by Paul Bagnell
*****
Stamp Line County and Marsh’s Peak was all Tom could think about as he ate gravy steak and mashed potatoes, but there was no escaping that conversation with her. “So, Celia, what’s this meeting about? Lankenbury seemed quite clear that it was extremely important and that you be there.”
“It concerns renegotiating some contract clauses for an American banking group doing business with a Chinese organization in Hong Kong--nothing simple but standard stuff,” McBridle replied.
“It sounds complicated, like chopsticks.”
“This account could be complicated, but so far things have gone surprisingly well.” She swirled the wine around in the glass in a hypnotic fashion. “Tom, you look a bit pale; maybe you should go home and go to bed early for a change.”
“Yeah, that’s an appealing suggestion,” Tom replied, but he had an alternative motive. That was to borrow her vehicle and get to where he was going.
