Chapter 38

I didn't sleep well, every time I closed my eyes the images of Ruby or Amile would appear. Alina and Julia slept soundly. Their belief in the protection I could give them amazed me. Now who protects me?

I got up and walked around the room for a while. It was no use; I would go and get some work done. At least I would be doing something useful.

Gerry was waiting for me outside my suite door. "Doc says you have to take this, boss."

I looked at the pills. "I don't really like taking sleeping pills."

Gerry just sighed, "Would you like me to get Umber or Julia?" She tilted her head to one side, "I know, how about Melissa. I'll ask Melissa to help you take your tablets."

"Gerry, I thought you were on my side."

"I am, Boss," she held out the pills and a glass of water, "please take these."

I caved in and took my medicine like a good boy, all the while muttering darkly about how a certain person was overdue for a spanking.

Gerry took the glass back, kissed me, which was a true delight, and walked off singing, "I'm gonna get a spanking. Boss is gonna spank me."

Now how do I punish them when they like what I do to them?

Buggered if I know.

I yawned and decided that maybe I'd be better off in bed.

"How much do you need immediately?" I asked Nigel.

Sasha, Nigel and I were in my office discussing my buying into Dempsey, Karolina was 'taking notes, ' she was listening to everything said and she'd type it all up later, every comment and statement from the three of us. Don't ask me how she did it, she just did.

Nigel was unshaven and in jeans and a jumper, he looked as though he'd been working non-stop since Saturday night. Perhaps he had considering the figures that he bought with him.

"Ten million pounds within a week and a further fifteen million by the end of next month. That'll sort out the leases and start the renovations and conversions." He threw his arms in the air, "After that, I just don't know."

I turned to Sasha, "How are my finances?"

Nigel stood, "I'd better leave for this bit."

I looked at him, "Nigel, unless there is some solicitor thing that prevents you from staying, well, I don't mind."

He looked at Sasha, his boss, she gestured to the chair and he sat again.

"Well done, now sit and solicit."

"Do you know that you can get life in prison for saying that?" said Nigel.

Sasha laughed, "That's what I told him."

"So why do you call yourselves solicitors then?" I asked.

"Well," said Nigel, "a fucking lot of solicitors are just whores."

We all laughed, "Have you been reading my diary?" Sasha asked him.

"No," Nigel laughed, "Stuarts!"

This cracked us all up.

"By the way, where is Stuart?" I asked.

"Gdansk." Nigel replied smugly.

"Gdansk! What the fuck is in Gdansk?"

"Well Stuart for one." Sasha and I could hardly stop laughing. "Stuart thinks..."

"No he doesn't!" interrupted Sasha.

Nigel sighed and looked at me, "You see what I have to work with?"

"Do you want to see what I have to work with?" I asked him.

His eyes flickered to Karolina, who he had been studiously ignoring all through the meeting, as she knelt beside me, naked as usual.

"Oh no!" He actually looked at Karolina who thrust her breasts out proudly. "I really don't know how you can get any work done at all. Aren't you tempted to ... you know..."

"My Master keeps all of his slaves happy, Mr. Nigel, Sir," said Umber.

"SHIT! Where did she come from?" cried Nigel.

"I was waiting for my Master by his chair. When I heard him over here I waited until I thought he might need me," Umber answered, as though this was the most natural thing in the world.

I noticed that Nigel was looking at Umber rather than her body. This was a good move in the right direction.

"What do you do for Lord Symington." Nigel asked, desperately trying to keep the conversation on a level he was used to.

"I look after my Masters body. I am a body slave."

"Nigel, don't worry about it," said Sasha. "Just accept that the life Lord Symington leads isn't quite the unbridled debauchery that your wife might imagine."

Nigel's wife was exceptionally prudish and often accused others of debauchery for major crimes such as kissing in public, or holding hands. Well, we all know what holding hands leads to don't we?

Umber settled herself beside me and we continued.

"A quick statement of your accounts, Paul," said Sasha. "We have put one hundred million in escrow for your divorce."

"I've heard that the award will be ten million and nothing else." I interrupted.

Sasha looked at me, "You must have some very powerful friends then, to know what a judge will award even before the judge is listed."

"That's what Aggie said, and he said there's a Baronetcy on its way to me as well."

"That has to be an act of parliament," said Nigel. I just shrugged.

"Anyway, back to the subject," Sasha reminded us.

"One hundred million in escrow for the divorce, Cornwall County Council are currently in default to us for just under twenty-two million. They have just paid three hundred and fifteen million, but are arguing about the penalty payments in the contract. On this contract alone you have one hundred and five million pounds profit." Sasha put that document back in her wheely trolley and picked out another. "County and City, your monthly profits from C&C are being reinvested back into the business and your equity currently stands at sixty-three percent. That equates to approximately four hundred and sixty two million."

Sasha looked at me, "Now the good news, your income from the council housing and profits from the renovations stand at eight hundred and sixty million pounds. That was at close of business at the end of last month. This is the cash in hand amounts and does not include your equity in housing stock or equity share holdings. Those total two billion, three hundred million and change."

