Refracted Crystal: Diamonds and Desire

by M. J. Lawless

  By contrast, Francis was a fool.

  That gave her the edge here. She knew something that he did not realise she knew. Her nostrils flared slightly as she gazed at him, sensing victory in the air. The problem was that he was not a complete fool. This made him dangerous.

  Misunderstanding her expression, Francis moved forward slightly, leaning in towards her. “So that stupid fucker has realised he better not show his face around here, and you’ve realised at last you’ll get what you really want from me, eh?”

  Judging it safe to do so, she ignored him and turned her attention back to Felix. Again, feeling that sense of godlike detachment running coolly through her veins, she surveyed him. She realised how wrong she had been about Felix Coltraine. She had thought that he brought with him a contempt for her that he would have felt for all women, but she understood implicitly now what had been taking place as he vied for Daniel: he was jealous of her—no, not jealous. That implied sexual feelings, and there was nothing of that taking place between the two men. Rather, he was envious of her hold over her husband, of the way that she diverted Daniel’s attentions away from the world, offering him a haven that allowed him to return to the fight with a greater vigour and determination than before. Daniel had once told her that when she had first met him at Comrie, he was ready to surrender that fight: Felix’s anger towards her had been the viciousness of a partner spurned.

  And there was more. For all that he boasted of his playboy lifestyle and sophistication, she could see immediately that Felix completely misunderstood what had taken place between her and Daniel—he refused to call it love, but in his ignorance of what it was all he could experience was fear. Kris wondered with a sense of surprise whether Felix was actually married. She suspected that he would be, but it didn’t really matter: there would no doubt be the same number of mistresses and high-class call girls put through the books whether he was married or not. She almost laughed at the recognition of this fact, but instantly regained her self-control. Victory was too close—far too close. This puerile, status-obsessed world was precisely what she would remove Daniel from, return him to something real.

  “He doesn’t know I’m here,” she said, addressing Felix directly.

  “That’s because he hasn’t yet realised that you’re just going to do what all the other women in his life have done, and sell him out to a higher bidder.” The comment from Francis was needlessly crude and Kris had to hide a smirk. He felt spurned by the fact she had spoken to Felix and not to him. She turned her gaze on him dispassionately.

  “If you insist.”

  Felix was moving slightly in his seat, apparently discomfited by this remark. “Well, I’m glad you came,” he said, frowning a little. “I’m sure we can work this out.”

  “There’s nothing to work out,” Francis exclaimed, standing up and striding towards the doorway that led into the office behind Kris. “He’s finished, and he knows it. If he doesn’t sign over soon, there’ll be nothing left for him to hand over.”

  Kris ignored this petulant outburst and focussed her attention on the older man. “I’m sure we can work something out.” She spoke a little more loudly so that Francis would be able to hear her clearly, but still she did not look in his direction. “Your father made me an offer, when you were in prison.”

  Without warning, Felix came back towards the chair and leaned over her, trying to impose himself on her by the sheer presence of his body. Kris had to fight back the urge to choke and retch at his closeness, particularly as his face was red with anger.

  “That was then, you stupid fucking bitch! Don’t you bring my father into this. This is now! And now that cunt does what we tell him to do or I’ll tear him a new fucking asshole! Do you understand, you fucking stupid slut?”

  Regaining her composure once more, she gazed past Francis’s face towards Felix. Ignoring the younger man’s lack of self control, she gave a slight smile and said to the CEO of Stone Enterprises: “Maximilian Roth offered me a deal. I intend to honour my side of the bargain if he honours his.”

  “There is no fucking deal!” Francis was almost shouting in her face now, forcing her to look at him. Despite herself, Kris pulled back slightly into the high chair, as much to avoid the flecks of spittle as anything. “I should show you here and now what you can expect from me, and you’ll be grateful, you cunt!”

