Chapter 6

They were both awake at 2.30 as wearing the corset all night was just too uncomfortable for Suzanne. It didn’t take them 27 minutes to undo it, only a few minutes but eventually it was off. Rather than just throw it on the floor Suzanne carefully laid it flat on the dresser before padding back to bed. They spooned together and Andrew’s last memory was of Suzanne snuggled against him, his arm wrapped around her. Andrew skipped his morning run, they both slept in, but after he performed a naked workout for Suzanne the two of them walked across the road to the pool. It was blessedly empty and so they each swam in their own lane for an hour. Suzanne had missed swimming as much as Andrew had and by the time they stopped they could both feel the lactic acid in their arms, but it had been worth it. Suzanne went across the road to shower while Andrew cleaned up at the pool. When he got back he started the coffee and looked to see if there was anything to eat in the kitchen. He could hardly expect anything since this was the first morning he had been there in a month. And there was no point in shopping as he was off tomorrow. Bah. Suzanne come through and such concerns left his mind.

“Don’t look at me like that. Bad Andrew.”

The body-moulding hug and the big smile rather gave lie to those words.

“I need to swim more regularly, I can feel that swim in my arms and my arse.”

“Do you want me to massage it better?”

She treated that comment with the contempt it deserved.

“No food?”

Andrew shook his head.

“Come on then, let’s find a café. I am starving.”

The two of them walked through Marchmont revelling in a glorious summer day. They found a cafe that was open and had some breakfast.

“When are you heading south again Andrew?”

“I think I am going to take the sleeper on Monday night, I will have time to drop my stuff off at Jim and Freya’s before going to work.”

“Good, so we have today and tomorrow. I have to go to my Granny’s this evening, it is her birthday on Tuesday and the family are having a party tonight. What about you?”

“Last week was so crazy that I really didn’t make too many plans. I was just glad you were home when I called from Heathrow. I will call Leslie and Julian, maybe I will see them or go over to Brian and Mary’s tonight while you are out.”

“What about your family, your parents?”

“I write to Mum, once a month. The fences are mending very slowly but the fundamental issue remains that my father and I don’t get on. There is no point going over to the house, we will just get into a fight.”

Andrew hadn’t seen his parents since the lunch when he was back at Easter. He had a Hermès scarf for his mum that he had not yet given to her. But Andrew had also just lied to Suzanne. It wasn’t just that he and his father didn’t get on, it was his father didn’t like Andrew and was bitter and jealous. Even though Suzanne knew a lot of that background Andrew couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. He sighed in frustration.

“Do you think you can cope with a bit of church this morning?”

“What?”

“I sometimes go with Grandma to church. I wondered if you would come with me this morning.”

Suzanne looked at him for several seconds.

“Will she not read too much into my coming with you.”

Oh.

“I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t care. You are my best friend and I want to spend time with you but mentioning my family made me think that I should go and see Grandma.”

Andrew shrugged.

“We are 19, she can calm down. I have too many barriers, too many silos in my life.”

So after finishing breakfast they walked across the Meadows and surprised his Grandma.

“Andrew, what a nice surprise. And you too Suzanne.”

“Hello Mrs. McLeod. Nice to see you again.”

“What are you doing here? I am about to go to church.”

“We are going to come with you, if that is alright? I figured you hadn’t had a chance to boast about your grandson recently.”

“I boast about you every week Andrew, whether you are there are not. But it will be lovely to have you there when I talk about you. You do squirm so.”

Suzanne snorted with laughter and his Grandma joined in.

“Andrew hates getting complimented, always has.”

“I know dear. When he has done so much good.”

That rather set the tone for the morning. Suzanne charmed Grandma and her group of friends. They all had grandchildren and none of them saw them enough. When Suzanne mentioned she was going to a family party that night for her grandmother’s birthday Andrew was sure there was a collective ‘oooh’. The minister at the church was as much an old biddy as his parishioners and there was a real sense of community on the steps outside the church. As they walked Grandma back down the hill she was happy and chatty. They stayed for lunch but then used Suzanne’s party as an excuse to head off.

