Chapter 41: Home Truths

“I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

I looked at Clarissa with raised eyebrows and after swallowing the mouthful of bacon, egg and beans I was chewing, said, “You’re going to have to narrow it down, Riss, ‘cause I’ve said a lot of things.”

She rolled her eyes, annoyed that I didn’t instantly know what she was talking about. “About deciding not to sell the company without listening to Mr Williams’ advice. I mean, you’re right, Daddy hired him to advise on running the place, so he must be worth listening to at least, otherwise, why would Daddy have paid him? I know now that they were friends and everything, but you don’t pay someone for nothing just because you’re friends with them, do you?”

I shrugged.

“So, you’ll come with me?”

“Where?”

She gave an exasperated sigh. “To speak to Mr Williams, of course! It can’t hurt to listen to him, can it?”

I paused then said, “Riss, is this anything to do with last night? That business with Jake?”

She looked away from me.

“Riss?”

Still looking away, she said, “No.” Then she looked at me and added, “Not really.” Then, looking down at the table she said, “Sort of.”

“Riss, you shouldn’t let—”

Her face shot up so that her eyes met mine. I recognised the steel in them—it was the look she’d used when telling her mom she was going to carry on see me no matter what she thought. “I’m not. This isn’t about him. I don’t care about him. But he’s not the only one, is he? Other shareholders might not get as much money as Jake, but they might get enough to make life a bit easier for them. Look, when I decided not to sell, I was thinking about myself, about what I wanted. Last night reminded me that what I decide affects other people too, that’s all.”

I nodded. “Okay.” She raised her eyebrows and I nodded again. “Okay, I’ll come with you. But if I do, don’t get all defensive and accuse us of ganging up on you if I happen to agree with him. Which I do.”

“You said you didn’t want to sell either.” Her eyes carried the accusation of betrayal even more than her words.

“No, I said I wasn’t so desperate for the money that I’d talk you into something you didn’t want to do. I talked to Pete, and Will, a lot when they came around on your birthday and what they said made a lot of sense.”

She huffed. Then her demeanour softened and she nodded. “Okay. Hurry up and finish then, I want to get this over with.”

“Riss?” I asked we walked through Blackthorpe to Pete Williams’ house on the other side of the village. “Can I ask, why did you decide about the company so quickly?”

She stared ahead of her for a moment, then looked at me and said, “Because.”

“Because of what? I mean, I’m not trying to pry or anything, it’s just that since we’ve got to know each other, I’ve never seen you rush into a decision that quickly. It was as if you’d made your mind up before Pete and Will had even finished explaining things.”

She shrugged, staring at the horizon again. After a few minutes, she looked at me, took a deep breath and said, “Because it’s all I have left of him. And I don’t want to lose it.”

“You mean your Dad?”

She nodded.

“But ... Surely you’ve got other things to remember him by? Photos and things like that?”

She nodded. “Of course. But he loved that company. It was what he lived for. What he died for as well I suppose. Selling it feels like selling a part of him, you know?”

I didn’t know, but I didn’t say that. We walked in silence for another hundred yards or so before I said, “Riss, you do know he’d planned to sell the company before ... Well, before. That’s why he brought Pete in. He’d already started negotiations with the Germans.”

Clarissa looked at me. No, she looked into me. I was sure this had been mentioned to her before, but I got the impression that this was the first she knew of that fact. Perhaps she hadn’t been listening. Or just hadn’t taken it in.

Blackthorpe was a fairly small village—probably not even a mile square—so it wasn’t long before we got to the Williams’. I rang the bell and Lily quickly answered.

“Paul? Clarissa? What are you doing here? Not that it’s not nice to see you, just unexpected, that’s all.”

“Lils, is your dad in?”

“Yeah.” She turned into the house and called, “Daddy! Visitors!”

After a few seconds, Pete appeared behind his daughter. “Clarissa! Paul! What brings ... No, I think I can guess.” He winked at me.

“This was my idea,” Clarissa said. “I haven’t changed my mind. At least not yet. But I think Paul does have a point when he says I should at least listen to what you have to say.” Her tone was hard, cold and already defensive. I could see on Pete’s face that he’d picked up on that too. I suddenly thought this might not be such a good idea.

Pete offered a tight smile and addressed Lily. “Sweetheart, could you prepare some coffee for us.” He turned to face me and Clarissa. “You both like coffee, right?” I nodded. So did Clarissa. He turned to Lily again. “And some biscuits? Bring them through into the study.”

“Sure.” Lily went off to the kitchen and Pete led us to his study, where a large mahogany desk was covered with files. He took a seat and gestured for Clarissa to do the same. There were only two chairs in the room, so I stood beside her.

“There’s a spare chair in the kitchen,” he said to me.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure? It’s no trouble.”

“Can we just get straight to it, please?” Clarissa said.

He shrugged, sighed and said, “Please don’t make this harder than it need be, Clarissa. I only want what’s best for the company. You have to believe that.”

“Why?”

“What?”

“Why? What’s in it for you? Do you get a commission if we sell? Is that it?”

He sighed and shook his head. After a few moments he said, “No, I don’t get a commission. Actually, I’m almost a third of the way through a fixed two-year contract, with the option to renew if the board think I’ve been making progress with the efficiency savings. If the sale were to go through, I’d expect the Germans to honour whatever time’s left on the contract to help with the transition, but there’s no guarantee of that. And I certainly wouldn’t expect them to renew the contract. So, I don’t stand to gain financially at all. In fact, I might even lose out.”

“So why then?”

He shrugged. “I made a promise.”

“A promise?”

He nodded. “To your father.” There was a knock at the door and Lily entered with a tray. She set it on the desk next to her father and smiled at me as she left. Pete handed a cup of coffee to me and Clarissa and then took his own. He sat back in his seat, crossed his legs, and continued.