  She raised one eyebrow at this. Her heart was beating faster than ever, but she let no sign of it show on her face. “What, and you’ll hit a pregnant woman? Or do you intend to try and rape me again? I don’t recall you being particularly successful last time.”

  Now it was Francis’s turn to pull back slightly. Kris immediately saw what she had to do, and realised her strength in this matter. She realised that probably no woman had ever spoken to him this way before, unless perhaps it was Jane Malberry. When she spoke next, her words were addressed once more to Felix and her tone was brisk and efficient.

  “Don’t think I’ll stop next time if this... boy tries anything again. I landed him in prison once, and I’ll do it again without a moment’s hesitation.”

  “You wouldn’t dare...” Francis began to snarl.

  “Try me!” she hissed, just for a moment allowing some of the real, visceral hatred of him that she felt to show through her eyes. “Just fucking try me.”

  “This... this is all uncalled for.” Felix was sweating now, spreading his hands wide in an attempt to make a conciliatory gesture. “Really, Ms Stone, there’s no need for any of this.”

  You just want the deal, don’t you, thought Kris, returning her gaze to Felix. You made your pact with the devil and you can see it starting to unravel before your eyes. Well, I’ll give you something.

  “The deal,” she continued aloud, “was for a hundred million for Daniel’s share of Stone Enterprises.”

  Francis snorted at this and walked around the back of the table to stand beside Felix. “We’ve been through this already,” Felix said wearily. “He won’t buy it.”

  “He will if I ask him to,” Kris responded. “But I’ll only ask him to on one condition.”

  Rubbing his cheek, Felix stared at her while Francis glared through the window at the streets and buildings of London beyond. “And what’s your condition?” the older man asked.

  “You remember Chiado Shipping? It’s one of the concerns that Stone Enterprises had a majority share in.”

  Felix thought for the briefest moment and then answered: “Yes. What of it?”

  “I want that thrown in as well. A hundred million, and the entirety of Stone Enterprise’s shares in Chiado to be transferred to Daniel.”

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Francis burst out, forcing himself to laugh though his face conveyed nothing but anger. Felix raised a hand, gesturing for him to be quiet for a moment.

  “That... that would be... what? Nearly a quarter of a billion altogether?”

  “And it would still be less than a third of Daniel’s value, a quarter even if his shares return to their former heights.”

  “You are fucking insane!”

  “Francis! Please, be quiet for a moment!” Felix’s irritation was spilling over now. “Let me think!” He returned his attention to Kris. “Why on earth should we even consider this?”

  By way of reply, Kris reached down for the briefcase and lifted it onto her lap, flicking the catches and opening the dark lid. Inside was a single sheet of paper, a photocopy of one of the sheets she had taken with her from the vault. Primly holding it in one hand while she locked the case up again with the other, she pushed it across the walnut desk towards Felix. Francis snapped it up before he could take it.

  “What is this?” Francis asked. “What am I looking at?”

  “It is part of a series of documents indicating the process whereby your father’s businesses—along with Stone Enterprises—were able to present themselves as having a market capitalisation well in excess of thirty five billion dollars at a time when a takeover bid for Pharzon
was being considered.”

  “And?” Francis waved the paper around in front of him. “I don’t get what that has to do with your husband.”

  No, you don’t, Kris thought, but in the next instant she had the pleasure of seeing Felix reach up and snatch the page from his hands. His eyes went wide as he looked at the document and then narrowed.

  “So,” he said, his voice suddenly becoming nastier, losing the conciliatory tone he had maintained so far. “What’s this to do with us? One sheet of paper proves nothing.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” Kris couldn’t resist a smile. “There’s a lot more. A hell of a lot more. A complete list of documents dealing with every—and I mean every—aspect of Stone and Roth dealings with Pharzon. I guess somebody wasn’t as careful with the paper shredder as they could have been. I also know that you and Maximilian Roth were hoping to pin all of this on Daniel. Well, the trail leads firmly to you and Roth as well. You can't implicate Daniel alone in this one.”