“I will be back in Edinburgh before the end of the summer, I just don’t know when yet. I will try and keep you informed in my letters Grandma. Pick some winners, okay?”

Suzanne and Andrew walked hand in hand back to the flat.

“You made her month Andrew.”

“We became very close during the last two years of school. It is good to see her still as sharp as ever.”

When they got back to the flat they met Julian and Leslie coming out the front door of the building.

“Where have you been?”

Well it is nice to see you too!

“Lunch with my grandmother.”

They came back up the stairs and sat in the living room. With glasses of water. There was nothing else to eat or drink in the house other than a can of baked beans and a bottle of whisky. Julian was laughing.

“Even I had more in my kitchen than that.”

“I am never here. Maybe Pete keeps his food in his room so that I don’t turn up and eat it all. These three flights of stairs are a real pain with bags of shopping. What have you guys been up to? How is the house?”

Julian groaned as Leslie’s smile threatened to split her face.

“Be quiet. Let me tell them about our house.”

The pride in her voice was obvious. And she obviously gave Andrew the edited version as it was done in five minutes.

“What are you guys doing tonight?”

Julian changed the subject before Leslie started on the garden.

“I was hoping to go to dinner with you two. Suzanne has a family party.”

“Shit, it is too bad she can’t join us. We are having dinner at Mum and Dad’s and Brian and Mary are coming over too. You should join us Andrew. Suzanne, can you come by after your party? I am guessing it won’t go too late?”

“Sure, but I have work in the morning and was going to stay at home.”

“You can have the car tomorrow if you need it. We can go swimming in the morning before you head of to work.”

“Thanks Andrew, I would like that.”

So it was settled. Suzanne left shortly after to get home and prepare for the party and Andrew went over to the Strong’s place with Leslie and Julian.

“When did you get back?”

“Dinner time last night.”

“Not on Friday?”

“No, I got held up with the summer job.”

“What held you up?”

“I am not allowed to talk about it.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. This is not one of my ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ sort of things. This is ‘I am not allowed to talk about it’. How is Ferranti?”

“Awful, oh and boring too. The guy I am reporting to this year thinks I know nothing and so doesn’t trust me to do anything and anything that I do, he belittles it. As a recruitment tool he is doing a terrible job for the company. At this rate I will not be working there when I graduate.”

“Wow, that is fucked up. There is no one that you can talk to?”

“Nope.”

“What are you going to do? This is your third summer with them.”

“I am seriously thinking of running a computer company. Work for one that we already invest in, or maybe start one of my own. I don’t know yet. Now that Scotland’s next business genius is running the Trusts, I have some time in the evening and I have started to do a bit of coding again. Talking of which, are all your Open University course notes at the flat?”

“Yes, all four years.”

“Can I borrow them? I think it would help to go through some of the later courses again.”

“Sure. Come up on the way home and you can take them with you.”

“Thanks man. Do you get to do any coding?”

“I barely have the computer on when I am at Cambridge. And I haven’t coded seriously since I got there. There never seems time. I am not even sure that I will take the computer to Cambridge next year. If I don’t take it then I can take the train there and not have to worry about the car.”

“Julian or I will drive down with you in September. One of the things to consider is whether having a car there would make things easier for you. Particularly in terms of getting back to Edinburgh a couple of times a term.”

Leslie was not going to let Andrew backslide on their agreement. He never even had a chance to ask Leslie about the Trusts as they arrived at Julian’s parents’ house. It brought back so many memories of Saturday mornings for all those years at school.

“Mum, Dad, we’re here. And we brought a stray.”

“Julian, Leslie dear, oh Andrew, it is good to see you. Why did you not tell me that Andrew was coming?”

This last was directed at Julian before his mother bustled away back to the kitchen.

“Now that you’re here she is worried there won’t be enough food.”

He had a point. Julian senior came out into the hall and ushered them through into the sitting room.

