Джеффри Арчер - This Was a Man

‘Allow me to open this meeting by welcoming all of you,’ said Hakim. ‘May I add how delighted we are to be representing Cook’s in their attempt to take over Mellor Travel Ltd. Sadly, this is unlikely to be a mutually agreed takeover. In fact, it is more likely to be an all-out war, and a bloody one at that. But let me assure you, gentlemen, we will succeed. I will now ask Sebastian Clifton, who has been working on the project for some weeks, to bring us all up to speed.’

‘Thank you, chairman,’ said Seb as he opened a thick file in front of him. ‘Allow me to begin by summing up our present position. Cook’s have, for some time, expressed an interest in acquiring Mellor Travel, which has certain assets that would bring added value to their business. In particular, their forty-two high street shops, some in towns where Cook’s do not have a presence, or where their present location is not as well placed as their rival’s. Mellors also have a first-class, well-trained staff, although some of them have felt it necessary to leave the company during the past year.’

‘One or two of them to join us,’ interrupted Brook.

‘Perhaps this is the time to mention the elephant in the room,’ continued Seb. ‘Namely Mr Desmond Mellor, who, although no longer chairman of the company, does retain fifty-one per cent of its shares. Therefore a takeover would be nigh on impossible without his blessing.’

‘I understand that you’ve had dealings with Mr Mellor in the past,’ said Dawson, removing his glasses. ‘How is your present relationship?’

‘I don’t think it could be much worse,’ admitted Seb. ‘We both sat on the board of Barrington Shipping at a time when my mother was chairman. Not only did Mellor attempt to have her removed from the board, but after failing to do so, he tried to take over the company using tactics that were found to be unacceptable by the takeover panel. My mother prevailed, and continued to run Barrington’s for several more years until the company was bought by Cunard.’

‘I invited your mother to join our board,’ said Brook, ‘but unfortunately Margaret Thatcher trumped us.’

‘I didn’t know that,’ said Seb.

‘But you will recall that when Barrington’s launched the Buckingham , and later the Balmoral , Mrs Clifton appointed Cook’s as their preferred booking agent. We’ve never had a better partner, even if I did have to get used to her calling at six o’clock in the morning or ten at night.’

‘You too?’ said Seb with a grin. ‘However, I have a confession to make. Before you approached us concerning this takeover, at his request I visited Desmond Mellor in prison.’

Jessica would have enjoyed drawing the expressions that appeared on the faces of the three men sitting opposite her father.

‘Even worse, on that occasion Mellor offered to sell me fifty-one per cent of the company for one pound.’

‘What did he want in exchange?’ asked Brook.

‘That once he was released from prison, we would return his fifty-one per cent, also for one pound.’

‘Not a very seductive proposition,’ suggested Dawson. ‘Although it must have been tempting at the time.’

‘But not tempting enough,’ said Hakim, ‘if as a result you have to rub shoulders with scumbags like Sloane and Knowles, who in my opinion should be locked up in the same cell as Mellor.’

‘That was off the record,’ interjected Arnold firmly, ‘and does not represent the views of the bank.’

‘I agree with you, Hakim,’ said Brook. ‘I only met Adrian Sloane once, and that was quite enough. However, let me ask you, Mr Clifton, do you think there’s any chance that Mellor might consider reviving his offer?’

‘It seems unlikely, although I’d be willing to give it a try, assuming he’d agree to see me.’

‘Then let’s find out as quickly as possible if that’s a runner,’ said Dawson.

‘But even if Mellor did agree to see you,’ said Arnold, ‘I must warn you that the wheels of power grind even more slowly in the Prison Service than they do in Whitehall.’

‘But I remember you and Seb visiting me at Belmarsh at a moment’s notice,’ said Hakim.

‘Those were legal visits,’ said Arnold, ‘and not subject to the usual prison restrictions — don’t forget, you were my client.’

‘So if Mellor were to agree to let you represent him,’ said Hakim, ‘we could cut through the red tape.’

‘But why would he even consider doing that?’ asked Dawson.

‘Because Barry Hammond,’ said Sebastian, ‘a private detective employed by Farthings, discovered it was Sloane who stitched up Mellor. Which is why Mellor ended up in jail, and once he was safely out of the way, with the help of his friend Knowles, Sloane appointed himself chairman of Mellor Travel, which hasn’t declared a profit or issued a dividend since. So it’s just possible Mellor might be desperate enough to consider us the lesser of two evils.’

‘If that’s the home team,’ said Brook, ‘what have you managed to find out about our rivals?’

‘That they’re even worse,’ replied Seb. ‘Sorkin International is not an easy company to get to grips with. Their head office is registered in Panama, and although they have an office number, no one ever answers it.’

‘Is Conrad Sorkin himself based in Panama?’ asked Dawson.

‘No. He spends most of his time on a yacht, constantly on the move. In fact, there are seven countries where he’s currently persona non grata, but unfortunately the UK isn’t one of them. And in any case, he seems to have access to bent lawyers, shelf companies, even aliases to make sure he always stays one step ahead of the law.’

‘An ideal bedfellow for Sloane and Knowles,’ suggested Brook.

‘Agreed,’ said Seb, ‘and as you know, Sorkin has recently matched our bid of two million for Mellor Travel. However, I think it’s unlikely we’ll be treated as an equal.’

‘But surely Sorkin can’t instigate a full-blooded takeover without Mellor’s backing,’ said Cook’s lawyer.

‘He doesn’t need to,’ said Hakim, ‘because we’re not convinced that’s his purpose, as Seb will explain.’

‘I’m pretty sure it’s not the company that Sorkin is interested in,’ said Seb. ‘Just the forty-two shops and offices, which have a book value of under two million pounds, whereas my property analyst has valued them at over five million.’

‘So that’s his game,’ said Dawson.

‘I think he’ll be happy to sell off the properties without consulting Mellor,’ said Arnold, ‘or even worrying about breaking the law, because I suspect Mr Sorkin will have long since disappeared before the police catch up with him.’

‘Can we do anything to stop him?’ asked Brook.

‘Yes,’ said Seb. ‘Get hold of Mellor’s fifty-one per cent, and sack Sloane.’

When a letter landed on Virginia’s doormat the following morning, she recognized the handwriting, and opened it to find another envelope inside addressed to Miss Kelly Mellor, but with no address attached, just a scribbled note:

Please be sure Kelly gets this. It’s most important.

Desmond

Virginia immediately ripped open the second envelope and started to read a letter Desmond had written to his daughter.

Dear Kelly...

Sebastian was just about to get in the lift, when Arnold Hardcastle came running down the corridor towards him.

‘Haven’t you got a wife and family to go home to?’

‘Good news,’ said Arnold, ignoring the comment. ‘Mellor has not only agreed to see us, he wants a meeting as soon as possible.’

‘Excellent. Hakim will be delighted.’

‘I’ve already spoken to the prison governor, and he’s agreed that a legal meeting can be held in the prison at twelve tomorrow.’