Pinstripes

by Faith Bleasdale

  ***

  Josh turned up at seven. He hugged Clara, who pushed him away. The demon had returned.

  “What is it?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t want to see you anymore,” Clara said. She had decided this afternoon that she couldn’t cope with her feelings for him. And Ella had been right: she couldn’t cope with the idea of him and Isabelle.

  “Clara, what are you talking about? We’re just getting to know each other again.”

  “Well, I don’t like what I know about you. You’re an egotistical fucker and you still shag any woman you come across.”

  “I don’t. And if you’re referring to Isabelle, you asked me to sleep with her. No, you told me to sleep with her. You said if I didn’t then you wouldn’t see me anymore.”

  “Well, now I won’t see you any more anyway, so there.”

  “Clara, I think we need to talk.”

  “No. You need to fuck off out of my life.”

  “What is this?”

  “Which word don’t you understand? I know it’s not fuck.”

  “Clara, you’re being a class A bitch.”

  “And you’re a prick. I don’t want you. Do you find that so hard to understand? I guess no one has turned the wonderful Josh down before. Well, here you go. See how you like it.”

  “Is that what this is? You’re getting your own back on me for what happened between us before. Christ, Clara, that was ages ago, and I’ve changed.”

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m saying this because I feel like it. I want you out of my life.”

  “How could you do this? You get me involved in your hare-brained scheme by telling me that it’s the only way we can be together, and now you tell me you don’t want me. I really don’t understand you, Clara. I’m going now, but I don’t believe you. I know you still want to be with me. Clara, call me when you get your brain back.” Josh looked angry, then sad. He kissed her gently on the lips then left.

  Clara sat on the floor with her back to the door. She started crying again. Now she’d lost Josh. She knew she would eventually so she couldn’t risk leaving it until he got fed up with her. She knew he would get fed up with her. He was too nice for her, she didn’t deserve him.

  She pulled herself together and went to get some coke. This was all she needed. Josh could go to hell; he could never compare with cocaine.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  The following day, Clara decided to pull herself together and start having fun. She booked dinner at San Lorenzo and hoped that they might just manage to have an enjoyable evening. She called Virginia and Ella to arrange to meet them in Knightsbridge. She also discussed with them how they would monitor the success of their plan.

  Then she phoned Toby and told him she missed work. She suggested that he might call her every so often to update her on what was happening. Toby agreed that he would. Ella and Virginia were going to study the Financial Times and the financial pages of all the newspapers to see if there was any mention of buying in JF Technologies. They were also going to study the stock prices. If the price rose they would know Isabelle was buying. When the company went bankrupt, it would probably be in the press, but Clara felt there was no harm in keeping Toby as an extra information line.

  ***

  Virginia stood outside the restaurant and glanced at her watch. She felt nervous that the plan was out of their hands. All they could do now was wait. She was worried that someone might find out what they had done, and although she didn’t know how anyone could, it made her nervous. She still hadn’t heard from her parents, which meant they had probably disowned her. She didn’t know why this bothered her so much, but it did. She was as alone as she ever had been. Unless you counted Ella and Clara, which Virginia would rather not.

  Ella arrived, looking fed up, tense and strained. They nodded to each other, but neither spoke. Virginia didn’t really understand what was going on: sometimes she thought they were becoming friends, at other times she disliked Ella and Clara as much as they disliked her. She knew they were only spending time together to wreak revenge, but she wondered how much longer they could stand it. She even thought selfishly that she was glad Isabelle’s revenge had been first.

  Clara turned up fifteen minutes late, smiling broadly.

  “Hello, girls,” she said, and led them into the restaurant. Clara was all charm as she flitted with the waiters and ordered champagne. Virginia flinched when she looked at the prices on the menu even though she knew this was Clara’s treat.

  “Let’s drink a toast to our first success, which I know won’t be long in coming,” Clara said.

  “I wonder how long it will take,” Virginia said.

  “I should think two or three weeks. If, as we predict, Isabelle buys shares for herself and her clients, the price will rise due to the buying activity. When the company is declared bankrupt the shares will be as good as worthless. It may even take less time than that.”

  “Oh dear. Does that mean we’ll have contributed to the company’s downfall?” Virginia looked worried.

  “No. Josh said it was beyond saving, but a few shareholders will get some money back, courtesy of Isabelle, so we’re doing someone a favour.”

  ‘that’s one way of looking at it,” Ella said.

  “The Clara way,” Virginia pointed out.

  “Anyway, don’t you want to know about Josh?” Clara asked.

  “What?” Ella asked.

  “I finished it,” Clara said.

  “What?” Ella repeated.

  “Yes. I realised we weren’t suitable for each other so I thought it was easier to finish now.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Ella gasped.

  “Well, it’s true.”

  “Are you ready to order?” The waiter interrupted them. They ordered main courses. Clara had decided they didn’t need starters and the others didn’t argue.

  “Go on, Clara. Tell me why you felt you should end it with Josh,” Ella probed.