“Andrew, what a pleasant surprise. No one seems to have any idea where you are, when you are going to be in Edinburgh, anything at all.”

“Sadly, it is the same for me too, Mr. Strong. Demanding bosses, you know the type.”

“I didn’t realise you were summering at a law firm Andrew.”

The doorbell rang and Brian and Mary Campbell joined them. Once everyone was settled and had drinks the conversation restarted.

“How long are you here for Andrew?”

“Just until tomorrow night Brian. I am on the sleeper, I have work on Tuesday.”

“You got Monday off?”

“I only got home last night so they gave me Monday off.”

“What is the summer job like? What are you doing?”

“Em, I am not allowed to talk about it. I am working at the MoD and have been told not to talk about what I am doing. Sorry.”

“Okay. If those are the rules then so be it. How has the summer been otherwise?”

“Hectic to be honest. Two weeks at camp first in Cambridgeshire and then at Salisbury Plain, before starting work straight away in London. It was good to get back here and just relax. I even went to church with Grandma this morning, without being told.”

Andrew’s opinions on organised religion were well known.

“What I wanted to ask Leslie about was how the first month as the boss has been?”

“Daunting at times to be honest Andrew. It is one thing to know that you are going to be in charge when you graduate, but it is quite different when you sit at the desk and suddenly the responsibility for the money that we worked so hard for rests with you. Creighton and Doug have been a big help but without Julian I would be a mess. In fact, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“No plans. Why?”

“Good, then you can come to work with me, say hi to Creighton and meet our secretary.”

“Our secretary? Don’t you mean your secretary?”

“No, she works for both of us. Now 95% of the time that will be me and will be straightforward, but her penance is she has to deal with you the other 5% of the time.”

Amazingly everyone else thought this was hilarious.

“Her penance?”

“Yes Andrew, her penance. You are the most difficult person to get hold of, you have all these ideas, a lot of which are really good, but all of which are a lot of work. We all wonder what scheme you are going to come up with next. Never mind the utterly random things like ‘Mhairi can you translate this French model release into English and let me know if it is okay to sign’. Trust me she has been well warned.”

Somehow the Strong’s had not heard the story of Andrew’s Paris trip so with much embellishment from Leslie and, surprisingly, Mary the story of his modelling adventure was told.

“Andrew, you were photographed naked?”

Christine was agog.

“Only for an hour Mrs. S.”

“You haven’t mentioned that they filmed the shoot as well to see if they could make a commercial of it. Can you imagine going to the movies and seeing Andrew’s backside on the screen.”

Leslie’s comment brought the house down. Once order had been restored it was Julian’s dad who got in the next comment.

“You make life so interesting Andrew. There is no need for you to do any of that, there is no need for you to do most of the things you are involved in, but there is a restlessness to you that is exhilarating to be around. Leslie is right, Sandra Walker might only have to deal with you 5% of the time but it is that 5% that is going to allow her to be the life and soul of the parties she goes to. Jim and Freya still tell the story of you and Allison at the North British. Sandy Page gets miffed if you call him Allison’s father as if that is his claim to fame.”

Andrew tried to fade into the background over dinner. Julian senior liked the sound of his own voice and Andrew was happy to let him carry the conversation. Then Jim and Freya’s wedding was brought up.

“Will you still be in London on the 15^th of next month Andrew?”

“Yes, my last day at the Ministry of Defence is the day before.”

“We might see you then, as we are going to be in town for Jim and Freya’s wedding. You are not heading north just as we are coming south, are you?”

He sounded sincere but occasionally tinges of green shone through his façade.

“No I am not coming back that weekend. I am hoping to get away on holiday the following week and will probably just fly from London.”

Andrew could tell Julian senior wanted to ask him where he was going to be staying as he rightly assumed Andrew would not be at Jim and Freya’s. Now that Andrew thought about it, he and Jim were likely to be banished from the flat for at least the Friday night. Based on the last month Andrew would be happy to be in the country on his last day. But dealing with Julian’s dad was not going to be easy. There was no delicate way to mention that he was part of the wedding party and Andrew could just imagine the look on his face if he didn’t know before Andrew walked down the aisle with Freya. He was saved from further contemplation by Suzanne arriving. She had been at Leslie and Julian’s six weeks earlier with both sets of parents so knew everyone. Christine wanted her opinion on his modelling.

