"Archer, Jeffrey - twelve red herrings)txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Archer Jeffrey)

share proposal, and feeling that my wife ought to be brought in on it
at some stage, he agreed. When I rang Rosemary to let her know that
Jeremy would be coming to dinner, she seemed even less enthusiastic
about the idea than he had been.

"Perhaps the two of you should go off to a restaurant together,'
she suggested. "Then Jeremy can bring you up to date on what's been
going on while you've been away." I tried not to laugh. "We haven't
got much food in at the moment," she added. I told her that it wasn't
the food I was worried about.

Jeremy was uncharacteristically late, but I had his usual whisky
and soda ready the moment he walked through the door. I must say he
put up a brilliant performance over dinner, though Rosemary was less
convincing.

Over coffee in the sitting room, I managed to provoke the
confrontation that Jeremy had so skilfully avoided at the board
meeting.

"Why are you so keen to rush through this new share allocation?" I
asked once he was on his second brandy. "Surely you
realise that it will take control of the company out of the
hands of Rosemary and me. Can't you see that we could be taken over in
no time?" He tried a few well-rehearsed phrases. "In the best
interests of the company, Richard. You must realise how quickly
Cooper's is expanding. It's no longer a family firm. In the long term
it has to be the most prudent course for both of you, not to mention
the shareholders." I wondered which particular shareholders he had in
mind.

I was a little surprised to find Rosemary not only backing him up,
but showing a remarkable grasp of the finer details of the share
allocation, even after Jeremy had scowled rather too obviously at her.
She seemed extremely well-versed in the arguments he had been putting
forward, given the fact that she had never shown any interest in the
company's transactions in the past. It was when she turned to me and
said, "We must consider our future, darling," that I finally lost my
temper.

Yorkshiremen are well known for being blunt, and my next question
lived up to our county's reputation.

"Are you two having an affair, by any chance?" Rosemary turned
scarlet. Jeremy laughed a little too loudly, and then said, "I think
you've had one drink too many, Richard."

"Not a drop," I assured him.
"Sober as a judge. As I was when I came home late last night, and
found your car parked in the driveway and the light on in the bedroom.'