Chapter 35

Honourable Service

Alex

2028

Despite having spent a great deal of the millionaire's money on projects related to the online world of Virtual Reality, or perhaps because of that, Eden's request to meet him in his Mayfair house was filling Alex with dread. Although he'd worked hard at the hopeless task of making a success of his poorly specified role, he was acutely aware of who it was who would make the final assessment of the project's worth.

Eden's London home was very impressive. Berkeley Square was surely one of the most exclusive addresses in London, perhaps in the whole of the United Kingdom. It was a grand house in a grand square and everything adjacent to it, near it and what could be seen through the front door when it opened was also grand.

"You must be Alan," said the tall gentleman in a smart suit who opened the door. He was about Alex's age but dressed as if he belonged to a much older generation. "I'm afraid Mr St. John-Easton isn't in. However, I'm sure I can be of help. My name is Theo."

"Good afternoon, Theo," said Alex who was actually rather relieved that Eden wasn't at home. "Where is Mr St. John-Easton?"

"Not in the UK, sir," said Theo. "I daresay he's probably in Florida by now. Mr St. John-Easton is quite the globetrotter. However, please come in, Alan."

"Thank you," said Alex as he passed through the threshold into the hallway and passed by some paintings that he believed might have been painted by William Hogarth and were therefore priceless. However, as Alex wasn't especially knowledgeable on eighteenth century painters, the painter could well have been someone else and the painting therefore not nearly as valuable.

"In the living room, sir," said Theo as he directed Alex towards a room that was several times larger than it needed to be. It resembled more a room in a stately home managed by the National Trust than any room he'd ever been invited into before. Alex nervously sat down on the fresh new leather upholstery of a chair that was probably as old as the paintings. He looked around him. The centrepiece of the room was an imposing chimney place decorated by antique tiles. Portraits of grand dignitaries glared disapprovingly down on him. As they mostly seemed to have been painted within the last century they were probably all Eden's ancestors. Paul noticed with interest that the men portrayed weren't nearly as short in stature as the present master of the house.

"I'm confident that Mr St. John-Easton would convey his apologies to you for not being here," said Theo, "but if it's any consolation he very rarely keeps any appointment he's made. More often than not I have to stand in for him as I am doing now. Do you know why he asked you here, Alan?"

"No. Not really," said Alex nervously.

"Well, he did ask me to find out whether the work you've been doing on Virtual Reality is going well and that his ideas are being put into practice. I take it that I can reassure him on these concerns?"

"Yes, of course," said Alex.

"That is, I take it, what you are engaged in at Reuters-Fox? Virtual Reality. The kind of thing that involves wearing headsets."

"Yes, it is."

"Have you any idea how that in any way materially furthers Mr St. John-Easton's interests? He doesn't usually take much interest in computers or anything like that. It's quite unlike him to use a touch screen for anything but the simplest application. What could possibly have given him the idea that his business might be in any way served by investing in Virtual Reality?"

"It was him who asked me to get more involved," said Alex.

"I'm sure he did, Alan. And why might that be? Could it have anything to do with, for instance, his wife, Zara?"

Alex was shocked by the insinuation. What did this man know? "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I gather that you and Zara have been quite regular drinking partners at the Zenith for quite a while now. Don't worry about how I know this. Although Mr St. John-Easton takes very little notice of the information his security staff gather of activities that might affect his welfare, I've always maintained a very keen interest. It is imperative that I am better informed of such matters than anyone if I am to provide the quality of service Mr St. John-Easton expects."

"You do?"

"The ability to anticipate Mr St. John-Easton's needs requires a great deal of research. As you would expect, the welfare of his wife and her drinking habits are amongst the matters to which I pay considerable attention. I am also, of course, interested about any activity associated with Zara that might be useful to know should there ever be a time that her lawyers might threaten to make disagreeable allegations in a court of law. Mr St. John-Easton isn't aware of my curiosity in these matters, but he will very grateful for it if, for example, there should ever be divorce proceedings. On the other hand, Alan, I think you can be consoled by the fact that the evidence suggests that you have been quite the gentleman. And this despite several instances of rather unsubtle coaxing. You're a married man, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Isobel, isn't it? And your wife is pregnant, I believe. A boy or a girl?"

"We chose not to find out."

"Very foolish, Alan. It means you have to think up about twice the number of names for your child than you might have done otherwise. You could go for Leslie or Sandy, I suppose. Useful for either sex."

"I'm sure it is," said Alex who was beginning to get irritated by this line of Theo's questioning.

"Although I have to look out for the welfare of both Mr St. John-Easton and his wife, you must be aware that it is the husband's interests that are of primary concern to me. It is he who pays my salary. I would say that your relationship with Zara is rather more as a drinking companion than as a fuck buddy. And as such you've had a longer and rather more successful relationship with her than the many other men whose details have been amassed. You've been very sensible not to push your luck. The vagueness and even vacuousness of this business with Virtual Reality is surely something that Zara would dream up than would a man like you who is steadily pulling himself up the slippery pole of middle management. Zara knows even less about computers than Mr St. John-Easton, but she knows how to press his buttons. I may not be a businessman but I can see that there is very little likelihood of a return on investment from any of the enterprises you're involved in. Does this trouble you at all, Alan?"