“What did you think when Andrew told you about his modelling in Paris?”

“My first reaction was shock, but then about two seconds later I thought of all the people I know who would do something like that and of course Andrew was at the top of the list. As he said, if Pedro’s dad had not been posted to Madrid then he would have said no and gone to Ferrol. It is those once in a lifetime, spur of the moment things that so many of us chicken out of doing. It is the same with the modelling in Cambridge. Easy to say no, but in the end, he is in his underwear or swim trunks and he stands and studies so what is the big deal. Plus you know what he is like, he can’t resist a damsel in distress. It is not a co-incidence that the four artists were all female or that it was Manon that asked him to model.”

Brian and Mary were the first to leave but the four of them followed shortly after. Julian came up and grabbed the Open University notes and between the two of them got them back to the car.

“I collect you at 8.45 tomorrow morning okay?”

“Yes dear.”

“You arse, I’ll see you in the morning.”

When Andrew got back into the flat he discovered that Suzanne had brought some tea, milk and biscuits from home so at least they could have a cup of tea.

“How was your night? How was the party?”

“A fun time. Vanessa decided to ask me loudly where you were, why had I not brought you to the party, so I spent 20 minutes fending off questions about us. Jealous little bitch.”

“Just good friends?”

“I must have said it 20 times. Christine seemed really interested in your modelling?”

“It is like when I learn about something new. I am always fascinated. The day we reviewed the aquaculture proposal I hardly paid attention to anything else I was so interested in the material. I think it is just a version of that. It is that curiosity of the unknown. I had no idea how a professional model shoot worked.”

Andrew had to tread carefully.

“I had taken some shots with June and Tanvi and went to a studio that one day with June. But June had more of an idea of what to do than I did. That it has this slight risqué factor to it makes it even more interesting. It was only four months ago but it seems an age away already.”

Nobody knew about his moonlighting as a glamour photographer. They lay there drinking their tea as the daylight faded and the room darkened. Neither of them could even be bothered to get up and put a light on.

“Thanks for suggesting that I stay tonight. I really miss swimming and it will be great to put some time in before I have to get ready for work.”

Andrew sat up and looked at Suzanne, her face in semi-shadows as the day faded.

“Would you like to stay here when I am away? So you could swim every day.”

Suzanne too sat up and looked at him intently.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“I am never here. I may get back two more times this summer although one is more likely. Then there is a crazy week at the end of the summer where I will have to deal with all the business stuff as well as fit in a trip to London to see the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. So maybe nine days before December. This year it was eight days in January, 16 days at Easter, 4 days in June and two days now. Plus nine in September. That is 39 days in 11 plus months. I don’t think of it as moving in as letting my best friend use something that is sitting empty.

“When we are on holiday we should talk about us and the future. If Pete moves out at the end of the summer and you wanted to establish independence from your parents then you know you can move in here, have your own room. Even when you are through in Glasgow. At the end of the day, I want you to be as happy as possible.”

There were unshed tears in Suzanne’s eyes but Andrew was way too much of a man to have any idea what was causing them. He guessed they were emotional or happy tears because hugs and kisses were the order of the day. They went through and made love in their bedroom and afterwards Suzanne lay on him and talked about her reaction.

“We have an expiration date as a couple. We both know that. But you have offered to let me stay in your flat, regardless of the state of our relationship. You listened to me when we looked at the flats, the way the place is decorated is almost entirely me and now you are letting me live here. Andrew, you bought me my first flat and asked for nothing. Sure it is in your name but this is as much mine as yours.”

Again, Suzanne was so forthright about their relationship, and again it wounded Andrew in a way he didn’t understand. Were they doomed, have as Suzanne put it, an expiration date?