  For a moment Felix looked at her furiously, and then he too had regained his composure. In a second she realised that a transaction had taken place in his mind: he had weighed up the consequences of what had happened and suddenly reached a decision. Nothing else mattered now. She had won what she came for.

  Francis, unfortunately, was the only one who had not realised what had happened.

  “I still don’t get it. What the fuck has this to do with anything?”

  “Will you shut up!” Felix allowed his anger to strike its real target. “Unless you want to screw your father so royally that he won’t see the light of day for the next hundred years, you will keep your mouth shut.”

  Francis was aghast at this, his mouth opening and closing as his eyes flickered from Felix to Kris and back again. Yes, she thought to herself with a degree of smugness she could not resist, a fool.

  “I don’t need to tell you that I haven’t shown this to Daniel—yet,” she told Felix as coolly as possible. “I know that he’ll use it to crucify you.”

  “He wouldn’t dare,” Francis butted in, nervously chewing his lip as he tried to work out how the balance of power had shifted so radically in the room.

  “The only thing stopping him is me,” she said, her eyes now fixed on the young man. “He knows what this would do to him—he’d be facing a long enough jail sentence, and it’s only his concern for me that would cause him to hesitate for a moment. If it wasn’t for that, he’d gladly rot in jail for twenty years just to see Maximilian Roth die behind bars.” Her eyes returned to Felix. “Don’t misjudge his resolve, not for a moment.”

  “I don’t,” said Felix with a sigh, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t,” he repeated more quietly.

  “What has Pop to do with this?” Francis looked for a second as though he was about to cry, his lips blubbering slightly. Felix rubbed his eyes and looked at him.

  “I’ll explain later,” he said. “Just go next door, will you, and get your father on the phone. Tell him that we need to arrange this deal. He’ll be pleased.”

  Francis glared at the older man, unwilling to be treated as a subordinate but also clearly not comprehending what had happened. With a scowl, he finally turned towards the door. As Francis left the room, Felix watched him go and shook his head. “Well, he’s no Daniel Stone, that’s for sure.” As he looked back at Kris, his eyes hardened and his expression became more severe. “And you’ll make sure he swallows this? He won’t like it.”

  “He’ll do it because I ask him. Do you read the bible, Mister Coltraine?”

  This threw Felix and he stared at her in slight confusion. “No... no, I can’t say that I do.”

  “Matthew thirteen, verse forty-six. For the merchant, when he had found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

  Once more Felix stared at her blankly, then—just for a second—a glimmer of amusement flickered in his eyes. “I underestimated you, Ms Stone.”

  Kris nodded. “I’ll tell Daniel, then you can arrange the deal with him. Keep the boy out of it. I can’t guarantee Daniel won’t try to kill him. Hell, I can’t guarantee I won’t try to kill him.”

  Felix laughed hollowly. “Then that makes three of us,” he said quietly. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I shouldn’t say this, but perhaps it’s a rare moment of conscience. You could hold out for more—for much more, if you have half of what I think you do on Roth.”

  She nodded. “I know. But I want Daniel to give it up. If it wasn’t for the fact that you’d come after us if we have nothing, I’d ask him to give it all up. He’ll still have enough to fire lawyers at you to kingdom come if you change your mind, and the information I have will be my... additional insurance.”

  At this, Felix shrugged. “So be it,” he said at last. “There’s just one more thing, though. Why on earth does Daniel Stone want Chiado?”

  Kris picked up her briefcase and stood up, brushing down her skirt before standing up. She could not resist a little smile at the question.

  “He doesn’t,” she replied at last. “It’s for me.”

  Chapter twenty-six

  Kris stood on the dock of the Port of Lisbon, staring out at the ship that was beginning to set sail into the Tagus river and thence out to the Atlantic. In her arms, she cradled Sofia, bringing the head of the year-old child towards her mouth, breathing in the scent of her daughter as it mingled with the tang of the river and the industrial smells of the docks around her.

