‘That doesn’t qualify him to be in charge of the day-to-day operations of a major financial institution. We’re running a bank, Hakim, not a local sports club.’
‘Does that mean you have another candidate in mind?’
‘John Ashley would be my first choice,’ said Seb without hesitation.
‘But he’s only been with the bank a couple of years. He’s hardly got his feet under the table.’
‘But what a pedigree,’ Seb reminded him. ‘Manchester Grammar School, the London School of Economics, and a scholarship to Harvard Business School. And let’s not forget how much we had to pay to tempt him away from Chase Manhattan. And how long will it be before one of our rivals offers him a golden hello? Sooner rather than later, would be my guess, especially if Victor ends up as CEO of Farthings. No. If you want me to be chairman, Hakim, appointing John Ashley to that position is the deal maker.’
‘Congratulations,’ said Jessica.
‘What’s a chairman?’ demanded Jake.
‘Someone who’s in charge of everything and everybody, rather like a high mistress.’
‘I’d never thought of it quite like that,’ admitted Sebastian, as Samantha burst out laughing.
Jessica walked around the table and gave her father a hug. ‘Congratulations,’ she repeated.
‘Hakim seems far too young to retire,’ said Samantha, as she sliced the top off Jake’s egg.
‘I agree,’ said Seb, ‘but he’s fallen in love.’
‘I hadn’t realized that if you were the chairman of a bank and fell in love, you were expected to resign.’
‘It’s not compulsory,’ said Seb, laughing, ‘but banks generally prefer their chairman to reside in the same country, and the lady in question lives in Copenhagen.’
‘Why doesn’t she come and live in England?’ asked Jessica.
‘Kristina Bergström is a very successful landscape architect with an international reputation but she has two children by her first marriage and she doesn’t want to move them while they’re still at school.’
‘But how will Hakim occupy his time, given he has the energy of ten men?’
‘He plans to open a new branch of Farthings in Copenhagen, and Kristina’s company will be his first client. She’s already agreed that once the children leave school, she’ll set up a practice in London.’
‘And when Hakim returns, will he resume the role of chairman?’
‘No. He couldn’t have made his position clearer. On September first, Hakim will become president of Farthings Kaufman, before I take over as chairman in the new year, with John Ashley as my CEO.’
‘Have you told Victor?’ asked Samantha.
‘No, I thought I’d wait until it’s official.’
‘I’d like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting,’ said Samantha. ‘Have you ever met Ms Bergström?’
‘No, I only saw her in the witness box when she gave evidence at Hakim’s trial. As he was in custody at the time, it must have been love at first sight.’
‘Men often fall in love at first sight,’ declared Jessica, who had remained silent until then. ‘Women rarely do.’
‘I’m sure we are both grateful, Jessica, for your considerable insight on the subject of love,’ said Seb, ‘as we were for your grasp of macroeconomics.’
‘It’s not my opinion,’ said Jessica, ‘but D. H. Lawrence’s. It’s a quote from Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which although it wasn’t one of the English set texts at St Paul’s, Claire thought I ought to read anyway.’
Sebastian and Samantha glanced at each other.
‘Perhaps this is as good a time as any,’ said Jessica, ‘to tell you I’m planning to move out.’
‘No, no, no,’ said Jake.
While Seb might have agreed with his son, he didn’t interrupt his daughter.
‘Claire and I have found a small flat just off Gower Street, only half a mile from the Slade.’
‘Sounds ideal,’ said Samantha. ‘When will you be leaving us?’
‘In about a fortnight’s time. If that’s all right with you, Pops.’
‘Of course it’s fine,’ said Samantha.
‘No, no, no,’ repeated Jake, pointing his spoon at Jessica.
‘Don’t point, Jake,’ said his mother.
25
‘Today’s life drawing class has been cancelled,’ said Professor Howard. A groan went up around the room when the professor added, ‘Our model has once again failed to turn up.’
The twelve students were beginning to gather up their equipment, when a young man Jessica had never seen before rose from his seat, strolled into the middle of the room, stripped off and sat down on the dais. A round of applause followed, as the first-year students returned to their easels and set about their work.
Paulo Reinaldo was the first man Jessica had ever seen naked, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was like a Greek god, she thought. Well, a Brazilian god. She sketched a charcoal outline of his body with a few sweeping movements, an exercise that would take her fellow students considerably longer, and without the same results. Next, she concentrated on his head, which she began to capture in greater detail. Long curly dark hair that she wanted to run her hands through. Her eyes travelled down his body and she began to wish she was a sculptor. His torso rippled, and his legs looked as if they were built to run a marathon. She tried to concentrate as her tutor looked over her shoulder.
‘You’ve caught him,’ said Professor Howard. ‘Most impressive. But I need you to think about shadow and perspective, and never forget, less is more. Have you ever seen the drawings Bonnard did of his wife climbing out of a bath?’
‘No.’
‘You’ll find some excellent examples in the academy library. They are the proof, if proof is needed, that if you want to know just how great an artist is, you should study their preliminary drawings before you even consider their masterpieces. By the way, try not to make it quite so obvious how much you fancy him.’
During the next week, Jessica didn’t come across Paulo again. He was never to be found in the library and didn’t seem to attend lectures. After Professor Howard’s remarks, she made no attempt to find out more about him from her fellow students. But whenever his name came up, she stopped talking and started listening.
‘He’s the son of a Brazilian industrialist,’ said a student from the year above her. ‘His father wanted him to come to London and brush up on his English, among other things.’
‘I think he only intends to hang around for a couple of years, then go back to Rio and open a nightclub,’ offered another, while a third said, somewhat testily, ‘He only comes to figurative drawing to scout out his next victim.’
‘You seem well informed,’ said Avril Perkins.
‘I ought to be, I slept with him half a dozen times before he dumped me,’ the girl said casually. ‘That’s how he spends most of his time, except the evenings.’
‘What does he do in the evenings?’ asked Jessica, unable to remain silent any longer.
‘Makes a close study of English nightclubs, rather than English watercolours. He claims that’s the real reason he’s over here. But he did tell me he plans to have slept with every female student at the Slade by the end of his first year.’
They all laughed except Jessica, who was rather hoping to be his next victim.
When Jessica turned up for life drawing the following Thursday, two other girls were already seated on either side of Paulo. One of them was Avril Perkins. Jessica sat opposite him on the other side of the semi-circle of students, trying to concentrate on the model, a middle-aged woman who looked bored and cold, unlike Avril.