"So, I'm not short of a bob or two?" I asked.

"Don't think you'll be signing on this week." Sasha agreed.

Nigel gulped.

I felt like doing the same but restrained myself.

"So I can afford to put, say, a hundred million into Dempsey?"

Sasha and Nigel stared at me for nearly a minute.

"That's about what the whole company is worth," said Sasha.

"That depends on how much you've valued the company's good will at." I looked at Sasha, "Sasha how much business do you think Saturday night will bring in?"

Sasha smiled, "About thirteen million, unless we frighten them into settling early."

"And if they settle early, then your customers are going to tell everyone that you did a damn good job and saved them shit loads of cash. So you'll get even more customers, possibly ten to twenty times as much business than you had from the first round." They both looked thoughtful.

Nigel leaned forward, "I thought about setting up a no-win, no-fee compensation section. There is actually a lot of money in that field."

I could see that Sasha wasn't comfortable with this idea, but she didn't say anything against it.

"What that will do, though, is damage the Dempsey name. It will lower Dempsey's standing in the eyes of its prospective clients. No-win-no-fee is the bottom end of the legal market, Dempsey is going to capture the top end. If you want to go into that then set up a new company and don't use any of you old offices or premises either."

Sasha and Nigel thought about that for a few moments.

"And we can use clean money that hasn't come through our books to set it up with. Paul, how about you put twenty-five million directly into Dempsey? Then we can use the other seventy-five million to set up the no-win, no-fee business." Sasha's eyes glazed for a moment, "And I know just the man to run it. He's a mercenary little cunt but he knows the business. We'll start him off with twenty million and see how he goes. I think that the rest should be invested in reinsurance firms, they're about the only market sector that's not been hit by the credit crunch. We can use those investments as collateral if we need to, or use it as cash reserves for either company. Perhaps we should start another company as a holding company to own those investments and service the other group members as necessary."

I was unsure about that, "Wouldn't it be better to have Dempsey totally independent of any other commercial business. Then no one can say that it has a vested interest in any of its cases."

They both nodded though neither said anything.

"Why don't you use some money to improve Dempsey's legal resources, research, legal library that sort of thing. Make Dempsey so good that the top lawyers and QCs want to work for you rather than be a partner elsewhere." I could see Sasha smiling at that thought. Nigel was stunned.

"I think I might be getting a little out of my league," said Nigel.

Sasha put a hand on his knee, "Nigel, you'll grow into it," she laughed, "I did."

"Brian has suggested improvements to the research department, he thinks that he can improve our service for around four hundred thousand." Sasha informed us.

"Why don't you tell him to redo his figures, give you three estimates, Platinum, Gold and Silver. Make him redo it until you're happy with the platinum version. Then go for that"

"Now that you've got number Three as well, where are you going to have your office?" I asked Sasha.

"I thought I'd use one of the existing second floor offices. I don't need much." She replied.

"Sasha, you are Dempsey. When you invite a prospect to visit you in your office they'll expect to see the very best of the absolutely very best. I think that the top floor front of number Four has the best view of the field. If you extend that one third of the way into number Three then Nigel has his office and you have your 'tremble in the face of your betters' office." I might have been a little forceful saying that but I really believed that Sasha was not doing herself justice.

Nigel looked at her, "I totally agree. A ten or twelve metre office overlooking the field will make even my wife happy. Your office needs to display the power and prestige of Dempsey. I know that my having two thirds of the top floor front of number Three will blow the socks off the visitors I get. That alone is worth two percent off our bills and ten percent on our invoices."

"Who do we get to do the conversion?" Sasha asked.

"Well Brown, Wilkinson and Bradley are the obvious choice for architects," Nigel put in.

"And I know a couple of guys with shovels to do the job. One of them even speaks a little English."

Sasha slapped my arm for that, "What would the C&C chairman say if he heard you saying that?"

"Probably that Adam speaks better French from his time camping near Calais while waiting to get into Britain." I replied.

Sasha slapped my arm again. I'm going to have to get upper arm protection, I keep getting slapped.

"I do have a team ready to do the work though and they are all top rank craftsmen and women. They'll do a really impressive job because it'll be on their personal and company CVs. They did the conversion for Dempsey, what better accolade could a professional or company ask for?"

Sasha smiled, "OK. Nigel, get Brown, Wilkinson and Bradley to put together some ideas. Paul, we'll let your couple of blokes with shovels bodge the place up a bit." Nigel shook his head.

"Anything else?" Sasha asked.

"Yes, I am having a meeting room and two bedrooms, a suite and a twin double, converted for Dempsey's use in all of my hotels. Kelly is happy with the idea, it was she who suggested it so she gets a nice bonus this payday."

"Why?" asked Nigel.

"You are going to get clients who need to keep a low profile. If they are seen entering Dempsey's offices in Lincoln's Inn Fields that could affect their career, personal life or a business deal. You need somewhere secure and bug free where you can meet these people without drawing attention to the meeting. My couple of blokes have taken their shovels round to the Coralline and are bodging a meeting room and two bedrooms. I haven't seen the results myself but Kelly tells me that they are magnificent."