“I have no idea how our relationship is going to evolve and what it is going to look like in six months never mind six years. But I am serious when I say that you are my best friend. Our relationship when it comes to sex is how I compare all the others. Not the physical act but the closeness, the trust, the acceptance of who we are and what we want. I worry that I will never get as close to another woman as I am to you. My closest friend at Cambridge is Helena and she knows, maybe, 20% of what you do.”

“I am the same, but with men. How can I explain who I am and what I need to someone that I have not grown up with? Literally. October 1979, we kissed outside the ABC cinema. Here we are nearly five years later, how do I put into words what I have learned about myself. Hi, I am Suzanne, I want you to tie me up and spank me before fucking me in the arse. But later I want you to hold me and make love to me with unblinking devotion all the while teasing me with sordid and debauched fantasies before flipping me on my back, bending me in half and fucking me senseless. Or as we call it around here, Tuesday.”

“It is a pity that I leave on Monday then. But I get it. I miss being open and honest with people. The money is a curse in that sense. I never talk about it, never allude to it and other than one slightly awkward conversation I have not even confessed to being good at computer science.”

“University is that bad?”

“It is not bad per se, it is more nobody has proven themselves to be discrete and trustworthy. Helena is showing signs but everyone else is still ready to blab about anything that comes up. Navya is probably the worst, she blabs a lot but is also nosy and won’t let something go. She has spoiled a couple of days recently with her endless whining.”

Neither of them had an answer so Andrew made love to Suzanne with unblinking devotion, all the time filling her head with dirty thoughts and promises. Just as she was about to come he stuck the tip of his middle finger just into her bum and as she shook with her orgasm, flipped her onto her back, bent her in half and tried to last more than a minute. When Andrew came he tried to push Suzanne through the mattress and all she did was pull his head down and kiss him. Let there be no doubt they were good in bed together.

Monday morning saw them at the pool by 7.00, it was just like when they were at school together. Suzanne only swam for 30 minutes before getting out and heading back to the flat to shower and change. Andrew got back after showering in time to see her off. The professional working woman look suited Suzanne and she fended him off as she got out the door.

“If you are good, I will let you undress me when I get home.”

With a smile and a chuckle she sashayed down the stairs and left him needing another cold shower. Andrew was sitting on the stoop when Leslie arrived in her car. She still had her beaten up Escort but as the drive was three minutes it didn’t matter.

“You need to be careful and not go crazy on buying lots of new toys.”

“Says the man with the Ferrari.”

“Seriously, when are you getting a new car?”

“Soon. I am trying to convince Julian that we need an estate car for all the children.”

They both laughed.

“I will get something a couple of years old. I drive about a mile to work and a mile home. I should walk to work more than I do.”

Those five lines of conversation had them at their offices. The Trust’s offices were in an old converted garage on Duncan Street. It had been a total steal when they bought it several years ago. Now it had two levels of offices, those on the bottom for their investments if they needed space and the two Trust’s offices on the upper level. The upper level offices were original and had been refurbished whereas the lower offices were created from the floor space. It was quirky and unique but Leslie loved it and nobody else cared so there they were. It was also spectacularly unfashionable. There was no disguising its origins and even though it had great natural light from acres of skylights, to call it quirky and unique was being generous.

Mrs. Sandra Walker, the secretary who was going to only have to deal with Andrew 5% of the time, managed to piss him off within the first minute. He didn’t know if she was trying too hard, and it just came out wrong, or whether it was because he was too close in age to her own teenage boy children but she was fake, patronising and all round weird when Andrew showed up at the office with Leslie. Andrew tended to be quiet and mild mannered about most things but he considered it rude, and just plain stupid to act this way with one of the three Trustees. Leslie hurried him into her office and closed the door.

“I swear Andrew she is not like that normally. I have no idea what got into her.”

“Don’t sweat it Leslie. You have a 100% percentage secretary. I will have nothing to do with her. I have survived up until now and I will continue to survive without her.”

