Refracted Crystal: Diamonds and Desire (32 page)

And she also saw clearly.

Beneath the softness of his cheeks, the slightly overwrought layer of skin that covered a body that struggled to maintain the muscular dimensions it so evidently desired, beneath the expensive shirt and carefully pressed trousers, the manicured hands and well-maintained, even prissy hair, she saw clearly what Francis Roth was and how he saw himself.

He was stupid.

No, that was not entirely true. He was not stupid, but he was not as clever as he wanted to be, wanted to think himself to be. All his life had been an attempt to impress a cold and calculating father who thought of him as no more than a line in the family ledger of debits and credits. He had so wanted the love of a man who knew nothing of love unless it was for money, and then—so effortlessly—a stranger had entered his life and supplanted his father’s affections as easily as breathing, as quickly as sunlight entering a room when the blinds are drawn. She remembered something that Maximilian Roth had said to her:
Daniel was exceptional. I would have been proud to call him my son
.

By contrast, Francis was a fool.

That gave her the edge here. She knew something that he did not realise she knew. Her nostrils flared slightly as she gazed at him, sensing victory in the air. The problem was that he was not a complete fool. This made him dangerous.

Misunderstanding her expression, Francis moved forward slightly, leaning in towards her. “So that stupid fucker has realised he better not show his face around here, and you’ve realised at last you’ll get what you really want from me, eh?”

Judging it safe to do so, she ignored him and turned her attention back to Felix. Again, feeling that sense of godlike detachment running coolly through her veins, she surveyed him. She realised how wrong she had been about Felix Coltraine. She had thought that he brought with him a contempt for her that he would have felt for all women, but she understood implicitly now what had been taking place as he vied for Daniel: he was jealous of her—no, not jealous. That implied sexual feelings, and there was nothing of that taking place between the two men. Rather, he was envious of her hold over her husband, of the way that she diverted Daniel’s attentions away from the world, offering him a haven that allowed him to return to the fight with a greater vigour and determination than before. Daniel had once told her that when she had first met him at Comrie, he was ready to surrender that fight: Felix’s anger towards her had been the viciousness of a partner spurned.

And there was more. For all that he boasted of his playboy lifestyle and sophistication, she could see immediately that Felix completely misunderstood what had taken place between her and Daniel—he refused to call it love, but in his ignorance of what it was all he could experience was fear. Kris wondered with a sense of surprise whether Felix was actually married. She suspected that he would be, but it didn’t really matter: there would no doubt be the same number of mistresses and high-class call girls put through the books whether he was married or not. She almost laughed at the recognition of this fact, but instantly regained her self-control. Victory was too close—far too close. This puerile, status-obsessed world was precisely what she would remove Daniel from, return him to something real.

“He doesn’t know I’m here,” she said, addressing Felix directly.

“That’s because he hasn’t yet realised that you’re just going to do what all the other women in his life have done, and sell him out to a higher bidder.” The comment from Francis was needlessly crude and Kris had to hide a smirk. He felt spurned by the fact she had spoken to Felix and not to him. She turned her gaze on him dispassionately.

“If you insist.”

Felix was moving slightly in his seat, apparently discomfited by this remark. “Well, I’m glad you came,” he said, frowning a little. “I’m sure we can work this out.”

“There’s nothing to work out,” Francis exclaimed, standing up and striding towards the doorway that led into the office behind Kris. “He’s finished, and he knows it. If he doesn’t sign over soon, there’ll be nothing left for him to hand over.”

Kris ignored this petulant outburst and focussed her attention on the older man. “I’m sure we can work something out.” She spoke a little more loudly so that Francis would be able to hear her clearly, but still she did not look in his direction. “Your father made me an offer, when you were in prison.”

Without warning, Felix came back towards the chair and leaned over her, trying to impose himself on her by the sheer presence of his body. Kris had to fight back the urge to choke and retch at his closeness, particularly as his face was red with anger.

“That was then, you stupid fucking bitch! Don’t you bring my father into this. This is now! And now that cunt does what we tell him to do or I’ll tear him a new fucking asshole! Do you understand, you fucking stupid slut?”

Regaining her composure once more, she gazed past Francis’s face towards Felix. Ignoring the younger man’s lack of self control, she gave a slight smile and said to the CEO of Stone Enterprises: “Maximilian Roth offered me a deal. I intend to honour my side of the bargain if he honours his.”

“There is no fucking deal!” Francis was almost shouting in her face now, forcing her to look at him. Despite herself, Kris pulled back slightly into the high chair, as much to avoid the flecks of spittle as anything. “I should show you here and now what you can expect from me, and you’ll be grateful, you cunt!”

She raised one eyebrow at this. Her heart was beating faster than ever, but she let no sign of it show on her face. “What, and you’ll hit a pregnant woman? Or do you intend to try and rape me again? I don’t recall you being particularly successful last time.”

Now it was Francis’s turn to pull back slightly. Kris immediately saw what she had to do, and realised her strength in this matter. She realised that probably no woman had ever spoken to him this way before, unless perhaps it was Jane Malberry. When she spoke next, her words were addressed once more to Felix and her tone was brisk and efficient.

“Don’t think I’ll stop next time if this...
boy
tries anything again. I landed him in prison once, and I’ll do it again without a moment’s hesitation.”

“You wouldn’t dare...” Francis began to snarl.

“Try me!” she hissed, just for a moment allowing some of the real, visceral hatred of him that she felt to show through her eyes. “Just fucking try me.”

“This... this is all uncalled for.” Felix was sweating now, spreading his hands wide in an attempt to make a conciliatory gesture. “Really, Ms Stone, there’s no need for any of this.”

