BARRY
‘Excellent game, Barry, most enjoyable. And I’m delighted we’ll be able to do business. A quarterly publication advertising our wine selections, gift hampers and special offers will undoubtedly increase sales and consumer awareness. Your package was competitive and high quality – my sales people were impressed, and so was I. We’ll let our people work out the finer details.’ Desmond Donnelly shook Barry’s hand before taking his leave.
Barry watched him stride out of the clubhouse and gave a deep sigh of relief. His stomach had been in a knot all morning, wondering if he was going to get the deal. With recession in the air, belts would undoubtedly be tightened, and contracts could be lost if companies felt that glossy publications were a luxury they could no longer afford.
It would be very satisfying indeed to go home and tell Aimee he had cut a lucrative new deal for his company. It would be good for his wife to know he was still a player and that she wasn’t the only one in town making a success of her career. He sat back in his chair, good humour dissipating as he thought of his wife and the current state of antipathy between them. Since their heated exchange at Debbie’s wedding over two weeks ago, the atmosphere between them was still decidedly frosty. This was the worst low in all their years together. Yes, there’d been troughs before, but they’d always been anxious to sort things and get back on an even keel, but this estrangement was different: harsh, biting words had been hurled which couldn’t be taken back, and the shards of bitterness were still embedded deep.
He wasn’t having much luck with his current and ex-spouses, he reflected gloomily. Connie, his ex-wife, was making it decidedly clear she wasn’t interested in progressing their relationship, despite their becoming close again in the run-up to the wedding. More than close, he thought wryly, remembering the ardour she’d shown when they’d had a hot and heavy, unexpectedly lusty encounter in the lead-up to their daughter’s big day.
He’d re-imagined it often, and it still made him horny. He wanted more. He certainly wasn’t getting hot rides from his wife; all he was getting from Aimee was the cold shoulder. Even before the row at the wedding she’d gone off sex. She was too tired when she got home from work. And she was bringing much more work home with her. His wife’s career trajectory was having a major impact on their marriage, and she couldn’t even see it, he thought bitterly.
It was because of that he hadn’t thought twice about sleeping with his ex-wife. He couldn’t understand why Connie was so reluctant to continue their delightful dalliance. She’d enjoyed it as much as he had, and he was fairly sure she’d been celibate for much of the time since their divorce. She was a sensual woman; they could have a no-strings-attached relationship: win-win scenario. Still, at least Connie had agreed to his suggestion to meet up with himself and Melissa. It was important that they all try and bond as a family, even if Aimee wasn’t happy about it. He finished his coffee and prepared to go back to the office.
‘Barry, how is it going? Haven’t seen you for a while. I heard your daughter got married. Have a wedding coming up myself. Have you any tips?’ a plummy voice asked from behind him.
Barry turned to see Jeremy Farrell bearing down on him. Suave, dapper in his sharp pin-striped suit, Jeremy was one of Barry’s least favourite club members. The older man loved the sound of his own voice, loved boasting about his business exploits and the famous names he’d dealt with during his stockbroking years. He’d recently taken early retirement because of heart problems, but he continued to work on a consultancy basis for his old company, Crookes & Co. He was constantly advising his golfing buddies on their investments, advocating this share or the other.
Eighteen months previously, he’d told Barry that AdCo, a private banking group, was being floated on the stock exchange and suggested he should invest a few bob. Barry had taken his advice, as his own accountant had agreed that it was a good bet. He’d made a fast buck on the tip, selling high a year later, making about five thousand. Buttons to the high flyers in the club, some of whom had raked in a small fortune. Barry had been sorry he’d been so conservative, especially when he saw the gleaming new Series 5 Beemer Glen Harris had bought out of his profits.
‘Jeremy! How are things?’ Barry put on his best hail-fellow-well-met voice and gave the other man a hearty handshake.
‘Good. Things are good, apart from this damn wedding. Three sons went up the aisle with no trouble. Now, my youngest, and only daughter, is on the move, and the difference is unbelievable. Tears, tantrums, traumas. All I’m getting is hassle and a fast-depleting bank account.’ Jeremy rolled his eyes.
Barry laughed. ‘Tell me about it. Thank God I won’t be going through that again for another few years.’
‘Listen.’ Jeremy leaned in conspiratorially. ‘Have you five minutes? I’ve a good tip for you if you’re interested. If you did well with AdCo, you’ll hit the jackpot with SecureCo International Plus. Are you interested?’
‘I’ll listen to what you have to say, Jeremy,’ Barry agreed.
‘Good man. Sit down there and I’ll sort out two coffees.’
Barry sat down. No harm in listening to what Jeremy had to say, and this time he wouldn’t be a wuss. If he felt it was worth while, he’d throw more than a few measly thousand at it. This time, he’d make a killing like Glen Harris had. A brand-new Beemer would go down a treat with Aimee and Melissa. His younger daughter liked swanky cars. It was crucial, she’d once told him, to keep up with the girls in her class. Was it possible she’d asked for him to buy them a holiday home abroad as so many girls in her class had one and she’d like to be able to say she was going to France or Portugal, or Spain or wherever? Melissa thought money grew on trees, he thought fondly, thinking he must ring her and check in to see what she was up to. She was on her summer holidays, and it was the first time she’d been allowed to stay at home alone without a childminder. Aimee had been having second thoughts about it after finding empty alcopop bottles on the balcony the day of Debbie’s wedding. His wife was seriously pissed off with their daughter, and Melissa knew that, if there was any more misbehaving, she was in deep trouble. He’d phone her as soon as he got to the car, he decided, clearing a space for Jeremy to place the steaming coffee cups and settling back to hear what the stockbroker had to say.