  “Because he wasn’t right. Or something. I don’t know, it just wouldn’t have worked out.” Clara couldn’t quite remember why she’d done it.

  “If I had a guy like Josh I wouldn’t let him go,” Virginia said bravely.

  “That’s hardly likely, is it?” Clara looked at Virginia.

  “Clara! Anyway, she’s right. He was lovely and he seemed to adore you, although I can’t think why,” Ella riposted.

  “Oh, shut up. Can’t we change the subject?”

  “Do you think we should start talking about our next plan?” Virginia asked.

  “No. Not until we know the first one has worked. It may be jinxed if we move on now.” Ella felt unusually superstitious.

  “She’s right. So until JF goes bust we don’t need to see each other. If there’s any information, we can call. Otherwise we’ll have a couple of weeks off.” Clara smiled. Ella smiled. Virginia didn’t. How was she going to get through a fortnight on her own?

  Clara ate nothing, drank more than half of the champagne and the best part of a bottle of red wine. She also made two trips to the ladies. Ella and Virginia were sober and worried about Clara. At one point when they were alone, Virginia turned to Ella. “I think she’s got a real problem.”

  “So do I, but what can we do?”

  “I don’t know, but we should do something.”

  “If we suggest anything to her now she’ll just go mad. At least we can keep an eye on her.”

  “What about Josh? I’d feel happier if he was around.”

  “So would I,” Ella agreed.

  Clara summoned the bill; she was swaying.

  “Do you want to come back to mine for a nightcap?” she offered. The others agreed – they didn’t think she would make it on her own.

  They got a cab, which Ella paid for. When they got out, Virginia kept hold of Clara, who was on the verge of passing out, but Clara broke away from her and tried to walk to the front door, clutching the wall for support. Virginia and Ella watched as she searched her bag for h
er keys. Eventually she tipped it upside-down on the step outside the front door and giggled. Virginia bent to pick up lipsticks, a mobile, a purse, a compact and the rest of its contents. Clara stepped over her, grabbed her keys and opened the door. When they reached Clara’s flat door, she couldn’t get the key to work.

  “Give it here,” Ella said and opened the door.

  Inside the flat, Ella said, “I’ll get her some water,” and went to the kitchen.

  “I don’t want water, I want booze,” Clara shouted, and passed out on the sofa.

  “Shit. Look at her.” Ella tried to wake her up, but failed, so they carried her to her bedroom. They gave up attempts to undress her and leaving her fully clothed they pulled the duvet over her.

  “I hope she’s going to be OK.” Virginia was upset.

  “Who knows?” Ella replied, and went to call a cab.

  ***

  After dropping Virginia off, Ella went home, glad of her empty flat. She had a long bath and thought about what was happening. Events were taking over. What had started as their plan was now just something going on in the background of real life, and even that didn’t feel very real at the moment.

  After her bath, Ella went to the living room and pulled out a pen and paper. It was time for Sam’s letter. She was going to keep sending him a cheque every month; she had enough money. Although she didn’t know if he needed it, it made her feel better for him to have it. In the letter she told him how much she missed him, how much she longed to speak to him. She assured him she was still fine, but she didn’t mention losing her job.

  As she addressed the envelope her hand shook, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wasn’t so different from Clara. She loved her brother more than anything in the world, but she still wouldn’t allow herself to talk to him or see him. She still needed to be punished for Tony. She was the same as Clara in many ways. Completely and utterly mad.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Isabella almost floated to work on Monday. She had spent all weekend working out her plan, and she was ready to put it into action. She could hardly contain her excitement. She smiled as she thought of how stupid Josh was but, then, he was only a man. She couldn’t believe he preached confidentiality then left out such a valuable document for anyone to see. Perhaps he hadn’t expected her to go back with him, but he should have moved it the minute they walked in. He had made it so easy for her. He must have been spending too much time thinking about her and not enough about his job. Isabelle would never make such a mistake.

  Isabelle had spent Sunday in the office looking up all the information she could find on JF Technologies. At first glance it looked like bad stock but everything she had read in the document was verified. She could put forward a forceful argument in favour of buying the stock. She would make so much money; she would be a star. SFH would have to offer her a managing directorship. She would be powerful. She would get a bigger office and more money. She could hardly contain herself as she thought about how much money she would make. The managing directors were all multi-millionaires.

  She would ensure that she took all the credit herself. She researched; she kept her ear to the ground. She was going to be known as the best. She was the best. Dear, sweet, stupid Josh. He was such a wonderful fool. And when they made the money, he wouldn’t be able to say anything because his negligence safeguarded her position.

  She spent the journey to the office thinking about what she would do with the stock. She would buy it personally, of course, but that was the easy bit. Making money for herself would ensure a nice little side line and that was perfectly acceptable. She would also tell David Marker, her boss, and ask him what he thought. That way SFH could buy stock for its own book. If he didn’t believe her he would soon see how much money they would have made if he had. She would use that against him. Then she would select her three best clients and get them to buy stock. She would use the same process with them as she did with David. Isabelle knew that as soon as the takeover was announced, the stock value would increase sharply. According to the document she had read, the announcement would be made within two weeks. Two weeks until Isabelle would recoup all she deserved. She was so excited, it was hard to think straight.

