Page 111 of Original Sin

She rolled her eyes. Yeah, right. Her mother was not yet seventy, and strong as a horse. She could keep going for another ten years at least, just popping in for meetings, being wheeled out for events. Estée Lauder had been a figurehead for their company until her nineties. Besides which, with Meredith and William in charge, Asgill’s might be finished in three years, let alone thirty. It was a fear that had kept Liz up at night. Without her work, her business, what did she have left? Staring down the barrel of forty with no business, no relationship, no family – where did that leave her in the world? She could start again, of course, but if her family drove the Asgill brand into the ground, they would take her reputation with it; she would find it difficult to find any backers.

Anger isn’t going to achieve anything, Liz; that’s what Leonard had said. Well, anger was all she had. She could not tolerate the thought of little doe–eyed Brooke ending up with everything, while she ended up with nothing, living off the reflected glory of her sister’s charmed life. Not that Liz wanted Brooke’s life – in fact that looked like hell to her: following a man around, simpering and smiling, pleasing. No, Liz was not jealous, she was simply meritocratic: she wanted a chance to prove how good she was. But right now, Liz saw that it was pointless to give Leonard a hard time. She had tried reason and it had failed, she would have to come up with something more effective.

‘When this deal goes through, Liz,’ said Leonard, ‘I will speak to Meredith about stepping up your role at Asgill’s. I would recommend you be made Chief Operating Officer. You’d be practically co–chief executive, although I suspect you wouldn’t like to be “co” anything.’

Liz didn’t dignify the idea with a reply.

‘So when does due diligence begin?’ she asked, referring to the process whereby a potential purchaser investigated a company before sale. They would examine the company accounts, assess stock and contracts, look for ways they could make cutbacks or maximize productivity.

‘It starts on Monday, I believe,’ said Leonard, sipping his cocktail. ‘Bruno Harris has instructed Petersen’s and they are very efficient. I know everyone concerned is keen to get this deal through quickly.’

Liz looked over at Rav, laughing with his banker pals.

‘Me too, Uncle Leonard,’ she said, a plan beginning to form in her head. ‘Me too.’

CHAPTER THIRTY–FOUR

Tess licked the last of the Frozen Hot Chocolate off her spoon and pulled a face at Jack.

‘Now I feel completely sick,’ she said. She glanced down at the huge Serependity menu, wondering if they offered Alka–Seltzer as a digestif.

‘Come on, it was worth it,’ smiled Jack, still struggling through his giant banana split.

Tess did have to admit she was enjoying the famous Upper East Side eatery enormously. When she had promised to spend the afternoon with Jack and he insisted they go to Serendipity, Tess had groaned. Too many children, too much noise, much too much, she had thought. But once she had got there, she had discovered the restaurant was like a tiny Alice in Wonderland cavern full of sweet ice–creamy confections and happy people. She had also discovered that Frozen Hot Chocolate dessert was the perfect way to cool down on a stiflingly humid late August afternoon in the city.

‘I’m going to be really sad when I don’t live in New York any more,’ said Jack taking a long slurp of cola.

Tess pointed her spoon at him. ‘Hey, I thought you were embarrassed to be seen out with me,’ she teased. ‘Don’t tell me you’re actually enjoying yourself?’

Jack shook his head and looked serious. ‘I think I might be moving to Connecticut,’ he said.

Tess sat back, momentarily thrown. Over the past few months, Jack had almost become part of the furniture, turning up at inopportune moments, raiding the fridge, hogging the cushions when they were watching reruns of Seinfeld. Jemma thought he was hilarious and would get into deep conversations with him about space and time travel, two of Jack’s favourite subjects. He had become part of their little impromptu family. But Tess had suspected this had been on the cards, especially as his mother had been visiting more and more frequently.

‘My mom has come back for me,’ said Jack. ‘I heard them talking a couple of nights ago.’

‘But I thought you liked it with your dad,’ frowned Tess.

‘I do.’

He looked down at his plate, drawing patterns in the chocolate sauce. ‘I don’t want to go Tess, but I feel bad about saying that because it’s my mom and I love her.’

He looked up at her, his eyes flat and sad. ‘Will you come and visit me?’

Throwing a fifty–dollar bill onto the table, she heard a nagging voice inside her head telling her not to get too involved.

‘Come on, I’d better get you home,’ she said.

Tess had never been inside Jack’s apartment before and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw. From the outside, the building was scruffy and run–down, but inside it was very nice; actually better than her own apartment in many ways, not least in terms of space. It had four large rooms with high ceilings and a bright living room/kitchen painted pale grey with bold prints on the walls. As they walked in, Kevin was sitting at the computer, a concentrated frown on his face.

‘Hey,’ he said, standing up as he saw Tess, running a flustered hand through his hair. ‘I didn’t expect you so soon.’

‘Sorry,’ said Tess, ‘I hope I’m not disturbing anything.’

‘No, no, come in. Let me get you some coffee,’ he said.

Tess sat down on the bright yellow sofa with Jack. Immediately, the boy began whispering in her ear.

‘Why do I get the feeling you’re about to gang up on me about something?’ said Kevin, putting a mug of coffee on a coaster in front of Tess.