Chapter 1

Tony Nash stood looking disconsolately out of the office window from the first floor office of the investment bank, where he worked in the City of London. It was just a few moments before trading started, and the markets opened for business. He gazed down into the London street below, reflecting, not for the first time recently, as he pondered on his present situation. His colleagues were all at their desks, avidly reading the mornings financial news, whilst finishing their morning coffee whilst awaiting the start of trading

The majority of them were married with families, and big mortgages. They were desperate to keep their boring, but very well paid nine to five jobs in order to pay the ever mounting bills. Tony felt slightly sorry for them, as he was thinking gratefully that it was a Friday and so there would be no work for two days. Two days of freedom from the grind of business and away from the baleful gaze of his boss.

He turned to go back to his desk, across the room his boss was staring across at him, meaningfully glancing at his watch.

Tony looked across at Paddy his best friend, at the next desk to his, and saw the worried lines on his forehead. Tony felt a tinge of remorse, as he knew full well, that Tracy, Paddy's glamorous blonde sexy wife was his eternal worry, what a raver Tracy was. Tony knew her well, because he had been engaged to her for nearly a year, before in exasperation she dropped him to marry Paddy. She had finally despaired at ever getting Tony to the alter, and had latched on to, and eventually married Paddy.

But Tony was perhaps a little unique amongst his colleagues, he was not married, and he was definitely not in need of the monthly salary that he earned here at the bank. He was lucky inasmuch that he was more than financially secure, his wish was for more out of life than this boring nine to five job. He was bored to the eyebrows with everyday work at the bank, but not quite ready to give his notice in and quit. He did not want to advertise his private wealth to the world at large

Reluctantly, he turned slowly towards his desk, as he heard the monitors on the wall burst into life in preparation for the days trading ahead, and he could see the screens start to flicker, as they waited impatiently for the markets to start trading, in a few short minutes. He walked slowly back to his desk to start work, knowing that full well the phones would start ringing, and clients or their agents would start calling, wanting advice or to place orders.

Tony at 25 was a good looking fit young bachelor. He had completed his Masters degree in economics, at the London School of Economics, and was now working at this very boring job in one of the City's biggest International Investment Banks.

While at University his parents had both been killed in a car crash, leaving him a very substantial legacy, followed some six months later by his Uncle, who had unexpectedly won the roll-over on the National Lottery. The shock at winning such unexpected wealth was just too much for him, and his Uncle had promptly had a fatal heart attack and rolled over, leaving his lottery wealth, and other life's assets to Tony who was now a very wealthy young bachelor and financially secure for life.

His lawyer had advised him to invest wisely but keep enough for his immediate needs, but above all to keep news of his unexpected wealth to himself. Tony had followed this advice to the letter, and apart from his Solicitor his private wealth was not public knowledge.

At University, he had over time had a large number of affairs, his engagement to Tracy, Paddy's wife, and an affair with the sexy young wife of a College Don had not detracted him from his studies. His love life had been fun, but Tony had cleverly avoided the bonds of holy matrimony. Above all he did not want to attract gold diggers into his life, if he married he wanted to marry a girl who loved him for himself. He shuddered at times, when he remembered just how near he had been to marrying the avaricious Tracy

Following his lawyers advice, he had invested his unexpected growing wealth carefully, while he had also indulged in one or two insignificant affairs. Recently he had taken his bosses daughter Allison to a few London shows, although there had been no sexual contact between them so far, as he knew she was due to get married shortly. They enjoyed each others company, and Allison had kept her dates with Tony a secret from her parents.

Her father was his immediate boss here at the Bank. But recently he had begun to wonder if somehow her father had found out, about him recently dating Allison, as he was suddenly on the receiving end of a lot of vindictive attention from him.

Allison his bosses daughter at nineteen was a real cracker, a slim vivacious red head who was good company, and very good fun to be with. She rarely talked about her fiancé, and Tony often wondered at times, whether she was that enthusiastic about her forthcoming marriage.

Settling at his desk he sighed, he was so thoroughly bored, and he did not need to be here wasting his time. But at the minute, his mind was slightly troubled, as not for the first time, his mind dwelt on the recent aggressive attitude of Ralph Morrow. Recently Allison's father, seemed to be perpetually finding fault whenever he could with his work, whether it was because he was arguably the most successful dealer in the office, or whether it was something else, Tony did not know. But Ralph Morrow was doing everything possible recently to make his working life a misery.