Andrew shook his head, what a way to start the day. Leslie was beside herself, but he waved it off.

“Where is Creighton’s office?”

“End of the hall on the right.”

Andrew left her to deal with Walker and went and saw Creighton.

“Do you have a few minutes Creighton?”

“Hello Andrew, what are you doing here?”

“Just stopped by for the day, back on the sleeper to London tonight. Leslie thought I should show my face, see the place. I thought that you could talk to me about your routine, generally week to week, and give me some suggestions for things that I should be doing more regularly. I feel like I pay attention right before we have these quarterly meetings but I totally ignore the businesses the rest of the time. What do you think?”

“When I first moved out here it was quiet, too quiet, but I was able to get a lot of work done. It allowed me to finish up the last of my clients from Dad’s firm. Now that there are so many investments as well as all the proposals I can easily fill my day. Soon we will need to add a junior accountant to take care of the day to day stuff. At present I have a monthly calendar set up and I try to touch base with each investment every month. Often it is nothing more than a 10-minute call but it lets me start to get a feel for the people that we have invested in. Who is defensive, who bullshits too much, who is sullen and secretive. That sort of thing. Leslie and I review all the submissions, technical, marketing or financial from each of our investments. Then one week a month I set aside the week to review all the proposals that we have received that month. At the same time Leslie does a separate review and then we compare notes on our initial impressions. Those that we think warrant a further review we set aside and then we schedule a meeting with them, either here or at their premises, if they have one. Only then do they end up at the investment meeting with you, Julian and Doug.”

The way Creighton talked Andrew expected a team of 10 people to support him with all that. It seemed like he kept himself pretty busy out there.

“That sounds like a lot of work. Do you need to hire a couple of people to help you?”

“Not yet Andrew. Remember, employees get paid whether they are busy or not. Once I need someone to help me then we will hire one person, but I want to make sure they are fully busy from day one.”

They talked some more about the investment business before switching to the Research Trust.

“Nothing much to do there at present, just account for the dividends and interest and keep the books up to date. Leslie will come and talk to me about investment ideas with the capital in the Research Trust but it is very different to the Endowment Trust. The emphasis is on safe, secure and long-term investments to generate a return that will ensure the Trust is around for generations. She mainly talks to Doug about those investments. When we meet in September we should have a good idea the amount of money available as annual grants. Once that is agreed then it will be time to meet with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund.

“I do think that you need to sit down that last week of September when you are here in town and have a long talk with a few people about the time commitment. There are already 30 investments between the Endowment Trust and with your personal investment group. You have £35m of investments in the Research Trust to review, meetings at least twice a year, maybe even quarterly, with the Cancer Fund, and that is before any personal things, the gallery, the farmland, the houses, your own investments. I don’t want to frighten you but unless you devote significant time to these something will get screwed up or something will be done that you didn’t agree with, because you were unaware or just not present.

“I saw the interaction with Sandra when you arrived. Leslie will have let her go by the end of the week. But you need to think about getting some kind of personal assistant, someone that can collate information, keep you appropriately informed, but most of all, get to know you so that they can learn to read you, know what is important for you.

“What Sandra Walker didn’t realise, and it might not be her fault if no one told her, is that everything here is from your idea, your spark, your determination. Sure, I am the Finance Director and Leslie is the Managing Director but you are the heart of everything. And don’t get all defensive and tell me it was a team effort. Of course it was. But you made a promise to Leslie’s little sister all those years ago and this is the result. We all wish that you were in an office here and that we got to see you regularly but it is not your path. But everyone involved in both Trusts recognises that your vision in fulfilling that promise is what them. So we need, and before the end of this year I think, to find you someone that you can trust and work with to help you manage your responsibilities. Where this person ends up working I don’t know. But you need to find someone young that you can trust, and that you get on with, to help you. Otherwise you will drown in the ever-increasing amounts of paper and information. You met both Mhairi and I when we were newly qualified, we connected and here we are nearly five years later. You need to find another person that you can become comfortable with and trust.”