—
I asked Esther to come with me to London. The idea was to spend a week there and get my things sorted out, then come back to New York. As the Christmas holidays were coming up, she accepted, because she could take a few days off from both the advertising agency and Paul’s academy.
I must admit that not even I understood my determination to marry Esther. I looked at her and didn’t find her physically attractive. She wasn’t, she’d never been, but the fact is I couldn’t leave her side, nor did I want to.
When I arrived at the agency in London I was met with my first surprise. My access card had been canceled, so although the security guard knew me, he didn’t allow me into the elevator until Maggie gave the go-ahead. In the lobby of what had been my office, the woman who had been my secretary was waiting for me with the box in her arms.
“Here are your things, Thomas. Go to Mark’s office. He and Denis are waiting for you.”
“Well, aren’t you efficient?”
“It’s nothing personal, you know that. It’s the rules. I do what I’m told.”
“That’s why you’ll always do well, Maggie, although your life will be boring.”
“To each his own.”
—
Mark and Denis received me without enthusiasm. They had to get over the hurdle of firing me and they seemed worried about my reaction.
Denis gave a spiel about ethics as an added value to the agency’s work, and Mark pointed out that I didn’t match the professional profile they were looking for.
“Of course, we’ve transferred all the money you’re due.”
I didn’t grant them the pleasure of looking offended or worried. I shrugged, shook their hands, and walked out of there forever.
That same night Esther and I went out to dinner with Roy and Suzi. Roy had insisted on coming to London to convince me that my place was by his side.
Esther and Suzi seemed to get along, which Roy was excited about, so he winked at me and said, “If the girls understand each other, things will work out better between us.”
He went straight to the point during the second course. I must admit I was surprised.
“Well, I’m mayor now. But the goal is to get to London—to Parliament.”
“And then you’ll try to become prime minister,” I joked.
“All in good time. What I want now is for you to work exclusively for me. I have some friends interested in helping. They’ve got plenty of contacts.”
“And they want to become MPs as well? Now that’s ambition!” I replied, laughing.
“Stop being absurd, Thomas; this is serious. I need someone I can trust and…well, someone who has no relation to any specific power bloc and who can do what needs to be done. We’ll pay you well. Very well.”
“You’re speaking in the plural…Are you plotting to make the Queen abdicate?” I continued in the same obnoxious tone.
“My goal is to get a seat at Westminster, and for that, we need publicity and proper handling of the press. You’ve demonstrated you’re very skillful at both, but above all that you don’t have stupid scruples like your old bosses, who go around begging forgiveness from the Labour Party and the Conservatives because I was selected instead of their candidates. They are worthless.”
I didn’t contradict him. I couldn’t care less what Scott and Roth might think. Esther looked at him in surprise. Roy didn’t seem like her kind of person.
“Who are your friends?” I asked.
“Businessmen, bankers…They keep a low profile. They’re not in the papers.”
“And what do they want of you?”
“Sometimes the defense of their interests requires that public opinion is not against them. In order for that to happen, it is necessary to utilize the media, to do certain things. You can do those things.”
“But exactly what are those interests you need to defend?” I insisted.
“We’ll go through that over lunch at the Dorchester, if that’s okay with you.”
“I thought you didn’t like the Dorchester.”
“I don’t, but you do.”
“Will any of those friends of yours be there?”
“No, you and I need to talk first. Plenty of time for you to meet them. But let’s leave serious things aside. Shall we go and have a drink after dinner? I’ve been recommended a place which I think you’ll like.”
—
When we returned to my apartment I asked Esther what she thought of Roy.
“Dangerous.”
“So you liked him,” I rejoined.
“And what’s more: he has no scruples. If push comes to shove, he’ll throw you to the wolves. He’s one of those who never lose.”
“You mean you don’t think he’s too…rustic?”
“He’s much more than that. His appearance is just that. He may not have gone to an elite university, but he’s intelligent, he has a calculating and quick mind, he knows what he wants and is willing to do anything to achieve it. He likes you, but he’ll give you up in a heartbeat if that benefits him.”
“I thought you were a PR expert. Who knew that you were a practicing psychoanalyst?”
“You know I’m right. You like Roy because he represents a challenge. He is dangerous and you like to walk on the edge. You are made for each other. Until the time comes when survival instincts kick in and one of you decides to throw the other one overboard. If you are going to do business with him you need someone to watch your back.”
“Are you suggesting I should hire a bodyguard?” I couldn’t stop laughing.
“It wouldn’t do you any harm, but that’s not what I mean. In your team you’ll need people you can trust, who are incorruptible, who won’t betray you. It won’t be easy.”
“You’re assuming I’m going to accept his offer.”
“Yes, of course you will. You don’t have anything else to do and whatever he proposes will be a challenge for you.”
“I propose that you be the one who watches my back.” I was speaking seriously.
