smile.