  When she got to her office, she drafted an e-mail to send to David. She told him that the latest Microsoft press releases had said they were looking for small technology companies with good products to take over. She said that she had done copious research into the technology industry and JF Technologies fitted the bill. She pointed out the share price was so low that it was a prime Microsoft target. She also said that a Microsoft contact of hers had as near as admitted it. That wasn’t insider trading. That was rumour. She sent the e-mail and waited. It wasn’t long before David called her into his office.

  ‘David,” she said, sitting down.

  “Isabelle. This e-mail you sent me. How strong is the information?”

  “I’d say it’s rock solid. I’m willing to go out on a limb for this, David, and to make you feel better I should tell you I’m investing my own money in it. I was speaking to a contact of mine at Microsoft and I know that this is what they’re looking for. All the signs are there. JF has a ground-breaking product but the management is falling apart. The share price is low and it’s on its last legs. I could produce a full report if you feel it’s necessary, but if you look at the company, you’ll know I’m right.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary. I’ll get our technology trader to buy into it on behalf of SFH. What about clients?”

  “I’ll tell my top three. No more. What we need to be prepared for is that the price is going to increase due to us buying. I don’t want to panic anyone. So I thought that if we all buy simultaneously, it will be easier. The stock will rally and I guess there’ll be copycat buying, but by then we should be in the clear. By the way, we need to sit on the stock for about two weeks, if not less, and certainly not much longer.”

  “How sure are you?”

  “One hundred per cent.”

  “That’s good enough for me. I trust your judgement. Let’s go shopping.” With that Isabelle left him.

  In her office, she called her personal broker and put him on standby to invest £50,000 in JF stock. Then she met with the SFH trader who was also on standby. She called her top three clients, who gave her orders to buy. She got someone else from her desk to fill the orders. That afternoon, wasting no time, Isabelle put her own money, SFH’s, and three of her clients’ money into JF Technologies. They managed to get the stock at its lowest price, then Isabelle watched as it rose after the buying spree. She went home a happy woman.

  ***

  The following day the stock had risen again, and David sent an e-mail of congratulations to Isabelle. Ella saw the price in the paper and knew that they had won.

  JF shareholders were puzzled by the rise. The managing director called their accountant, who said that it didn’t make any difference: the share price might be high, but it was not high enough to save the company. Their lawyers were preparing bankruptcy statements to be released the following week. He advised the board to sell their stock now to recoup some money.

  The City rumour mill was in overdrive, and the buying of JF Technologies stock became a big story in the financial press. Everyone said a takeover must be imminent, although the company denied it fiercely. Speculators in the City were buying stock on the grounds of SFH’s trading activity.

  JF Technologies had not seen such trading activity since it first floated on the market. Its staff was baffled and those who knew about the company’s impending doom began to believe that it was going to be taken over and their jobs would be saved.

  The following Wednesday the board members of JF were called into a meeting with the lawyers and accountants. They were all confused by the sharp rise in buying activity and the newly high share price. However, it was still not enough to save a company that hadn’t shown a profit from the day it started trading, especially as their product had been slated
by those who had used it. They said that there was no option but to announce that the company was bankrupt. They had been forced to make this announcement sooner than planned. The new shareholders would lose all their money and perhaps think again before listening to groundless rumours. There was no option.

  On Thursday it was announced that JF Technologies was going into liquidation. Shareholders would have to apply to the bailiffs to recoup any money lost. Due to the renewed interest in the company, the story made the front page of the Financial Times.

  ***

  Isabelle went to work oblivious of the massacre that awaited her. She sat down at her desk and picked up her copy of the Financial Times. ‘Buying Rally Fails to Save Technology Company’, screamed the headline that stared up at her. Her hands shook as she read that JF Technologies had gone into liquidation despite a huge rise in its share price. It went on to report how no one could understand the sudden buying interest, as there was no way that the company could have been saved. It said that speculation about a takeover had caused the rise in stock price, but the rumour had been groundless. It also mentioned SFH as one of the biggest buyers of stock. When she reached the line that read, ‘was SFH acting on bad instinct or were they fooled into believing an untrue rumour?’ Isabelle put down the paper, dropped her head into her hands and thought about running away. Her telephone rang. It was David.

  “Isabelle, what the hell is going on?”

  “I’ve just read the article.”

  “Do you know how much money you’ve cost the firm? And we’ve ended up looking like fools. The PR on this is very bad. We’ve even had to call an emergency meeting. I’m going to have to explain this and all I can think is that either you gave us crap information or you believed some fool.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t understand it myself.” Isabelle’s head was spinning. How could she get out of this? Who could she blame? She couldn’t tell them about Josh. That would implicate her as much as it would implicate him. She had to face the fact that she had no one to blame.