“Me you can trust, but I’m not sure I want to have anything to do with Roy Parker or his wife.”
“I thought you liked Suzi.”
“Neither like nor dislike her—she simply doesn’t interest me. But she’s also not to be trusted. Those two will never be able to separate because they’ll have too many skeletons in the closet.”
“Very perceptive! Suzi is Roy’s stalwart.”
“Yes, it seems to me he has met his match.”
“Marry me, Esther. You said so yourself, I need you.”
“That’s not a reason for me to marry you.”
“Are you still not in love with me?”
“Are you in love with me?”
“I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t really know what I feel for you, except that you are the only woman I want to be with. I can’t get enough of looking at you, of being with you. You make me see things in a different light, and I feel like I can talk to you about almost anything.”
“But you don’t feel an overwhelming passion for me.” This time, she was the one to burst out laughing.
“Details!”
“These things aren’t insignificant. There are ways in which we don’t excite each other.”
“But that shouldn’t be an obstacle. You know that lust fades away.”
“Sure, but it’s great while it lasts.”
“And then what? I think our relationship is more solid than if right now we were too eager to get into bed together.”
“But that’s important too.”
“For the relationship to last there has to be something more, and I mean something that isn’t resignation or the children or the financial situation. That something more is what we have, what there is between us, and that’s what lasts forever.”
Esther looked pensive. She resisted giving up on the romantic and passionate love that people usually feel at least once in their lives. She could have felt it for me, but it hadn’t worked out that wa
y.
We got into bed and made love. It was nice but not passionate. But for me, Esther was more important than good sex.
—
I arrived at the Dorchester before Roy and ordered coffee and toast. I wasn’t hungry but I knew it bothered Roy to have to eat alone. He arrived late, blaming Suzi for the delay.
“And where is she?”
“She insisted that the taxi drop her off at Harrods. Anyway, there are things she doesn’t need to know.”
Then he got right to it.
“You know what I want: work only for me. My friends, actually they’re two lawyers, can give you a job. You can choose your own people, like that IT guy, Sullivan, who you worked with on my campaign. Look for people like that. You’ll make plenty of money, more than you can imagine.”
“You’re still talking in the plural. Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you and those mysterious friends of yours want,” I demanded.
“What we want is very simple, I’ll give you an example: imagine that a company wishes to obtain some land to extract natural gas via fracking. The local environmentalists, the people living in the nearby village, some well-intentioned journalists, and even some local politicians may oppose it, saying it will have negative effects on the environment, that it will cause a natural disaster, that the gas emissions can endanger public health: you know, the same old nonsense. What you would have to do is change public opinion. We’ll take care of the politicians; although should the need arise, you’d also have to step in and change the minds of those who are reluctant to see it our way. Do you get my drift?”
Suddenly I realized it was Roy who had manipulated me, and that his determination to gain control over one of the main districts of the county had nothing to do with his political ambitions. It was all about business.
“Is that what’s under the grass where your in-laws keep their sheep? Gas? Is that why you needed to be mayor and why you’re aspiring to a seat at Westminster? So that they reassess those lands and God knows what else?”
“I thought you knew that already.” He looked at me, surprised and slightly disappointed.
“You were saying?” I prompted him, to avoid admitting that he had used me.
“There are people I’ve made promises to…Suzi doesn’t know any of this.”
“You mean, you’ve even lied to her.”
“My in-laws would never consent to drilling on their land and neither would Suzi. But they won’t be a problem. I want you to be prepared to help me. My friends are going to hire you at one of the agencies they manage. We’ll have to buy media, bribe them; they’re looking for the dirt on our opposition…But all this has to be done discreetly, under the guise of respectability. I’m not going to tell you how to do the job; you know how to do it and you’ve got balls. The sooner you get down to business, the better for everyone.”
Either Roy had changed and was now showing his true colors, which Esther had picked up on, or today was not his day and that’s why he seemed so unpleasant.
“You know something, Roy? I don’t like being bossed around. Don’t get confused, I don’t need to be your employee, or anybody’s. Besides, I’m not looking for a job. If I want to start my own agency I will, I don’t need your money. Watch your tone or I’ll leave you to finish your breakfast solo.”
“I see! It seems you’ve got amour propre.”
“Don’t underestimate me, Roy.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve offended you,” he replied, aware that I might leave him sitting there.
“I may be interested in what you’re proposing, but if I do accept it will be for my own amusement. I don’t need your money or that of your friends. I like a challenge. I very much enjoyed getting you elected. And if I accept, Roy, it will be me who sets the terms, not you. Oh, and before agreeing to anything, I want to meet your friends. I want to know who I’m doing business with.”
Roy gave me a cold look, trying to determine whether he had misjudged me.
“All right. We’ll arrange a few meetings with people.”
“Make it quick, Roy. We’re leaving for New York in four days.”