You just want the deal, don’t you, thought Kris, returning her gaze to Felix. You made your pact with the devil and you can see it starting to unravel before your eyes. Well, I’ll give you something.

“The deal,” she continued aloud, “was for a hundred million for Daniel’s share of Stone Enterprises.”

Francis snorted at this and walked around the back of the table to stand beside Felix. “We’ve been through this already,” Felix said wearily. “He won’t buy it.”

“He will if I ask him to,” Kris responded. “But I’ll only ask him to on one condition.”

Rubbing his cheek, Felix stared at her while Francis glared through the window at the streets and buildings of London beyond. “And what’s your condition?” the older man asked.

“You remember Chiado Shipping? It’s one of the concerns that Stone Enterprises had a majority share in.”

Felix thought for the briefest moment and then answered: “Yes. What of it?”

“I want that thrown in as well. A hundred million, and the entirety of Stone Enterprise’s shares in Chiado to be transferred to Daniel.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Francis burst out, forcing himself to laugh though his face conveyed nothing but anger. Felix raised a hand, gesturing for him to be quiet for a moment.

“That... that would be... what? Nearly a quarter of a billion altogether?”

“And it would still be less than a third of Daniel’s value, a quarter even if his shares return to their former heights.”

“You are fucking insane!”

“Francis! Please, be quiet for a moment!” Felix’s irritation was spilling over now. “Let me think!” He returned his attention to Kris. “Why on earth should we even consider this?”

By way of reply, Kris reached down for the briefcase and lifted it onto her lap, flicking the catches and opening the dark lid. Inside was a single sheet of paper, a photocopy of one of the sheets she had taken with her from the vault. Primly holding it in one hand while she locked the case up again with the other, she pushed it across the walnut desk towards Felix. Francis snapped it up before he could take it.

“What is this?” Francis asked. “What am I looking at?”

“It is part of a series of documents indicating the process whereby your father’s businesses—along with Stone Enterprises—were able to present themselves as having a market capitalisation well in excess of thirty five billion dollars at a time when a takeover bid for Pharzon was being considered.”

“And?” Francis waved the paper around in front of him. “I don’t get what that has to do with your husband.”

No, you don’t, Kris thought, but in the next instant she had the pleasure of seeing Felix reach up and snatch the page from his hands. His eyes went wide as he looked at the document and then narrowed.

“So,” he said, his voice suddenly becoming nastier, losing the conciliatory tone he had maintained so far. “What’s this to do with us? One sheet of paper proves nothing.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Kris couldn’t resist a smile. “There’s a lot more. A hell of a lot more. A complete list of documents dealing with every—and I mean
every
—aspect of Stone and Roth dealings with Pharzon. I guess somebody wasn’t as careful with the paper shredder as they could have been. I also know that you and Maximilian Roth were hoping to pin all of this on Daniel. Well, the trail leads firmly to you and Roth as well. You can't implicate Daniel alone in this one.”

For a moment Felix looked at her furiously, and then he too had regained his composure. In a second she realised that a transaction had taken place in his mind: he had weighed up the consequences of what had happened and suddenly reached a decision. Nothing else mattered now. She had won what she came for.

Francis, unfortunately, was the only one who had not realised what had happened.

“I still don’t get it. What the fuck has this to do with anything?”

“Will you shut up!” Felix allowed his anger to strike its real target. “Unless you want to screw your father so royally that he won’t see the light of day for the next hundred years, you will keep your mouth shut.”

Francis was aghast at this, his mouth opening and closing as his eyes flickered from Felix to Kris and back again. Yes, she thought to herself with a degree of smugness she could not resist, a fool.

“I don’t need to tell you that I haven’t shown this to Daniel—yet,” she told Felix as coolly as possible. “I know that he’ll use it to crucify you.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Francis butted in, nervously chewing his lip as he tried to work out how the balance of power had shifted so radically in the room.

“The only thing stopping him is me,” she said, her eyes now fixed on the young man. “He knows what this would do to him—he’d be facing a long enough jail sentence, and it’s only his concern for me that would cause him to hesitate for a moment. If it wasn’t for that, he’d gladly rot in jail for twenty years just to see Maximilian Roth die behind bars.” Her eyes returned to Felix. “Don’t misjudge his resolve, not for a moment.”

“I don’t,” said Felix with a sigh, leaning back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t,” he repeated more quietly.

“What has Pop to do with this?” Francis looked for a second as though he was about to cry, his lips blubbering slightly. Felix rubbed his eyes and looked at him.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. “Just go next door, will you, and get your father on the phone. Tell him that we need to arrange this deal. He’ll be pleased.”

Francis glared at the older man, unwilling to be treated as a subordinate but also clearly not comprehending what had happened. With a scowl, he finally turned towards the door. As Francis left the room, Felix watched him go and shook his head. “Well, he’s no Daniel Stone, that’s for sure.” As he looked back at Kris, his eyes hardened and his expression became more severe. “And you’ll make sure he swallows this? He won’t like it.”

“He’ll do it because I ask him. Do you read the bible, Mister Coltraine?”

This threw Felix and he stared at her in slight confusion. “No... no, I can’t say that I do.”

“Matthew thirteen, verse forty-six. For the merchant, when he had found a pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Once more Felix stared at her blankly, then—just for a second—a glimmer of amusement flickered in his eyes. “I underestimated you, Ms Stone.”

Kris nodded. “I’ll tell Daniel, then you can arrange the deal with him. Keep the boy out of it. I can’t guarantee Daniel won’t try to kill him. Hell, I can’t guarantee
I
won’t try to kill him.”

Felix laughed hollowly. “Then that makes three of us,” he said quietly. He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I shouldn’t say this, but perhaps it’s a rare moment of conscience. You could hold out for more—for much more, if you have half of what I think you do on Roth.”