Chapter 7

Jerry strode into Matt's office first thing Tuesday morning carrying a pile of thin, neat files. He deposited them on Matt's desk.

'Lakeland's property portfolio. From what I can tell, he's invested wisely. I'm surprised at that; the man's a complete idiot.'

'Didn't take you long to work that out.' Matt smiled.

Jerry laughed. 'He swans around like he's Richard Branson, yet he's made one of the worst business decisions I've ever come across. This has to be the most ill-advised case in legal history.'

'That bad?' Matt raised his eyebrows.

'That bad. The counsel's opinion is a joke. I'll have to get a new one.'

'Well, good luck with it. Where did you get to last night? I thought we were going to meet up.'

'Lakeland took me out. We went to that Urban Tiger Club.'

'The lap dancing place?'

'I know, but what can you do, the client calls the shots. But you should have seen the talent there.'

'Hot?'

'Hot. Mind you, not as hot as his wife. I can see what you saw in her. Lakeland must have something wrong with him if he needs to go to places like Urban Tiger to get his kicks. And you know what else?'

'What?'

'He's got at least two other women on the go. I know about the young blonde bit, she works at the club and was all over him after she finished her shift. But I think he's banging his secretary as well.'

'What makes you think that?'

'She's twenty-one, can't type, doesn't do shorthand and is terrible on the phone. Why else would he employ her if she wasn't opening her legs for him.'

Matt shrugged. 'So what have you got for me?'

'There's four sales and five purchases plus a couple of commercial leases, but you'll be passing those on I imagine.'

Matt nodded.

'I managed to negotiate a decent fee for you too. A quarter per cent on the sales and half a per cent of the purchases. You can thank me later.'

'I'll buy lunch.'

'You're on. How was lunch with the wife? You never said.'

'Kelly? Awkward.' Matt was surprised at the ease with which he could lie to his best friend.

'Do you think you'd have slept with her if you'd known she was married?'

'I don't know. It's not as if Roy and I were best mates or anything.'

'Well, it's in the past now. As long as he doesn't find out we'll be fine. Mind you, he's not really in a position to complain. The man's mad if you ask me '"cheating on someone like Kelly. Unbelievable. Did she look that good when she was at school?'

Matt smiled and ignored the question.

'What're you working on?' Jerry asked.

'Wingfield.'

'Oh, the big one. Just how loaded was the old bloke?'

'Very. He's got shares that have to be realised in just about all the top fifty companies, antiques galore, some of which he's left to people, the others I've got to get valued and auctioned. But it's his property that's going to cause me the biggest headache. He had holiday rentals as far apart as Cumbria and Cornwall.'

'Shit.'

'Normally, I'd get a local agent to go along, value them and fax me his report, but the executors are insisting I supervise any valuations personally.'

'Aren't Smith and Jones the executors?'

'They are, and old man Jones is going to be deliberately awkward, I can tell. He's going to push me all the way before he offers me a partnership.'

'It'll be worth it though. Me and you, Matt. Partners. Just like we always wanted. Things have worked out pretty good for us. The old bloke popping his clogs for you and a chump like Lakeland for me. I tell you, this case is in such a bad way, I can't lose. If he insists on going to court, it'll be against my advice, and the partners can't hold that against me. But if I can get an out of court settlement, I'll look like a legal genius.'

Matt didn't touch the new files all morning. They sat on his desk, taunting him. Just before lunch his mobile phone beeped. He'd received a text message.

-Hey Sexy R U busy Kelly

Matt quickly sent her a one word reply

-Yes.

He put the phone down and it beeped again.

-Shame cause im free rest of today fancy lunch? Call me Kel xx

Matt pressed the recall button and Kelly answered immediately.

'So, where are you taking me for lunch today?'

'I can't, Kelly. I'm having lunch with your husband's litigator.'

'Oh, really? And isn't a new client more important?'

'Kelly, you're not the client. Roy is.'

'So you haven't looked at the files yet?'

'What d'you mean?'

'Take a look. You'll see that even though the files are in Roy's name, he's given you authority to deal with me on his behalf.'

'What?' Matt scrambled for the top file and flicked through it. 'How did you get him to do that?'

'Matthew ... What do you think I've been doing for the past ten years? Staying at home watching Richard and Judy? I thought you knew me a bit better than that.'

Matt cancelled lunch with Jerry, telling him he had to meet someone regarding the Wingfield estate. He picked up Kelly from The Centre, Milton Keynes' behemoth shopping complex. She looked as stunning as always, in a short, yellow summer dress with a subtle flower design. He drove them to Stoney Stratford, a village on the edge of the city. There was a pub there that the firm often used to entertain clients. They ordered lunch on the firm's account and settled down to talk.

'So, tell me, what have you been doing for the past ten years? Staying at home to watch Richard and Judy?' Matt asked.

Kelly smiled. 'I can't believe you're only just now asking me that.'

'Well, I sort of assumed ... you know ... with Roy being a millionaire and everything... '

Kelly huffed. 'If it wasn't for me, that website would still be a bedroom hobby.'

Matt looked at her quizzically and she continued.

'The website was just starting to take off when Roy and I first started going out. It was getting tons of hits. Too many, in fact. The web hosts were getting twitchy. Their server couldn't cope with the traffic. So they started to charge Roy and his mates more to host the site.'

Matt nodded

'But I saw the potential, ' she continued. 'The guys were against advertising at first. They said it went against the spirit of the web. So, I did a little research, put some numbers together and convinced them.'

'So you're saying that you're the brains behind Top Ten?'

'No. Roy's the brains behind the website. He's the creative one. I simply found ways to generate revenue. Adverts first, then the affiliates. I got the cash out of the banks so we become our own hosts, negotiated the deals with advertisers. I handled the money side of things '" for the company and for Roy.'

'So how come all the money is in Roy's name?' Matt was fascinated.

'It isn't. Roy and the guys like to be the public face of the company, but I'm the silent, invisible partner.' She sipped her rum and coke. 'When the money from the advertising started to trickle in we agreed to split everything equally, between the four of us. When we first set up the private company we all put in the same amount. When we floated, we all got the same number of shares.'

'I don't understand.' Matt shook his head. 'If you know Roy's cheating on you, and you've got your own money, why are you still with him?'

'I'm married to the company as much as I am to Roy. If I'd left him it would've torn the company apart. At least, it used to be that way. This past year I've been involved less and less. Ever since the merger talks broke down. Roy blamed me for that, but he wouldn't budge, it was all his fault.'

The conversation became less intense after their food was delivered. When her plate was clean, Kelly wiped her mouth and threw the napkin onto the plate. 'I hope you're not planning to run off and leave me for the second afternoon in a row.'

'You know I have to get back to work, Kelly. I've got this big job on... '

'Yes, you have. Me. Look, as my property lawyer, I want you to cast your expert eye over the properties I'm selling. Make sure you think I'm doing the right thing. So, why don't I show you the house here in Stoney Stratford that we're selling? It's empty, which is why we're selling it. We can't get tenants.'

Matt nodded. 'Okay.'