“That girl, Esther. She seems smart. Is she your girlfriend?”
“I’ve asked her to marry me and she still hasn’t given me an answer.”
“Can you trust her?”
“She’s the only person I trust, aside from my family.”
“Would she work with you? She said she does advertising, publicity…”
“I can’t speak for her. Anyway, I haven’t yet said whether I am going to do business with you and your friends.”
“I hope you will.”
“What you want me to do…there are many others who could do it. Manipulating public opinion is what publicists do.”
“But I trust you and…I’m new here, Thomas. I need to have my own cards. Marked cards. You are part of the deck. Actually, there’s something else you should know. My friends want you to work with someone, a first-class guy. He worked for them on other equally…delicate matters.”
“I see, another surprise. But I don’t need partners.”
“Actually, it’s me who wants you to work with us on a permanent basis. You’d be like another partner, someone who takes a slice of the earnings, who shares the same interests. My friends don’t see it that way, but I’ve been given the green light. Although they have one condition: that Bernard Schmidt is part of the business.”
“And who is Bernard Schmidt?”
“The guy I was just talking about—a German guy who knows more about propaganda and media hype than anyone else in the world.”
“If you’ve already got your man, what do you need me for?”
“Because he’s their man. I want mine.”
“You know what, Roy? You’re going to have to tell me a few more things before I meet up with your friends and decide whether or not I want anything to do with you all.”
“Fair enough. Just ask and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“For now, start by telling me what this is all about.”
“I’ve told you already.”
“No, you’ve told me about some friends, about your wanting to influence public opinion in your county so that a fracking company can search for gas. And that there is one Bernard Schmidt who wants to work with me. In other words, you’ve told me almost nothing.”
Roy seemed to hesitate. He was riled up, almost furious. He thought he’d had me eating out of the palm of his hand; that if he proposed something I would do it without thinking. The servant was turning out to be impudent. In reality, although I didn’t like to admit it, he had played me like a fiddle; still, he had underestimated me.
“All right, I’ll tell you what this is all about. I’m associated with a group of businessmen. They represent companies that are looking for new energy sources; they’re also invested in the arms trade. And yes, there is gas under my father-in-law’s land. My in-laws don’t even want to hear about the possibility of digging up their land. They don’t have ambitions: they have more than enough money to survive thanks to their sheep. They have plenty of land, though some of it isn’t worth anything, and they hire it out for hunting during the season.
“Years ago my friends’ partners tried to set up a research company for microbiological and other high-tech weapons in the region. One of my in-laws’ properties met the specifications they needed. They spoke to me. They didn’t need to waste their breath to persuade me, but my in-laws refused. They said that it would upset the tranquillity of the region, that it would destroy the environment, that the birds would flee because of the noise, that biological weapons are a danger to humanity…A whole load of nonsense. There was no way they could be persuaded, but I was unwilling to let those men go elsewhere. I pressured my in-laws to the point that I threatened to stop managing their lands. They were worried I might be capable of leaving Suzi and the kids, but they wouldn’t budge. Suzi and I argued and it was she who threatened to leave me.
“Nothing could stop me. You know that, in addition to the family business, I also manage the estates of some other landowners in the county. Because it couldn’t be my in-laws’ land, it needed to be someone else’s, and it wasn’t hard for me to decide which property would be convenient for these people to use. The estate belonged to a family who hadn’t set foot on the land in three years except during hunting season. Even so, they didn’t want to sell, much less to support a company that would experiment with weapons.
“These friends told me that if we managed to ruin the land, the owners would be forced to sell. I offered to help them. A few days later some men arrived with barrels. I gave them access to the estate. I don’t know what they did, and don’t ask me what was in the barrels because I don’t know that either, but two days later a disease destroyed the flora of the place and many of the animals died. That land was suddenly worth nothing and became a burden to its owners. They were willing to sell it at whatever price they were offered. I partnered with these friends of mine to buy an estate that is apparently wasteland but where, it seems, there are gas pockets. Nobody knows this, not even Suzi. Of course, the county’s environmentalists will be up in arms on the day we start fracking. I’ve also carried out other operations for these associates. I need you for when the exploratory drilling starts. People will be against it, there will be protests, and they won’t want fracking on land that’s adjacent to theirs. As mayor, I will have to make it seem like I’m mediating, that I myself am debating between protecting the environment and encouraging progress. I need you to take care of everything.”
“And you think these men are your friends? Come on, Roy, you’re a useless fool, nothing more!”
“You have a very low opinion of me, Thomas. You see me as uncultured. I may not have been educated in good schools, but I’m nobody’s fool. They need people like me and I need people like them. As long as we are useful to each other, things will tick along. I’ve managed to make changes in the region.”
“And now they want the gas from your in-laws’ land. What about Suzi? Your wife isn’t stupid. I’m surprised she hasn’t realized that you’re hatching this kind of plan.”