Now Tony was beginning to wonder, whether it was possible that her father, had somehow found out about their clandestine dates. He thought his vindictive attitude towards him, made it seem highly possible...

When he had started work at the bank, he found that he was surprisingly good at what he did. It was during his first year at the bank that his Uncle had passed away which had changed his life from a fairly well paid bank worker, to a multi millionaire. Being cautious Tony had decided to carry on working for a while, and keep his financial prosperity to himself, reasoning that he had the rest of his life to spend it, in whatever way suited him...

He was successful at his work because he had a very retentive memory, plus a good telephone manner. Not having to chase the monthly bonuses, he gave his clients all the time they needed. Resulting in clients asking for him time after time, and thus ensuring over time that he was the highest earner in the office. During his time at the bank, he had carefully, and very quietly been in a good position to find good investments for his money, without making known his massive legacies, he had invested the majority of his capital wisely to provide himself with a very handsome income.

He had ensured that he left himself a large substantial amount of working capital to use when he decided on his future. However recently with the threat of a recession looming very soon, he had sold a large part of the more risky share holdings, and re-invested the money over a short period of time in property, gold and precious metal futures. He had advised some of his wealthier clients to follow suit - and who, because of the success of his advice, promptly sang his praises to his employers, and also to their wealthy friends, with the result that over a short period of time he had brought much new business to the company. The resulting commissions earned by him, had added significantly to his personal fortune.

However, generally speaking, Tony hated his job - he hated his boss, and gradually the determination to seek an alternative life style, had became a pressing need for him. Tony did not live lavishly, but recently he had moved to a new area of the city, but managed to keep his private income out of the public gaze. However, his most recent investment was in a large five bedroom house in the Stockbroker belt in South London it lay in seven acres of land and had a lot of potential for improvement.

He managed to buy it cheaply at a private auction. The house was very run-down, and the previous owners had defaulted on their mortgage. It was an area of the City, in which he was not generally known, and therefore, he felt that he could escape the attentions of prospective Mothers in law, avidly seeking a suitable partner for their single daughters.

Suddenly, having made this purchase he had developed a burning interest in renovating the property himself, he was aware that renovating run down properties, and then selling them on, could be good business and so he started regularly attending evening classes in D.I.Y at a local college - his plan being, to leave his job in due course, and to concentrate on working to improve his new home, unless something else of interest attracted his attention.

Since first meeting Allison, and becoming friendly with her Allison would find an excuse to telephone and have a chat with Tony, and sometimes meet him off the premises for lunch. On an increasing number of occasions, he had escorted her to the theatre, and to other social events. The fact that she was engaged to be married, was common knowledge, and so they studiously avoided any form of intimacy between them. The fact that she was due to be married the very next day probably had that morning contrived to deepen his sense of gloom.

However much to his surprise, on that very Friday evening, just as he was relaxing in front of the TV. She telephoned him, and invited him to call and see her at her home for a drink and a chat. She told him her parents were at a dinner in the city that evening, but she did not want to be left on her own. She was as Tony knew marrying a Lord William Rooker a middle aged widower, Tony suspected that the marriage was a result of pressure from her parents to make a good marriage, although, Tony thought it strange that she did not seem to have much to do with her fiancé socially, but she had know him from childhood as a friend of her fathers.

When Tony arrived at her home that evening, Allison was in a funny mood, she told him that she resented bitterly the fact that her future husband was having a stag night, and had invited all his friends, and she would be at home all on her own that evening. Tony had always felt that she was a bit lukewarm about marrying his Lordship, and now he could see how easily such a domineering father, could have put a lot of pressure on his daughter to marry a person of such wealth and influence. Her mood was completely out of character with the Allison that he knew so well.

What was irking Allison that evening, was that one of her future husbands friends with a mouth as big as a farm gate, had let it slip about the stag party arrangements. She was pretty sure, from what the idiot had hinted, that her future husband would not be sleeping on his own, following his stag night. So the more she thought about it, the more she became irritated and angry, and so she had decided that tonight on the eve of her wedding she was going to have some company of her own choice, and so she had invited Tony to spend the evening with her. Her father had forbidden her to have any sort of hen party of any kind. So in one way this was a form of rebellion on Allison's part