  Spring was nearly upon them now, though the Portuguese sun still shone more brightly than on most English summer days so that Kris was more than comfortable in a blue cotton dress that ruffled slightly in the soft breeze. Ignorant of the ship and men all around her, focussing only on her mother, Sofia burbled happily to herself and raised a sweet, pudgy hand to Kris’s hair which hung loose and long about her shoulders. As she grasped it, the young child pulled it towards her gums with a joyful exclamation and began to suck on it avidly, causing Kris to smile.

  So many things had happened in the year and a half since they had left London, but Sofia was by far the most important, for both Kris and Daniel. Negotiations with Felix Coltraine and Maximilian Roth had taken longer than she had desired, partly because the old man had insisted upon taking over proceedings from his feckless son. Another reason was that Daniel, sensing blood, had engaged ruthlessly with his onetime mentor as well as his former partner with Stone Enterprises. Kris had carefully avoided giving him too much knowledge of the information that she had, but he did not need to be told that Maximilian and Felix were far too eager to give him more of what he wanted to shut him up. Kris had almost felt sorry for Felix the last time she had seen him. Almost.

  Chiado had been more of a surprise to him, though he accepted the responsibility and even began to thrive on it. Sometimes, when he would spend more time with Guilherme Escada, she had the sensation that he had regressed to a boy presented with an adult equivalent of a train set. Not that she resented him his work: for most of the time he remained with her in Lisbon, rarely travelling far afield, and Daniel without business would not have been Daniel. She had not returned to London since (though Daniel had been unable to avoid the city completely). Even for Sofia’s christening, Daniel had brought Anne and Andrew across to Portugal to be godparents: he himself had wanted Elaine Christiansen to fulfil that role, but while she had attended the ceremony she mockingly informed him that being his surrogate mother in whatever capacity was more than enough. Kris had even been surprised to see Daniel’s Uncle Irvine and his wife at the ceremony, though the Glaswegian had confided in her that he always “knew the lad amounted to more than a regional salesman.”

  As for herself, while the birth of Sofia had tired her a little, the more time she spent with her husband the greater her energies. While she was not yet painting as voraciously as she had been for her first exhibition, nonetheless she sketched, drew and created almost daily, losing herself in her own work that was as important to h
er as Daniel’s to him.

  Towards the west, the red steel frame of the Ponte 25 de Abril cast a shadow across the bow of the ship, a large vessel that was now beginning its maiden voyage, the deck as yet containing only a few multicoloured containers but which would return with many more. As her attention was distracted by the motion of the ship, Kris saw once again its name: Braganza. Her smile deepened.

  “Senhora Avelar!” Kris turned around, Sofia still chewing on a lock of her hair, to see Guilherme Escada coming towards her. She nodded to him as the stocky manager of Chiado came closer.

  “You should join us,” he said, his grin broad and open, his eyes shining with pleasure. “After all, this is your day as much as anyone’s.”

  “It’s fine, really,” she replied in Portuguese. “I was a little concerned about getting in the way with Sofia, and I have as good a view as anyone from here.”

  At this, Guilherme turned his own attention back to the container ship. His face was full of satisfaction of a job well done.

  “She’s a good ship, and a very welcome addition,” he remarked. “Senhor Logan has done us proud.”

  It had taken Guilherme a little while to acclimatise to Daniel’s reversion to his birth name—indeed, it had taken everyone by surprise other than Kris and Elaine Christiansen. Kris, more than anyone, was glad at the decision. Daniel Stone had guarded his privacy fiercely but, even so, smatterings of his life had been cast across the media, shining as though through a glass darkly. As far as the world was concerned, Daniel Logan was a nonentity. For Kris, he and Sofia were everything.

  Guilherme glanced back towards Kris somewhat shyly. “I had thought we were going to name her the Avelar,” he remarked. Kris shook her head at this.